My client's business trip was extended from 1 week to 2 weeks unexpectedly and the dogs ran out of food. I offered to buy more food for the dogs, the owner approved and said that she would reimburse me. I sent her a photo of the receipt 2 days ago ($40 worth of food!) and haven't heard a thing from the owner. I assume they're busy with work and the stay doesn't end for a few more days, but it's a little weird. I'm not in a rush to be reimbursed, but I would expect it by the end of the stay at the latest. If they never reimburse me, is that something that Rover will cover? Thanks.

Hi!

I am looking for any advice based on experience with certain products. With the cold, rainy, and snowy weather just around the corner, I'm looking for the best gear to protect myself from these conditions. Pants, tops, jackets, gloves, face coverings, boots. You name it.

I live in NE Ohio where the snowfall can be substantial at times. I think shoes are my top priority at the moment. I'm looking for something that is waterproof, insulated, yet not too bulky to where my feet feel like cement blocks. I'm a daily dog walker even in the winter so I need to still be comfortable yet warm and dry.

Also not necessarily weather related but still helpful: bags! What bag(s) are you using on your daily walks to make your life easier?

I hope this thread brings some great info! I'm sure there are other dog walkers out there who would appreciate it as well. Thanks!

I've seen this question asked before but can't seem to find it.

I have a client looking for different amounts of drop in visits over the course of 3 days. She wants 1 the first day, 3 the second, and 2 the last day. Is there a way I can book this all under one request? Thanks!

I do leave during my stays during the week. But your answers to the other questions ended up still answering this one too. Thanks again.

Hi, Karen! Thank you for your response. Regarding the fact that I'd like to be able to leave during stays- I meant that instead of waiting around on the last day (unpaid for the extra hours), I'd like to be able to just leave at the appropriate time so I can move on to the next thing.

Good afternoon!

I have been struggling with this for a while now. I know that Rover is meant to be a 24 hour service for overnight house sitting. I did not realize this when I began using Rover, so my service has been sort of "whatever you need, I'm your girl" because I wanted to keep potential clients happy. I then started to feel taken advantage of (indirectly of course, all my clients are great) because I would arrive (for example) on day 1 around 11am, then on day 5 when I'm supposed to go back home the client asks me to stay for their dogs until 7pm because their flight doesn't land until 9pm. Obviously this requires me to stay longer than the "24 hour" service window, because I should be able to leave around 11am on day 5.

My question is, is it normal to cater to what a client wants if it keeps them happy, for free? To be honest, most days I have other things going on that I'd like to be attending whether personal or other clients' requests. I hate feeling like I'm greedy for money if I were to ask someone to pay me for x amount of extra hours.

The other idea I've been considering is to have a standard "checkout" time like 12pm. In certain situations I would of course extend those hours if my client needed me until 5pm and could not find anyone else to help them out. The problem is that I would need to introduce this to my current clients, they are all repeats... do you think they could take this in a bad way? I'm worried it would come off as "I want to get paid for less work" when that isn't the case. I just have other places to be!

What are your thoughts, or how do you handle your business?

I'm sorry that this question is all over the place. Thanks for any help in advance.

Actually, I worked for another service (food delivery) that was also an independent contractship and we kept 100% of our tips. Rover could definitely do the same thing. The service took a percentage of the delivery fee, yes, but we kept our tips.

Hi, everyone! I am interested in messaging the Rover Team about including a tipping option online, but wanted to see what other sitters thought of it first. Basically, my idea would be that since we aren't paid until 2 days after a stay, that along with the reminder email about leaving a review, pet owners could also leave a tip ONLINE if they felt inclined to. Rover already has their credit card on file, so the owner would enter the amount they'd like to tip their sitter AFTER a stay, if they wanted to. This would NOT be a requirement. I, personally, do not expect tips, they are just appreciated. Sometimes I just wonder if owners do not tip because they forget or don't know if they should/can! This would give them the option to do so if they are unsure/would prefer to tip on their card. And sitters would keep 100% of their tip of course.

Let me know what your thoughts are on this! Thanks :)

Hi, there! I am currently staying at a client's house for the first time and it's apparent to me that their dog is going potty on the carpet. (And probably apparent to them as well because there's pee stains front and center in the living room, right when you walk in the front door. Hard to miss.) Also, it seems that the upstairs hallway is his potty area of choice- the carpet is stained yellow, has a slight smell, and is crunchy to walk on from lack of cleaning. Ick. Their dog is a 15 year-old Shih Tzu who is obviously getting older. As he ages his bladder will be able to hold less and less, I'm sure he's already at this point. Since he's an elderly dog, do you think it's rude to suggest using pee pads to the owners in order to save their carpet? I want it to seem helpful, not rude or embarrassing.

Thanks!!

Edit- wanted to clarify that he only went potty when I left the house for a few hours. While I'm here he has plenty of potty breaks and has no issues, but I know that may not be possible for the client to do. The use of pee pads will help when they're not home.

No need to get rid of the photo with your blue hair! Be yourself, this includes not hiding your appearance or personality. Have fun, check in with the Q&A board for answers to questions you never knew you had, and be patient! Be descriptive of the services you're offering, what is included in them, etc. Always request a meet and greet for new clients no matter what. And during those, ask tons of questions, especially for your first clients while you get into the swing of things. This will be the time that you discuss your availability etc. As for recruiting new clients- get the word out! Share via craigslist (rover already has a template set up so all you have to do is copy and paste), facebook, etc. Make business cards or buy some through the Rover store and pass them out like crazy. And don't forget to hand out your custom promo code! Cheers!!

Hi, Jenna!

ALWAYS trust your gut, especially when it comes to watching dogs! As it turns out, the guy is possibly living out of his car which is worrisome. Something to think about is that since he is in such a rough spot, he could possibly abandon his dogs with you which would be a horrible situation.

I would just politely decline and archive his request, because this doesn't sound like the best situation.

I'd like to have someone that has a similar sitting style to mine that I can refer requests/clients to when I am not available. And possibly vice versa if you'd like! I'm looking for someone in the Cleveland, Ohio area (specifically Elyria/Avon/Westlake/Lorain). Would just like to ask you a few questions :)

When you receive a request for a stay that is many months away and you have a M&G, the client states that they would like to book with you but they say "we want to book with you but we can't book right now due to money, unsure of exact dates, etc"........ do you give them a time limit for booking?

I have always been flexible in regards to this. If it's June and I get a request for October and the clients asks if they can wait to book, I say yes. Because I want the client to be satisfied and not turn them away if they cannot financially afford it at the moment. And because honestly, I don't get very many requests that far in the future so I figure it's okay to let it sit for a while.

The issue is that (for example) the stay is in October and September has rolled around, still no official booking. Most of my requests are for a month in advance, and I am appearing as "unavailable for these dates" due to this. I may send a message asking if they are ready to book due to being a month away from the stay, and they say they're still not ready. Out of compassion, because I would hate for them to have to scramble to find another sitter before their trip if they actually have intentions to book, I let it slide another week or so. They may end up finally booking, or they may end up doing the thing that DRIVES ME INSANE..... They cancel the entire stay because their trip is being canceled. So for all that time I've been blocking out the dates as unavailable for clients and personal reasons, all for it to be pointless. I miss out on potential business for those dates or potential friend/family/work gatherings/events that I'd like to attend.

My questions is- what do you all do in this situation? Do you put a time limit on bookings? Or do you block the dates off in hopes that they don't cancel on you?

So sorry for the long post but I felt the need to explain thoroughly because this has happened to me at least 3 or 4 times.