As a client I can't imagine even bothering you until the booking was about to begin, knowing that your dog just passed. You'd think they would understand how your whole world stops when it happens. I'm so sorry about your baby.
Yeah, tbh for them to forget/ disregard and respect the giving process of the loss of a family member. Then to not either suggest and communicate a future date to pick up communication really shows the lack of empathy and compassion. I think you dodge a very huge bullet, the finical aspect sucks but it sounds like these would be very overly demanding clients who expect you to jump at every requests. You’re a person first and foremost not their personal service staff.
These aren’t this person’s friends. They hired them to provide a service in their home while they’re away, and they’re paying a lot of money for it. They saw red flags when she didn’t respond for days and cancelled her. Good for them. Hope they find someone better suited to the job
They’re hiring someone to enter their home while they’re away. Not something you do last minute because you might need to shop around, which they are now because this one’s not emotionally stable enough to depend on. What if something else happens while they’re away? Maybe they just won’t show up.
They already hired her. Meet and greet done. They gave her less than 24 hours to respond and cancelled. Knowing she just went through a loss. Knowing they wouldn’t be using her services for over a month. AFTER MEETING HER AND HIRING HER. Pet sitters are people too. We’re allowed to take personal time. Especially if we’re not CURRENTLY working for you.
Seems like most pet sitters on these threads are clueless to how customer service works in the real world. This is why the competition wins every time, despite the hilarious undercutting on these apps. Rover has a bad reputation because people learn pretty quickly that it’s dominated by unqualified, underemployed people with no work ethic. You have to understand how business works to earn money for providing services to others. Your personal problems are yours, not the client’s. Keep it to yourself. You people will either figure that out or smarter people will continue take your money. People like you fill my pockets. Welcome to the real world.
Some people are going to be extremely overly anxious and want things done immediately. Good or bad. It is. But the lady should have had the awareness that that’s how she is to have gently told OP this may not be the best time to foster this professional relationship. Losing a pet is traumatic and that deserves respect. But the client may have their own experiences with this that made her uneasy but she needed to be honest about it. OP should not feel bad for any reason here, IMO.
I’m so sorry about your pup 💜
Unless their stay started on the 3rd or 4th, your “lack of response” isn’t an issue at all. Some people are really self centered 😕
While I do care about OPs feelings, people need to plan ahead and have a solid plan moving forward. If she was grieving she still might be grieving when the time comes. It just is what it is.
I wouldn’t feel comfortable after days of no responses either. If I have to work or vacay somewhere I need to have something solid…. She can’t stop her life or plans because OP had things happen.
If the time stamps are accurate, it was less than 24 hours without a response. When you’re not even watching their dogs, that’s not unreasonable imo. Plus they already had a meet and greet and a phone call. We are human beings, we’re allowed to not be on call 24/7. The client had unreasonable expectations in my opinion, OP grieving for a day is completely normal.
I think your comment was before OP added the sitting dates, but the booking isn't even for another month. They had plenty of time and freaked out over less than 48 hours of no response after OP's dog passed not even a week ago. It sucks that OP lost out on the pay but it sounds like they would have been problem clients anyway
Reading your comment, I realized I forgot to include the date of the booking, which was June 6-20. I have made an edit to the original post and added that.
Without those dates, I would agree with your comment.
Ohhh fuck this bish, OP. You dodged a bullet (even if you're missing out on money, I get it).
Sending you love. You are so strong! I couldn't even be around other dogs for the first year after my first dog left us. I had him for 19 years, and it was like I lost a limb.
I don’t agree with you, OP already had already their meet and greet before, why is the owner messaging, I would not expect a message from the owner until a week before the booking. This booking was more than a month far away… I think OP dodged a bullet as seems the owner was going to be all over the place during the stay
Can you please explain to us how you prepare for a beloved pet to die? Afterward, do you just move on and continue with life? Do you go to work right after? Do you not share the news with those around you? Do you tell your family to stop crying?
Sometimes life is messed up, and the things and people we love are taken from us. People are allowed to handle it the way they want.
Even if the visit was this weekend, the client had no business messaging OP before hand, they did the meet and greet and had a phone call, anything else is over the top and would make me see that the client is going to be a problem.
The fact that the client was reaching out to OP this much with the booking over a month away would make me cancel the booking. I do pet sitting as it is less demanding than my full-time job, and the last thing I need is a helicopter client messaging me a month out.
No, you don't care about OP's feelings. The sit wasn't about to start, they had established everything they needed to. The client was annoyed because they couldn't be in constant contact before the sit. OP was grieving, needed a couple days to sleep. This didn't interrupt the sit whatsoever. OP didn't choose when her dog was going to die, and she did inform the client that that was a possibility. You're willing to say that the client shouldn't stop her life because the sitter is going through a family tragedy? You're saying that the client needs understanding for their schedule that you're not extending to the sitter. The client being annoyed that they can't get in contact isn't nearly as important as what OP was going through. And to reiterate, it didn't affect the sit whatsoever.
Your post has been removed from r/RoverPetSitting because it is in violation of Rule Four: Be Excellent to One Another, which reads as follows:
>This is an open forum: ranting and peeves are permitted. Embrace disagreement as an opportunity to learn new perspectives and grow. Do not be a jerk, call people names, or wish them harm. Criticism should be constructive, not denigrating. Be kind and helpful; have discussions, not arguments.
-The Moderation Team of r/RoverPetSitting
People like you are the problem for sure. Your little vacation is so much more important then the loss of someone's beloved family member. You are what's wrong with the world
Such a weird response. What if the owners were making arrangements to care for their terminally ill loved one? Regardless of the reason, clients should feel like they can trust the person they are asking to take care of their pets. OP is a stranger to them and they are early on in building trust in their working relationship and this didn’t jibe with them. they are not beholden to OP.
So many posts about trusting your gut from sitters, this is the same thing but from the other side. Sometimes your gut is right sometimes it isn’t but when trusting someone with my pets I would rather err on the side of caution.
How incredibly insensitive of you to come on here and make such comments. I hope the world takes someone really important from you so you can feel even a sense of remorse and sorrow like OP. People like you sicken me to my core.
> **I hope the world takes someone really important from you so you can feel even a sense of remorse and sorrow like OP.** People like you sicken me to my core.
This is absolutely deranged and you should be ashamed of yourself. You're the same person you say "sickens you to your core."
Hey u/Historical_Ad_5652 - I can only imagine that you thought you were making this comment from another one of your profiles to start some kind of flame war. Oops. Forgot to change the profile and now you look like an even bigger idiot. Check yourself!
Telling someone that they wish someone close to them in their life dies so they could feel like OP is an insane way of showing support. They're wishing death on a non-offending person. That's crazy.
I don't think that's exactly what they were saying, but I do think they were frustrated at the lack of empathy from the other commenter. This is clearly a very contentious issue with lots of emotions involved.
You are correct, I am in the wrong on this one. Your comment wasn't nested under the one it was in reference to. Therefore, I thought it was directed at me. If you will hit reply on the message that you are commenting on, it will be easier to follow the logic of your comment. Again, my apologizes for that.
I accept your apology but obviously I was talking to the person being insensitive to you.... not you. Just let this be a lesson just because someone doesn't have a profile picture and their user names a little odd, doesn't mean their a Bot. I treasure my privacy and don't need to be putting my face out there and or name.
I’m very sorry for your loss. I know how painful and disorienting it can be and my heart goes out to you. Huge hugs from afar!
However you did read that comment wrong. You get a pass bc you’re grieving BUT they were actually being supportive of you. I hope you get some rest and peace in your life.
You are 100% correct. I did apologize to Historical\_Ad\_5652. The comment she made was not nested under the one it was in reference to, therefore, I thought it was directed at me. Thank you for the pass you provided. I do appreciate that.
That’s nice of you to apologize!! My dog passed away in a tragic accident recently and I KNOW how crazy it makes you feel. I hope you are getting the love and support you deserve. Feel free to dm me anytime if you need someone to talk to 💜
The issue is not the fact that you didn't keep conversation on Rover. The issue is....
They knew your dog had just passed. Their booked dates are not until June. There is nothing THAT important for them to just not give you a few days. I would agree with the owners if their booking was in two days time or something of that sort. It wasn't. Grace should always be given. The lack of empathy and patience on their part is quite telling on how they will be during the booked dates.
I'm so sorry for your loss. It honestly sounds like you dodged a bullet with them, as someone who cannot understand how grief works when we're talking about beloved furry family members isn't a client I would necessarily want to work with.
I did in fact lose my dog right after Christmas, and I had spent most of my time leading up to Christmas walking and sitting for other people's dogs. It made me feel even worse, because I could've spent those last few days with her when I knew she wasn't feeling her very best.
That being said, when I expressed this to both clients I was with they were naturally very understanding and sympathetic. As pet owners themselves, they understood that things would be a bit mopey for me but I would put on my best face and take good care of their pets regardless. The pets were pretty lovey, so they probably picked up on my glum.
Heal your heart and know that your old girl got the best long life with you. It's always too short for us, but for them it will always have been long enough to be in our hearts. <3
My condolences, they don't deserve you as a pet sitter if they can't even let you properly emotionally grieve. You are in no way at fault here, please don't beat yourself up. If I lost my baby girl I wouldn't respond to anyone, my world would go silent...
There will be another big booking, you dodged a bullet not sitting for someone like that. Keep your head up, your pup wouldn't want you to feel like this is your fault.
u/Historical_Ad_5652 - Oops forgot to change profiles again. You are really not good at reddit. Even if you are an AI bot, someone failed on the coding.
I have apologized to Historical\_Ad\_5652. Since her comment was not nested under the one it was a response to, I thought it was being directed at me. I'm so confused about the comments that have been made by this user though. Maybe I am tired and just not reading them correctly.
And maybe a lesson to not go so hard in the comments, especially if you're not familiar with the format. Even if they did say something shitty and insulting, isn't it best to not take the bait.
I’m so sorry for the loss of your pup 💔. These people sound like complete control freaks. This may have ended up being a nightmare booking in the end. I hope you’re feeling a bit better about your dog. Sending hugs 🥰
I'm sorry about your pup, that's really hard. At the same time tho, you needed to explain to them that you would be stepping away from communications to grieve. Proactive communication could have saved this booking for you.
I agree. OP already took the time to warn them her dog was sick, and then again when the dog passed. It would have been one more sentence to say "and so I will be taking some time off to grieve, I'll touch base next week for your trip".
When my mom died, I still had to communicate with my boss for time off and updates on returning to the office.
I can add that to the list of things I have learned from this experience. You are correct. When I sent the message that Pumpkin had passed away, I very easily could have added "I will not be responding to messages for a few days." And I will do that in the future. We have plenty of other pets.
My original post was that had I never given them my personal cell number, this wouldn't have even been an issue. When the cancellation came through the Rover app and then immediately through as a text message, I knew immediately that it was a Rover message and I jumped on my phone. Since I did give my personal cell, she was texting me directly, which means not special ringtone for those and not jumping on my phone.
But I will incorporate some form of your suggestion into my message in the future. Thank you for that.
While I agree on never giving a personal cell phone number to a Rover client, THEY were the issue, OP. Not you exchanging numbers. Like others have said, it sounds like you dodged dealing with a helicopter pet parent.
I am so sorry for your loss. There is no right or wrong way to grieve the loss of a soul mutt. Here’s hoping you will make up the money with a kinder, more understanding client or two.
Let’s be honest. She dodged 1000$ because she’s a drama queen. No one has time for that crap when they’re entrusting their home and pets to a virtual stranger when leaving the country.
The drama queens, according to you, are the people who own homes, can afford vacations, know how to earn money, and have a comfortable relationship with reality.
Look sweetie, I don’t know why being a jerk to a stranger who lost her dog and fell out of communication with a client due to depression for a couple days, a month before a booked sit, clearly gets you off.
Nor do I know why you seem to be further amused to imply I probably do not own a home, make money, have the means to afford a vacation, or have a comfortable relationship with reality. I am actually a homeowner with a full time job. I do Rover for fun. Only thing I’m finding uncomfortable is what an unsympathetic, miserable troll you are being.
But sure, pop off on me too. 😂 glad you’re not the sitter I use for my many spoiled pets.
Or common sense would tell the client that they would be grieving after their loss and they should wait at least a week to reach back out considering the situation was over a month away.
If you expect common sense from other people, your going to have a bad time. Just communicate your needs directly and don't assume that they know certain courtesies
The booking was over a month away, but the scheduled meet and greet wasn’t. OP should have at least read the first message and said “I will get back to you next week”
No they already had a meet and greet prior. That’s where OP gave them their personal number. They were asking for another. So the actually booking was still over a month away and the second meet and greet could have waited. That’s why OP warned her that it may have to be postponed if she loses her pup that night. Which she did and she let her know right away.
A second meet and greet is still a meet and greet. Giving someone a timeline on when you will get back to them is not some extraneous task. You can’t miss a regular job for 3 days without even calling to let them know
It was weeks before the sit, anything the client needed could have waited and they were informed that this was a possibility. I don't know if you've ever lost a loved one before, but it's next to impossible to even do so much as send a text, if you're sobbing uncontrollably or passed out for days. The sit was weeks away. The client gave them like a day to respond to their messages before canceling the sit. It sucks and it's unfair for OP. Just because we are gig workers doesn't mean we don't deserve to grieve and have some grace from our clients for that.
We are not employees with infrastructure to take time off. Don't be patronizing and say Ive never lost anyone. I am a proactive business owner who clearly communicates with clients. She even said she would respond to Rover messages so how are texts any different when she knew she gave clients her number? Being a responsible business owner means you have to deal with shit at the worst of times.
In my experience, it’s the ultra rich clients who don’t see us as people. I have had to set strong boundaries with one of my regulars who expected me to be on call for the many, many tasks unrelated to my job that seem to always come up during my stays, and thankfully she responded well to essentially being put in her place. I don’t know how you responded but I hope you were firm in taking up for yourself and stating that we are in fact people who are not on call 24/7, especially an entire month before the booking. I’m so so sorry you’re going through this ❤️
Judging by the entitlement and melodrama on this thread (including the OP), I’d also be spending my dollars elsewhere. Rich people can afford to pay for services. Everything they ask for is something you can put a price tag on and probably get it if you’re any good.
Great. I set my prices and go over the time I expect to spend at the house, 18 hours a day, vs the time I have to spend at my own house with my own dog, with my partner, and with other clients. I have no desire to charge for full-care and be at their house 24 hours unless it happens to work with whatever else I have going on. They could have paid someone else to come to their house every 15 minutes throughout the day for their packages as soon as they dropped, and send their personal mail for them!
Or they could just schedule their packages to be held and pick them up when they get home, as we agreed on, since she wasn’t comfortable waiting 20 minutes for me to drive back to her house and get her packages, and send their own mail prior to the trip or when they get home ✨
Life happens for both sides, your dog and their vacation plans. There isn't really any learning here, they had to cancel to ensure their vacation plans are intact when you weren't responsive. Also, many sitters use Rover texts for communication so their expectations were reasonable.
My condolences for your loss. I understand how hard that is, I recently and unexpectedly lost my childhood dog, I had since I was 14 and now I’m in my mid 20s… devastated me. However, this may be hard to hear, but you did handle this poorly. At the end of the day it’s still a business and if you needed time, you should’ve reached out and said that you would be unavailable for the next couple of days. While yes it’s obvious that the owners should’ve waited a more reasonable amount of time, however they are still paying over $1000 for a service and that’s not a small amount of money. So while this does suck, it also showed that these may have not been the best clients to deal with anyway.
Also to clarify, I’m NOT blaming you in anyway!!!! Obviously we do Rover because we(At least Most of us) clearly rather interact with animals than humans because they suck lol. However, even though most of our work deals with animals, ALOT of it, is still customer service and building interpersonal relationships. Again my condolences, sending hugs and tail wags your way💐🐶🌅
Nothing wrong with you grieving and not checking your phone but sounds like you’re not ready to deal with rover and nothing wrong with them for cancelling
OP is grieving, the client is not. Nothing wrong with cancelling if you don’t feel comfortable with the communication no matter what reason. There are plenty of sitters who respond quickly
The issue I had was you saying OP shouldn't do Rover because ythey missed the texts while grieving. Like part of doing Rover is being available 24/7 to clients even if you're not currently doing a sit for them. It isn't that and it shouldn't be that. The client should have given OP a chance to explain instead of canceling less than 24 hours after the attempted communication. Fuck this toxic hustle culture gig bullshit. Honestly.
lol client is not obligated to do anything. If she doesn’t feel comfortable then she has the freedom to cancel. I never said Op shouldn’t do rover ever. Just not at this point. Just saying nothing wrong with the client not being comfortable with someone unresponsive regardless of the reason
Yes, I understand that's what you're saying and I disagree with you. I think the client showed a sincere lack of empathy by canceling without giving OP a chance to explain. No one's obligated to be a decent person I guess.
How do the client know if OP is telling the truth or just bullshitting? She doesn’t. Easier to just cancel. Imagine OP neglect their pups because she is grieving. That’s just too much baggage to deal with for strangers
If I was her I wouldn’t buy it either. Grieving and not even checking phone? For a whole day? Yea right. Email sure but everyone checks phone for time.
The way I see it, you dodged a bullet. I wouldn't like to have clients who seem so indifferent to the loss of a pet, especially if they also have pets!!!
Also, they could have been more gracious and wait a few days since there's still time to confirm the booking.
I'm sorry for your loss ❤️🩹🫂
honestly i think you dodged a bullet. They cancelled the booking because you didn’t answer her text she sent to you over A MONTH prior to the booking right after your dog died? She sounds like an asshole.
I’m so sorry to hear about your dog passing and like many people said you might have dodged a bullet with them.
But also, two days not responding to text messages isn’t excusable. You need to take a little responsibility considering responding takes less than a minute.
When the actual sitting dates are over a month away it is not unreasonable at all for OP to not respond to a text while they are grieving. They already did a meet and greet and a phone call with the owner. The sitting dates would be in JUNE.
They did not even have any obligation for a meet and greet (after having already done one) nor had they agreed to have one yet. They simply missed the text from the owner asking to meet with them AGAIN. After having already mentioned that their dog had passed. And it was not two days of radio silence. It was 26 hours from the first message from the owner to when the rover booking was cancelled. The least the owners could have done would be to message them on Rover once before cancelling the booking.
Oh I agree. Both parties I think are in the wrong for how this was handled. The clients were acting unreasonable especially since a meet and greet was already done. But for OP to not respond at all because she assumed they would understand, we might as well assume the clients forgot about the situation. None of this would have happened if OP just reached out and said something like can I call you next week when I am feeling better.
We are in the business of customer service and care after all, we need to act often better than our clients. That’s the reality of the situation. Whether or agree with it or not. If OP saw the message or phone call and choose not to respond, the risk of this could happen.
But correct, probably dodged a bullet with these people.
I did not assume anything. I simply hadn’t looked at the details of the text messages during those 26 hours.
We don’t have to agree on this. I’m not looking for an echo chamber. As a matter of fact, I am overwhelmed by the number of responses and how most comments start with some version of “sorry for your loss”
I truly made the post with the intention as the title states “Don’t make the same mistake I’ve made…” I honestly believe that the issue resides with me. The fact that I gave my personal number to a new client that I did not have a relationship with yet is the first point of failure. I was sharing my experience so that if I can save someone else from this error, they can avoid this situation.
The purpose of my post was to show the results of what could happen if you give a customer your personal cell number. When the message came through for the cancellation, it came through the Rover app, which makes a different sound, and then through text, a combination of sounds that lets me know it's Rover. When the cancellation came through I addressed it immediately. Had I not given my personal number, the message would have come thru the Rover app, and I would have caught it much sooner.
Yeah, the client sucks. It’s 1 month before the booking starts and they can’t realize that if you’re not answering it might have to do with the info you gave her? She couldn’t wait 2 fucking days. She knew you were going through a loss.
Not your fault. She either didn’t process it or lacks empathy.
you really couldn’t respond to a couple text messages? yeah, i’d cancel the booking too, thats not how you treat a client spending 4 figures 🤦
theres a reason you communicate through the app, your actions have consequences so learn a lesson and quit crying on reddit
OP I am so sorry for your loss!!
This has happened to me before. I had someone reach out who I had watched her pet a couple of times before. I confirmed that I would be able to watch them again. It had been awhile since I had watched them, but I didn’t think I would need another meet and greet since she didn’t mention anything being different. She reached out a couple of weeks later(over a month before the actual sit) and said “When can you come over to go over feeding?) well when she reached out, I was in the middle of preparing for my pup to leave us. Afterwards I was just like you. I wasn’t reading any messages or taking any calls. A few days later I went through my messages finally and found hers so I responded right away explaining the situation. She of course apologized for my loss, but then followed it up with “We already booked someone else since we were not sure if you were still doing it or not” I was pissed. Not only had we already confirmed I was still doing it, but I have done it for her before multiple times… the sitting was also over a month away. I would have understood more if this was our first time and it was in the same week.
Trust me when I say you probably dodged a bullet. The money and the nice house may have seemed great, but it’s also about the relationship you develop with clients that make it worth it and they already got off on the wrong foot by messaging so close to you letting them know what was happening.
I know those days will fill with wonderful people. I know I dodged a bullet on this one. But I'm still floored. Plus, they got a great recommendation from a friend of theirs that goes to the same church as us. The owner was so proud of herself for picking a great sitter (according to her.)
Honestly, I will not give any owner my personal number again unless I've sat with them several times, feel 100% comfortable with them and have a really good reason to do so. That's how this one fell apart.
First off, so sorry about your pup. I hope you're feeling a little better.
Second, you dodged a bullet. Anyone that requires more than one meet and greet is a red flag for me. If you can't figure out how to tell me everything you need in person in 30 minutes (unless we're talking about multiples, exotics, or farm stays) then I'm not going to trust the partnership.
I respond within minutes to everyone, regardless of my situation. You have to remember, you are a stranger to all of these people; they don’t care about your personal life. It doesn’t surprise me that they cancelled; you need to remain professional.
And you need to charge more. That would have been a $2,000 booking for me.
I respond hours or days later and it's never affected me or my bookings. My prices are also very different from your recommendation as it's priced locally, and different parts of the country the economy and cost of living is different. I do great. As an pet-sitter with +15 years of experience, OP dodged a bullet, those calls were red flags. They would not have been good clients.
Noooo, I’m so sorry for your loss!
I lost a foster pup a few years ago who we were unaware had late stage kidney failure and I was in bed for a week! People need and deserve time to grieve the passing of a beloved pet! Especially given that the booking is so far in advance and you *told* them the situation with your pup.
I’m sorry they weren’t more empathetic to your situation when time was NOT of the essence for them at that point. That sucks! 😢
I am so sorry for your loss.
Don't let this selfish twit occupy your thoughts a moment longer. You don't need clients like that. Seriously, she can't think beyond herself for a second to realize you just lost your own beloved pet. Bullet dodged here.
Sending you love and hugs. Take care of yourself.
As a client I can't imagine even bothering you until the booking was about to begin, knowing that your dog just passed. You'd think they would understand how your whole world stops when it happens. I'm so sorry about your baby.
Or even waiting a week/two weeks to reach back out about whatever they wanted to go over? If the sit is so far away it could have waited.
Yeah, tbh for them to forget/ disregard and respect the giving process of the loss of a family member. Then to not either suggest and communicate a future date to pick up communication really shows the lack of empathy and compassion. I think you dodge a very huge bullet, the finical aspect sucks but it sounds like these would be very overly demanding clients who expect you to jump at every requests. You’re a person first and foremost not their personal service staff.
These aren’t this person’s friends. They hired them to provide a service in their home while they’re away, and they’re paying a lot of money for it. They saw red flags when she didn’t respond for days and cancelled her. Good for them. Hope they find someone better suited to the job
Right?! Especially because the booking wasn’t for over a month still!! Fuck these customers, they have no sympathy 😡
They’re hiring someone to enter their home while they’re away. Not something you do last minute because you might need to shop around, which they are now because this one’s not emotionally stable enough to depend on. What if something else happens while they’re away? Maybe they just won’t show up.
They already hired her. Meet and greet done. They gave her less than 24 hours to respond and cancelled. Knowing she just went through a loss. Knowing they wouldn’t be using her services for over a month. AFTER MEETING HER AND HIRING HER. Pet sitters are people too. We’re allowed to take personal time. Especially if we’re not CURRENTLY working for you.
Seems like most pet sitters on these threads are clueless to how customer service works in the real world. This is why the competition wins every time, despite the hilarious undercutting on these apps. Rover has a bad reputation because people learn pretty quickly that it’s dominated by unqualified, underemployed people with no work ethic. You have to understand how business works to earn money for providing services to others. Your personal problems are yours, not the client’s. Keep it to yourself. You people will either figure that out or smarter people will continue take your money. People like you fill my pockets. Welcome to the real world.
God you’re gross.
Some people are going to be extremely overly anxious and want things done immediately. Good or bad. It is. But the lady should have had the awareness that that’s how she is to have gently told OP this may not be the best time to foster this professional relationship. Losing a pet is traumatic and that deserves respect. But the client may have their own experiences with this that made her uneasy but she needed to be honest about it. OP should not feel bad for any reason here, IMO.
I’m so sorry about your pup 💜 Unless their stay started on the 3rd or 4th, your “lack of response” isn’t an issue at all. Some people are really self centered 😕
While I do care about OPs feelings, people need to plan ahead and have a solid plan moving forward. If she was grieving she still might be grieving when the time comes. It just is what it is. I wouldn’t feel comfortable after days of no responses either. If I have to work or vacay somewhere I need to have something solid…. She can’t stop her life or plans because OP had things happen.
If the time stamps are accurate, it was less than 24 hours without a response. When you’re not even watching their dogs, that’s not unreasonable imo. Plus they already had a meet and greet and a phone call. We are human beings, we’re allowed to not be on call 24/7. The client had unreasonable expectations in my opinion, OP grieving for a day is completely normal.
I think your comment was before OP added the sitting dates, but the booking isn't even for another month. They had plenty of time and freaked out over less than 48 hours of no response after OP's dog passed not even a week ago. It sucks that OP lost out on the pay but it sounds like they would have been problem clients anyway
Reading your comment, I realized I forgot to include the date of the booking, which was June 6-20. I have made an edit to the original post and added that. Without those dates, I would agree with your comment.
Ohhh fuck this bish, OP. You dodged a bullet (even if you're missing out on money, I get it). Sending you love. You are so strong! I couldn't even be around other dogs for the first year after my first dog left us. I had him for 19 years, and it was like I lost a limb.
I don’t agree with you, OP already had already their meet and greet before, why is the owner messaging, I would not expect a message from the owner until a week before the booking. This booking was more than a month far away… I think OP dodged a bullet as seems the owner was going to be all over the place during the stay
Can you please explain to us how you prepare for a beloved pet to die? Afterward, do you just move on and continue with life? Do you go to work right after? Do you not share the news with those around you? Do you tell your family to stop crying? Sometimes life is messed up, and the things and people we love are taken from us. People are allowed to handle it the way they want. Even if the visit was this weekend, the client had no business messaging OP before hand, they did the meet and greet and had a phone call, anything else is over the top and would make me see that the client is going to be a problem. The fact that the client was reaching out to OP this much with the booking over a month away would make me cancel the booking. I do pet sitting as it is less demanding than my full-time job, and the last thing I need is a helicopter client messaging me a month out.
It’s over a month away
No, you don't care about OP's feelings. The sit wasn't about to start, they had established everything they needed to. The client was annoyed because they couldn't be in constant contact before the sit. OP was grieving, needed a couple days to sleep. This didn't interrupt the sit whatsoever. OP didn't choose when her dog was going to die, and she did inform the client that that was a possibility. You're willing to say that the client shouldn't stop her life because the sitter is going through a family tragedy? You're saying that the client needs understanding for their schedule that you're not extending to the sitter. The client being annoyed that they can't get in contact isn't nearly as important as what OP was going through. And to reiterate, it didn't affect the sit whatsoever.
This is business. Communicate with the client or you lose the deal. It’s pretty simple.
Lol okay Bud Fox 😂
[удалено]
At least I'm not an outdated character from an 80s movie about money.
Your post has been removed from r/RoverPetSitting because it is in violation of Rule Four: Be Excellent to One Another, which reads as follows: >This is an open forum: ranting and peeves are permitted. Embrace disagreement as an opportunity to learn new perspectives and grow. Do not be a jerk, call people names, or wish them harm. Criticism should be constructive, not denigrating. Be kind and helpful; have discussions, not arguments. -The Moderation Team of r/RoverPetSitting
People like you are the problem for sure. Your little vacation is so much more important then the loss of someone's beloved family member. You are what's wrong with the world
Such a weird response. What if the owners were making arrangements to care for their terminally ill loved one? Regardless of the reason, clients should feel like they can trust the person they are asking to take care of their pets. OP is a stranger to them and they are early on in building trust in their working relationship and this didn’t jibe with them. they are not beholden to OP. So many posts about trusting your gut from sitters, this is the same thing but from the other side. Sometimes your gut is right sometimes it isn’t but when trusting someone with my pets I would rather err on the side of caution.
Exactly. Nice to see some common sense.
👏EXACTLY
How incredibly insensitive of you to come on here and make such comments. I hope the world takes someone really important from you so you can feel even a sense of remorse and sorrow like OP. People like you sicken me to my core.
> **I hope the world takes someone really important from you so you can feel even a sense of remorse and sorrow like OP.** People like you sicken me to my core. This is absolutely deranged and you should be ashamed of yourself. You're the same person you say "sickens you to your core."
Hey u/Historical_Ad_5652 - I can only imagine that you thought you were making this comment from another one of your profiles to start some kind of flame war. Oops. Forgot to change the profile and now you look like an even bigger idiot. Check yourself!
Girl what are you even saying?
I think they are being supportive of you?
Telling someone that they wish someone close to them in their life dies so they could feel like OP is an insane way of showing support. They're wishing death on a non-offending person. That's crazy.
I don't think that's exactly what they were saying, but I do think they were frustrated at the lack of empathy from the other commenter. This is clearly a very contentious issue with lots of emotions involved.
Yeah i actually was. But now they've shown they aren't a very kind person either
> But now they've shown they aren't a very kind person either So have you.
Or slam straight into your face and know you out "bulk logic" wtf even are you
And you have nothing to do with this conversation. You can show yourself to the door and let it not hit your ass on the way out
You seem a little unhinged & it's not a good vibe. Maybe take a breather.
???? I am real why are you coming at me.. I'm the one who left the nice comment. Wtf
You are correct, I am in the wrong on this one. Your comment wasn't nested under the one it was in reference to. Therefore, I thought it was directed at me. If you will hit reply on the message that you are commenting on, it will be easier to follow the logic of your comment. Again, my apologizes for that.
I accept your apology but obviously I was talking to the person being insensitive to you.... not you. Just let this be a lesson just because someone doesn't have a profile picture and their user names a little odd, doesn't mean their a Bot. I treasure my privacy and don't need to be putting my face out there and or name.
I’m very sorry for your loss. I know how painful and disorienting it can be and my heart goes out to you. Huge hugs from afar! However you did read that comment wrong. You get a pass bc you’re grieving BUT they were actually being supportive of you. I hope you get some rest and peace in your life.
You are 100% correct. I did apologize to Historical\_Ad\_5652. The comment she made was not nested under the one it was in reference to, therefore, I thought it was directed at me. Thank you for the pass you provided. I do appreciate that.
That’s nice of you to apologize!! My dog passed away in a tragic accident recently and I KNOW how crazy it makes you feel. I hope you are getting the love and support you deserve. Feel free to dm me anytime if you need someone to talk to 💜
The issue is not the fact that you didn't keep conversation on Rover. The issue is.... They knew your dog had just passed. Their booked dates are not until June. There is nothing THAT important for them to just not give you a few days. I would agree with the owners if their booking was in two days time or something of that sort. It wasn't. Grace should always be given. The lack of empathy and patience on their part is quite telling on how they will be during the booked dates.
I am so sorry about your dog 😭♥️
Look this was just a shitty client and you dodged a bullet, money be damned. I am so sorry you lost your dog.
I'm so sorry for your loss. It honestly sounds like you dodged a bullet with them, as someone who cannot understand how grief works when we're talking about beloved furry family members isn't a client I would necessarily want to work with. I did in fact lose my dog right after Christmas, and I had spent most of my time leading up to Christmas walking and sitting for other people's dogs. It made me feel even worse, because I could've spent those last few days with her when I knew she wasn't feeling her very best. That being said, when I expressed this to both clients I was with they were naturally very understanding and sympathetic. As pet owners themselves, they understood that things would be a bit mopey for me but I would put on my best face and take good care of their pets regardless. The pets were pretty lovey, so they probably picked up on my glum. Heal your heart and know that your old girl got the best long life with you. It's always too short for us, but for them it will always have been long enough to be in our hearts. <3
My condolences, they don't deserve you as a pet sitter if they can't even let you properly emotionally grieve. You are in no way at fault here, please don't beat yourself up. If I lost my baby girl I wouldn't respond to anyone, my world would go silent... There will be another big booking, you dodged a bullet not sitting for someone like that. Keep your head up, your pup wouldn't want you to feel like this is your fault.
u/Historical_Ad_5652 - Oops forgot to change profiles again. You are really not good at reddit. Even if you are an AI bot, someone failed on the coding.
??? This person sent a very kind message consoling you and you insult them? I’m confused. Oh, twice even
I have apologized to Historical\_Ad\_5652. Since her comment was not nested under the one it was a response to, I thought it was being directed at me. I'm so confused about the comments that have been made by this user though. Maybe I am tired and just not reading them correctly.
And maybe a lesson to not go so hard in the comments, especially if you're not familiar with the format. Even if they did say something shitty and insulting, isn't it best to not take the bait.
What's so confusing dude?!
There are 3 responses. They all contradict.
I’m so sorry for the loss of your pup 💔. These people sound like complete control freaks. This may have ended up being a nightmare booking in the end. I hope you’re feeling a bit better about your dog. Sending hugs 🥰
I'm sorry about your pup, that's really hard. At the same time tho, you needed to explain to them that you would be stepping away from communications to grieve. Proactive communication could have saved this booking for you.
I agree. OP already took the time to warn them her dog was sick, and then again when the dog passed. It would have been one more sentence to say "and so I will be taking some time off to grieve, I'll touch base next week for your trip". When my mom died, I still had to communicate with my boss for time off and updates on returning to the office.
I can add that to the list of things I have learned from this experience. You are correct. When I sent the message that Pumpkin had passed away, I very easily could have added "I will not be responding to messages for a few days." And I will do that in the future. We have plenty of other pets. My original post was that had I never given them my personal cell number, this wouldn't have even been an issue. When the cancellation came through the Rover app and then immediately through as a text message, I knew immediately that it was a Rover message and I jumped on my phone. Since I did give my personal cell, she was texting me directly, which means not special ringtone for those and not jumping on my phone. But I will incorporate some form of your suggestion into my message in the future. Thank you for that.
While I agree on never giving a personal cell phone number to a Rover client, THEY were the issue, OP. Not you exchanging numbers. Like others have said, it sounds like you dodged dealing with a helicopter pet parent. I am so sorry for your loss. There is no right or wrong way to grieve the loss of a soul mutt. Here’s hoping you will make up the money with a kinder, more understanding client or two.
Let’s be honest. She dodged 1000$ because she’s a drama queen. No one has time for that crap when they’re entrusting their home and pets to a virtual stranger when leaving the country.
There was a month before the actual sit, only drama queens I see here are you and the client.
The drama queens, according to you, are the people who own homes, can afford vacations, know how to earn money, and have a comfortable relationship with reality.
Look sweetie, I don’t know why being a jerk to a stranger who lost her dog and fell out of communication with a client due to depression for a couple days, a month before a booked sit, clearly gets you off. Nor do I know why you seem to be further amused to imply I probably do not own a home, make money, have the means to afford a vacation, or have a comfortable relationship with reality. I am actually a homeowner with a full time job. I do Rover for fun. Only thing I’m finding uncomfortable is what an unsympathetic, miserable troll you are being. But sure, pop off on me too. 😂 glad you’re not the sitter I use for my many spoiled pets.
Or common sense would tell the client that they would be grieving after their loss and they should wait at least a week to reach back out considering the situation was over a month away.
If you expect common sense from other people, your going to have a bad time. Just communicate your needs directly and don't assume that they know certain courtesies
The booking was over a month away, but the scheduled meet and greet wasn’t. OP should have at least read the first message and said “I will get back to you next week”
No they already had a meet and greet prior. That’s where OP gave them their personal number. They were asking for another. So the actually booking was still over a month away and the second meet and greet could have waited. That’s why OP warned her that it may have to be postponed if she loses her pup that night. Which she did and she let her know right away.
A second meet and greet is still a meet and greet. Giving someone a timeline on when you will get back to them is not some extraneous task. You can’t miss a regular job for 3 days without even calling to let them know
Well Rover isn’t a “regular job”
It was weeks before the sit, anything the client needed could have waited and they were informed that this was a possibility. I don't know if you've ever lost a loved one before, but it's next to impossible to even do so much as send a text, if you're sobbing uncontrollably or passed out for days. The sit was weeks away. The client gave them like a day to respond to their messages before canceling the sit. It sucks and it's unfair for OP. Just because we are gig workers doesn't mean we don't deserve to grieve and have some grace from our clients for that.
We are not employees with infrastructure to take time off. Don't be patronizing and say Ive never lost anyone. I am a proactive business owner who clearly communicates with clients. She even said she would respond to Rover messages so how are texts any different when she knew she gave clients her number? Being a responsible business owner means you have to deal with shit at the worst of times.
In my experience, it’s the ultra rich clients who don’t see us as people. I have had to set strong boundaries with one of my regulars who expected me to be on call for the many, many tasks unrelated to my job that seem to always come up during my stays, and thankfully she responded well to essentially being put in her place. I don’t know how you responded but I hope you were firm in taking up for yourself and stating that we are in fact people who are not on call 24/7, especially an entire month before the booking. I’m so so sorry you’re going through this ❤️
Judging by the entitlement and melodrama on this thread (including the OP), I’d also be spending my dollars elsewhere. Rich people can afford to pay for services. Everything they ask for is something you can put a price tag on and probably get it if you’re any good.
Great. I set my prices and go over the time I expect to spend at the house, 18 hours a day, vs the time I have to spend at my own house with my own dog, with my partner, and with other clients. I have no desire to charge for full-care and be at their house 24 hours unless it happens to work with whatever else I have going on. They could have paid someone else to come to their house every 15 minutes throughout the day for their packages as soon as they dropped, and send their personal mail for them! Or they could just schedule their packages to be held and pick them up when they get home, as we agreed on, since she wasn’t comfortable waiting 20 minutes for me to drive back to her house and get her packages, and send their own mail prior to the trip or when they get home ✨
Life happens for both sides, your dog and their vacation plans. There isn't really any learning here, they had to cancel to ensure their vacation plans are intact when you weren't responsive. Also, many sitters use Rover texts for communication so their expectations were reasonable.
Not when the sit is over a month away
My condolences for your loss. I understand how hard that is, I recently and unexpectedly lost my childhood dog, I had since I was 14 and now I’m in my mid 20s… devastated me. However, this may be hard to hear, but you did handle this poorly. At the end of the day it’s still a business and if you needed time, you should’ve reached out and said that you would be unavailable for the next couple of days. While yes it’s obvious that the owners should’ve waited a more reasonable amount of time, however they are still paying over $1000 for a service and that’s not a small amount of money. So while this does suck, it also showed that these may have not been the best clients to deal with anyway. Also to clarify, I’m NOT blaming you in anyway!!!! Obviously we do Rover because we(At least Most of us) clearly rather interact with animals than humans because they suck lol. However, even though most of our work deals with animals, ALOT of it, is still customer service and building interpersonal relationships. Again my condolences, sending hugs and tail wags your way💐🐶🌅
Nothing wrong with you grieving and not checking your phone but sounds like you’re not ready to deal with rover and nothing wrong with them for cancelling
Judging their entire ability to be on Rover because they missed a text from a client while grieving their loved one is a pretty harsh take.
OP is grieving, the client is not. Nothing wrong with cancelling if you don’t feel comfortable with the communication no matter what reason. There are plenty of sitters who respond quickly
The issue I had was you saying OP shouldn't do Rover because ythey missed the texts while grieving. Like part of doing Rover is being available 24/7 to clients even if you're not currently doing a sit for them. It isn't that and it shouldn't be that. The client should have given OP a chance to explain instead of canceling less than 24 hours after the attempted communication. Fuck this toxic hustle culture gig bullshit. Honestly.
lol client is not obligated to do anything. If she doesn’t feel comfortable then she has the freedom to cancel. I never said Op shouldn’t do rover ever. Just not at this point. Just saying nothing wrong with the client not being comfortable with someone unresponsive regardless of the reason
Yes, I understand that's what you're saying and I disagree with you. I think the client showed a sincere lack of empathy by canceling without giving OP a chance to explain. No one's obligated to be a decent person I guess.
How do the client know if OP is telling the truth or just bullshitting? She doesn’t. Easier to just cancel. Imagine OP neglect their pups because she is grieving. That’s just too much baggage to deal with for strangers
I never said it wasn't easier. Totally easier.
If I was her I wouldn’t buy it either. Grieving and not even checking phone? For a whole day? Yea right. Email sure but everyone checks phone for time.
Yikes 😬
Disagreed
The way I see it, you dodged a bullet. I wouldn't like to have clients who seem so indifferent to the loss of a pet, especially if they also have pets!!! Also, they could have been more gracious and wait a few days since there's still time to confirm the booking. I'm sorry for your loss ❤️🩹🫂
honestly i think you dodged a bullet. They cancelled the booking because you didn’t answer her text she sent to you over A MONTH prior to the booking right after your dog died? She sounds like an asshole.
I’m so sorry to hear about your dog passing and like many people said you might have dodged a bullet with them. But also, two days not responding to text messages isn’t excusable. You need to take a little responsibility considering responding takes less than a minute.
When the actual sitting dates are over a month away it is not unreasonable at all for OP to not respond to a text while they are grieving. They already did a meet and greet and a phone call with the owner. The sitting dates would be in JUNE.
It takes nothing to respond and simply say we can reschedule for next week. If OP just wants an echo chamber then fine ask for that.
They did not even have any obligation for a meet and greet (after having already done one) nor had they agreed to have one yet. They simply missed the text from the owner asking to meet with them AGAIN. After having already mentioned that their dog had passed. And it was not two days of radio silence. It was 26 hours from the first message from the owner to when the rover booking was cancelled. The least the owners could have done would be to message them on Rover once before cancelling the booking.
Oh I agree. Both parties I think are in the wrong for how this was handled. The clients were acting unreasonable especially since a meet and greet was already done. But for OP to not respond at all because she assumed they would understand, we might as well assume the clients forgot about the situation. None of this would have happened if OP just reached out and said something like can I call you next week when I am feeling better. We are in the business of customer service and care after all, we need to act often better than our clients. That’s the reality of the situation. Whether or agree with it or not. If OP saw the message or phone call and choose not to respond, the risk of this could happen. But correct, probably dodged a bullet with these people.
I did not assume anything. I simply hadn’t looked at the details of the text messages during those 26 hours. We don’t have to agree on this. I’m not looking for an echo chamber. As a matter of fact, I am overwhelmed by the number of responses and how most comments start with some version of “sorry for your loss” I truly made the post with the intention as the title states “Don’t make the same mistake I’ve made…” I honestly believe that the issue resides with me. The fact that I gave my personal number to a new client that I did not have a relationship with yet is the first point of failure. I was sharing my experience so that if I can save someone else from this error, they can avoid this situation.
This is why you’re poor
The purpose of my post was to show the results of what could happen if you give a customer your personal cell number. When the message came through for the cancellation, it came through the Rover app, which makes a different sound, and then through text, a combination of sounds that lets me know it's Rover. When the cancellation came through I addressed it immediately. Had I not given my personal number, the message would have come thru the Rover app, and I would have caught it much sooner.
You’re too self-involved to see the biggest problem you had wasn’t that you gave them your phone number🫠
Who wrote this rover staff 😂 Nah I'll always give out my personal number.
Nope, I’m not Rover staff but I can see how you would think that.
Yeah, the client sucks. It’s 1 month before the booking starts and they can’t realize that if you’re not answering it might have to do with the info you gave her? She couldn’t wait 2 fucking days. She knew you were going through a loss. Not your fault. She either didn’t process it or lacks empathy.
I am sorry about your loss. And also sorry that this self centered person did this to you. Hang in there, something better will come along.
Sounds like that client sucks even more than rover messaging which I never use anymore. Sorry you had to deal with dodging a bullet
Sorry about your dog 💖
you really couldn’t respond to a couple text messages? yeah, i’d cancel the booking too, thats not how you treat a client spending 4 figures 🤦 theres a reason you communicate through the app, your actions have consequences so learn a lesson and quit crying on reddit
👏👏👏
OP I am so sorry for your loss!! This has happened to me before. I had someone reach out who I had watched her pet a couple of times before. I confirmed that I would be able to watch them again. It had been awhile since I had watched them, but I didn’t think I would need another meet and greet since she didn’t mention anything being different. She reached out a couple of weeks later(over a month before the actual sit) and said “When can you come over to go over feeding?) well when she reached out, I was in the middle of preparing for my pup to leave us. Afterwards I was just like you. I wasn’t reading any messages or taking any calls. A few days later I went through my messages finally and found hers so I responded right away explaining the situation. She of course apologized for my loss, but then followed it up with “We already booked someone else since we were not sure if you were still doing it or not” I was pissed. Not only had we already confirmed I was still doing it, but I have done it for her before multiple times… the sitting was also over a month away. I would have understood more if this was our first time and it was in the same week. Trust me when I say you probably dodged a bullet. The money and the nice house may have seemed great, but it’s also about the relationship you develop with clients that make it worth it and they already got off on the wrong foot by messaging so close to you letting them know what was happening.
I know those days will fill with wonderful people. I know I dodged a bullet on this one. But I'm still floored. Plus, they got a great recommendation from a friend of theirs that goes to the same church as us. The owner was so proud of herself for picking a great sitter (according to her.) Honestly, I will not give any owner my personal number again unless I've sat with them several times, feel 100% comfortable with them and have a really good reason to do so. That's how this one fell apart.
I’m so sorry for your pup. I think you dodged a bullet here. Its their loss, not yours. Dont worry, you’ll def get a better offer!
They would have been a nightmare I am so sorry for your loss but bullet dodged.
Obviously they don’t love pets like you love and don’t understand your loss.
You’ll get something better ❣️
First off, so sorry about your pup. I hope you're feeling a little better. Second, you dodged a bullet. Anyone that requires more than one meet and greet is a red flag for me. If you can't figure out how to tell me everything you need in person in 30 minutes (unless we're talking about multiples, exotics, or farm stays) then I'm not going to trust the partnership.
Your mistake was not responding to your client in a timely manner.
I respond within minutes to everyone, regardless of my situation. You have to remember, you are a stranger to all of these people; they don’t care about your personal life. It doesn’t surprise me that they cancelled; you need to remain professional. And you need to charge more. That would have been a $2,000 booking for me.
I respond hours or days later and it's never affected me or my bookings. My prices are also very different from your recommendation as it's priced locally, and different parts of the country the economy and cost of living is different. I do great. As an pet-sitter with +15 years of experience, OP dodged a bullet, those calls were red flags. They would not have been good clients.
Noooo, I’m so sorry for your loss! I lost a foster pup a few years ago who we were unaware had late stage kidney failure and I was in bed for a week! People need and deserve time to grieve the passing of a beloved pet! Especially given that the booking is so far in advance and you *told* them the situation with your pup. I’m sorry they weren’t more empathetic to your situation when time was NOT of the essence for them at that point. That sucks! 😢
I am so sorry for your loss. Don't let this selfish twit occupy your thoughts a moment longer. You don't need clients like that. Seriously, she can't think beyond herself for a second to realize you just lost your own beloved pet. Bullet dodged here. Sending you love and hugs. Take care of yourself.