My First Rover Client!

Welcome back to my blog! I am excited to share my experience about my first Rover client!

Like I mentioned in my first blog, I joined Rover about 3 months after my experience with Wag! Rover allows pet owners to look through all the available walkers and sitters in the area and find the perfect fit. After I was cleared for the background check, I was able to create my profile. Rover allows the walkers and sitters to set their own pricing. Here is a screenshot of my profile.

My game plan was to set my prices cheap to attract pet owners. I thought I would get business right away but learned that was not the case. Dog owners really care about reviews. Since I had no reviews on my profile, dog owners were skeptical. It took about 3 months before I received my first message about my services. 

My first Rover client was an 8-year-old lab mix named Lani. The owner, Tony messaged me saying "She loves people, but is not very good with other animals. We boarded her previously, but our last vacation, we had someone come in and Lani was less stressed." I looked at Lani's profile and she looked like a good fit for me. I responded to Tony saying "Hey Tony! I would be very interested in booking this sitting with Lani! Could we schedule a meet and greet before hand?" Tony and I scheduled a meet and greet and I met the family. The meet and greet went extremely well. Lani was friendly and lovable! During the meet and greet, we officially booked services through Rover.

I stayed at my clients home for a week. At first it feels a little uncomfortable staying in a strangers home but once you get accommodated it feels good. My client was extra friendly and even bought me groceries before their vacation which made the sitting even better. (Not all clients will buy you groceries) Over the course of the week, I sent constant updates and pictures of Lani to the family. Clients LOVE seeing their pets on vacation. The more pictures you send- the better review and tip you will receive. Throughout the week, I did all the needed tasks such as feeding Lani twice a day, keeping fresh water in her dish, bringing in the mail, and keeping an eye on the home. Owners love feeling the sense of the ease while they are on vacation that their pet is safe and okay. As long as you do everything the owners ask, your stay will go extremely well and hopefully the owner books you again! 

Tony and his family were so impressed with my skills and communication that they continued to book me for more sittings. 

But then my client threw me for a loop. They got a puppy a week before they were leaving for another vacation. Lani absolutely hated the puppy. It was a horrible stay. The dogs constantly fought and barked at each other all night long. I couldn't sleep and Lani started to get aggressive with me over the puppy. It was an extremely frustrating and stressful stay for me. 

The owners were not happy either. After the stay, we never booked again. The owners were extremely upset that the sitting did not go well for me. Plus, I had several scheduling conflicts for future dates that didn't work for me. 

Why would anyone get a puppy a week before leaving for vacation knowing the dogs were not getting along???????????

Anyways, the moral of the story is that not all clients will stick with you. After I received my first review from Tony, my Rover profile began booming! Do not get upset if you lose a client because you will gain more.

Check back next Wednesday to find out all the questions and concerns I ask a new client at a meet and greet!

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