To think the nicer you are the more the people take the piss?

[SecretsInSpitalfield]

First of all on a phone so apologies if it doesn't make perfect sense!

In a nutshell I look after other people's dogs. I offer dog walking where I'll drive to the persons house and pick up their beloved pet and walk him for sometimes nearly two hours then take the dog back home.

I also offer boarding where the owner will drop the dog off and pick him/her up either the next day or after their holiday.

I live on the outskirts of London and others in this profession normally charge £25 per night boarding and £12 per walk.

I charge £10 for walks (normally up to two hours whereas others do 45 mins to an hour) and £20 per 24 hours.

I have a dog currently that barks all the time. He has just pooed in two separate rooms and weed all over my sofa. The owners want me to have him all day for £7! They are not backing down and even the MIL got involved and said 'look they are not made of money you know'.

The most I will get from these people will be ten pounds a day (begrudgingly)

Another client - she said she'll drop her dog off 7.30 and now it's 6.30am. She said there's nothing she can do as her work hours has changed. I suffer badly with insomnia and sometimes I can manage an hour or two of extra sleep in the morning. I don't have to get up until 7.30 as DC start school at 9am. Also she's another that moans about money and I am going to get a pound an hour (my DC is livid with me for falling for their stories)

Client number three - me and DC don't live near family. Once (sometimes twice) a year we get a child free night. Said client picks up the dog at the same time every night. This particular night (after getting ready hair make up ) client texts at 8pm 'still at work haven't a clue when I'll be back'. To cut a long story short we didn't end up going out, client didn't say sorry and DH livid with me!!

Another client regularly goes on holiday and I have her dog. She is not short of cash! She never ever has the manners to tell me when she is coming back! Then when I eventually here from her she messages saying ' I'm so tired after my flight could you pleasebuy me x,y,z from sainsburys/waitrose'

Another one went on an exotic holIday and extended his trip by four days and didn't say a thing.

Another dog I look after regularly rolls in foxes poo. I use my time to clean the dog and the owners still moan!

I have just been on some pet caring websites and they charge extra for washing and drying dogs if they roll in mess.

I have had people pick their dogs up as late as 11.30pmand I'm exhausted.

My DH says I'm too nice and he's getting to the end of his tether (as I am)

Why do I let these people walk over me? I feel like an idiot.

We also have a chewed sofa, countless shoes chewed up among other things.

I haven't yet had the means to get a website made so no 'terms and conditions' have been made in print. That is part of the problem and downfall. In the meantime I'm thinking of writing T and C's on paper and giving to the clients.

My DH said if things don't change and if I don't say anything he will.

Sorry for the essay. Just wanted to see if anyone has ever experienced things like this and if so how they dealt with it.

Thank you for reading :-)

Thanks. The advice and replies are a god send. Will look at those websites.

If you don't respect yourself and charge accordingly, other people won't respect you either

In our business it would be easy to do people 'favours' as we didn't have to go out of our way to do something for them - but - I still charge a nominal amount as the next time, they'll want to know why they've been charged, rather than recognising that the previous time was a favour, so instead of being grateful they're pissed off - which pisses me off in turn

Costa- so true.

You've had so much good advice on here.

Just remember you're running your business to make money, not friends and if your current customers don't like the new system then you're better off without them.

As pp said, charge the going rate, stop underselling yourself. People will respect you more if you expect them to pay what everyone else charges. If people can't/wont afford to pay the going rate that's their problem not yours, you're not a charity for people who can't afford to keep their dogs.

I don't use a dog walker/sitter but if I did I wouldn't go to the cheapest I'd go for someone whose business I liked the look of: someone who sets out everything in a businesslike manner, has the correct insurance and generally gives the impression they know what they're doing.

Don't want to sound harsh, but some of your clients sound as if they're looking for the cheapest and someone they can take advantage of so if they decide to stay with you under the new rules don't let them start back sliding and trying to take the piss again. If they mess you around, you get rid of them; getting rid of people who don't work well with you is a two way street. You don't have to be a doormat.

Practice saying no, prepare something to say to them when you explain how it's going to be from now on. Ask you DH to role play for you in what you want to say. Sounds like he'd be more than happy to help you set yourself up in a more professional manner.

Good luck.

I think you need a human Rottweiler to man the tills/front of house, large teeth and a serious growl is needed. Fixed terms only or get the Rottweiler to see them off. I use a cattery regularly and I'm astonished at the cheek of your customers.

you can be very nice and not be a doormat. you need all your new terms and conditions laid out in writing and you can give everyone a copy. with the 7 per day people, just say 'sorry you can't afford to take such a drop in pay and your minimum is 12. then don't discuss it further. you can always be cheery and polite but immovable. you need to know your own boundaries and stick with them.

walkover = weak pushover/boundryless. People pleaser. Not necessarily nice.

Be nice to yourself! Work on your own terms but do it cheerfully and politely.

SecretsInSpitalfield. My pet is really annoying me at the moment. Can I bring him round. I'll pay you £1.50 a day as I can't afford more but you'll need to feed him. I'll collect him when I feel like it.

Yes, I'm taking the mickey. But you could easily say No to me couldn't you.

This isn't any of your MIL's business and she should not interfere unless you are moaning to her about it. Your DH will say something to your customer if you won't.

You are not an idiot but you must toughen up. Say no to £7 a day. Get the Ts and Cs done. I have spent several days (about 10) redecorating for a friend who seems surprised that I ask for money even though we had discussed it 1st. Despite asking twice I have not been paid. This friend earns shedloads and I earn nothing.

I would stop the offer of overnight stays and charge more for dog walking. It sounds as though your house is being ruined so it's not really cost effective. (or look for a different job?)

You're welcome Secrets!

I bet there's loads of online dog sites you could crib T&Cs from too, even kid's nurseries must have the same issues you do.

Good luck with it!

Mike you are right I need to toughen up big time.

Also regarding MIL it wasn't my MIL it was the MIL of the people that want me to have their dog for £7 a day.

Your clients are not treating you professionally because you are not behaving professionally. You must draw up a contract which includes your t&cs and every client, without exception ever, must sign a copy which you retain and have a copy of their own. You do not need a website to do that. Do not make the mistake of making yourself cheap to try and get business you'll just attract the dregs (as you know already). Be competitive but comparable. Don't charge the same as someone who offers more but don't work for nothing either. If you don't put a decent value on your time nobody else will either.

Yes tis true the nicer you are the more people take the piss.

Make a note of all the things that take the piss, go back through any contract you may have with clients and amend all the costs accordingly. Don't forget to add in your own get out clause if they continue to take the piss. You have quite a lot of clients but it's time to take control!

You should ask for the money up front (prepaid) and have set times where dogs are dropped off and picked up. Outside these hours there will be an extra charge. Most boarding kennels will have rules like these and charge much more for just boarding the dog and letting them (so they say) out into a small grassed area for 30 mins or more.

Google some kennels near where you live, look at their rules, conditions and charges. What happens if a dog becomes unwell when staying with you? You need to add condition that dog will be taken to vet of your choice and owner will be charged.

Make up some flyers on a computer and include some sort of contract to cover yourself. These people are taking gross advantage and your husband is right. Sounds like the damage costs outweighs any money you make to be honest.

Oh, and dog baths are extra.

I'm really nice and people sometimes try and take the piss but I won't let them. Occasionally I feel a bit mean or awkward if I decline to do something for someone but I get over that a million times quicker than the feeling of being a doormat.

One thing that I find useful is to not rush to answer people if they ask something of me. Rather than feeling put on the spot and agreeing to something I don't won't to I pause a good while and really think about whether I want to say I'll help or whether I don't want to. If I'm the least bit unsure I tell them I can't decide and will get back to them.

Flying - very true. I kind of 'fell into' this and never realised how busy I would get and how quickly. I need to get the t and c's printed asap.

I think the reason I charge so much lower than others is that I don't have the impressive website and dog van like my local competitors.

One client said to me before 'oh isn't it lovely to earn a bit of pocket money while your children are at school' .

Secrets - there are places where you can set up,your own website - I set up the website for my choir using Wix - it was really easy.

You have to pay if you want more than the basic website or your own domain name, but you could start with the basic free site, and add on the extras later on.

And the extras were not expensive either - under £3 a month tomuse the choir's own domain name, and I think the domain name didn't cost much either.

You can add pictures, pages (for testimonials, terms and conditions, prices, photos etc), and a contact page with a form where people can get in touch, and get an email when you are contacted.

I have every sympathy for you,OP. I run a care service for older people and I find the clientele much as you do. Fortunately we have a very long contract that the service users have to sign before we start work, and I can remind them of their obligations quite easily because of this. I'd agree you need a full contact and to make it clear from day 1 what you charge and what you do and don't do. I'm nice too, it doesn't always do anything but make life even harder!

Thank you SDT. I have never heard of that so that's really helpful.

Tell the clients who mess you around that you can't have their dogs any more. Don't go back on this. Just get new clients and set new terms that you stick to.

I had a set of clients who really messed me around once. They paid peanuts, expected VIP service and wasted so much of my time I couldn't take on extra work. In the end, I sacked them all at once. I took a long walk, rethought my boundaries, increased my fees by 100% and insisted on up-front payment. Ever since I've had good, professional clients and business has gone from strength to strength. It was an overnight decision after three years of being messed around, and it was one of the most confidence-boosting things I've ever done.

It really is OK to suddenly say to yourself and to them: enough is enough. Set new boundaries, realistic fees and terms, and establish yourself as the kind of professional people can't mess about. There will always be dog owners who need you.

If you undervalue yourself then it's unrealistic to expect your clients to respect you. Sad but true.

Charging as cheaply as you do, means that they likely see you as someone who is indulging a hobby rather than running a business. And as for getting texts asking for shopping to be collected from the supermarket - WTF?! The same for the interfering MIL. This is utterly bonkers and it really does not sound as if you have a clear boundary between your personal and professional life. I am not surprised that your DC and DH are fed up.

Toughen up. You'll feel so much happier for it.

Don't feel too bad - you'd be surprised how many business owners are rubbish at asserting themselves. I work with one company than turns over £800k a year and the owner is still, after 10 years, getting fucked over by clients because she won't lay down the law with them.

There are some people who will always always take the piss no matter how nice or how assertive you are. You just have to tell those people to get lost. There are plenty of other people who are kind and respectful. You hang onto them for dear life by doing what you can (within reason) to keep them happy.

You'll get there. Sounds like you're doing well - next step is to stand up tall and fight for yourself!

People who actually care about their pets and take the commitment seriously will pay the going rate!

Give the current people notice TODAY. Tell them you have new rates and new contracts - they can have first choice on taking up a place.

You decide the earliest you will start, the time you will finish and implement extortionate rates if they are late picking up. Most childcare nurseries charge £15 per 15 minutes late for a very good reason!

Also about notice for your holidays and they need to pay for theirs if they want you to keep their dogs place.

To the recent replies thank you and thanks again to those from earlier.

I have read your responses to my DH and he said 'thank god for people that talk sense! Now please listen to them' and I will. Thanks again