For questioning this company on Facebook

[Comefromaway]

A dog walking/sitting company have just put some pictures on my local Facebook group.

I am actually looking for such a company as fil who currently dog sits for us when we are at work or on holiday is getting more inform and we would also like to take fil away for the weekend too.

The pictures are of 5 dogs who I assume are clients in various places. They are all off the lead in what looks to be public places (I recognise one place as it's somewhere I walk my dog) but a couple of pictures show them all running loose on what seems to be a sports pitch (there are white lines and goal posts). So I asked is that a football pitch they are on? Another person came on and commented on them being off lead and I said yes and mentioned that I knew that NARPS guidelines recommend a max of 4 dogs to one walker.

The company and one of their clients have both replied accusing me of spreading untrue, negative comments and saying if I had any issues I should have private messaged them. But I made a public comment/asked a public question on their public post in a group I am a member of.

AIBU?

@LizDoingTheCanCan

It does come across that you're posting to cause trouble.

No it doesn't.

@Unsureaboutit9

YABU you saw they weren’t for you and ‘asked questions’ to criticise. If you were genuinely enquiring your would have private messaged.

Incorrect.

No it doesn't

It does to some people.

@ReeseWitherfork

I'm with them, YABU. Local businesses don't need assumptive slander on their Facebook page.

And they weren't getting any. OP was asking an entirely reasonable question.

@Shesmyperson

No it doesn't

It does to some people.

Evidently, but they are wrong.

Evidently, but they are wrong.

How can they be?

Its some people's opinion that it looks like op was trying to cause trouble.

That's their opinion. To them, that's what it looks like.

I agree with you, nightmare for poop picking if nothing else.

And why should you PM? You can say what you like. 🤷

Go wash your bit shit stirring spoon. No need for it at all. private message and don't be one of those people who publicly slate businesses and act all doe eyed when people say you did the wrong thing.

@Politics4me

OP is quite entitled to ask whatever question she likes that is relevant. If someone is promoting their business and being anti-social by allowing dogs to foul sports pitches they deserve to be challenged.

I agree with this statement. A responsible dog walker who was posting on Facebook, presumably touting for business, would have responded politely and factually to a straightforward question, keeping in mind that potential customers would be judging them on their response. No one is going to be impressed with a business that couldn't or wouldn't give a clear reply to that question.

Lots of non-league football pitches are in public spaces like parks or village playing fields and are meant to be used by the community like any other park would be when there's not a game going on.

And lots are now trying to close down that access because of dog shit. Ours have had all sorts of issues and many others across the country are posting about things that happen on thoer pocthes

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/mans-warning-after-dog-poo-23246798

There will come a time when all such public spaces are closed to the public for very real H+S reasons. No dog walker should be adding tot his. They can avail themselves of the many dog parks that are now available - though one of ours has just banned one local dog walker because they didn't pick up after their session.

Do you think that we all have to agree with advertisements?

Of course not. But you can disagree without making passive-aggressive comments on their social media for the world to see.

Should SM only Be Kind and never critical?

I'd be asking what OP is hoping to gain by publicly criticising businesses she knows nothing about.

If they run a business, they should be an ethical one. If they try and pretend they are perfect they must expect to be challenged.

Where are they pretending to be perfect? Surely they're just posting photos of their business, like all other companies do?

They should respond in a similar way to their advertisement, not go all hurt.

They're entitled to defend themselves. IMO it's shitty to write comments like that on public social media when you know absolutely nothing about the situation. If you're concerned about how a business operates, either speak to them in private or just find another company to use.

@Harridan1981

I agree with you, nightmare for poop picking if nothing else.

And why should you PM? You can say what you like. 🤷

Of course she can say what she likes.

But she doesn't seem to think that the company can respond how they like, which is hypocritical if nothing else.

@fairylightsandwaxmelts

Do you think that we all have to agree with advertisements?

Of course not. But you can disagree without making passive-aggressive comments on their social media for the world to see.

Should SM only Be Kind and never critical?

I'd be asking what OP is hoping to gain by publicly criticising businesses she knows nothing about.

If they run a business, they should be an ethical one. If they try and pretend they are perfect they must expect to be challenged.

Where are they pretending to be perfect? Surely they're just posting photos of their business, like all other companies do?

They should respond in a similar way to their advertisement, not go all hurt.

They're entitled to defend themselves. IMO it's shitty to write comments like that on public social media when you know absolutely nothing about the situation. If you're concerned about how a business operates, either speak to them in private or just find another company to use.

Well, I run my own business and I use a lot of pictures of the inside of other people's houses. But I am very careful to crop, chose odd angles, make every picture unrecognisable.

That's what good businesses do with their social media. They make their PR impeccable. Don't use pictures that could lead to reproach, questioning.

Any advert that shows even the slimmest possibility of poor practice should not be used. That's what we do to protect our own reputations. Or it should be!

It seems daft to prvide proof pf poor practice then object when someone comments upon it.

And our local dog walker also has more dogs than are legal. She is often seen but never posts pictures of a larger group. Another walker wanders round with his pack of 8 dogs and just smiles if anyone asks a question. He stays off social media since one of his pictures showed the real size of his pack and he had a lot of questions asked.

It isn't unreasonable to make your point on SM. If the business had a care there would be nothing untoward to comment on!

There's always one that likes to cause some shit. You were that one!

It seems daft to provide proof pf poor practice then object when someone comments upon it.

I agree - but in this case, there is no proof of poor practise. OP has just decided she disagrees with what they're doing.

It isn't unreasonable to make your point on SM. If the business had a care there would be nothing untoward to comment on!

Again, I agree - as I've said, OP can say whatever she likes, but it's a bit daft to then object to how people respond to her, lol.

If you comment publicly on someone's post, you can't expect everyone to just agree with you.

@fairylightsandwaxmelts

It seems daft to provide proof pf poor practice then object when someone comments upon it.

I agree - but in this case, there is no proof of poor practise. OP has just decided she disagrees with what they're doing.

Dog walker with 5 dogs. Walking off lead on a football/rugby pitch.

There are two legal and insurance issues immediately. That's before you get on to the Best Practice issues in a mostly unregulated industry.

That isn't opinion it is fact.

@fairylightsandwaxmelts my apologies. I had missed that last bit. Yes, you are right. Make a comment and expect to get something back. But I suppose I was focussing on those comments saying OP was a 'shit stirrer' to comment in the first place. I don't agree. I think it should be expected that someone will make a comment n a business page if you leave the door open for them - often when you don't to

But that last is a different story about a man I have never met or woked for leaving a 1 star review on my Google page. It makes no sense and is nothing to do with me but they won't remove it because a bad review for a service you have not used is not against their T+Cs! Now THAT is nasty!

Dog walker with 5 dogs. Walking off lead on a football/rugby pitch.

There are two legal and insurance issues immediately. That's before you get on to the Best Practice issues in a mostly unregulated industry.

That isn't opinion it is fact.

It's not fact, though.

I'm a professional dog walker and my insurance covers me for up to six dogs at a time - some will cover up to eight. Our local council has no legal limits on the number of dogs you can walk either.

Many football and rugby pitches are also part of a bigger green space where dogs can run off-lead.

OP has no proof that this dog walker has done anything wrong - she just disagrees with how they operate. Which is fine, but if you're going to openly criticise someone in public, then it's only fair to expect negative comments in return.

They could have just answered the question rather than complain you should have PM'd them. My friend runs a similar business and often gets questions on her page, she does everything by the book so has no issues answering publicly and is proud to do so.

@Icemast

They could have just answered the question rather than complain you should have PM'd them. My friend runs a similar business and often gets questions on her page, she does everything by the book so has no issues answering publicly and is proud to do so.

They probably would've done if it was just an open ended question, but OP asked the question, then someone made a snide comment then OP made another snide comment.

If she'd have just asked a reasonable question she'd have got a reasonable answer.

I would be more concerned that dogs were being allowed to run free on a sports pitch, my late father in his 40 years of teaching had 2 children go blind after landing in dog poo with an open wound after a tackle during football on the school sports field, so I would be questioning that, as nobody would want that happening to their child

@fairylightsandwaxmelts that is contrary to everything every dog walker I know has in their insurance, their Best Practice Guides etc etc. And I know a few, jave helped a couple set up (business support group)

And, as I said, pitches are currently often no lead spaces. But that doesn't mean it;s OK to use them with off lead dogs, the law that governs that is about dogs and roads, safety etc.

Our council wouldn't know how to draft a bye law for it, so there isn't one. here either.

But the common Best Practice guidance is no more than 4. That doesn't cover how many dogs you can have in your care or car. Just walking. I am aware, as I said, that the industry is kargelyt unregulated. But Best Practice Guideance does exist!

@SamphiretheStickerist "Best Practise" guidance is (largely) irrelevant here though - because as you say, the industry is unregulated. There are so many organisations claiming to represent dog walkers and they all have different ideas of what walkers should and shouldn't do.

I'm personally insured to have up to six dogs in my care at any one time- and yes, I could have them all off-lead if I wanted to. Other insurance companies cover eight dogs per handler. I'm the only dog walker in my area who limits themselves to four dogs at once - everyone else takes six or even eight.

I'm also in loads of dog-walking groups and follow plenty of other dog walkers on social media - six dogs at per handler isn't at all uncommon. And these people are all insured, first-aid trained etc.

I mean - of course OP is free to disagree with how the walker operates and I don't think anyone has said otherwise, but it's generally not very nice to comment accusingly on another businesses' social media when you have no proof that business is doing anything wrong.

If someone had concerns about how I operated, I would appreciate them speaking to me in person or messaging me privately, not going in all guns blazing in public.

Surely if a company is using Facebook to advertise, it's not unreasonable for prospective clients to also use it for asking questions?

Personally if I was trusting my dog to someone else to be walked, I'd feel much happier knowing he was on the lead and not one of many dogs all loose at the same time.