Pet-sitter mad I cancelled her and went with another after she didn't get back to me. AIBU?

[jawsnsharks]

Fully prepared to get told IABU.

In only a few short weeks we are off on holidays. Arrangements that were in place for our dog have unfortunately fallen through so now I have to find a pet-sitter at less than 2 weeks notice. Unsurprisingly, with it being high season this is proving a bit difficult as competition for spare places is fierce.

Through an online dog-sitting page on facebook I find a sitter 20 minutes from here. She asked for initial fee to come out and meet the dog, to see if it was a good fit for her (she already has a dog of her own). I felt this was a responsible approach and was prepared to be given a 'no' as much as a 'yes' without feeling hard done by that she had had money for this.

So she came out yesterday at 15:15 and was 15 minutes early for the appointment, which was a good indicator of her keenness. Appointment went well, we asked questions, she asked questions and it felt like it was a good fit. She wouldn't commit to looking after him until she had spoken with her husband which felt a bit weird as she's supposedly set herself up as a pet-sitter, but heh ho, beggars can't be choosers.

Waited all last night for a text from her (but didn't message her as it was Friday night and didn't want to be a pain etc...). This morning I waited until 10:30, what with it being a Saturday and having had no answer sent a text thanking her for the visit and asking if she had an answer for us yet. Well by 15:00 we'd heard nothing, not even an acknowledgement and holding message even though I could see she had been online several times in the day. At this point I had to assume it was a scam or she was flakey. So I started looking for anther solution. Thankfully, a kennels a bit further away has a place for the dog and even though we are paying for a full week when we are away for shorter time, we snapped the place up to be sure of the place.

So at 18:23, more than 24 hours after her visit, I message her to tell her that without an answer, and no 'holding answer' we had sorted out other arrangements. I said I was disappointed that she hadn't got back to us, even if the answer was a 'no I can't look after him'. Well! She's got very shirty with me, saying it's the weekend, she'd said she had to talk to her husband, she's been at a birthday party all day. I tried to keep the tone positive, and said that next time she should at least communicate with her customers about when they should expect an answer from her so they don't do as we did and find another solution. I even wished her good luck with her business. She's then come back with it being unreasonable and she's never had a customer who hadn't given her 24 hours before expecting an answer. I finally pointed out that it was over 24 hours at the point I messaged to say I'd found another solution. To which she's just send 'OMG' and a laughing emoji.

Sorry, I wang on a bit don't I?

TD,LR dog-sitter left it more than 24 hours to confirm arrangement then got shirty that I'd found other care for dog.

So, who was in the wrong

YABU - you should have waited longer to hear from her
YANBU - she's having a laugh. She cannot be serious about running a business if she doesn't communicate in a timely fashion with her customers.

Op, you have dodged a bullet! Thankfully you have found alternative arrangements as it sounds like you’d have more problems than solutions with this ‘sitter’.

I wouldn’t name and shame her online as she knows where you live and the dates your home is empty and even though you live in a trusting part of the world, I don’t and that information makes you vulnerable. The way she’s responded to your messages shows she’s immature.

I would tell others via word of mouth when dog walking though- that’s how I found out which groomers to avoid as other dog walkers had had bad experiences with one of the local ones.

I would however phone the local authorities and ask if she’s registered because if she’s not and a dog has an accident/injury at her home it will be the dog owners responsibility to pay the bill.

Just to add, I’m a small business owner and I respond at all hours of the night to questions that could be found online but it’s important to make customers feel listened to and valued, she’s really not running a business professionally.

What an unprofessional outfit she’s running!

This would be brilliant!

I do this for a living. I board dogs in my home, and it's really successful. I've been doing it for 13 years.

There's so much wrong with this, so I'll give you some advice for next time.

Firstly, YOU should have gone to her home with your dog. That way you get to see where your dog will be spending it's holiday, and she gets to assess what her (territorial dog) will be like when you bring your dog in, and she also assesses whether your dog displays any aggression when it's put in amongst other dogs. This meeting is FREE and at the end of it, you'll be booked in, if all went well. She would also be asking you lots of questions at this meeting, such as:

How many meals a day the dog has
If he/she is on any medication
What is their chip number
Where do they normally sleep
Who can she contact if there's an emergency and you are incommunicado
Which vet is the dog registered at
Is the dog insured, and if so, with whom
I could go on......

You would also need to sign her Terms and Conditions. And show her your dogs vaccination card, to prove jabs are up to date.

After this, a trial date would be arranged, where you would leave the dog with her for a half or full day, for further assessment of what the dog is like when you are not there. You would pay the going rate for this session, as the dog is taking up a space.

I see in one of your posts, that you didn't check if she was a Registered boarder. This is a huge mistake, quite frankly. Registered boarders have to fulfil a huge set of requirements, to make sure they are suitable for dog boarding in their homes. Things like :

Secure garden with high walls and bolts on gates
Full medical kit for emergencies
No children under 5
All electrical cables tucked away
Food stored correctly
Medicine stored correctly
Access to fresh water at all times
Eating bowls clean
Own front door (ie. non main door flats not acceptable)
Boarder is registered with a local vet for emergencies
Floor is cleaned regularly with anti bac cleaners
Garden is clean and fresh (no dog mess left lying about)
A spare room to segregate a sick dog to, to stop the risk of infection to other dogs
Photo's of all the dogs vaccination cards, showing jabs up to date
Full pet sitting insurance in place, so if a dog has an accident, the insurance will cover any vets bills
All documentation up to date
Fire evacuation plan in place

My Council visit me every year, and check all of the above, and I am then given a certificate, which has to be displayed in my house.

By using a non-licensed dog sitter, you risk using someone who hasn't got a clue what they are doing. They often take unvaccinated dogs, exposing your dog to disease. They can have a garden with a low wall, that dogs can jump over and run away. They won't have insurance, so if your dog has an accident, resulting in a hefty vet's bill, then they won't cover your expenses. One time, I was walking one of my dogs and he cut himself on a jagged gate post - the bill was £1000, which my pet sitting insurance covered.

In addition, unlicensed sitters can leave your dog alone all day - you said the lady you met was at a party all day - who was watching the dogs? Licensed sitters are permitted to leave dogs for 3 hours max (which I never do).

The fact that you didn't see her home is a huge red flag - I know of someone near me that was collecting dogs, and they were sitting all day in crates waiting to be farmed out unlicensed homes. You must always see the boarders home and ask for confirmation that that is where your dog will be staying. They should have a facebook page showing lots of photo's of their customers dogs in that setting.

This was long, sorry, but PLEASE only consider licensed and insured dog boarders. Your council can give you a list of them in your area, or you could try looking on the good dog guide (on-line).

Contact them a year before your holiday (I know you couldn't this time) because a good boarder will be booked up well in advance. Personally, I do not take on any new dogs, because I am fully booked all the time, but you can ask to be put on their waiting lists.

I am a dog sitter and I don't charge for a visit or for a trial. My husband has no say in which dogs I take as it's my business and he trusts my judgement. If it was tight on timescales as this situation clearly was then I would have gone straight home and had that conversation. It's very stressful when there are last minute let downs and you want to make a good impression for that customer and who they recommend you to.

I am also licensed, all the above applies to me and I agree with all that is said here. Building a long term relationship with your dog boarder is key for piece of mind. I hardly have vacancies and only go on recommendation.

Change your locks. I reckon she was getting the lie of the land to break in.

I pressed the wrong button! YANBU!

I’m just glad she is not looking after your dog.you just never know.

You're definitely not in the wrong. I'm a pet sitter and: 1. I never charge for meet and greets. They're to make sure you're both the right fit.

1. With how short notice it is it makes sense that you were in a rush and needed an answer asap. What if you'd waited only for her to not come back to you ever.
2. We usually work weekends. Yes I don't respond immediately to clients all the time (unless I'm actively on a sit for them) but even so, set expectations and give people a heads up if you're still waiting for your husband to make a decision.

Honestly it sounds like you were lucky she didn't reply sooner, I don't think I'd want someone with an attitude like that looking after my pet.

You didn't do anything wrong. But please know not all other sitters out there are like her, don't let it put you off using a sitter again in the future.

I don’t blame you for sorting out other care for your dog !
I would have done the same thing.
I actually had to cancel a short holiday because the kennels I had contacted ( we had used them before) were so poor at communicating.
I had an auto response from them and then nothing at all .
Emailed again and eventually said well since I had no confirmation of my dogs booking at all I’d have to cancel my holiday .
Fortunately everything was refundable / minimal losses

YANBU. I see her point about responding over the weekend. Some people try and keep their weekends as work free as possible but considering the time sensitive nature, it was unreasonable to make you wait for so long. I also don’t understand why she’d come and see you, check it was okay and then ignore so many messages from you. Presumably you would’ve told her the dates in advance so you’d think she’d be able to discuss availability with her husband and say yes right away? I think you’ve had a lucky escape as she sounds like hard work.

£35 for a meet and greet? I use pet sitters all the time (usually through Rover). Most people do the meet and greet for free. I offer to cover their train fare because I live in a village that's less than 30 minutes by train outside the city centre but takes ages with loads of traffic by car, so hardly anyone drives out. But that's a courtesy. A meet and greet is part of the cost of doing business and building your reputation as a sitter. Also, if someone was a poor communicator I wouldn't hire them just for that. Unresponsive before the sit usually means they'll be unresponsive during it too.

Well don't forget yo leave a review of your experience with her 😉

I would have messaged and said I’ve got something else so let me know if I confirm with you or them. But like you say, she’s a rude immature muppet so you dodged a bullet

She sounds bonkers!

Can’t believe you had to pay but I get her being shirty as you started with how disappointed you were she hadn’t gotten back. I’d think perhaps you should have rang in the first place as opposed to have messaged.

Not once have I asked my husband if I can take on a new customer …. That in itself is very weird !!!

I've used pet sitters a few times and every time I've taken my dog to them to meet them in their home, so that we could meet the entire household and see if we were comfortable with leaving our dog with them. Never had to pay for this visit either. This woman sounds a bit dodgy and I would wonder whether she has the required licensing or insurances in place. Fancy having a business like that and having to ask the husband for permission each time!

This. The fee for meeting your dog is only to assess the dogs suitability and it’s a given that if the dog is suitable the arrangement will go ahead. Not ‘pending husbands approval’

I had a prospective nanny charge to meet my children. Fair enough. She turned up at the door, said we are too far to travel, and left, and asked to be paid. And polite muggins me paid her!! But I have learnt lessons 😁😁

YANBU

BUT when she said she needed to talk to her DH you should have agreed a timescale within which she would let you know, given that you had a short deadline and were running out of options.

And when you sent the follow up message you should have asked her to reply by a certain deadline because if she can’t do it you need to look at other options.

This is not because you did anything wrong by her, but because you need to focus on your needs when negotiating.

Focus, be precise, don’t ‘wang on’ 😂

Especially if she didn't give a receipt for the cash, as I think you need to give one, to keep the business books in order.

I agree. If a birthday party was more important to her than returning a call, who's to say she wouldn't find something more interesting to do while actually looking after OP's dog?

It would have taken seconds for her to reply.
She was ignorant and rude. Enjoy your holiday.

Echoing what people wrote about the charge for meeting , that’s ridiculous ! And you’re not contracted to anything so tough luck on her I’d say