need some help

J

jp2854

Guest
please delete this thread someone I can't do it for some reason. I was told by one specific person that i am going lose pet sitting business due to asking a simple question.
 
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MJ

MJ

Material Girl
PREMO Member
Don't read this thread while eating celery and peanut butter. :dead:
 
migtig

migtig

aka Mrs. Giant
Well there is only so much you can do. :shrug: Honestly, finish venting your spleen here and at home, and then calmly write him a letter stating your concerns, encouraging him to get a vet appointment and find another sitter or offer various suggestions - crating, confining dog etc. Proof read it so you don't sound like an arse and maybe sit on it for another day. Reread it, and then if it still sounds okay leave it for him.
 
M

Mousebaby

Guest
jp2854 said:
how do you tell you neighbor nicely that you aren't going to be cleanign up after his dog anymore if he shiats in the house as he isn't your animal. I called hijm yesterday and today about it ...His dog is like 16yrs old and is old. He tells me he wants me to go over there at 9am I do and theres a mess or 2 in the house I clean it up but I am tired of it and then he has the nerve today to tell me to make sure I get it all cleaned up when its dieareah and I can't get it up because its so darn loose and will just smear into the throw rug. He said all he is going to do is come home and take a hose to it well that isn't going to bet the smell out and the dog will go there again. I am being nice enough to do him the favor of letting his dog out for 20.00 a week ( I am a petsitter and charge per visit) but I think this week I am going to be raising the price on him because he seems to be pulling the 2x a day trick on me lately and I am tired of dealing with dog crap on a daily basis when he tells me this dog is housebroken and doesn't mess in the house etc.

I hope my neighbor gets the hint and takes his dog to the vet but if he doesn't i am going to say something to him about leaving the poop behind from now on.
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If it were me I would just tell him flat out. I refuse to clean up after your dog. I am a petsitter not a cleaning service. You told me your dog was house trained. Apparently its not. Therefore you deal with the mess, its not on my list of things to do. Especially at the discounted rate that I give you. If you cannot deal with the way I do business then find another petsitter. I promise you you will not find anyone that will do any of it this cheap! Thats my opinion. Good Luck! :huggy:
 
SoMDGirl42

SoMDGirl42

Well-Known Member
migtig said:
Well there is only so much you can do. :shrug: Honestly, finish venting your spleen here and at home, and then calmly write him a letter stating your concerns, encouraging him to get a vet appointment and find another sitter or offer various suggestions - crating, confining dog etc. Proof read it so you don't sound like an arse and maybe sit on it for another day. Reread it, and then if it still sounds okay, proof read it again and leave it for him.
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:fixed:
 
Robin

Robin

New Member
Poor dog, he is geriatric, he cant help it things are not like he was 5 any more. Its not the pups fault. Tell the neighbor kindly, that he might have to persue other options, that you will need to charge him more for more frequent trips one or two times isn't working for the pup. he can not control movements for 2 outings through out the day. Poor Fella, Dont take it out on the dog, I know its frustrating. The dog probably gets upset when he has an accident in the house. If old fella is in that situation and is only messing on a particular rug it might be worth it to get some plastic to place under the throw rug and slowly move the rug to a non carpeted floor area. For the just in cases. As for being a good neighbor there are limitations, When I pet sat I would rinse and leave outside in a bucket or bag and over the clothes line and let the owner take care of the rest. Good Luck
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
I'm a capitalist so I would say, "Sure, I'll clean up the dog poop. It's $50 per instance."

Then I would hire a neighbor kid to do it for $10 per instance and cha-CHING!
 
Robin

Robin

New Member
There is a company in St Marys petsittersunlimited? that charge like $20+ per visit. and I believe they have a website? someone here might use them or know of them. They do frequent stops for geriatric dogs during the course of the day. I have a friend that had an older lg breed dog that required a lot of time to harness up into a wheel chair and needed someone who could help balance him as he tryed to walk around. She was looking into those options I will see if she remembers the companies name for you to use as a recomendation to your neighbor
 
camily

camily

Peace
vraiblonde said:
I'm a capitalist so I would say, "Sure, I'll clean up the dog poop. It's $50 per instance."

Then I would hire a neighbor kid to do it for $10 per instance and cha-CHING!
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That avatar is great!!! :lol:
 
B

Booboo3604

Active Member
jp2854 said:
I am being nice enough to do him the favor of letting his dog out for 20.00 a week ( I am a petsitter and charge per visit) but I think this week I am going to be raising the price on him because he seems to be pulling the 2x a day trick on me lately and I am tired of dealing with dog crap on a daily basis when he tells me this dog is housebroken and doesn't mess in the house etc.
What's the 2X a day trick? Are you saying he wants you to take check on the dog twice a day? If you are only letting the dog out one time a day, there's really no wonder he is having accidents in the house. Thats a long time to hold it especially for an older dog. Whats the name of your business so I can make sure to never have you pet sit for my animals.
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camily

camily

Peace
jp2854 said:
how do you tell you neighbor nicely that you aren't going to be cleanign up after his dog anymore if he shiats in the house as he isn't your animal. I called hijm yesterday and today about it ...His dog is like 16yrs old and is old. He tells me he wants me to go over there at 9am I do and theres a mess or 2 in the house I clean it up but I am tired of it and then he has the nerve today to tell me to make sure I get it all cleaned up when its dieareah and I can't get it up because its so darn loose and will just smear into the throw rug. He said all he is going to do is come home and take a hose to it well that isn't going to bet the smell out and the dog will go there again. I am being nice enough to do him the favor of letting his dog out for 20.00 a week ( I am a petsitter and charge per visit) but I think this week I am going to be raising the price on him because he seems to be pulling the 2x a day trick on me lately and I am tired of dealing with dog crap on a daily basis when he tells me this dog is housebroken and doesn't mess in the house etc.

I hope my neighbor gets the hint and takes his dog to the vet but if he doesn't i am going to say something to him about leaving the poop behind from now on.
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$20 a week and you charge by the visit? At 1 visit a day, does that mean you only charge $4.00 per visit? If so, you're a fool.
 
camily

camily

Peace
jp2854 said:
Yup the only reason I do it is because hes right nextdoor to me. I charge everyone else I pet sit for $16.00 per visit. My mom said to be fair to him because his dog is senior to do that. Well I am raising some of the prices on him like for each additional visit I have to make its 3.00 more per visit and for cleaning up poop it 4.00 per visit. well hes already up to and extra 6 for me going over 1x more a day and an extra 12 because 3x I have cleaned up crap so far. Its going to be a bigbill for him if he wants me to continue on because I left him new prices this am. I told my mom I wanted to higher my price for walking in the door at his place to 40.00 a week and she said that is a little to steep because hes right next door and it only takes me a minute to go over there to let the dog out. I don't know how much longer this dog will be around either. I personally hope hes not around for years longer because he can barely walk as it is now.
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Who cares if he's right next door? Business is business. A 75% discount is insane!!!! $10 a visit would have been a deal.
 
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Jeff

Jeff

Stop Staring!!!!!
jp2854 said:
well hes going to be paying me more as it is than 20.00 a week because if his dog craps in the house everyday its going to be an extra 20.00 and if hes late all week its an extra 15.00 so in 1 week I could make 55.00 which would be cool for me.
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If it were me I would call several pet sitters and ask what their rates are. It appears to me that you are young so they might gladly offer you some guidance. You are definatley no competition to them.
I would take their rates into consideration and come up with what would would be considered the going rate.

If you still wanna be nice to the neighbor consider throwing a dog wash in once in a while or something. Being nice is one thing but you are simply setting yourself up to be used. Once you start that in a business it's hard to get out of it. Word of mouth gets around and you get to a point you are truning away customers because they all expect it.

But I would 'start' dealing with him at the going rate. Maybe even slightly above that if you think you are going above and beyond what other pet sitters might do. Work you way back down to meet him if you want to be nice. But don't bid low and work your way up to where you should have been in the first place.
 
Jeff

Jeff

Stop Staring!!!!!
jp2854 said:
I know I made the mistake. I just today left him a note saying I am going to start charging extra because hes taking advantage of me. I told him in my note that the going rate is 16.00 per visit for my pet sitting business and told him in that same note that Idon't mind doing his dog in the am before I went and did my other pet sitting jobs but if he wants me in the afternoon hes going to have to pay more and same if he wants me to clean up after his dog who craps all over the damn place since hes old and can't hold it anymore. I should have charged him 55.00 a week from the getgo but mom said not to and be nice to him since hes right next door. well that will not happen again I can tell you all that much because I am tired of being taken advantage of. I do have other jobs and hes not the only one i take care of
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Well, All that sounds good. Just another idea, See about finding out about the going rates out there. Might even be a few local websites that actually list them. That way you might be able to sit down, know where you should be and then be able to show him what others are getting. If this fellow is a mature, responsible adult. He will realize you are getting shafted just a bit and might reconsider and both of you can come up with an agreeable understanding. If he is a close neighbor and close with your folks I bet he will want to keep the peace and at least give you a fair amount. You can still underbid what others are charging and still be doing him a favor.

Again, I don't know your age but if you went to him having done your homework and with other prices on paper it may even impress him enough that he will offer you a bit more than you expect.
 
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