Pet Sitting Mistakes to Avoid
Pet sitting doesn’t conjure up thoughts of rocket science. However, there are still quite a few traps you might fall into when on the job. As a new sitter, you’ll want to avoid making this pet sitting mistakes at all costs.
Never miss a visit
You might miss a visit because you wrote the wrong date, or got overbooked, or were involved in an accident. Always have safeguards in place in order to avoid such a situation from spiraling out of control, since missing a visit will cause your client’s trust in you to erode. Have a backup pet sitter just in case. Make sure to only book new pet sitting assignments when you’re able to immediately log it into your scheduler. Also, you should enact a policy where you contact the client a couple of days before the assignment, and have them call you if they don’t hear from you.
Be insured
You might think you can’t afford pet sitter liability insurance, or you may have forgotten to renew your policy. Be warned that it’s risky to not maintain your insurance policy. Having coverage in place makes you appear more professional, and it keeps you protected in case of extreme situations. Even the most experienced pet sitter may have to face the results of mistakes or accidents, and these can result in astronomically high insurance claims. If a situation arises, you need to have insurance to cover it in order to avoid legal action.
Never bring in visitors
You may think bringing in people you know is harmless if you’re staying overnight and a friend or partner wants to stop by. In fact, you might even want help – like if the pet has made a huge mess that you need help cleaning up. However, brining someone else into a client’s home is a breach of privacy, and violates your client’s trust in you. Your clients are going to be trusting you with their most valuable possessions, as well as their beloved pets, and it’s important to keep them from feeling that their trust has been violated because a stranger had access to their house.
Never arrive late or leave early
Always arrive on time. If you’re late by a few minutes, be honest about it in your pet sitting notes. Never shorten a visit either. This is especially important since clients may be using their home’s alarm systems check the times their sitter arrived and left.
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