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Good grief I have been seriously underpaid.
She says she normally pays $25 a night and the dogs (2) stay overnight.
Thanks for the info.
$25 a night for 2 dogs to stay in your home? Who is she kidding?
No wonder she asks you all the time.
Kennels generally charge $30/dog and up. Pet sitters rarely charge under $50/day. And then they come to your home. Not sure what they'd charge to let her 2 dogs have the run of their homes.
I agree with the others. Tell her you are just not a dog person and though you enjoy her company, your dogs are another matter. Please make other arrangements.
You have got to stand up for yourself. If you don't want to do it, don't. Tell her you just can't do it. You don't owe her a reason either. Just "I'm sorry, I wont be able to do it".
There are a lot of people in Central Florida who do this for a living. Not to mention all the kennels that also are available.
She's walking all over you because you are letting her. Its time to stop.
As a pet sitter and dog walker, I GUARANTEE you that no professional sitter "backs out of" jobs. EVER.
Our entire reputation depends on it.
How do I know? Because I belong to all the national pet sitter groups and we are all the same. There are very few irresponsible sitters and they don't stay in business for long or get much work.
She probably went to Craigslist or care dot com and tried to get some cheap-o service if it's true at all.
SAY NO. You don't need excuses.
OR ask her to pay you the going rate. 25.00 per visit. NO overnights they cost natl average 75.00 just to sleep there. LIVE IN runs 100 per day and doesn't mean you stay the whole time you still leave and come back off and on during the day.
Get paid cash/check in advance for the entire job. NO refunds or credit on early returns.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FLgirl727
Good grief I have been seriously underpaid.
She says she normally pays $25 a night and the dogs (2) stay overnight.
Thanks for the info.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GotHereQuickAsICould
$25 a night for 2 dogs to stay in your home? Who is she kidding?
No wonder she asks you all the time.
Kennels generally charge $30/dog and up. Pet sitters rarely charge under $50/day. And then they come to your home. Not sure what they'd charge to let her 2 dogs have the run of their homes.
I agree with the others. Tell her you are just not a dog person and though you enjoy her company, your dogs are another matter. Please make other arrangements.
$25 a night! Good grief.
I agree that she is underpaying you and taking advantage of your friendship. Perhaps her kennel charges less but around my area kennels cost $25 to $30 a night per dog.
Just tell her "no" the next time, or check out the full rates in your area for pet sitters and change her those rates (if you want to earn some extra money).
This sort of situation drives me nuts! Why do so many of us worry about saying no to things we don't want to do, and worry about it ruining a friendship? Where is the friend's worry about ruining the friendship by imposing and assuming that just because you babysat the dog a couple of times, that you're under an obligation to do so forevermore?
Just say no. If she alienates you because of her imposition, she is not someone worth having as a friend.
Exactly this.
I would never impose on a friend for an entire week, esp if my friend was starting a new job and had an elderly pet at home. Your friend is selfish.
I wouldn't "just say no" either. It will cause a lot of awkwardness between you and eventually the friendship will end.
What I would do is this:
I would find the name/number of a reputable kennel or pet hotel that has reasonable rates
I would find a website or service number (like Care.com) to see what they charge to pet sit
I would find a dog sitter or a dog walker thru your local pennysaver or grocery store bulletin board or via word-of-mouth.
I would tell her "I can't take care of your dogs for 6 days. It's just taking too much of my time away from other things I have to do. I did, however, find this information for you. I'm sure you can find a reliable sitter or hotel for your dogs while you're gone." and hand her all the info. If she gets angry, well, then she's not your friend.
People will take as much advantage of you as you allow them to take, especially "friends." You have additionally screwed up by taking money for this service, now it is expected.
Have some guts and simply say "I didn't mind too much doing it in the past, but I simply can not do it again." Period, end of discussion. If your friend insists, tell them again in no uncertain terms. When you say you can do it as a backup, you are being wishy washy and you will be sitting with Fido on the couch again, and again, and again.
Your friend isn't the problem, you are by not being clear and firm.
People will take as much advantage of you as you allow them to take, especially "friends." You have additionally screwed up by taking money for this service, now it is expected.
Have some guts and simply say "I didn't mind too much doing it in the past, but I simply can not do it again." Period, end of discussion. If your friend insists, tell them again in no uncertain terms. When you say you can do it as a backup, you are being wishy washy and you will be sitting with Fido on the couch again, and again, and again.
Your friend isn't the problem, you are by not being clear and firm.
Don
True, but in my defense, I didn't think about the possibility she wouldn't even look for another alternative. Obviously since as well as being a doormat, I'm a cheap one at that.
Thanks to you all for your comments and insight. It's nice to be able to put the issue out there and get truly objective opinions.
I am a person of my word, so will end up watching them this last time. I'll let it be clear that I will not watch them again so she needs to have a plan for her next trip...
Good grief I have been seriously underpaid.
She says she normally pays $25 a night and the dogs (2) stay overnight.
Thanks for the info.
Ok so that means she's not using a PROFESSIONAL pet sitter. Insured, bonded etc.
Unless she found the very cheapest person in the country LOL. Probably a kid from care dot com or a stay at home mom wanting some extra money. No shade to them but it's not the same deal as us.
For example what if they need emergency vet care? Can the sitter be trusted to notice, facilitate and PAY FOR IT then wait to be reimbursed? Not every client leaves a credit card with the vet or is available if you try and call them.
Most of us NEVER take other people's dogs into our home (a few do maybe 10%)
I'm talking about pet sitting in her home.
If you're taking them into your home then you want to charge AT LEAST as much as the local kennels. But I would charge MORE.
They are locked in a cage there and get very little personal attention plus it's common area with diseases potentially.
Her dogs are getting one on one exclusive care.
Don't get me wrong, kennels are not all bad for all dogs some love going.
IF SHE FELT KENNELS WERE JUST AS GOOD AS YOU...then she'd be using them.
She OBVIOUSLY feels you are better for her dogs and as such, you deserve to be paid for that VALUE.
BUT paying for you to take them into your HOUSE?? NOPE. I'd be asking something like 50.00 per night ESPECIALLY FOR LAST MINUTE NOTICE.
You're actually doing LIVE IN CARE (24 hours straight, right) So that's more like $100.00 per day natl average and MANY MANY sitters won't even do it because they don't like it and feel it constrains them from taking other work.
Anyway, you don't have to be abrupt or mean just tell her what you said here. You have a new job and need to focus on it. You are NOT looking for a PART TIME JOB.
People are hilarious they think pet sitting is all fun and games just petting animals and stuff.
BTW, NONE of the people who ever ask me for a discount or try and bargain my prices EVER work out. It's so weird, I think I'm doing them a favor with a little break and they do stuff like pay late, forget to pay, have drama with their schedules all the time, confusion, add dogs to the family for no more money, or have really difficult dogs, etc.
OR have FOUR cats and one litter pan that gets formed into a SOLID BRICK.
Last edited by runswithscissors; 08-14-2014 at 07:55 PM..
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