People always appeared to be shocked when I tell them I had to ‘fire’ a client.  Who turns business away, right?  They don’t seem to understand that providing a service is a two way street and we do occasionally have to tell people we will can no longer provide service to them.  We hate to do it and we don't want to, but sometimes there is just no other way around it.  We provide a premium service and want only the very best for your pets and expect that you do too. Following are six reasons that we may fire you as a client:

1. You Disrespect Our Policies

We have policies for a reason.  It makes sure that things run smoothly and there are no misunderstandings.  When someone disrespects our policies, they disrespect our service.

2. You Schedule Services And Then Repeatedly Cancel

We understand that schedules change and that occasionally life happens and you need to cancel your pet sitting services.  However when it happens every single time you schedule service we will tell you the next time you want to book you will need to pay in full, in advance, non-refundable before we will put you on the schedule.  If you continually schedule then cancel, schedule then cancel you may be denied service.

3. Your Pets Are Too Aggressive

This is a main reason we meet with clients before they go away so we can assess how your pets will react to our presence.  Most of the time they are fine but every once in a while we’ll run into a pet that acts COMPLETELY different with mom and dad not home.  Oddly enough, we’ve had more attack cats than problems with dogs.  It’s stressful and dangerous and it’s just not worth risking our lives or well-being over.

4. Your House Smells So Bad It Makes Our Eyes Water

I’m no Home & Garden expert so please don’t think we’re talking about messy or cluttered homes here.  Our policy is as long as the pets are taken care of and it’s safe for us to be there who are we to judge?  Once in a while though we run into a home that is just so dirty it’s a health hazard.  If it smells so badly of urine soaked carpet that it makes our eyes water, we will not sit for you again.

5. Constant Unwarranted Complaints

I’m sure we all know people that just LIVE to find fault.  They thrive on it.  We do our best to rectify the occasional complaint we get but sometimes they’re just over the top.  No one is going to die if the leash is hung up on the third rung of the coat rack instead of the second.  It’s also not our fault the litter box was full when you got home 36 hours after our last visit because you have three cats and one litter box the size of a small shoebox for all three of them to use.   If your complaints are consistently unwarranted, you’ll be denied service.

6. Too Many Non-Pet Sitting Demands

We are pet sitters.  We take care of PETS.  We are not home health aides.  We will not help you put your socks or bra on every day.  We will not scratch off lottery tickets for you or open your mail.   We will not carry in the groceries from your car or curl your hair for you.  We will not babysit your children.  We are not cleaning people; although we DO intend on your house being as clean if not cleaner when you get home than when you left.  We are not personal assistants.  We will not drive your dogs in your car to the Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru to get you an iced coffee because it’s raining and your dogs don’t want to walk in the rain.  If you ask too many ridiculous things that are not pet sitting related we may just have to let you go. The above were all real life examples of circumstances we have encountered with over the years! So there you have it!  Six reasons we may fire you as a pet sitting client.