The title pretty much says it all. I booked the dog walker for tomorrow and Thursday. My husband was home today and the dog went missing from the back yard! :eek:
I called the dog walker to see if she had him and she did - and apologized for the mistake. This is the second time she’s done this. Should I pay for today’s walk?
Did you pay the last time?
I’d say no. But you might want to find another dog walker. She needs to be reliable.
I did pay her last time. As it happened, some things came up that day so the dog would have otherwise gone without a walk, so it worked out. I had thought it was a one off that time, but I guess not.
I have considered finding a new dog walker but she is actually one of the best in the city. Her 2.5+ hour adventures (off-leash) are $20 a day. It’s ridiculously cheap.
That is cheap. I would just be concerned that she wouldn’t show up when scheduled.
Where does she take them off leash, and how safe is it?
She takes them to the local off leash parks. As far as I know, she’s never missed a day (we have a log book that she fills out after every walk indicating where they went and any other special notes about his behavior). I don’t know if I should make a big deal out of this because she’s so good and such a great deal.
She also has a facebook account for the company and posts daily pictures of the walks. She often emails me pictures of my dog and I actually have some great snapshots of him thanks to her.
I’d pay, but make sure that you really do have the schedule sorted out between you, the last time this happened the dog was abandoned to its own devices, until she showed up, so I reckon you’re 50/50 on the deal. As you say, $20 for 2.5+ hours of work is ridiculously cheap, particularly for one of the best in the city.
I guess I will amend my advice. That sounds like a pretty sweet deal. Maybe you can figure out some way to confirm appointments that will force her to pay better attention.
That is a great deal. Pay and promise to be clearer with a schedule in the future (even if you have been, just to be nice). Third time’s a charm. And by ‘charm’ I mean ‘okay, now she’s just taking you for a ride.’
$20 for 2.5 hours of playing with dogs in a park? And she likely has several dogs…therefore earning several $20 bills at the same time…I am in the wrong damn business.
Don’t think I’d want to pay for an unscheduled service though. That might encourage more “accidents” in the future.
Tell her that you understand that mistakes happen, and ask if you can cancel one of the days you had scheduled. If she’s not screwing with you, she ought to be okay with that.
Dog walking is shockingly lucrative. When I did it 10 years ago, I was often making $135.00 an hour.
Well, she did provide the service, and I’m sure that your doggie enjoyed his walk, so I would pay her; however, I would make sure to emphasize that this is the last time.
Could you post some sort of schedule in a plastic folder in your mailbox or something so she can confirm it when she arrives that she’s on the right day?
Is she planning on expanding the business into a multinational general services company that also organizes interplanetary treaty summits?
How did this work?
I’d say you are under no obligation to pay her just because she overstepped her authority. If she wants to be paid for her time she should do the job she’s being paid for.
You didn’t request the service, so why would you pay for it? I’m confused as to why you paid her the first time.
Regardless what you decide about payment consider this is also a way to get work for somebody hurting for money. Rotating through clients and accidentally doing unasked for work can bring in money they wouldn’t be getting. Sometimes they don’t get paid, and sometimes they do. The people that don’t pay don’t accidentally have more unasked for work just happen again.
Exactly. I wouldn’t want to encourage her to take advantage of me. I mean, how hard can it be? Two days a week… and I assume you’re not changing them all the time on her… maybe she’s a wiz with the dogs, but she’s clearly not so good on Days of the Week…
That’s the thing, they DO change every week. My husband works on a 4 / 4 schedule, so the days move ahead one per week. I remind her on Saturday which days are coming up.
Canceling one of the other days is not an option - the days the dog is scheduled is the day both my husband and I are not home all day and unable to take him for a walk.
To be honest, I am almost thinking she might just not charge me for it. I guess we’ll see when I receive the invoice at the end of the month.
As for money, she’s certainly not hurting. Her business has expanded enormously in the last year. Dog walking is VERY lucrative here - I’ve seriously considered quitting my job to walk dogs. She has two off-leash walks a day for 5 dogs. That’s 200 dollars a day. PLUS, she has 3 employees who do similar schedules. She’s brining in the same amount for them and probably pays them $12 / hour or something. She’s not wanting for money!
She did the work. You know it’s a good deal. Your dog both needed and enjoyed the walk.
Pay her.
If you have an issue with her coming on unscheduled days, then pick up the phone and talk to her about that.
Are you certain she didn’t change up the day to accommodate a better walk/more attention for your animal? As in, she has 6 dogs to walk on the scheduled day and would rather spend more time/better time, on this day. I’m not saying that’s the case, and if it’s not cool with you, it’s not cool. But I’d certainly feel out why she switched days before taking issue with it.
Ultimately you’re paying for the service and following the schedule is part of the service.
Talk to her.