Sorry, this is long but I needed to put in details:
A friend (we only speak on the phone) called to ask me if I’d help her out with pet sitting for ten days. A couple she’d just met were going on vacation for 10 days and they wanted 24 hour care for their two 6 month old pups. She said she could keep them at night and asked me to keep them during the day.
She knew I was only available during the day between 8 AM and 6 PM. The puppies would be kept at the owners home during the day. She would take them home with her at night and return them in the morning. She said she wasn’t an early riser so she wouldn’t bring them back until around 9 AM in the morning.
She said she only wanted to charge $25 per night. I researched pet sitting rates for our area and told her that wasn’t nearly enough, especially for two big puppies. I told her my rate per day was $70 and that was cheap compared to everyone else. I warned her that it was a lot different keeping puppies and very time consuming. We had several conversations about this and she said the same thing each time.
First, she expressed amazement that anyone could make that much money pet sitting. I repeated that $70 was cheap for our area. Then she said “Oh well, it’s not about the money to me. I just LOVE puppies! I know you need the money, though, so charge what you need to. Don’t worry about me.” She then said that she could never tell them she wanted that much money. I also wondered out loud to her how the owners would feel about her charging so little and the big difference between what we were charging. She said not to worry about it. She’d explain to them it wasn’t about the money to her, etc., etc,.
We set up a meeting with the owners to discuss the details about 5 days prior to them leaving. We met a little early so we could talk once more about the rates and she insisted that we speak to the owners separately about what we wanted to charge. Shortly after our arrival to the meeting, she told them she only wanted $25 per night, that she couldn’t wait to keep them, they’re so CUTE. She then motioned for me to tell them what I wanted to charge. I told them $70 per day. I could tell they were pondering about the rate difference and SHE didn’t say a word. I started babbling about how days were more work than nights, puppies would be sleeping at night and needed constant monitoring and walks during the day.
The owners agreed and we were set. When we went back out to the car, I asked her AGAIN was she sure. Yes, she was sure.
THEN after about the fourth day in of pet sitting, she says she wants to discuss the money again. She began by saying how it was harder than she thought it was gonna be to keep the puppies, that she’d been sick and her husband had to help her. She and her husband thought it would be fair if we divided the money evenly. It wasn’t really fair that I was making so much more than she was and we were putting in the same amount of hours.
Needless to say, I was very upset. Furious, even! I reminded her about all of our conversations. I told her that she needed to have this conversation with the owners, not me. That if she needed more money, she should ask them. OH NO, I couldn’t do that! I wouldn’t want to upset THEM. She then said that she knew it was her mistake and that if I wanted to back out, she’d understand. She repeated this several times. I truly believe she wanted me to back out so she could take over. I said as much.
I told her I’d made a commitment to the owners and certainly wouldn’t back out while they were gone. She then said “Of course, you wouldn’t even have this little job if it weren’t for me.” I reminded her that we wouldn’t be making the amount we were if I hadn’t done the research and spoken up. She went on again about how much work it had turned out to be. I repeated again that I’d warned her several times and she’d chosen not to listen. I told her I NEVER would have asked her for part of the money if our positions were reversed. (By the way, she certainly doesn’t seem to need it. She and her husband are building a new home in an affluent part of town and own their own business.) I said I was very disappointed about her comments and her decision to ask for the money.
Here’s why I decided to go along with splitting the money evenly. Up until this happened, I’ve had great respect for this lady. She’s been extremely nice to me in the past. She knows just about everybody in our area and could be a source of future employment for me. On the flip side, she could also do damage to my reputation if she chose to. We don’t spend time together but I looked upon her as a friend.
We finished out the rest of the week together. I continued to feel upset about her request and I know it showed when we would meet at the house for pet sitting duty. I know I wasn’t as friendly as I was before but I was very polite and courteous. She was very nice to me, also. I’ve asked a few friends if they thought she was wrong in asking me for the money and they’ve ALL said that she should have taken responsibility for her mistake and left things as they were.
WHAT do all of you think? Thanks for reading… 
