The life of a pet sitter sure beats sitting behind a desk in a cubicle any day, but that's not to say it's without its own frustrations and watercooler dish. Here's a story I'd like to share as to why an initial consult is required.
My pet peeve, (no pun intended), was the 'new' client who called from the airport and left a voicemail, saying that he left his key under the mat, his dog in the house, states the address, and says, 'Thanks.' This was at 6 a.m., and was a call from a total stranger to Paws-itive Experience, but at that point, what could I do? Leave the poor dog alone? Paws-itive Experience always requires an initial consultation visit prior to accepting a new client, but at this point, I headed for the house and crossed my paws.
Turns out that there was no such street address in any mapping service, and I had to call the local fire department to find out where I were supposed to be. Guess what?
You guessed it. They didn't have the address either; it was that new. Repeated calls to the "client", now on a plane to who knows where, finally got me a return call at midnight.
Frantic by now ... I raced over to the house to discover a very sweet black Lab crossing his legs, but no mess in the house. A miracle, to be sure! Five days of thrice a day visits and the errant owner finally returned.
It took another six months to collect our bill, but that was a lesson learned. No more new clients without a formal consult!
My pet peeve, (no pun intended), was the 'new' client who called from the airport and left a voicemail, saying that he left his key under the mat, his dog in the house, states the address, and says, 'Thanks.' This was at 6 a.m., and was a call from a total stranger to Paws-itive Experience, but at that point, what could I do? Leave the poor dog alone? Paws-itive Experience always requires an initial consultation visit prior to accepting a new client, but at this point, I headed for the house and crossed my paws.
Turns out that there was no such street address in any mapping service, and I had to call the local fire department to find out where I were supposed to be. Guess what?
You guessed it. They didn't have the address either; it was that new. Repeated calls to the "client", now on a plane to who knows where, finally got me a return call at midnight.
Frantic by now ... I raced over to the house to discover a very sweet black Lab crossing his legs, but no mess in the house. A miracle, to be sure! Five days of thrice a day visits and the errant owner finally returned.
It took another six months to collect our bill, but that was a lesson learned. No more new clients without a formal consult!
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