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Ideally (and logically), pet owners should secure pet-care services at the same time they secure travel and lodging options when planning a trip. With many pet sitters becoming fully booked weeks—if not months—in advance (particularly during busy seasons), this type of pre-planning is especially important.

Every pet sitter, however, has likely received a call from a frantic pet owner on a Thursday evening hoping to book their services starting the next day while the pet owner goes on a long-weekend trip. In many cases, plans for a friend or family member to watch the pets has fallen through or in some instances, the pet owner simply had not made arrangements with anyone or had just decided to take the impromptu trip.

While there are certainly extenuating circumstances that could result in a last-minute pet-sitting request (family emergency, illness, etc.), many times these requests stem from poor planning (or the pet owner only seeking the services of a professional when they could not secure free pet care from a friend, family member or neighborhood teenager).

In these cases, some pet sitters have mixed feelings and have to consider:

Do the cons of taking on a last-minute request outweigh the pros of being able to meet a pet owner’s needs?

In some situations, the decision is easy. For example:

• If the pet sitter is truly booked, taking on an additional assignment could compromise the quality of care the pet sitter is able to offer to the pets—and an overbooked, rushed pet sitter is more likely to make mistakes. So, this is an easy “no” and the pet sitter may refer the client to another local pet sitter or to the PSI Locator.
• If the timing of the request does not allow for the pet sitter to schedule an initial consultation (and this is a first-time client), agreeing to an assignment with a pet you have not met and not having time to complete an in-home visit and a pet-sitting contract makes the assignment to risky.

In other situations, however, the decision may be more difficult. For example:

• If the pet sitter could possibly find a way to accommodate the request but feels the client is likely to not use his or her services again, should the pet sitter go out of his or her way to accept the pet-sitting assignment?
• If the pet owner is a returning client but has a bad habit of calling last minute, is the pet sitter reinforcing “bad behavior” by always accommodating the last-minute requests?

As a pet sitter, your decision will likely be based on a variety of factors, including:

• Your pet-sitting schedule
• Whether you have staff sitters who can assist with the request
• If the pet owner has given enough advanced notice for you to schedule an initial consultation
• Whether this is a new client or returning client

Some pet sitters feel very strongly that as service providers they should try to accommodate any requests if humanly possible; other sitters feel that it’s important to have last-minute scheduling policies and stick to those to avoid attracting clients who do not plan ahead.

A perk of owning your own pet-sitting business is that the decision is yours to make!

But, PSI asked its members to “sound off” on this topic in PSI’s private Facebook group. Some of their responses are shared (anonymously) below:

Question:

Do you try to accommodate last-minute pet-sitting requests (why or why not?) and have you had positive or negative experiences when you have accepted a last-minute request?

• “For current clients I try to accommodate last-minute requests. I have quite a few clients who travel for work and need someone flexible and willing to accommodate their last-minute requests.”
• “I have done quite a few of these and luckily most of them I landed—and as repeat, non-last-minute clients. Also, there is always the chance that they are big tippers and that is always a nice bonus!”
• ”I used to but I don't anymore for new clients. I literally just declined a sit five houses down from mine. The new client was leaving this Wednesday through Saturday and could only do the M&G (initial consultation) after 6 tonight or between 8-12 tomorrow when the new alarm is being installed.”
• “If they are already a client, it’s no major big deal; but, if it is a new client, it is a problem for me. I will do a meet and great and see why it is a last-minute request…if it’s for a family emergency, I will typically do it, but if it’s for a vacation, I’ll usually pass.”
• “We do on a case by case basis depending variety factors including our availability. We are more likely to agree to do so for regular clients, and clients who are experiencing an emergency situation. We rarely provide last-minute requests from prospective new clients.”
• “I try to as much as possible. I feel it shows great accommodation and flexibility, which is generally much appreciated. I wouldn't accept a last-minute job from a new person without meeting the people or pets.”
• “For regular, loyal clients, I go out of my way to accommodate the last-minute requests even if it sometimes means changing my own plans. For new clients, I accommodate them if I reasonably can. Unfortunately my experience as often is not is that someone will call in a panic to ask for last-minute service, and by the time I get hold of my sitter and call them back to say yes, we can help, they have found somebody else or neighbor who will do it for free. I'm less and less motivated to accommodate those last-minute panicky requests.”
• “We only do last minute with established clients but not on holidays... last minute for holidays is 24 hour notice... otherwise we cannot do it. For unestablished clients, we do not do last-minute bookings because of scheduling interview process.”
• “I don't mind last minute requests, and I don't charge a premium. My clients know I will accommodate them if I can. Sometimes I have to disappoint them, but they always understand. I know they appreciate my flexibility, and most of them will reward it with tips or gifts. I have the most wonderful clients!”
• “It depends. My policy to institute a last minute fee is for established clients only. I implemented it in an effort to encourage those clients to plan ahead as much as possible. I came to learn that it becomes too easy for some clients to assume my time is not valuable. I have had excuses from ‘the weather is nice we thought we'd like to go...’, ‘my kid came home early from college’ to, ‘I bought tickets three months ago for this concert’. The last one really bothered me because I would have liked to have made plans to go to the same event only knew I couldn't because of the daily contract that was already in place. I will waive the fee if there is a death of an immediate family member, an illness that has forced a client to stay home, or for those clients who frequently work on an on-call basis. I would accept new clients where there's enough time for a M&G (5 days minimum), and they agree to pay cash in advance. In this case, however, there is no refund for the consultation.”

What are your policies on last-minute requests? Share in the comments below.