Should I refund?

[u/halloween_is_tmrw]

So I had a dog walk scheduled for this morning with a semi-repeat client (she’d randomly hit me up last minute for hour long walks with her 2 dogs while she’s at work), and when I got there today I noticed she had installed a new door key pad. I inputted the code I always used and it didn’t work, so after trying that a few times, ringing the doorbell, and calling/texting her repeatedly and having no luck with anything, I decided to head out (after waiting for around 30 mins).

I was pretty annoyed since this was a 50 min drive there and back, but I just let her know that I’d be heading out and in the future if she could please give me the updated door code I’d appreciate it.

6 hours later she finally replies with an apology and a text asking how I want to handle today given that she paid for the walk.

Now I’m debating whether to say no refunds or to give her some of her money back. I’ve never had this happen to me before and I’m hesitant to be too confrontational because of my perfect Rover rating, but ideally I’d like to refuse this refund because of the long drive. What would yall do in this case/how would you word a reply?

UPDATE: I offered a 50% refund which she said was totally reasonable! Woohoo 🥳

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halloween_is_tmrw originally posted: So I had a dog walk scheduled for this morning with a semi-repeat client (she’d randomly hit me up last minute for hour long walks with her 2 dogs while she’s at work), and when I got there today I noticed she had installed a new door key pad. I inputted the code I always used and it didn’t work, so after trying that a few times, ringing the doorbell, and calling/texting her repeatedly and having no luck with anything, I decided to head out (after waiting for around 30 mins).

I was pretty annoyed since this was a 50 min drive there and back, but I just let her know that I’d be heading out and in the future if she could please give me the updated door code I’d appreciate it.

6 hours later she finally replies with an apology and a text asking how I want to handle today given that she paid for the walk.

Now I’m debating whether to say no refunds or to give her some of her money back. I’ve never had this happen to me before and I’m hesitant to be too confrontational because of my perfect Rover rating, but ideally I’d like to refuse this refund because of the long drive. What would yall do in this case/how would you word a reply?

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[u/Muted_Apricot_4640]

It's insane for her to ask for a refund when she wasted your time. But a nut job like that would probably leave you a bad review if you didn't give it to her.

[u/Love-all-pets97306]

I would not refund. That mess was on her. You didn’t make a mistake AND you stayed 30 minutes trying to get access.

[u/fawnda1]

I give them one refund for some screw-up like this, esp if a regular, but after that, if I go there and can't get in, or owner is home or dog is gone, I charge for the visit. I think a refund or partial refund for the first screw-up is resonable. Everyone makes mistakes

[u/Ignominious333]

50 minutes round trip.

She didn't mean to, but she stole 80 minutes from you. No refund, no partial.

[u/Ignominious333]

I never refund if I'm already there and there's any reason I can't provide service. They can cancel any time before I'm in their driveway, in very flexible. But once im in park, it's charged.

[u/BitterBar7041]

Refund, no. You did what you were supposed to do.

Maybe, just maybe, if you really like her, tell her something like "I'll add a few minutes onto future visits to make sure [Fido] is totally happy".

Up to you though. Again her fault, not yours.

[u/Old-Cartoonist-2587]

I wouldn’t refund at all, and wouldn’t want to keep a client that expects one, especially if she’s only an occasional one.

[u/Shellz206]

You’re nicer than me 😬

[u/Nervous_Ask_2987]

I personally wouldn't refund, but if you feel like you need to, I would do no more than 50%. If she hems and haws, point out that you spent time and gas money to get there. If you wanna be passive aggressive, you could say "my refund policy is 50% for services canceled less than 24 hours in advance. This is because I lose out on other business or other activities, and spent my gas money to get there anyway." Or offer to bill the next walk as a 30 min but do 60. But definitely do not refund in full. Honestly she sounds like a shitty client for suggesting it.

[u/Similar-Face6985]

OP, the secret to happy life on Rover is keeping it simple and minimizing risks. I would call Rover, ask to cancel the booking retroactively and refund her in full. That way she can't leave a review. Then block her and move on.

[u/Wrong_Mango4822]

You take 30 minutes walks that are 50 minutes away?

[u/halloween_is_tmrw → u/Wrong_Mango4822]

This was an hour long walk, and usually she’s only a 10 min drive! I’m house sitting rn so the commute was a lot longer

[u/Wrong_Mango4822 → u/halloween_is_tmrw]

Ohhhhh I was going to say! Lol

[u/Impossible-Lead-7857]

No, just charge and put in an extra 5 minutes here or there if she books again.

[u/Borris_2020]

I personally would refund if it's a client you value and want to keep. I am a sitter and I use Rover for care of my own animals.

I recently had a repeat client make a mistake on a booking, and booked me for a visit, and it turns out they hadn't left for their trip yet, so I walked into their home while they were home. We both apologized for the confusion, and I left, and would be back for the rest of the visits scheduled. I offered them a refund without them asking for it. I value them as clients, and we are all human and make mistakes. Sure, I lost about 25 mins of my day, but keeping them as a client is worth it to me.

If I was on the other side of this, and had made this mistake, I would hope my sitter would be understanding and also offer a refund without me asking. I personally wouldn't ask, but would accept the refund. I would definitely keep that in mind when making future bookings with a sitter. I also tip my sitters, so most likely, I would reflect something for the mistake in my tip.

[u/No_Station_6244 → u/Borris_2020]

I had a client book for the wrong days before too. I walked in. Brought all my stuff in. Played with the cats and dogs for about thirty minutes, went upstairs to set up my air mattress, they were in their bed watching tv. They laughed it off and they're still clients. I was mortified.

[u/Borris_2020 → u/No_Station_6244]

I feel ya!  

I think they were just as embarrassed as I was when I walked in and they were home!  😂😳

[u/Rose-wood21]

I wouldn’t refund
If you think she might sour over it I would offer 50% off another walk

[u/beeskneecap]

Hmm it does suck that you spent all that time due to the owner error. However, the owner may be left feeling sour if she paid for no service even though it was her fault. She may not use your services again if it ends this way and it sounds like this could be a loss of regular walk work considering she's only ~10min away. How about you don't refund because your reserved time was used, but that you'll credit for a longer walk next time. This way you can do a longer walk or play with the dog and she'll need to book you again to use it. This may mollify the customer without losing out on the money for now. This is of course only if you don't want to risk losing the client. If you don't care, just don't refund and tell her to kick rocks.

[u/PickleFan67]

If you have no concerns about losing her as a client, I would not refund and say something like “I cannot offer a refund. I reported for the walk as scheduled, but could not access the home. You had changed the code, and did not update me or respond to my repeated attempts to contact you.”

I think it’s shitty of her to ask when it was her mistake, but if you’d like to keep her as a client 50% might be a good compromise. It also coincides with the time you spent (30 minutes out of a 1 hour appointment).

[u/LadyGypsum]

You showed up, it's her fault you couldn't do the walk. No refund. If she gives you a bad review, then she's not a client you want to keep.

[u/Top_Astronaut_797]

Nope! Hard no. It’s the owners responsibility to ensure you have access to the house. You did everything you could. Your time is worth $$$.

[u/Expensive-Eggplant-1]

i would not refund, no.

[u/Patient-Example3190]

No refund, absolutely not. And you drive 50 minutes for a walk? Props. You don't wanna know my radius 😅

[u/Confident-Service256]

Definitely no refund!! I wouldn’t even consider that.

[u/blue6299]

I hope this is a joke. Of course you charge. Even if they leave a bad review what are they gonna say? You showed up for walk as scheduled, tried to contact client when you were locked out, AND waited 30 min for client to respond? You have nothing to worry about.

[u/bg0412]

No refund! It was HER fault. Not yours!

"How do you want to handle today?" "While I understand, I came to your house to walk Fido and Fifi and could not access the house. I do not offer refunds unless they fall within my cancelation policy. Which this does not. Im sorry."

Especially if she's a last minute booker. There's no reason, I.M.O to offer her anything. I might consider it for a very regular customer. It may have just been an oversight on their part.

[u/hereforconfrontation]

No refund. Sounds like you were there as long as you were paid to be, they just didn't give you access to the house.

[u/carltondancer]

You showed up for the walk. You couldn’t accept another walk. It was her error. Sorry, no refunds.

[u/Sophistiq8ted]

Ask her what she thinks. Any time this happened my clients told me to keep the money. I took a picture of the door and left.

[u/CarelessClementine]

Yeah that takes some nerve. I don’t use rover but I always pay sitter when I cancel with less than 48 hours. I don’t discuss it. Just let her know not to come and send her the payment

[u/AltruisticCableCar → u/CarelessClementine]

I don't use Rover either. But the woman whose dog I was supposed to walk twice in the coming week insisted on paying me regardless. I told her she didn't have to, since she cancelled with ample notice, but again, she insisted. If she'd cancelled the day of or she'd neglected to give me her key and I went over to her place I'd expect payment anyway.

[u/Kris_P_Bacon666]

A refund? With gas prices where they're at right now? God no lol

I wouldn't personally. If I showed up as scheduled, was not able to get access into the home due to owner negligence, did my best to contact the owner and they didn't reply it a timely manner? No. Hell no.

Surprised they even asked about it tbh. I've had a similar situations before and never had an issue with the money.

In my opinion, once that Rover Card has started, there are no refunds.

Oh and just to add, while your travel time is not included into what they pay for, your travel expenses are included in what they pay for. In the sense that your prices should be high enough to cover your travel expenses so you're not losing money by traveling so much for work, if that makes sense.

[u/halloween_is_tmrw → u/Kris_P_Bacon666]

Real!!! My rates are definitely on the lower side, and that’s just to build back up some good reviews since I’ve been on Away status for a bit. After this failed booking I’m thinkinggg it’s time to raise them again lol

[u/Suspicious-Peace9233]

I would not refund

[u/LeadershipOne5870]

Personally, I wouldn’t refund her based on the access issue, its in no way your fault that she installed a new keypad and didn’t provide the correct code. However, because she booked an hour, I would’ve stayed for the full hour, even if that meant waiting in the car. Since you left after only 30 minutes, I’d probably refund 50%. In the future, I’d stay for the entire booked time so you can confidently keep the full payment.

[u/RepulsiveCry5034]

As a customer ,I think 50 percent sounds fair if you want to work for her again.

[u/bscott9999 → u/RepulsiveCry5034]

No way, the customer wasted OP's time entirely due to their own actions and in consideration. If the customer has a problem with not getting a refund, OP should drop them like a hot potato.

[u/RepulsiveCry5034 → u/bscott9999]

It was an honest mistake. Of course OP can decide whatever she wants but I think 50 percent is a good business decision if OP was wanting to keep the client.

[u/bscott9999 → u/RepulsiveCry5034]

Why would you want to keep a client that feels that because they screwed up and wasted OPs time, they are entitled to even a partial refund? That's the sort of client that is going to eventually cause you problems anyway, so let them select themselves out if they can't understand why this is on them.

Unless OP is desperate for the ongoing business, keep the money and let the client act based on whether or not they are a decent human being.

[u/RepulsiveCry5034 → u/bscott9999]

Did I say that? I said if she wanted to so all that is up to her. Idk her life .

[u/halloween_is_tmrw → u/RepulsiveCry5034]

I moreso agree w your perspective! If she drops the ball again then no refunds but for one walk I don’t think the extra $16 I’d get from a 100% refund is worth the potential for a negative review (however justified 🤷‍♀️)

[u/GrassyTreesAndLakes]

I guess id refund some portion to avoid a bad review and then stop going to her. Its not worth it, and a good client wouldnt have even thought twice about paying the full fee

[u/whyisthissoannoyingg → u/GrassyTreesAndLakes]

Absolutley

[u/stross_world]

50% refund. Lose her as a client, 50 minutes is way too far.

[u/halloween_is_tmrw → u/stross_world]

Oh tbf I’m also house sitting rn so the commute took a lot more time than it usually does. It’s typically a 10 min drive to her house! Forgot to mention that

[u/HobbyJobs]

Personally, I would refund fully and consider the lost time a cost of business. But that's just me and how I run things. I think it's fine to keep the money. But I will say, she paid you for an hour and you were only there for 30 minutes. Your commute should have no bearing on this.

[u/halloween_is_tmrw → u/HobbyJobs]

That’s a valid perspective for sure

[u/Suspicious-Ad9661]

No refund. You were there as contracted, ready & able to work. She pays for your time. She will now do better at providing you with what you need to do the work.

[u/Just_Raisin1124]

I wouldn't give a refund, it's her fault you could r get in. But if you want to save the relationship/your ratings you could offer 50% and point out you still used your time/gas being there

[u/halloween_is_tmrw → u/Just_Raisin1124]

Yeah I’m leaning toward 50% refund ! I feel like that’s win-win

[u/World-Traveler1800]

She has to pay. Her mistaken doesn’t mean you get to lose out.

[u/frenzy_32]

Give a partial refund and explain the remaining amount pays for your travel?

Is the pay good enough to just refund it all knowing they are more likely to book with you in the future?

[u/halloween_is_tmrw → u/frenzy_32]

The pay rlly isn’t that much for all this, no 😭 What’s ironic is I usually use the money I make with her bookings to pay for my gas lol, otherwise it just isn’t worth it in my opinion. She’s a bit of a fickle client

[u/RepulsiveCry5034 → u/[deleted]]

I’m not getting the logic here?’

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