Have you taken the plunge and signed up for services with Pet Waggin’? You and your pet are probably eagerly anticipating your meet and greet. If you’ve never used a professional pet sitter before, you might be curious about what to expect during the meet and greet. Is there anything you need to do to prepare?
We want your pet’s first impression of us to be a good one. We also want you to feel confident that your pet is in good hands. We’ve put together this handy guide to tell you what you need to do leading up to the meet and greet, what to expect, and everything you should know to make sure it goes smoothly.
Why Have A Meet and Greet With A Pet Sitter?
For everyone involved, the meet and greet is an important part of working with a pet sitter. There are good reasons for all of us to make the most of the meet and greet.
For Your Pet
If you’ll be out of town for a few days, staying in their own home versus a kennel can really make things less stressful for your pet. But we know that you want someone you can trust to look after your pet. And you don’t want your pet to be stressed by a person they’ve never met.
That’s why we find that it’s a good idea for us to meet your pets prior to beginning our services. We require a meet and greet for all of our new clients. From our years of experience, we know that meeting their sitter ahead of time will help your pet feel less stressed about the whole situation.
For You
The meet and greet is important for you too! You will get a chance to see the person who will be caring for your pet. You can ask them questions face to face, and you can see them in action with your pet. The meet and greet is very important for your peace of mind so you can enjoy your vacation or focus on your work.
For Us
Professional, friendly, and attentive care is non-negotiable at Pet Waggin’. In order to deliver the best pet sitting experience, we need to have a full understanding of your pet’s needs and your expectations. A meet and greet with our new clients is a chance for us to go over the details, find out what your pet needs, and seamlessly make your pet a part of our Pet Waggin’ family.
P.S. Curious about what a day in the life of a Pet Waggin’ sitter looks like? Read this blog post!
Preparing For Your Pet Waggin’ Meet and Greet
There are a few things you should have in order before the day of the meet and greet to keep things on track.
First up, you’ll need to create a profile on the Time To Pet App aka our Client Portal. And the key thing here is… make sure to fill out your profile in its entirety! The information you provide will help us see if there are any questions we need to ask or things we could use more clarification on. We’ll be asking you questions and making those clarifications at the meet and greet. If you aren’t quite sure what to include in your profile, you can learn more about it here.
Next up, write down any questions that you might have, so you can ask them the day of the meet and greet. Don’t be afraid to ask if you need clarification about something. We are glad to answer any questions you have about our services.
It’s Meet and Greet Day!
The day of the meet and greet, we’ll want to spend some time getting to know your pet. It would be helpful if you have some of their favorite treats handy so we can work on winning their trust.
At the meet and greet, we’ll practice walking into your house (while you wait outside) in order to see how your pet responds and get them used to our comings and goings. And for our new dog clients, we’ll take your dog on a walk.
Important: we should have all access information we’ll need! Let us know the entrance you want us to use, and provide us with the keys, codes, or whatever it is we need to access your home. If there are any special instructions involving security systems or neighborhood gates, we’ll ask you to walk us through the process so that there are no surprises when we come to take care of your pet.
Showing is always better than telling! Make sure you show us where the pet food and cleaning items we will need are. If you aren’t comfortable with us opening cabinets, put all items we could need in an easily accessible place.
Next, we’ll look at the Client Portal together. We’ll walk you through the Conversation Feed and send you a message then and there to make sure it is working for you. We will then go over your pet’s profile. We’ll let you know if there are any additions needed, and show you how to update your information.
If you have any questions, go ahead and ask them! While we do our walkthroughs, you may have more questions.
But don’t worry, if you think of something after we’ve left, use the Conversation Feed and we’ll answer your question as soon as we can!
Next Steps
If everything went well, we’ll be ready to go on your official start date. Sometimes though, things don’t go perfectly. That’s okay! Animals are individuals and we know you can’t always anticipate how they’ll react to new people. If your pet seems fearful, anxious, or reactive, we’ll want to schedule some warm-up visits. We want your pet to feel safe and comfortable with their sitter.
This means, if you have an anxious or fearful pet, you’ll want to make sure to give yourself enough time between the meet and greet and your departure date for any extra visits you may need to acclimate your pet to their sitter.
That's all there is to it! Now, you can really see how important the meet and greet is to hash out details and give your pet time to get to know their sitter. If you have any more questions about preparing for a pet sitter, you might find answers to some of your questions here.
Ready to get started? Book your meet and greet here.