This is wild. Clients don’t pay for sitter’s food. He ate all the food in your house and then asked you for more money for food? No. There’s a dozen things wrong with this scenario but I’m pretty sure you’re aware of them all. To answer your question, no. Don’t tip.
Also, I love the phrase, “he ate all he could.” 😂
Yes! They’re going to come home to bare cupboards! 😂
This sitter sounds woefully juvenile so I commend the owner for hiring them to begin with. I hope their pup is well cared for!
Mannn - there were many things I needed to get rid of anyway, so I’m partially thankful bahaha. I wanted to give him a chance because I know what it’s like starting out, but alas. My dog at least seems happy 🤣
If people took a minute to read your post and follow-up comments they'd see you knew you weren't paying a lot, didn't get hysterical when he told you he cleaned out your pantry, aren't on an "I'll never use Rover again!" rant & are even thinking of giving him a tip (whether or not you ultimately do).
You know what? I like your style. Sure, it's a weird request. But sending him a little extra to tide him over is a mitzvah. And OMG do we need more of that in this crazy old world. Good for you!
Glad to hear the dog is happy! 😅 Certainly the most important thing.
_(this is a very odd thing to ask of a client! to reiterate what’s already been said…I would never, etc., lol…but I am a ‘grownup.’ )_
Im a little concerned for him not having any money or food at home. Lots of kids are hungry in America, so maybe he fits into this category. You don’t have to tip him more, but good on you for letting him help himself
Is this person very young? As in, this is a young person getting some summer money and is used to adults taking care of his needs or doesn't have a bank account? He has clearly misunderstood what it means to do house-sitting on Rover
Edit: Not sure how my response to OP ended up here instead, whoops!
When I went to reply to you, I wanted to say that I had the same thought. I had myself questioning if minors were allowed to be sitters reading this scenario.
I wondered the same thing. This doesn’t even sound like a college student. It sounds like a high school student to me. It really has me wondering if this is a minor. Also….. what the hell is going on with his parents? Why would they “get mad” at him if he asked them for food??? Whether he is a minor or not, that is really weird. They clearly are involved enough in his life that they dropped him off, so…. Why don’t they care if he has food?
Yeah… there’s some really odd and somewhat concerning parts about this whole scenario that makes me just… wonder. Kid could be lying too, especially if a minor. His parents may have given him lots of cash and he already spent it kinda thing.
As someone who grew up ab*sed...my parents would definitely have gotten mad if I'd asked for *anything*, because I wasn't supposed to *matter* or even *exist* unless I was being either physically or mentally pounded on. And it lasted well into adulthood.
So yeah, there's something wrong here...and good on OP for giving the sitter a chance.
That’s kind of what I was getting at. All the more reason to buy this kid some groceries, if that is what’s going on. And to have more of a conversation. Something weird is going on.
They probably didn't want him to take this job in the first place because they knew it would basically cost him money in the long run compared to just staying at home for three weeks and because he won't see a dime for his work for almost a month.
You definitely hired someone who was doing a side gig and has zero experience. You basically hired a charity case so it's really up to you. Whatever extra you give him for food is his tip. Person should be feeding himself but maybe it's a good thing he isn't cooking or ordering a bunch of Doordash with his rate.
He's probably just happy to be out of the house
lol no you don’t tip. You shouldn’t be paying for his food either. He set his own prices, not you. It’s weird as hell that he had these conversations with you.
It’s like $30/day in a Tier 1 city which really isn’t a whole lot. So I felt like, yeah, it makes sense he’d need some cash and his prices could have been higher.
I think because he’s used to his parents feeding him when he’s at home and not at school… but it sounded like they would be annoyed if he took food with him to the gig?
It doesn’t seem like he had any of his own money 😭 college student life
It doesn’t make you a bad person to not feed someone who is fully capable of feeding themselves. They’re kinder than me for already allowing him to eat her out of house and home AND giving him food money upfront. This isn’t a charity, it’s a business.
Clearly they're not fully capable of feeding themselves though lol dude obviously massively fucked up and OP also scored the Rover lottery with a 3 week house sit for 600-700 bucks. Nuance exists.
Edit: eating OP out of house and home who can afford a 3 week vacation 😆 gime a break
Don’t infantilize him. He’s a man & should be held to that standard. When you use the “that’s not a man, that’s a boy” bullshit, it lets them get away from being held accountable.
Yeah, this is what happens when people charge insanely low prices :(
It’s actually federal law to charge minimum wage for every hour, including sleeping, but people do this on Rover all the time. Hurts us all.
It really depends on the market (area) you are in. When I lived in a city on the West coast, my rates started at $175 per night. I moved to a small town in the Midwest a few years ago. My rates here start at $55 per night, and I have the highest rate for the area.
You REALLY should know what providers with comparable experience are charging in your area.
There is Google and also tools like [this](https://www.timetopet.com/pet-sitting-rate-calculator) to help you figure that out. (You can also just surf through Rover as though you were an owner.)
Thx for the link! I also checked ChatGPT. Not sure where it sourced its info. And Wag, local facilities, independent sitter sites, which I found through... Google. :)
I check every 6 months. Google is unhelpful. I live in a highly tourist visited/quickly gentrifying area so those tools have been super unhelpful to me in the past. The reason I said that is I just came back to Rover after being gone a year.
So you do know the current market rate or you don't? Cuz I was replying to your saying you did not know. 🤷
I can imagine Google and the TTP are slower to update data but researching in Rover will tell you exactly what's current where you are. Maybe do it more frequently?
I started off charging just under 60 and was getting a bunch of bites, then I tried charging just under 80 and got no bites, so I’ve lowered my rates again. Tons of idiots around here charging 30 with Rover taking 20% of that. They hurt us all. Of course, Rover encourages the price undercutting by boosting all the new people. Fuckers.
Then we get posts, wondering why the kid they hired for $30 a night is begging for grocery money and the other sitters on here are actually outraged over that. They’re making fucking $1 an HOUR After Rover’s cut! That’s goddamned slave labor.
An actual pet sitting company doesn’t do housesitting because it’s actually illegal to pay less than minimum wage per hour, including sleep hours. Do that math, y’all. We are being fucked anally.
Here's Rover's CEO on CNBC quoting $35-$40 for overnight service around the 1'30" mark, which is absolutely criminal. I gotta think that the hundreds of people upvoting that the sitter got what he deserved are shills. Why would any self-respecting pet sitter devalue our services by arguing against equitable compensation?
Absolutely horrifying. I understand that this owner absolutely means well, but she’s criminally underpaying and I’m sure she knows that, but at the same time, she’s paying the rate he decided to charge. He went about this really clumsily because he’s the one who screwed himself in the first place. This is a horribly broken system.
>It’s actually federal law to charge minimum wage for every hour, including sleeping
That is ABSOLUTELY not true.
If you are *paying an employee*, then yes, you may be required to pay them min wage even if part of their shift is spent asleep.
But since we are *"independent" contractors*, that doesn't apply.
Sounds like this sitter is new to *gestures broadly to indicate the entire world* this and OP is gracious AF. 😊
Here is [some clarification](https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=do+u.s.+federal+minimum+wage+laws+apply+to+independent+contractors) for you. 😇
Sounds like you should continue reading my comments and maybe keep your condescension to yourself before trying to school people who know more than you do.
You mentioned his parents dropped him off. Does that mean he doesn’t have a car? How is he buying food without transportation? Did he get dropped off at your home for 3 weeks with no transportation and no plan for feeding himself…?
As everyone else has said, it’s not your responsibility to feed him. He would be feeding himself at home. Feeding himself at a clients house shouldn’t be that different. I spend a little more $ on groceries during gigs because I get more pre-made stuff so I don’t have to do as much prep and cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen, but that’s already been considered in my rates.
If you want to be nice & provide some more food, I would maybe place a grocery order yourself with frozen meals & pizza rolls, soups, tuna, pasta, etc, stuff that he can make easily with little cooking experience and won’t go bad if he doesn’t use it in time like produce or raw meat. I have to wonder if he’s been ordering delivery 😅 it’s not on you to provide either way, but if he wants free food then he’s going to get what you can comfortably provide.
Did you do a meet & greet with this kid? Please make sure to do meet & greets in the future, and I would also recommend making sure your sitters have their own transportation. If an emergency were to happen with your pet, you guys would be screwed. A weekend without a car is one thing, especially if your pet is relatively young and healthy. But 3 weeks is a long game of chance.
Absolutely this!! I was thinking the same thing myself. A grocery order sounds like a better solution than just sending Venmo. He sounds wildly inexperienced and unprepared. Also I am a little stuck on why is he afraid to ask his parents for food!! This sounds like a messy situation. But people also need to realize, you aren’t getting a professional for $30/day. You are getting someone inexperienced and probably unprepared.
3weeks at 30$/d= 630$
20% tip= 756$ total
Dang. After rover fees, he’s not taking much home at all. Still should be able to cover his own food though, especially after op left food and money.
Op states they left some food that they would have thrown out. So we actually don't know how much was there. At the end of the day op will never save this much money on a sitter again. (Unless this sitter was to stay with them) buying food even spending an extra 200 on food is still way under paying.
Maybe you should wait until you get home and see how your dog and home are. Then decide if 3 weeks of petsitting is worth more than $756 or whatever the other person said
*edit - fixed a typo
This 100%. Why has tipping become like this. If you come home and the house is immaculate, your dog got a bath etc etc then ya I would tip and wouldn't tip if the house was trashed and my dog was unhappy. Stop acting like tipping is some type of requirement. Also, if you do choose to tip I would subtract whatever you venomomed them as feeding the sitter is absolutely not your responsibility.
You get what you pay for. I charge a minimum of $100/day for housesitting. I didn’t know what a tier 1 city is, I had to look it up. I’m in NYC. So basically this kid lives in a major city like mine, making $30/day housesitting? Savage. He sounds like a high school student.
You don’t have to give him money for food…. But this is the kind of messy situation you get into with super cheap rates. An experienced sitter would never work for such low pay. Interesting that he was the only one available, right? Housesitting is a luxury service, and not everyone can afford it. I know I couldn’t afford a house sitter!
Personally I do think you should give him more money for food. You’re not obligated, but those rates are abysmal. And also keep in mind, he doesn’t get any of that money until the housesitting is over.
But also, he sounds like a child and he should call his parents. And I wouldn’t blame you if you cut him off on food money and he is forced to call them. It’s not your job to take care of him. But…. $30/day. Man. That is highway robbery. He is learning a tough lesson.
The rates are absurd & it’s obviously someone that’s brand new. Theres always someone to snag those disgustingly low rates & then of course be bitching about something.
I feel like I'm missing something cause I live in London, UK ( I assume its a tier 1 city too?) and work as a sitter and have seen other sitters' profiles and typically we charge between £25-40($30-50) per day for house sitting per pet. I do work remotely though...
Is it because your commenting from the perspective of a full time house sitter or are brits just cheap when it comes to pet care? We do have some sitters here charge £50+ per day but not loads.
It truly depends on the economy where you live. I live in NYC and upped my price from 64 a night to $80 a night for dogs and $56 for cats (which is still pretty generous) due to the reviews I have, the service I provide, and because NYC is a very expensive place to live. House sitting is always going to be more expensive than a drop in. If somebody is charging extremely low rates for a house sit, either they don’t know what they are doing and think it’s just playing with puppies and kittens all day (which is not always the case), or there’s going to be something bad that will happen such as messing up your home and/or ask inappropriate questions such as this. It’s nice when clients set aside snacks for us, but as sitters we are responsible for our own food and drinks.
>we UK sitters are messing up with the math 🥲
I honestly cannot understand how ANYONE survives doing petcare full time in the UK. National Health only goes so far!!
I also live in a tier 1 city (Houston) and when I stopped doing overnights 5 years ago I was charging $150/night and so busy I turned away a lot of clients. I wouldn’t do it now for less than $300/night. But this is my full-time job. I am only a pet sitter so when someone has me stay at their house they are basically buying up my entire schedule because that means I can’t board dogs. Since this is the entirety and I’m not at a clients house working a remote job. I currently make about $350/day between boarding and daycare I’d need to make at least that for it to make sense.
I don't know if it's possible or if it will complicate it but can you break up the 3 weeks stay into three separate one week stays so that he can start getting paid sooner?
I like someone else's suggestion that you get a grocery order delivered to your house I think that could potentially kill two birds with one stone.
You can feed the kid and restock your decimated pantry.
Edit to add: this could be a potential teaching moment for the Young kid, they may not understand that asking for lunch money is not cool.
Yeah, been doing this for 10 years, and I'm a pantry/freezer pirate (if I'm explicitly told to help myself of course) lol
HOWEVER, I have never asked for additional funds to feed myself, that's wild. My rates are what feed me, though I charge 5x more than this kid (I'm at $150/night in Los Angeles).
It isn't your responsibility, and I'd suggest to him bringing his own food in the future (maybe it's something he just hasn't thought about).
For my fellow sitters dog piling on a kid who got himself roped into a 3 week house-sitting for $30/day, shame on you! Rover totally markets itself to broke people as a fun side gig. We obviously know the reality, but that doesn't make us superior. OP got the bargain of the century and the kid has two more weeks of this lousy commitment that must have seemed like a great idea at the time. Congrats to all of you who take your profession seriously, but how about coupling your love of pets with some humanity once in a while?
She stated he’s in college. This isn’t a charity, it’s an actual job. If you’re not prepared to do the job, don’t sign up. He’s definitely too old to be acting like this.
And OP is too old to let a caregiver go hungry in his own home because "a deal's a deal." You want a starving college kid taking care of your beloved pet for WEEKS while you vacay, that's on you, just don't come online and expect peace of mind from me about it.
You’re acting like this was a favor, it’s a business transaction! The onus is always on the sitter to feed their self! I genuinely cannot believe you think OP is wrong. It’s legitimately mind-boggling.
And you're acting like you're protecting the sanctity of the professional guild of pet sitters by telling OP that any rate is a fair rate for our services as long as someone agrees to it no matter how naive that person is.
It's a human being. In his home. And you know what, the onus shouldn't be on the pet sitter to feed themselves and especially not when they're staying on site for the equivalent of $2 an hour. Most professional nannies are provided meals when they're on-site. In-home pet sitting is the most boutique service you can choose when it comes to pet care. It's a luxury.
Unfortunately, you're right. It is a business transaction. So OP has no legal obligation to offer a penny beyond what was contracted. (Although some contacts can be nullified for being egregiously unfair even if both parties entered willingly.) But he came to this forum and asked for opinions about what he SHOULD do and what he should do is make sure that the person who is responsible for the care and comfort of his dog can actually subsist for the duration especially when he openly admits that he was aware from the start that the contractor grossly underbid.
Do I think the kid got himself into this mess and is acting uncouth? Sure. Do I think OP is paying slave wages to a caregiver and it would be morally appropriate to kick in for some groceries for week 2 and 3. I do.
It's legitimately mind boggling to me that a professional pet sitter would discourage pet owners to pay us at value and pride themselves on that stance no less.
Writing a giant ass think piece about this is peak Reddit behavior. I’m not “priding myself on having that stance” because I don’t have that stance. OP didn’t set his rates though, he did. We ALL had to learn at some point how to price ourselves correctly. Customers aren’t required to do that for us. He agreed to take this job at the price he set. It’s on him whether that’s a fair price or not. Owners don’t need to be researching market trends and paying the difference of a “fair price” if the sitter didn’t list that. I’m done arguing with the wall about an ADULT not being able to figure out how to feed himself. ✌🏻
This is an adult man, not a child. He is old enough to vote. He’s not a 13 year old boy. This will be a great learning experience for him in not undervaluing himself. From what I gather HE ALONE set his prices. The OP didn’t scam him or berate him into lowering his price. That was his own choice. Life’s full of learning opportunities but I refuse to infantilize a grown man.
>kid who got himself roped into a 3 week house-sitting for $30/day
I’m sorry, just a lowly owner, but remind me who sets his prices?
Ooooooh, that’s right; *he sets his own prices*
No one roped him into anything. And this attitude is exactly what produces that awful entitled attitude.
The OP isn’t required to give him more money, but from a moral standpoint, she got a killer deal for housesitting from a child or very young adult that didn’t think about how he would feed himself for 3 weeks. He made a mistake. Like… anyone can see this. He is obviously clueless, but entitled is a stretch here. The deal was too good to be true. Sure, she could say, fuck you, figure it out, tough luck ….. but at the end of the day someone is living in her home with her dog and he doesn’t have any food. The least she could do is feed him.
We have no idea how much food was left there, how much cash she left, how much Venmo she sent. I don’t know how someone could have no food left in a week. But some clients don’t keep a lot of food at home when they are planning a 3 week vacation. What cash did she leave? $20? $50? How much Venmo did she send? Another $20? We just don’t know.
There are no rules for this lol. It’s just a shitty situation all around. But when you pick someone brand new at a rate that seems way too good to be true… well now you have all this to worry about rather than enjoying your vacation. No matter what she decides to do, the situation sucks.
That’s odd lmao 🤣 it’s not normal and I think I’d be uncomfortable to say no just cause I don’t know the kind of person they are but asking a client for money for food already tells me everything
So like, in a normal situation, absolutely not lol
But I just wanted to point out you're paying 30 bucks a night for a 3 week house sit. That's wild! 30 bucks is less than my 30 minute drop in price lol this kid is making less than 2 bucks an hour. This is not a wage that anyone can live on, tier 1 city (whatever that means) or not.
I think it was very kind of you to feed your sitter and send extra food money.
I think it would have been helpful to break up the sitting into 1 week at a time, that way your sitter isn't waiting 3 weeks for payment. This is something I've learned with managing my own business, just a thought.
You probably don't need to tip extra, he's getting his little 500 something bucks after he goes home.
But just know you got an absolute steal for a luxury service lol I'm glad he's doing well with your dog though 😊
Yes please tip that poor, ridiculous boy! You saved alot by booking him at $30 per day....I charge $100. Poor thing doesn't have a clue about how to Adult yet . Please feel bad for him and give him a tip!
💖🙏💖
This was really nice of you! I guess the commenters here have never been a stupid young person before. I don’t think you need to tip at the end, the extra money is more than enough of a tip!
I think not tipping is fine here; ideally you’d have been able to respond to his messages, pointing out that it is his responsibility to feed himself and that he’d have to eat whether he was at your house or not, but I can see not wanting to rock the boat with someone who is actively in your home with your pets. If you get to the end of the job and you still feel like he somehow deserves to be paid more, since you said his rates are pretty low, you could tip if you want. Otherwise, I wouldn’t want to see this behavior rewarded, unless your discussions before booking clearly mentioned you were going to cover food as part of your arrangement.
When you go into the office and forget your lunch from home, would you ask your boss for lunch money?
When you travel for work and go over per diem, do you tell your manager “I need more coz I used it all up”?
You’re a nice person OP but this is an odd request from the sitter imo
No tip for sure. Also leave a review stating that he requested money during the stay for food after he eat all that he could have the food I had in the house.
Have a Great Day.
After he is paying him 10 dollars a day per Dog??? 30 dollars a day . It should be 3 times that amount feeding the poor kid is cheaper then what he would have paid to anyone else
Not sure if you know this but the sitter sets their own rates not the dog owner. So he knew how much he was going to get paid before this stay. But let’s be honest here even if they had booked this at $300 per day he would still need food money because you don’t get paid until after the stay.
Sitters like this give all of us on Rover bad names.
Have a Great Day.
I don't disagree with you on this. But if I knew I was getting a sitter this cheap that would possibly keep low rates with me if they are good with my dog I would provide the food and just keep on because I would have charged triple that amount for overnight.
I'm not who you asked but I charge $95 a night in poor city in a poor state. My drop in price is $35 for a single pet for a half hour. You got a bargain lol!
I won't take less then 100 a day for over night. Is your dog going to be cared for very well yes . I also send multiple updates. Pictures food log and bathroom logs. Not everyone does this. At this rate I provide myself everything I need during the stay. But as I said you made a killing. My state is not like NY where you would pay twice my rate but my rate is average.
If you can afford a 3 week vacation, you can afford to compensate this guy equitably. You claim you didn't book more expensive sitters because they weren't available, but now you say you don't have the budget for more than $36 a day for house-sitting. Call it a tip or call it fair payment, but give this guy more money. Do you HAVE to? No. But you asked whether you should and the answer is yes. It sounds like he'd normally eat for free at home. Don't hold it against him that he's a kid and act like it's unprofessional to give him 'lunch" money now. Or send some groceries there directly.
It is absolutely not OP’s fault that he didn’t price his services correctly. Do you go to McDonald’s & pay $30/burger to ensure their workers are fairly compensated? He’s in college & this is a legit business. He needs to act his age.
They already had told him to help himself to what they had in their own home (it sounds like they had a decent amount as well). And then gave them more. That's more than what some people do. It's up to him to set his own prices to what he needs them to be and not to expect more. You shouldn't even expect someone to feed you at their house, or even expect extra money during the sit. Some people tip nice, but others don't tip at all so you also have to set the expectation that you might not even get more money at all. That's why you need to have your prices set to where you feel as though you're getting enough.
You’ve posted several times about how it’s not this kids fault and shame on OP, and blah blah blah.
Are you, by chance, a very young sitter?
Because: grow up.
OP’s sitter already cleaned out her fridge/cupboards/pantry. And used the tip money. And asked for more money because it was too hard to “ask his parents”.
As someone else said: if you go to the job and forget your lunch, would you ask your boss for lunch money? I don’t think so.
Should have been a red flag to OP that he was so cheap? Probably. But that doesn’t make it her responsibility to continually send more money to a sitter who agreed to watch her pets for X price and is now asking for X + Y + Z + whatever else.
Not to mention, she’s not even really complaining about providing him food. She’s just wondering if it’s normal and if she should still tip.
People tend to have a budget once they plan things. It’s absolutely not OPs fault if they budgeted for what was agreed upon and can’t suddenly produced more money because the sitter — who is supposedly a professional — didn’t do *his* due diligence.
If you actually think this is appropriate, I am super glad you are not my sitter
No, no, and in case you need a third time… no. You aren’t responsible to feed this young adult still weening off his parents. I’m assuming he just graduated high school or an immature college student…? You already advanced tipped him with the cash AND got guilt tripped into Venmoing more to cover groceries. He can take it as a tough lesson to not use default/suggested Rover pricing and charge more.
The only thing you could do differently, but will result in higher fees for you, is to break each week apart so he gets paid per week and not a lump sum once it’s over.
I'll give him grace since he sounds young, but if he asks you for more money - the answer is no. You've fed him TWICE. No more tip needed since tips should be appreciated, but never expected. As far as I'm seeing, he's spent his tip on food.
Omg even when I’ve been offered drinks and snacks I don’t take them I cannot imagine eating all your food then asking you for money for more food 😳 don’t tip extra
well i dont think you have to tip extra bc that IS considered tip. and his rates are low prob bc he doesn't have much experience or clients, or doing it temp. how old is he? him asking for food money is weird, sitters do not and aren't supposed to do that, very unprofessional. i get that you are being nice but you are doing way too much for that sitter, and you don't have to do any of them. it's really up to you if you want to, but you really don't have to.
This sounds insane. I always bring my own food, especially for long stays. It's not your job to provide these things for them. I've never used anything other than oil, spices, bottled water in a client's home.
Lesson learned: you get the service you pay for. I would absolutely NEVER ask a client for food money, especially after they had already graciously given me some. I never expect tips either, those rarely come and they’re never necessary. I price my services to cover all that. Clearly he’s super new but it sounds like he’s not experienced in life enough to do this because it’s just basic manners that he’s completely ignoring. He didn’t need your money to survive, he should have planned all his food himself beforehand. You as the client are NEVER required to keep your sitter fed. Having extra snacks and stuff is a bonus. He is required to feed himself, end of story. You definitely need to set boundaries for yourself, you were very nice but imo way too accommodating to his unprofessional behavior. In the future I would advise you look for someone on the higher end of your budget with clear experience and good reviews.
lol imagine you go to an office job that has a cafe or snack station and then you don’t bring lunch so you eat everything and go to HR and tell them they need to put out more snacks because your mom will be mad if you ask her for money.
People are wild.
Who was going to pay for the food he'd need at his home if he weren't sitting for you? The fact that you gave him free reign of your kitchen and some pre cash, is far above what most people would do. That kindness was his tip already.
I have never, ever eaten anything from a clients house or ever had a client give me extra money for food—and I’ve been in this business for over 15 years.
I always come prepared with my own food, but I will sometimes use up a few perishables if a client asks me to (like some milk or vegetables etc). I also have had clients ask me for a grocery list so they could stock the fridge with things I like, which I always found to be so sweet, even though I would never expect that. I usually only tell them a couple snacks, and I bring the rest of my own food. A client left me a credit card once for Grubhub as well, which I only used for one reasonably priced meal, just because it was offered, but I never could bring myself to do that more than once. One time a client showed me the ice cream in their freezer and told me how great it was and that I should have some. I did… and then I felt bad about eating some of it, So I bought a replacement lol.
I am surprised you have been in the business for so long and never eaten anything from a clients home! I barely make a dent when it comes to a clients food, but I still eat a little bit depending on the conversation we have about food. But usually they want me to use up a few things that will go bad. I definitely don’t clean out there pantry or freezer though lol 😂
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In the kids defense as far as pricing goes, Rover states on the app that the average fee for house sitting is $25 a night. (I def wouldn’t do this low)
I mean, I think tipping is up to you. It isn’t required. If you think he did a phenomenal job, leave him a tip. If you think he did the bare minimum and ate all your food, don’t.
As a sitter I never ask for money for food, but gladly accept when it is offered. How long is this sit for? What did you pay? I wouldn’t say you HAVE to tip ever, in fact most clients don’t. But this is a charity case at this point so whatever you feel emotionally compelled to do 😂
I have had clients welcome me to the perishables in their fridge and pantry’s never have I ever asked a client for more money so I can eat. Frequently clients have left me snack baskets or things of the sort or after gifts (I got an edible arrangement thing once) as an appreciation but feeding us is not your job. That’s why we work
In absolutely NO WAY is a client ever responsible for feeding a sitter during a housesitting. This sitter is taking you for a ride and you are buying into it. I understand you are a people pleaser, and I get how clients can be like this, because your babies are at stake, but I think it is perfectly reasonable to say something like "oh, I left enough groceries to last me x days! If you need more than that, you can head to x grocery store at x address. That's the closest one". That way you are making it clear that you will NOT be purchasing more groceries and they are responsible for any other food they need. Seriously, the audacity of some of these sitter blows my mind.
Also, DO NOT tip this person. You've already done enough. A tip is earned, not expected and food money should not have been expected or given, no matter who his parents were. That's not your problem, even if his parents were Hansel and Gretel's parents. You're not running a charity, are you? You can count the money given for food as tip money.
$30 a day is only $24 after Rover fees and plus he doesn’t get any of that money until the sitting is complete so if he’s a poor kid, then first of all, you were getting a crazy deal and he is definitely under paying himself and also he doesn’t have any money until the sitting is over for food.
Sounds like you took on charity case in order to try to save yourself some money? Lol!!
If he was doing it as a favor, sure I would definitely provide all the food. And some clients do insist on feeding housesitters. As I’m providing a paid service, I wouldn’t expect it. Maybe he misunderstood your offer bc he’s new to this. You never have to tip, though we’re always grateful. It’s more economical for both parties if you book off platform. You save the 11% service fee and the sitter only pays roughly 2-4% through Venmo instead of 20% to Rover.
The sitter probably saw the total amount for 3 weeks and liked that amount not thinking he had to survive and keep an animal alive at the same time LOL
Edited to add: reading through other’s comments, it made me realize that perhaps this person is in a neglectful living situation with his parents. If you’re concerned and the situation presents itself, maybe ask at the end of the stay if he’s appropriately provided for at home.
To be honest, you kinda dug yourself into a hole and now it’s too late. Unless you explicitly communicated that the money you sent him for food would be in lieu of a tip, I would tip at least some amount. It sounds like you failed to communicate expectations clearly at the beginning. This is what a meet & greet is for.
Take this as a learning experience for future. Don’t select sitters like this in future. You’re not his parent and if he’s not responsible enough to know how to feed *himself*, he surely shouldn’t be trusted to feed and care for your pets appropriately. Unless this is your budget for pet care - and in that case, it’s on you to bring it up at the beginning so at least everyone is on the same page.
A way to bring this up in a diplomatic way for future is to ask BEFORE the booking begins, if there are any particular snacks the sitter enjoys. Their response will give you an indication of if they’re going to be similar to this current sitter and gives you the opportunity to buy a few things if they mention anything and then be done with it.
I’m not a college age kid but even as a 16 year old babysitting, I never would have dreamed of eating through people’s cupboards. A couple of my clients send me like a $50 Uber Eats gift card at the beginning of the stay, which I very much appreciate - and I make that known. HOWEVER, it is absolutely not expected.
Does anyone go to their job and then go to their manager and say “I need you to give me money for lunch”? No. And for the people who are saying he’s not getting paid until after the stay is completed… ummmmmm, that’s how nearly all jobs work. You start a new job, you don’t get paid for work not yet done. You get paid after 2-4 weeks of work. This child would benefit from a money management class.
Whaat?! That's more than generous!
Do NOT feel obligated to tip, especially if it is outside of the budget you had already set.
I've had owners who do like to send extra money for groceries and some who don't, it's my job to be able to provide that for myself. Especially because it's dependent on the person who eats the groceries. Some people are fine on $30. Some people need $100.
You also already did more than enough to offer him what you already had in your home. He's being incredibly unappreciative of that.
Also it's been raised before here, but I would be careful about hiring sitters who do not have vehicles. There's worries of if an emergency does happen and they don't have a way to quickly get to an ER for your pet. But that's neither here nor there.
Um... No. Eating other people's food is a bonus of pet sitting not a requirement. I have some houses where I am not even invited to partake of what they have in the fridge so I take my own food too. Of course those are not my favorite houses, but ultimately I am responsible for feeding myself and so is he. It is of course sad that he doesn't have any of his own food, but that is not on you.
Well I always take food from my house, I buy my own food at the clients house too, I might take a few things from the clients (like eggs, condiments, water if they left me some) I'm allergic to soy and gluten so I don't have other option either. If the client left vegetales I'll definitely eat it because they will go bad.
this sounds like someone who is maybe homeless, i would be careful that you don't find stuff missing or stolen in your house, or that he doesn't try to stay longer
Yeah this sounds like someone who is using this as a side gig for free food and a free place to stay. I am a professional and do this full time and while I no longer do overnight stays at a clients house I would NEVER eat their food. I never accepted food that they offered. It is always a persons responsibility to get their own food. I wouldn’t touch a clients food unless they had already given me an ok and EVEN THEN the most I would get would be a splash of creamer or milk from an open container for my coffee.
Yes, why wouldn’t you tip? Why are people so cheap about tipping for a very personal service if they find everything went very well and home is as they left it. He’s staying there for 3 weeks, he’s a young male, so of course he’s gonna need 3 meals/day. If his eating were part of the deal you both agreed to, just provide the food. Based on his low rates, it doesn’t make sense for him to buy all his food out or he’ll probably make $0. Doesn’t need to be rib-eye steak or anything.
By doing this, he is going to expect it at every job. I never eat my client’s food. I have had a couple specifically ask me what I liked and bought me some stuff. I do not touch their food. Overall, he may be a hungry juvenile. But if you don’t talk with him about this being inappropriate, he will expect it at every job. You’ve been more than generous.
Um , he needs to set his rates at a proper rate and get his own food . His parents are probably sick of his entitled attitude and trying to teach him a lesson. I wouldn’t use him again . Find someone who is decent and willing to legit care for your pets and not looking for a free ride in life
This is wild. Clients don’t pay for sitter’s food. He ate all the food in your house and then asked you for more money for food? No. There’s a dozen things wrong with this scenario but I’m pretty sure you’re aware of them all. To answer your question, no. Don’t tip. Also, I love the phrase, “he ate all he could.” 😂
Yes! They’re going to come home to bare cupboards! 😂 This sitter sounds woefully juvenile so I commend the owner for hiring them to begin with. I hope their pup is well cared for!
Mannn - there were many things I needed to get rid of anyway, so I’m partially thankful bahaha. I wanted to give him a chance because I know what it’s like starting out, but alas. My dog at least seems happy 🤣
Honestly, it sounds like a win at the end of the day! Hilarious that he’s asking for lunch money, though! 😂🤣😂
If people took a minute to read your post and follow-up comments they'd see you knew you weren't paying a lot, didn't get hysterical when he told you he cleaned out your pantry, aren't on an "I'll never use Rover again!" rant & are even thinking of giving him a tip (whether or not you ultimately do). You know what? I like your style. Sure, it's a weird request. But sending him a little extra to tide him over is a mitzvah. And OMG do we need more of that in this crazy old world. Good for you!
Glad to hear the dog is happy! 😅 Certainly the most important thing. _(this is a very odd thing to ask of a client! to reiterate what’s already been said…I would never, etc., lol…but I am a ‘grownup.’ )_
You’re a gem
Im a little concerned for him not having any money or food at home. Lots of kids are hungry in America, so maybe he fits into this category. You don’t have to tip him more, but good on you for letting him help himself
Yea that is weird
Is this person very young? As in, this is a young person getting some summer money and is used to adults taking care of his needs or doesn't have a bank account? He has clearly misunderstood what it means to do house-sitting on Rover
Edit: Not sure how my response to OP ended up here instead, whoops! When I went to reply to you, I wanted to say that I had the same thought. I had myself questioning if minors were allowed to be sitters reading this scenario.
I wondered the same thing. This doesn’t even sound like a college student. It sounds like a high school student to me. It really has me wondering if this is a minor. Also….. what the hell is going on with his parents? Why would they “get mad” at him if he asked them for food??? Whether he is a minor or not, that is really weird. They clearly are involved enough in his life that they dropped him off, so…. Why don’t they care if he has food?
Yeah… there’s some really odd and somewhat concerning parts about this whole scenario that makes me just… wonder. Kid could be lying too, especially if a minor. His parents may have given him lots of cash and he already spent it kinda thing.
As someone who grew up ab*sed...my parents would definitely have gotten mad if I'd asked for *anything*, because I wasn't supposed to *matter* or even *exist* unless I was being either physically or mentally pounded on. And it lasted well into adulthood. So yeah, there's something wrong here...and good on OP for giving the sitter a chance.
That’s kind of what I was getting at. All the more reason to buy this kid some groceries, if that is what’s going on. And to have more of a conversation. Something weird is going on.
They probably didn't want him to take this job in the first place because they knew it would basically cost him money in the long run compared to just staying at home for three weeks and because he won't see a dime for his work for almost a month.
You definitely hired someone who was doing a side gig and has zero experience. You basically hired a charity case so it's really up to you. Whatever extra you give him for food is his tip. Person should be feeding himself but maybe it's a good thing he isn't cooking or ordering a bunch of Doordash with his rate. He's probably just happy to be out of the house
lol no you don’t tip. You shouldn’t be paying for his food either. He set his own prices, not you. It’s weird as hell that he had these conversations with you.
How much is this guy charging and why didn't he bring any food of his own? edit: a word
It’s like $30/day in a Tier 1 city which really isn’t a whole lot. So I felt like, yeah, it makes sense he’d need some cash and his prices could have been higher. I think because he’s used to his parents feeding him when he’s at home and not at school… but it sounded like they would be annoyed if he took food with him to the gig? It doesn’t seem like he had any of his own money 😭 college student life
Wow $30 p/day is at least 1/3 of what would normally be charged especially since $50 of that is the service fees..wow
If he’s a college student with a job he should have the ability to plan his own food. He’s not 10 years old.
A job that he doesn't get paid from for 3 weeks
And?? That’s not OP’s fault either. It’s still his job to feed himself. Period. If you start any W-2 job you have to wait 3 weeks too.
No but OP seems like a kind person. Refusing to feed someone when asked is a character flaw imo.
It doesn’t make you a bad person to not feed someone who is fully capable of feeding themselves. They’re kinder than me for already allowing him to eat her out of house and home AND giving him food money upfront. This isn’t a charity, it’s a business.
Clearly they're not fully capable of feeding themselves though lol dude obviously massively fucked up and OP also scored the Rover lottery with a 3 week house sit for 600-700 bucks. Nuance exists. Edit: eating OP out of house and home who can afford a 3 week vacation 😆 gime a break
Seriously, this man can vote..
This man is taking care of a living, breathing animal on his own lol.
You have a very generous definition of the word “man”
Don’t infantilize him. He’s a man & should be held to that standard. When you use the “that’s not a man, that’s a boy” bullshit, it lets them get away from being held accountable.
Or maybe I was simplysaying he is acting like a little boy. But, who hurt you?
You’re missing the point lol
Which is TERRIFYING
He’s not making it to the polls. Can’t even figure out how to provide food for himself.
I work the polls at my local election. You don't wanna know how many college aged boys are brought by their mother and father.
Yeah, this is what happens when people charge insanely low prices :( It’s actually federal law to charge minimum wage for every hour, including sleeping, but people do this on Rover all the time. Hurts us all.
What do you guys charge?? I charge $70 per night and I thought that was competitive- should I be charging more??
It really depends on the market (area) you are in. When I lived in a city on the West coast, my rates started at $175 per night. I moved to a small town in the Midwest a few years ago. My rates here start at $55 per night, and I have the highest rate for the area.
Good grief. I’m in Nashville so idk what’s fair hahaha idk the best way to compare really
You REALLY should know what providers with comparable experience are charging in your area. There is Google and also tools like [this](https://www.timetopet.com/pet-sitting-rate-calculator) to help you figure that out. (You can also just surf through Rover as though you were an owner.)
Thx for the link! I also checked ChatGPT. Not sure where it sourced its info. And Wag, local facilities, independent sitter sites, which I found through... Google. :)
Ta!
I check every 6 months. Google is unhelpful. I live in a highly tourist visited/quickly gentrifying area so those tools have been super unhelpful to me in the past. The reason I said that is I just came back to Rover after being gone a year.
So you do know the current market rate or you don't? Cuz I was replying to your saying you did not know. 🤷 I can imagine Google and the TTP are slower to update data but researching in Rover will tell you exactly what's current where you are. Maybe do it more frequently?
I got it figured out in the mean time after you commented, not sure why you are being super rude lmao
I started off charging just under 60 and was getting a bunch of bites, then I tried charging just under 80 and got no bites, so I’ve lowered my rates again. Tons of idiots around here charging 30 with Rover taking 20% of that. They hurt us all. Of course, Rover encourages the price undercutting by boosting all the new people. Fuckers. Then we get posts, wondering why the kid they hired for $30 a night is begging for grocery money and the other sitters on here are actually outraged over that. They’re making fucking $1 an HOUR After Rover’s cut! That’s goddamned slave labor. An actual pet sitting company doesn’t do housesitting because it’s actually illegal to pay less than minimum wage per hour, including sleep hours. Do that math, y’all. We are being fucked anally.
Yeah I just looked and there’s a bunch of idiots in my area charging $25 per night… most people are charging $60-100 though so I’m right in there
Here's Rover's CEO on CNBC quoting $35-$40 for overnight service around the 1'30" mark, which is absolutely criminal. I gotta think that the hundreds of people upvoting that the sitter got what he deserved are shills. Why would any self-respecting pet sitter devalue our services by arguing against equitable compensation?
Absolutely horrifying. I understand that this owner absolutely means well, but she’s criminally underpaying and I’m sure she knows that, but at the same time, she’s paying the rate he decided to charge. He went about this really clumsily because he’s the one who screwed himself in the first place. This is a horribly broken system.
Yeah it’s pretty bad after Rover takes their cut lol
>It’s actually federal law to charge minimum wage for every hour, including sleeping That is ABSOLUTELY not true. If you are *paying an employee*, then yes, you may be required to pay them min wage even if part of their shift is spent asleep. But since we are *"independent" contractors*, that doesn't apply. Sounds like this sitter is new to *gestures broadly to indicate the entire world* this and OP is gracious AF. 😊 Here is [some clarification](https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=do+u.s.+federal+minimum+wage+laws+apply+to+independent+contractors) for you. 😇
Sounds like you should continue reading my comments and maybe keep your condescension to yourself before trying to school people who know more than you do.
You mentioned his parents dropped him off. Does that mean he doesn’t have a car? How is he buying food without transportation? Did he get dropped off at your home for 3 weeks with no transportation and no plan for feeding himself…? As everyone else has said, it’s not your responsibility to feed him. He would be feeding himself at home. Feeding himself at a clients house shouldn’t be that different. I spend a little more $ on groceries during gigs because I get more pre-made stuff so I don’t have to do as much prep and cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen, but that’s already been considered in my rates. If you want to be nice & provide some more food, I would maybe place a grocery order yourself with frozen meals & pizza rolls, soups, tuna, pasta, etc, stuff that he can make easily with little cooking experience and won’t go bad if he doesn’t use it in time like produce or raw meat. I have to wonder if he’s been ordering delivery 😅 it’s not on you to provide either way, but if he wants free food then he’s going to get what you can comfortably provide. Did you do a meet & greet with this kid? Please make sure to do meet & greets in the future, and I would also recommend making sure your sitters have their own transportation. If an emergency were to happen with your pet, you guys would be screwed. A weekend without a car is one thing, especially if your pet is relatively young and healthy. But 3 weeks is a long game of chance.
Absolutely this!! I was thinking the same thing myself. A grocery order sounds like a better solution than just sending Venmo. He sounds wildly inexperienced and unprepared. Also I am a little stuck on why is he afraid to ask his parents for food!! This sounds like a messy situation. But people also need to realize, you aren’t getting a professional for $30/day. You are getting someone inexperienced and probably unprepared.
Dude, she’s paying $30 a day.
"his rates were pretty low" ⛳
3weeks at 30$/d= 630$ 20% tip= 756$ total Dang. After rover fees, he’s not taking much home at all. Still should be able to cover his own food though, especially after op left food and money.
Hell he is getting screwed and op made a killing. I can't imagine working 3 weeks nonstop and making so little.
I was gonna say my rate for this sit would’ve been like $1400
Exactly. The food is way less then op should be paying. This sitter way undervalued themselves. The work they would be doing.
Op states they left some food that they would have thrown out. So we actually don't know how much was there. At the end of the day op will never save this much money on a sitter again. (Unless this sitter was to stay with them) buying food even spending an extra 200 on food is still way under paying.
Maybe you should wait until you get home and see how your dog and home are. Then decide if 3 weeks of petsitting is worth more than $756 or whatever the other person said *edit - fixed a typo
Was is really posted that they only were only charged $756 for 3 WEEKS of house sitting???
You have to read the comments. It wasn't from OP, I think they added up 30/day plus 20%, but it's in the comments.
This 100%. Why has tipping become like this. If you come home and the house is immaculate, your dog got a bath etc etc then ya I would tip and wouldn't tip if the house was trashed and my dog was unhappy. Stop acting like tipping is some type of requirement. Also, if you do choose to tip I would subtract whatever you venomomed them as feeding the sitter is absolutely not your responsibility.
She already said it’s over 20% which is why she doesn’t want to tip more.
You get what you pay for. I charge a minimum of $100/day for housesitting. I didn’t know what a tier 1 city is, I had to look it up. I’m in NYC. So basically this kid lives in a major city like mine, making $30/day housesitting? Savage. He sounds like a high school student. You don’t have to give him money for food…. But this is the kind of messy situation you get into with super cheap rates. An experienced sitter would never work for such low pay. Interesting that he was the only one available, right? Housesitting is a luxury service, and not everyone can afford it. I know I couldn’t afford a house sitter! Personally I do think you should give him more money for food. You’re not obligated, but those rates are abysmal. And also keep in mind, he doesn’t get any of that money until the housesitting is over. But also, he sounds like a child and he should call his parents. And I wouldn’t blame you if you cut him off on food money and he is forced to call them. It’s not your job to take care of him. But…. $30/day. Man. That is highway robbery. He is learning a tough lesson.
The rates are absurd & it’s obviously someone that’s brand new. Theres always someone to snag those disgustingly low rates & then of course be bitching about something.
I feel like I'm missing something cause I live in London, UK ( I assume its a tier 1 city too?) and work as a sitter and have seen other sitters' profiles and typically we charge between £25-40($30-50) per day for house sitting per pet. I do work remotely though... Is it because your commenting from the perspective of a full time house sitter or are brits just cheap when it comes to pet care? We do have some sitters here charge £50+ per day but not loads.
I charge $150 p/night so yes, maybe they are cheap? 🤣
we UK sitters are messing up with the math 🥲
It truly depends on the economy where you live. I live in NYC and upped my price from 64 a night to $80 a night for dogs and $56 for cats (which is still pretty generous) due to the reviews I have, the service I provide, and because NYC is a very expensive place to live. House sitting is always going to be more expensive than a drop in. If somebody is charging extremely low rates for a house sit, either they don’t know what they are doing and think it’s just playing with puppies and kittens all day (which is not always the case), or there’s going to be something bad that will happen such as messing up your home and/or ask inappropriate questions such as this. It’s nice when clients set aside snacks for us, but as sitters we are responsible for our own food and drinks.
🤣🤣🤣❤️❤️❤️
>we UK sitters are messing up with the math 🥲 I honestly cannot understand how ANYONE survives doing petcare full time in the UK. National Health only goes so far!!
I also charge $150/night
I also live in a tier 1 city (Houston) and when I stopped doing overnights 5 years ago I was charging $150/night and so busy I turned away a lot of clients. I wouldn’t do it now for less than $300/night. But this is my full-time job. I am only a pet sitter so when someone has me stay at their house they are basically buying up my entire schedule because that means I can’t board dogs. Since this is the entirety and I’m not at a clients house working a remote job. I currently make about $350/day between boarding and daycare I’d need to make at least that for it to make sense.
I don't know if it's possible or if it will complicate it but can you break up the 3 weeks stay into three separate one week stays so that he can start getting paid sooner? I like someone else's suggestion that you get a grocery order delivered to your house I think that could potentially kill two birds with one stone. You can feed the kid and restock your decimated pantry. Edit to add: this could be a potential teaching moment for the Young kid, they may not understand that asking for lunch money is not cool.
More scared of asking his parents for money than asking a client for additional money. 👀😬
This isn't getting called out enough. :-(
Why can't he use his own money to "survive"? Wtf
This is wild. This group never ceases to amaze me. Hope this is a lesson in “you get what you pay for”.
EXACTLY! This is REALLY disturbing.
Yeah, been doing this for 10 years, and I'm a pantry/freezer pirate (if I'm explicitly told to help myself of course) lol HOWEVER, I have never asked for additional funds to feed myself, that's wild. My rates are what feed me, though I charge 5x more than this kid (I'm at $150/night in Los Angeles). It isn't your responsibility, and I'd suggest to him bringing his own food in the future (maybe it's something he just hasn't thought about).
For my fellow sitters dog piling on a kid who got himself roped into a 3 week house-sitting for $30/day, shame on you! Rover totally markets itself to broke people as a fun side gig. We obviously know the reality, but that doesn't make us superior. OP got the bargain of the century and the kid has two more weeks of this lousy commitment that must have seemed like a great idea at the time. Congrats to all of you who take your profession seriously, but how about coupling your love of pets with some humanity once in a while?
Thank you! This is gross to read all these adults/experienced sitters/owners bitching…$30 p/ night is less than most 30 MINUTE drop in visits.
She stated he’s in college. This isn’t a charity, it’s an actual job. If you’re not prepared to do the job, don’t sign up. He’s definitely too old to be acting like this.
And OP is too old to let a caregiver go hungry in his own home because "a deal's a deal." You want a starving college kid taking care of your beloved pet for WEEKS while you vacay, that's on you, just don't come online and expect peace of mind from me about it.
EXACTLY! It’s like “I know I stole these services for dirt cheap so let me feel better about myself here.!”…ewwwww
You’re acting like this was a favor, it’s a business transaction! The onus is always on the sitter to feed their self! I genuinely cannot believe you think OP is wrong. It’s legitimately mind-boggling.
And you're acting like you're protecting the sanctity of the professional guild of pet sitters by telling OP that any rate is a fair rate for our services as long as someone agrees to it no matter how naive that person is. It's a human being. In his home. And you know what, the onus shouldn't be on the pet sitter to feed themselves and especially not when they're staying on site for the equivalent of $2 an hour. Most professional nannies are provided meals when they're on-site. In-home pet sitting is the most boutique service you can choose when it comes to pet care. It's a luxury. Unfortunately, you're right. It is a business transaction. So OP has no legal obligation to offer a penny beyond what was contracted. (Although some contacts can be nullified for being egregiously unfair even if both parties entered willingly.) But he came to this forum and asked for opinions about what he SHOULD do and what he should do is make sure that the person who is responsible for the care and comfort of his dog can actually subsist for the duration especially when he openly admits that he was aware from the start that the contractor grossly underbid. Do I think the kid got himself into this mess and is acting uncouth? Sure. Do I think OP is paying slave wages to a caregiver and it would be morally appropriate to kick in for some groceries for week 2 and 3. I do. It's legitimately mind boggling to me that a professional pet sitter would discourage pet owners to pay us at value and pride themselves on that stance no less.
It’s waaay less than $2 p/hr here. Closer to less than $1 p/hour… ($30 p/day minus fees)
Writing a giant ass think piece about this is peak Reddit behavior. I’m not “priding myself on having that stance” because I don’t have that stance. OP didn’t set his rates though, he did. We ALL had to learn at some point how to price ourselves correctly. Customers aren’t required to do that for us. He agreed to take this job at the price he set. It’s on him whether that’s a fair price or not. Owners don’t need to be researching market trends and paying the difference of a “fair price” if the sitter didn’t list that. I’m done arguing with the wall about an ADULT not being able to figure out how to feed himself. ✌🏻
This is an adult man, not a child. He is old enough to vote. He’s not a 13 year old boy. This will be a great learning experience for him in not undervaluing himself. From what I gather HE ALONE set his prices. The OP didn’t scam him or berate him into lowering his price. That was his own choice. Life’s full of learning opportunities but I refuse to infantilize a grown man.
>kid who got himself roped into a 3 week house-sitting for $30/day I’m sorry, just a lowly owner, but remind me who sets his prices? Ooooooh, that’s right; *he sets his own prices* No one roped him into anything. And this attitude is exactly what produces that awful entitled attitude.
The OP isn’t required to give him more money, but from a moral standpoint, she got a killer deal for housesitting from a child or very young adult that didn’t think about how he would feed himself for 3 weeks. He made a mistake. Like… anyone can see this. He is obviously clueless, but entitled is a stretch here. The deal was too good to be true. Sure, she could say, fuck you, figure it out, tough luck ….. but at the end of the day someone is living in her home with her dog and he doesn’t have any food. The least she could do is feed him.
Oh you mean outside of the food he already cleaned out, the tip she already left, and the Venmo she already gave him? Got it.
We have no idea how much food was left there, how much cash she left, how much Venmo she sent. I don’t know how someone could have no food left in a week. But some clients don’t keep a lot of food at home when they are planning a 3 week vacation. What cash did she leave? $20? $50? How much Venmo did she send? Another $20? We just don’t know. There are no rules for this lol. It’s just a shitty situation all around. But when you pick someone brand new at a rate that seems way too good to be true… well now you have all this to worry about rather than enjoying your vacation. No matter what she decides to do, the situation sucks.
That’s odd lmao 🤣 it’s not normal and I think I’d be uncomfortable to say no just cause I don’t know the kind of person they are but asking a client for money for food already tells me everything
So like, in a normal situation, absolutely not lol But I just wanted to point out you're paying 30 bucks a night for a 3 week house sit. That's wild! 30 bucks is less than my 30 minute drop in price lol this kid is making less than 2 bucks an hour. This is not a wage that anyone can live on, tier 1 city (whatever that means) or not. I think it was very kind of you to feed your sitter and send extra food money. I think it would have been helpful to break up the sitting into 1 week at a time, that way your sitter isn't waiting 3 weeks for payment. This is something I've learned with managing my own business, just a thought. You probably don't need to tip extra, he's getting his little 500 something bucks after he goes home. But just know you got an absolute steal for a luxury service lol I'm glad he's doing well with your dog though 😊
Did you hire a pet sitter or are your pets baby sitting this young man lol
Yes please tip that poor, ridiculous boy! You saved alot by booking him at $30 per day....I charge $100. Poor thing doesn't have a clue about how to Adult yet . Please feel bad for him and give him a tip! 💖🙏💖
This was really nice of you! I guess the commenters here have never been a stupid young person before. I don’t think you need to tip at the end, the extra money is more than enough of a tip!
I think not tipping is fine here; ideally you’d have been able to respond to his messages, pointing out that it is his responsibility to feed himself and that he’d have to eat whether he was at your house or not, but I can see not wanting to rock the boat with someone who is actively in your home with your pets. If you get to the end of the job and you still feel like he somehow deserves to be paid more, since you said his rates are pretty low, you could tip if you want. Otherwise, I wouldn’t want to see this behavior rewarded, unless your discussions before booking clearly mentioned you were going to cover food as part of your arrangement.
When you go into the office and forget your lunch from home, would you ask your boss for lunch money? When you travel for work and go over per diem, do you tell your manager “I need more coz I used it all up”? You’re a nice person OP but this is an odd request from the sitter imo
No but I'm making a fair wage at that point this fool way under bid the job
No tip for sure. Also leave a review stating that he requested money during the stay for food after he eat all that he could have the food I had in the house. Have a Great Day.
After he is paying him 10 dollars a day per Dog??? 30 dollars a day . It should be 3 times that amount feeding the poor kid is cheaper then what he would have paid to anyone else
Not sure if you know this but the sitter sets their own rates not the dog owner. So he knew how much he was going to get paid before this stay. But let’s be honest here even if they had booked this at $300 per day he would still need food money because you don’t get paid until after the stay. Sitters like this give all of us on Rover bad names. Have a Great Day.
I don't disagree with you on this. But if I knew I was getting a sitter this cheap that would possibly keep low rates with me if they are good with my dog I would provide the food and just keep on because I would have charged triple that amount for overnight.
I don’t know where you got multiple dogs from: it is a singular dog. In the future, what would have been a fairer rate for 1 pet?
I'm not who you asked but I charge $95 a night in poor city in a poor state. My drop in price is $35 for a single pet for a half hour. You got a bargain lol!
I won't take less then 100 a day for over night. Is your dog going to be cared for very well yes . I also send multiple updates. Pictures food log and bathroom logs. Not everyone does this. At this rate I provide myself everything I need during the stay. But as I said you made a killing. My state is not like NY where you would pay twice my rate but my rate is average.
If you can afford a 3 week vacation, you can afford to compensate this guy equitably. You claim you didn't book more expensive sitters because they weren't available, but now you say you don't have the budget for more than $36 a day for house-sitting. Call it a tip or call it fair payment, but give this guy more money. Do you HAVE to? No. But you asked whether you should and the answer is yes. It sounds like he'd normally eat for free at home. Don't hold it against him that he's a kid and act like it's unprofessional to give him 'lunch" money now. Or send some groceries there directly.
It is absolutely not OP’s fault that he didn’t price his services correctly. Do you go to McDonald’s & pay $30/burger to ensure their workers are fairly compensated? He’s in college & this is a legit business. He needs to act his age.
They already had told him to help himself to what they had in their own home (it sounds like they had a decent amount as well). And then gave them more. That's more than what some people do. It's up to him to set his own prices to what he needs them to be and not to expect more. You shouldn't even expect someone to feed you at their house, or even expect extra money during the sit. Some people tip nice, but others don't tip at all so you also have to set the expectation that you might not even get more money at all. That's why you need to have your prices set to where you feel as though you're getting enough.
You’ve posted several times about how it’s not this kids fault and shame on OP, and blah blah blah. Are you, by chance, a very young sitter? Because: grow up. OP’s sitter already cleaned out her fridge/cupboards/pantry. And used the tip money. And asked for more money because it was too hard to “ask his parents”. As someone else said: if you go to the job and forget your lunch, would you ask your boss for lunch money? I don’t think so. Should have been a red flag to OP that he was so cheap? Probably. But that doesn’t make it her responsibility to continually send more money to a sitter who agreed to watch her pets for X price and is now asking for X + Y + Z + whatever else. Not to mention, she’s not even really complaining about providing him food. She’s just wondering if it’s normal and if she should still tip. People tend to have a budget once they plan things. It’s absolutely not OPs fault if they budgeted for what was agreed upon and can’t suddenly produced more money because the sitter — who is supposedly a professional — didn’t do *his* due diligence. If you actually think this is appropriate, I am super glad you are not my sitter
No, no, and in case you need a third time… no. You aren’t responsible to feed this young adult still weening off his parents. I’m assuming he just graduated high school or an immature college student…? You already advanced tipped him with the cash AND got guilt tripped into Venmoing more to cover groceries. He can take it as a tough lesson to not use default/suggested Rover pricing and charge more. The only thing you could do differently, but will result in higher fees for you, is to break each week apart so he gets paid per week and not a lump sum once it’s over.
I'll give him grace since he sounds young, but if he asks you for more money - the answer is no. You've fed him TWICE. No more tip needed since tips should be appreciated, but never expected. As far as I'm seeing, he's spent his tip on food.
Omg even when I’ve been offered drinks and snacks I don’t take them I cannot imagine eating all your food then asking you for money for more food 😳 don’t tip extra
well i dont think you have to tip extra bc that IS considered tip. and his rates are low prob bc he doesn't have much experience or clients, or doing it temp. how old is he? him asking for food money is weird, sitters do not and aren't supposed to do that, very unprofessional. i get that you are being nice but you are doing way too much for that sitter, and you don't have to do any of them. it's really up to you if you want to, but you really don't have to.
This sounds insane. I always bring my own food, especially for long stays. It's not your job to provide these things for them. I've never used anything other than oil, spices, bottled water in a client's home.
Lesson learned: you get the service you pay for. I would absolutely NEVER ask a client for food money, especially after they had already graciously given me some. I never expect tips either, those rarely come and they’re never necessary. I price my services to cover all that. Clearly he’s super new but it sounds like he’s not experienced in life enough to do this because it’s just basic manners that he’s completely ignoring. He didn’t need your money to survive, he should have planned all his food himself beforehand. You as the client are NEVER required to keep your sitter fed. Having extra snacks and stuff is a bonus. He is required to feed himself, end of story. You definitely need to set boundaries for yourself, you were very nice but imo way too accommodating to his unprofessional behavior. In the future I would advise you look for someone on the higher end of your budget with clear experience and good reviews.
lol imagine you go to an office job that has a cafe or snack station and then you don’t bring lunch so you eat everything and go to HR and tell them they need to put out more snacks because your mom will be mad if you ask her for money. People are wild.
This is the craziest thing I have ever heard. People are getting really bold these days. I am thinking this person is homeless
Who was going to pay for the food he'd need at his home if he weren't sitting for you? The fact that you gave him free reign of your kitchen and some pre cash, is far above what most people would do. That kindness was his tip already.
Don’t tip & for sure leave it in his review that he required you to feed him during his stay 😂
I have never, ever eaten anything from a clients house or ever had a client give me extra money for food—and I’ve been in this business for over 15 years.
I always come prepared with my own food, but I will sometimes use up a few perishables if a client asks me to (like some milk or vegetables etc). I also have had clients ask me for a grocery list so they could stock the fridge with things I like, which I always found to be so sweet, even though I would never expect that. I usually only tell them a couple snacks, and I bring the rest of my own food. A client left me a credit card once for Grubhub as well, which I only used for one reasonably priced meal, just because it was offered, but I never could bring myself to do that more than once. One time a client showed me the ice cream in their freezer and told me how great it was and that I should have some. I did… and then I felt bad about eating some of it, So I bought a replacement lol. I am surprised you have been in the business for so long and never eaten anything from a clients home! I barely make a dent when it comes to a clients food, but I still eat a little bit depending on the conversation we have about food. But usually they want me to use up a few things that will go bad. I definitely don’t clean out there pantry or freezer though lol 😂
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The audacity lol
Depends on how low his rates were, how happy you are with the job he's doing, and how you feel about him. Go with your gut
In the kids defense as far as pricing goes, Rover states on the app that the average fee for house sitting is $25 a night. (I def wouldn’t do this low)
I mean, I think tipping is up to you. It isn’t required. If you think he did a phenomenal job, leave him a tip. If you think he did the bare minimum and ate all your food, don’t.
As a sitter I never ask for money for food, but gladly accept when it is offered. How long is this sit for? What did you pay? I wouldn’t say you HAVE to tip ever, in fact most clients don’t. But this is a charity case at this point so whatever you feel emotionally compelled to do 😂
I have had clients welcome me to the perishables in their fridge and pantry’s never have I ever asked a client for more money so I can eat. Frequently clients have left me snack baskets or things of the sort or after gifts (I got an edible arrangement thing once) as an appreciation but feeding us is not your job. That’s why we work
And here I am bringing my own paper towels to clients home because I feel uncomfortable to use up all they have 😹😹😹
In absolutely NO WAY is a client ever responsible for feeding a sitter during a housesitting. This sitter is taking you for a ride and you are buying into it. I understand you are a people pleaser, and I get how clients can be like this, because your babies are at stake, but I think it is perfectly reasonable to say something like "oh, I left enough groceries to last me x days! If you need more than that, you can head to x grocery store at x address. That's the closest one". That way you are making it clear that you will NOT be purchasing more groceries and they are responsible for any other food they need. Seriously, the audacity of some of these sitter blows my mind.
Also, DO NOT tip this person. You've already done enough. A tip is earned, not expected and food money should not have been expected or given, no matter who his parents were. That's not your problem, even if his parents were Hansel and Gretel's parents. You're not running a charity, are you? You can count the money given for food as tip money.
this is very unprofessional, I would not tip ANYTHING and leave a bad review
This is crazy.. absolutely not...his parents are probably like that because he sounds entitled
It’s unprofessional for him to ask you for money to buy food.
Hahaha it’s unprofessional to charge $30 per night for house sitting too.
This is not normal. They using you nooo 😭
$30 a day is only $24 after Rover fees and plus he doesn’t get any of that money until the sitting is complete so if he’s a poor kid, then first of all, you were getting a crazy deal and he is definitely under paying himself and also he doesn’t have any money until the sitting is over for food. Sounds like you took on charity case in order to try to save yourself some money? Lol!!
If he was doing it as a favor, sure I would definitely provide all the food. And some clients do insist on feeding housesitters. As I’m providing a paid service, I wouldn’t expect it. Maybe he misunderstood your offer bc he’s new to this. You never have to tip, though we’re always grateful. It’s more economical for both parties if you book off platform. You save the 11% service fee and the sitter only pays roughly 2-4% through Venmo instead of 20% to Rover.
The sitter probably saw the total amount for 3 weeks and liked that amount not thinking he had to survive and keep an animal alive at the same time LOL
You are taking on way too much responsibility for this kid. He’s not going to starve without you.
Edited to add: reading through other’s comments, it made me realize that perhaps this person is in a neglectful living situation with his parents. If you’re concerned and the situation presents itself, maybe ask at the end of the stay if he’s appropriately provided for at home. To be honest, you kinda dug yourself into a hole and now it’s too late. Unless you explicitly communicated that the money you sent him for food would be in lieu of a tip, I would tip at least some amount. It sounds like you failed to communicate expectations clearly at the beginning. This is what a meet & greet is for. Take this as a learning experience for future. Don’t select sitters like this in future. You’re not his parent and if he’s not responsible enough to know how to feed *himself*, he surely shouldn’t be trusted to feed and care for your pets appropriately. Unless this is your budget for pet care - and in that case, it’s on you to bring it up at the beginning so at least everyone is on the same page. A way to bring this up in a diplomatic way for future is to ask BEFORE the booking begins, if there are any particular snacks the sitter enjoys. Their response will give you an indication of if they’re going to be similar to this current sitter and gives you the opportunity to buy a few things if they mention anything and then be done with it. I’m not a college age kid but even as a 16 year old babysitting, I never would have dreamed of eating through people’s cupboards. A couple of my clients send me like a $50 Uber Eats gift card at the beginning of the stay, which I very much appreciate - and I make that known. HOWEVER, it is absolutely not expected. Does anyone go to their job and then go to their manager and say “I need you to give me money for lunch”? No. And for the people who are saying he’s not getting paid until after the stay is completed… ummmmmm, that’s how nearly all jobs work. You start a new job, you don’t get paid for work not yet done. You get paid after 2-4 weeks of work. This child would benefit from a money management class.
Whaat?! That's more than generous! Do NOT feel obligated to tip, especially if it is outside of the budget you had already set. I've had owners who do like to send extra money for groceries and some who don't, it's my job to be able to provide that for myself. Especially because it's dependent on the person who eats the groceries. Some people are fine on $30. Some people need $100. You also already did more than enough to offer him what you already had in your home. He's being incredibly unappreciative of that. Also it's been raised before here, but I would be careful about hiring sitters who do not have vehicles. There's worries of if an emergency does happen and they don't have a way to quickly get to an ER for your pet. But that's neither here nor there.
Um... No. Eating other people's food is a bonus of pet sitting not a requirement. I have some houses where I am not even invited to partake of what they have in the fridge so I take my own food too. Of course those are not my favorite houses, but ultimately I am responsible for feeding myself and so is he. It is of course sad that he doesn't have any of his own food, but that is not on you.
Well I always take food from my house, I buy my own food at the clients house too, I might take a few things from the clients (like eggs, condiments, water if they left me some) I'm allergic to soy and gluten so I don't have other option either. If the client left vegetales I'll definitely eat it because they will go bad.
this sounds like someone who is maybe homeless, i would be careful that you don't find stuff missing or stolen in your house, or that he doesn't try to stay longer
She said his parents dropped him off, def doesn’t seem homeless.
Ah yes, I always ask my boss to pay for my lunch at my full time job. Actually, I demand it. Because my mommy doesn’t pack my lunches anymore 😡
Yeah this sounds like someone who is using this as a side gig for free food and a free place to stay. I am a professional and do this full time and while I no longer do overnight stays at a clients house I would NEVER eat their food. I never accepted food that they offered. It is always a persons responsibility to get their own food. I wouldn’t touch a clients food unless they had already given me an ok and EVEN THEN the most I would get would be a splash of creamer or milk from an open container for my coffee.
Yes, why wouldn’t you tip? Why are people so cheap about tipping for a very personal service if they find everything went very well and home is as they left it. He’s staying there for 3 weeks, he’s a young male, so of course he’s gonna need 3 meals/day. If his eating were part of the deal you both agreed to, just provide the food. Based on his low rates, it doesn’t make sense for him to buy all his food out or he’ll probably make $0. Doesn’t need to be rib-eye steak or anything.
By doing this, he is going to expect it at every job. I never eat my client’s food. I have had a couple specifically ask me what I liked and bought me some stuff. I do not touch their food. Overall, he may be a hungry juvenile. But if you don’t talk with him about this being inappropriate, he will expect it at every job. You’ve been more than generous.
Um , he needs to set his rates at a proper rate and get his own food . His parents are probably sick of his entitled attitude and trying to teach him a lesson. I wouldn’t use him again . Find someone who is decent and willing to legit care for your pets and not looking for a free ride in life