List of Troublesome Clients?

[Wendy]

I was wondering if the group had a list of clients that were
deadbeats or otherwise had some serious client issues? I've been
professionally sitting for almost a year and ran into my first non-
payment issue and wondered how others dealt with this situation. I
don't ask for a deposit, however this could change if I have to pursue
payment on this large bill. People are so odd sometimes, animals are
easy to figure out. :-/ I wondered if such a list, shared privately,
might help others. There's a local adoption list that allows you to
make an inquiry about an adopter but only says "yes" or "no" if that
person is on the black list.
Of course, the bright side is problem free repeat business. Hooray!

Wendy Mahoney
Pearland Pet Sitters

[David and LeeAnn Hickman]

Wendy,

 

I made that same suggestion at our first meeting at Paneras. I think it is a very good idea, but some people felt that it could possibly cause lawsuits. I have been pet sitting since 2003 and the only time I ran into a problem was with a customer who moved away before paying me. I was able to contact her via cell phone and she agreed to meet up with me because she had to come back to Pearland for some other reason. She did pay me.

 

As far as I can see, the only recourse for you may be small claims court. Did you have them sign a contract and do you have a copy of that signed contract? That will be your proof. If you do not have a signed contract, then you need to start doing that. I myself have become  a little lax with some of my customers about the signed contract basically because they call after one job is complete and since I still have the key, they request my services again for the following weekend. Also, with customers that I keep the key, I usually don't make a special trip to get the new contract signed. These are all well established customers, but I do have to admit that the customer that moved out had been a well established customer too.

 

I feel that in a situation that you have described, knowing who that person is would prevent the rest of us from being put in the same situation. You may also consider the possibility of requesting either half or all payment up front. I have never done that as I feel that putting my faith and trust in God has carried me so far, but with Pearland growing as it has, as well as the crime rate, we may all find it necessary to resort to partial payments in the future.

 

This is something that definitely needs to be discussed, if not for advice then for future reference.

 

LeeAnn Hickman

ZooKeepers  

Wendy <we...@pearlandpets.com> wrote:

[DON LEBLANC]

I have also asked for and received cash-up-front. Only exceptions are well established customers or good friends.

Don LeBlanc   
Petsitter & Concierge
  

[Wendy]

I don't think that a private inquiry among professionals would result
in a lawsuit, as there would be no basis for slander/defamation/libel
if it was based on factual evidence of non-payment or a vicious
animal. Atleast that's the gist of how defamation/etc works as I
remember my attorney husband explaining it, though I admit my eyes
glaze over when I ask a simple legal question and get an intense law
review type answer.
I do use a tweaked version of the Pet Sits.com contract, having
removed a few overly detailed check boxes. Mostly I want the client to
understand that signing gives me permission to be in the home under
the times agreed upon, to seek ER vet care with my discretion and that
payment is due upon job completion/invoice receipt. I couldn't imagine
working without a contract or without insurance. Talk about a lawsuit!

Wendy Mahoney
Pearland Pet Sitters

On Oct 31, 6:30 pm, David and LeeAnn Hickman

[David and LeeAnn Hickman]

I thought it would be difficult for someone to sue for that reason too. Another thought would be to have a "Full Payment Upfront Strongly Advised" list. We would basically know the reason someone is on this list, but it could also be used for slow payers.

 

What do all of the rest of you pet sitters think of this idea?

Wendy <we...@pearlandpets.com> wrote:

I don't think that a private inquiry among professionals would result
in a lawsuit, as there would be no basis for slander/defamation/libel
if it was based on factual evidence of non-payment or a vicious
animal. Atleast that's the gist of how defamation/etc works as I
remember my attorney husband explaining it, though I admit my eyes
glaze over when I ask a simple legal question and get an intense law
review type answer.
I do use a tweaked version of the Pet Sits.com contract, having
removed a few overly detailed check boxes. Mostly I want the client to
understand that signing gives me permission to be in the home under
the times agreed upon, to seek ER vet care with my discretion and that
payment is due upon job completion/invoice receipt. I couldn't imagine
working without a contract or without insurance. Talk about a lawsuit!

Wendy Mahoney
Pearland Pet Sitters



On Oct 31, 6:30 pm, David and LeeAnn Hickman

wrote:
> Wendy,
>
> I made that same suggestion at our first meeting at Paneras. I think it is a very good idea, but some people felt that it could possibly cause lawsuits. I have been pet sitting since 2003 and the only time I ran into a problem was with a customer who moved away before paying me. I was able to contact her via cell phone and she agreed to meet up with me because she had to come back to Pearland for some other reason. She did pay me.
>
> As far as I can see, the only recourse for you may be small claims court. Did you have them sign a contract and do you have a copy of that signed contract? That will be your proof. If you do not have a signed contract, then you need to start doing that. I myself have become a little lax with some of my customers about the signed contract basically because they call after one job is complete and since I still have the key, they request my services again for the following weekend. Also, with customers that I keep the key, I usually don't make a special trip to get the new contract signed. These are all well established customers, but I do have to admit that the customer that moved out had been a well established customer too.
>
> I feel that in a situation that you have described, knowing who that person is would prevent the rest of us from being put in the same situation. You may also consider the possibility of requesting either half or all payment up front. I have never done that as I feel that putting my faith and trust in God has carried me so far, but with Pearland growing as it has, as well as the crime rate, we may all find it necessary to resort to partial payments in the future.
>
> This is something that definitely needs to be discussed, if not for advice then for future reference.
>
> LeeAnn Hickman
> ZooKeepers
>

[Errand Elf]

I like Lee Ann's suggestion to always have a contract/service
agreement signed. You can't go wrong with that.

It also makes sense that if you have the customer's key it's much less
likely that they'll get away with not paying you (they'll need you to
return it some time).

At our first meeting we did discuss putting together a list of
troublesome customers & at that time decided not to "officially" do
something like that to avoid any legal/ethic issues.

However if a group of friends at a meeting were to casually discuss a
customer that gave them serious problems (like mentioning the customer
was in a certain neighborhood, had certain animals, etc) I don't see
how that would be a problem.

On Nov 1, 2:59 pm, David and LeeAnn Hickman

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