Dog business again...
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion Archive: Archive January 2005:
Dog business again...
Ok,I posted a couple a weeks ago about the dog business I worked for, and how it has a new owner now, and how they raised their prices etc..
Well a couple of weeks after the business changed owners we were at a restaurant. We ran into some customers of our the "Wells"...
Let me back track, how the business works its a pick up and delivery service , so somebody picks up the dogs, brings them to the petsitters house. There are usually 2 drivers, the owner and an employee..During the busy times, like the holidays, I have been asked to take or pick up some of my own customers from their house. I have done this on and off for 10 yrs. So I have gotten to know some of my regulars very well, meaning the owner of the dogs.
Ok, at this restaurant we see the "Wells", and we chit chat with them.They are nice retired couple, probably in their 60's. Mrs Wells tells me how sad she was when she found out Darlene sold the business. As Darlene was/is a very good soul LOL..always went out of her way for everybody.
During the conversation my husband tells the "Wells", if you have any problems you know our phone number..
This was almost 2 months ago.
2 days ago I got a phone call from Mrs Wells. She first asked me if I was still working for the business, I told her "yes". I also told her I had customers outside the business(which is true, like neighbors and people my husband knows). She asked If would be willing to watch "Victor" and not go through the business. I said "Yes"...She said I rather give you all the money . She then went on to say she had no loyality to the new owner of the business.She wasnt being mean, just saying how much she liked the old owner etc..
Am I doing something wrong by watching this dog outside the business?
I did not call her, I did not persue her business, she called me?
I mean in the big scheme of things, you are free to change hairdressers, or dentists anytime you are not happy? SO I try to think of it in those terms.
I just keep feeling like Im doing something wrong.
Is it in your contract that you not watch dogs outside of the business? Do you think you would be fired or written up if your boss found out?
I know in some businesses it's not really a big deal if you do "side jobs". I'm not at all familiar with dog sitting so I do not know if it is a business where it would be ok or not.
Is what you are doing wrong? Well, sometimes right or wrong can be a matter of personal opinion and I'd say that if you *feel* it's wrong somehow and it makes you uncomfortable then it is wrong for you. As for comparing what you are doing with changing hair dressers, well that's not a true comparison. Actually what you are doing is more like keeping the same hair dresser, but cutting out the owner of the salon.
Good luck with your decision.
You know what, the hair dresser is a good comparasion in a way. I have 2 friends who both are hairdressers in a shop, yet they cut peoples hair in their home and by pass the shop, in addtion to working regular hrs.. I guess to me its the same thing ?
Do doublecheck your contract, but the hairdresser comparison is a good one. I repeat what I said earlier - be careful about who initiates what. It is better to say to someone, in a conversation like yours with the Wells, - I am still taking dogs through (owner), but I also sit for people who come to me privately and not through her. Then, let them ask for your phone number, instead of volunteering it.
I am saying be careful because you really, really don't want this owner suing you, and if she should, heaven forbid, you want to not only be clean but also look clean to a neutral, disinterested party (and none of us here fit that definition).
Ginny, I never signed a contract when I started working for this business. The only contract I do sign is the caretaker agreement. This comes when the dogs are dropped off to me. It just states things like I assume all risk and responsibility when taking care of the pet, that I must use a leash if I take the dog for a walk,Imust contact the owner of business of dog gets sick, that I must treat dogs with care and respect etc..
But the last line of the contract states
It is agreed that that all information exchanged regarding the operation of "Pets bed and breakfast"shall remain confidential and shall not be used in any way. All information in reference to Caretakers involvment with Pets bed and breakfast shall remain confidential..
With that said..the old owner of the business had given my phone number to the Wells years ago. Let me explain that. Normally there is no pickups or deliverys on weekends..So this means if you come home from vacation on a Saturday or Sunday you must wait until Monday to get your dog back. With this said, the old owner(who was very accomadating)would allow her longtime customers to get their dog back on the weekends . If it were one of my customers, she would give the owner of the dog my phone number and just ask them to call me when they were back in town to make arrangements for me to drop the dog off. So this in turn is how the Wells received my phone number. I had never given my number to them directly , Darlene did(She was the old owner of the dog business), there are a couple of other dog owners who also have my phone number, The Wells are the only ones who have took it upon themselves to call me.
Jackie, I think I've said this before, but why don't you look into starting your OWN pet business?? Bypass the *middleman* so to speak, make all the money for YOURself!
Sounds to me (not a lawyer, but a legal secretary) that the last line of the contract means, in effect, that you cannot use information you gain through that business, including names and phone numbers of clients. But any information you gain otherwise, like someone talking to you about petsitting when you encounter them outside of your actually sitting their pet, is OK.
And, I agree with Karen. I think you probably have a good reputation with the people whose pets you have taken care of, and you might start telling the people whose pets you care for privately (not through Pets Bed&Breakfast) that you are trying to start your own business independent of the other business and would appreciate referrals, and give them a couple of business cards. You can buy blank business card forms at any office/computer supply store(and your word processing program probably has forms for business cards - check the format menu or use the help index for "labels") Print them on your computer, using a nice (not copyrighted) animal image you find on the net. You could make the business card a coupon for a discount on the first X number of days you sit for a specific pet/family, as an inducement.
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