3 Reasons Why I Love Rover.com

I own a pet sitting and dog walking business. Rover.com is a huge pet sitting and dog walking business, a competitor. Why would I love my largest competitor? But are they? I would argue that Rover.com isn’t a competitor or even a pet sitting and dog walking company. In truth, Rover is a tech company. They’ve done a great, no, an amazing, job of bringing a technical solution to an emotional need. They’ve made it possible to search for, find and hire a pet sitter without ever having to leave the comfort of your couch or even put on pants. While their tech is formidable, their ability to deliver the level of care most pet owners demand these days in not. As a small independent pet care company, I’m the personalized service, the individual attention, the sitter that takes the time to get to know you and your pets. The truth is, while there are some similarities, my business is nothing like Rover’s. While Rover has their strengths and benefits, they’re not able too, nor do they want to, provide the type of service that I do. What they can and do provide is public education, and experienced labor pool and options for those looking to start a career in professional pet care.

Reason #1 – Rover has done a tremendous job of educating the customer base. Ten years ago the idea of a professional pet sitter was much less known. Pet owners had a choice between taking their dog or cat to a boarding kennel or asking a friend or relative to watch them. Neither was a completely desirable or even reliable option. Kennels were a stressful option for both pets and owners and it was difficult to impose on friends and relatives with any frequency. Today, pet owners are more aware than ever that in home pet care is a great and available option.

Reason #2 – One of the largest challenges in any small business is hiring great people. Rover’s strategy has been to hire independent contractors and they’ve done this aggressively. There are now literally tens of thousands of pet sitters and dog walkers who’ve starting with Rover, often with minimal to no pet care experience, who are now experienced, viable employees for the smaller pet care companies. Additionally many of them, wanting a more personal, exclusive and longer term relationship with their clients, are now looking to the smaller companies to provide more fulfilling client/sitter relationships.

Reason #3 – I love hiring sitters who also work for Rover. In most cases I’m unable to provide enough steady hours to allow them to make a living as a pet sitter. This means they need to supplement their income in some way. Working for both me and Rover allows them to put together enough hours to make a living doing what they love rather than having to take on a less flexible, more restrictive job in a field they don’t enjoy as much.

So there you have it, Rover educates my customers on the availability of professional in home pet care, they train my future employees and they allow the people I hire to do what they love long term and still make a decent living. They are a great partner!