Rover.com | Pet SittingReviews of rover.com

The actual pet sitting was great as was the sitter. The reason for my 3 stars is the app. It seems to be designed with an assumption that people are familiar with how to use it. I would have appreciated a step by step process on how to post, set up a meet and greet, etc.

There is no way to request a meet and greet when you are looking for a sitter but do not know when exactly you will need them for daycare or boarding. Many times I have flexible dates so will work with the schedule of the right provider. Finding the right fit for our dog is not as easy since she is such a big girl.

I have had good experiences with the sitters. The corporate side of the business leaves a lot to be desired. Cancelled a sitter 54 hours in advance of the drop off time. Corporate charged $194.25 cancellation penalty and service fee. That is exorbitant!

I like the concept but there’s room for improvement with this Rover. I wanted to leave a tip but had to go through the survey first. I sort of rushed through that giving 5 stars so I could get the tip in before I had time to get a good feel for how it went. If I could edit my survey I would likely give 2 or 3 stars at best. I came to find out that my dog had very short walks which likely contributed to his pooping inside, something the dog sitter failed to mention. She also arrived after I left and departed before I got home. I also noticed that the dog bowl in use the day I left was used the entire weekend without being cleaned. I gave her (and her husband) an oceanfront residence and paid THEM to take care of my dog, not engage in a staycation. They definitely came up short. There was almost no communication other than very brief texts with a picture of my dog each day. By contrast, I get a half dozen pictures from my other dog walking business. Thought I compare with Rover, but not likely to try Rover again unless they add a function to edit reviews because Ally M. should not be taking jobs she has no interest in.

Your website is hard to navigate

Mary C. in Farmersville was great, but as I went to give her a good review I did not realize my card on file was an old one. So, your site deleted the review and payment for the tip!! This should be fixed so the review still processes even though the card had to be corrected.

Found a great sitter through Rover, but not without discovering issues. 1) Not sure they do ongoing background checks or what they consider a red flag. After meeting a potential sitter (not the one I hired), I ran my own background check. She had an open domestic violence case for disorderly conduct and battery and would have had to make an appearance during her stay in my home, something she certainly didn’t disclose. (This was after she failed to appear for an initial hearing, forfeited her cash bond and was re-arrested and bonded out again). 2) You pay an 11% booking fee and the sitter’s forfeit 20% of their pay. Great business model for Rover. Pretty slimy for the participants.3) They don’t want you swapping personal information. I get it, BUT I need to know who is in my home (CLEARLY - see above!). Thus, I want to check references. I want to ask questions: speak to their references personally, etc. I’m not going by a two or three sentence review. 4) Sitters respond to “house sitting” requests indicating interest, but then advise on meet and greets they aren’t available or aren’t interested in staying the night. That wastes time and/or you end up making alternate arrangements but at the same price point. 5) Scheduling is imprecise which is very frustrating, particularly if there are gaps or you need to use multiple sitters. 6) It IS possible to find a GREAT sitter even on extremely short notice! One who will go above and beyond!

The support team is amazing! They are very kind and understanding. I would rate them a 10/10. However, I am rating the company as a whole a 3/5 because of their damage policy. My couch got ruined from an animal who was not potty trained (who I was told WAS potty trained). I have to pay upwards of 100 dollars to get it fixed and the owner is refusing to help. They have a policy where pet owners never are required to pay for damages. I wish they had a policy to reimburse me even just some, if not all. OR, to hold pet owners (and sitters too!) accountable for damages. I'm considering moving to a different app in fear of this happening again. However, my experience with the app prior to this was nothing short of amazing.