Who are our pet sitters?
Wednesday, 17th October 2012 at 10:58 AM
One of the questions I get asked a lot by our clients is are we an agency? The answer is no! We employ all our sitters and get to know them well. Pet and Property operate a little differently to many of the larger Southern based companies. We choose to operate in the North and as such only employ Northern based sitters who know the area well.
Rather than recruiting people via the internet we maintain a traditional recruitment process. As wonderful as the internet is I find it scary to think that anyone would trust their home and pets to be cared for by someone who they have only seen online. It is far too easy to provide fake references and embellish experience (or even personality) online. We always request character references in writing and even then I've been known to receive them on the same paper with the same font and wording! This is why we also ensure that we follow them up with a phone call to make every possible effort to ensure all is in order. Unlike online agencies we also take 20 years employment history and verify this in writing with the companies concerned. Our clients can be sure that we have taken every step possible to ensure that we only employ sitters who have been through this process.
The other difference between us and other companies is that we interview all our sitters in their own home. I personally ensure that I have met them and that they fit the bill for our clients. Anyone can put on their best act for an office based interview but we find that by meeting them in their own home we get to know the real them. It is also a much more relaxed way to get to know the sitters more, find out what makes them tick and know that we can match them better with our clients. I often walk away from interviewing someone already planning which clients will love them!
Using a Northern based company really does ensure that you can combine modern day technology and service with a few traditional values!
