Help a paranoid pug parent out.
March 11, 2013 1:48 PM Subscribe
Are petsitters sometimes legally obligated to not give out contact info for their references?
I need a petsitter for my special needs pug and two cats. I called a whose flyer I had hanging around. He is apparently newish to the business because he didn't have any Yelp reviews yet. So I asked for references. He said he's not legally allowed to give out his customer's contact info and referred me to the testimonials on his website. They seem authentic but I am not comfortable going just by testimonials on his own website. I know I'm being kind of nuts but my dog needs extra gentle care and I would pretty much die if anything happened to him while I was on vacation.
Is it really true that petsitters can be legally obliged not to give out contact information for references? Should I look for a different sitter? I already scheduled a consultation with this one.
I need a petsitter for my special needs pug and two cats. I called a whose flyer I had hanging around. He is apparently newish to the business because he didn't have any Yelp reviews yet. So I asked for references. He said he's not legally allowed to give out his customer's contact info and referred me to the testimonials on his website. They seem authentic but I am not comfortable going just by testimonials on his own website. I know I'm being kind of nuts but my dog needs extra gentle care and I would pretty much die if anything happened to him while I was on vacation.
Is it really true that petsitters can be legally obliged not to give out contact information for references? Should I look for a different sitter? I already scheduled a consultation with this one.
He said he's not legally allowed to give out his customer's contact info
Maybe this is a state of Illinois thing but I've never had a petsitter or housesitter refuse to give contact info for references (in California or Texas).
posted by muddgirl at 1:51 PM on March 11, 2013
Maybe this is a state of Illinois thing but I've never had a petsitter or housesitter refuse to give contact info for references (in California or Texas).
posted by muddgirl at 1:51 PM on March 11, 2013
No, you are not being kind of nuts. No, it is extremely weird for someone in a service profession (petsitter, babysitter, housecleaner) to refuse to give out references.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 1:51 PM on March 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 1:51 PM on March 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Is it really true that petsitters can be legally obliged not to give out contact information for references?
Can it be true? Sure, I mean, there's all sorts of ways to keep people from giving out information. Is that what is going on in this case? Probably not. If he's on the up-and-up, more likely he doesn't want to share his clients' information with strangers (or bug his clients to accept phone calls from strangers about him) and is using the word "legally" to get people to not bug him about it. If this bothers you, then definitely get a different sitter.
posted by griphus at 1:51 PM on March 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
Can it be true? Sure, I mean, there's all sorts of ways to keep people from giving out information. Is that what is going on in this case? Probably not. If he's on the up-and-up, more likely he doesn't want to share his clients' information with strangers (or bug his clients to accept phone calls from strangers about him) and is using the word "legally" to get people to not bug him about it. If this bothers you, then definitely get a different sitter.
posted by griphus at 1:51 PM on March 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
Nope.
Just keep looking for a sitter you're comfortable with. Plenty of sitters give references.
posted by ignignokt at 1:51 PM on March 11, 2013
Just keep looking for a sitter you're comfortable with. Plenty of sitters give references.
posted by ignignokt at 1:51 PM on March 11, 2013
I mean, he may have to ask them permission first, but that's not very hard to do.
posted by muddgirl at 1:51 PM on March 11, 2013 [7 favorites]
posted by muddgirl at 1:51 PM on March 11, 2013 [7 favorites]
(NB: I should emphasize the "if" part of "if he's on the up-and-up." This may very well be a big hint that he is not.)
posted by griphus at 1:52 PM on March 11, 2013
posted by griphus at 1:52 PM on March 11, 2013
It would be unprofessional of him to give out his clients' contact information without their permission. (I don't know about the legality of it.) However, he could most certainly give out their contact information if he asked each client for permission to use them as a reference. I'd insist on talking to at least a couple of references if I were you. If you still want to go with this guy, ask him to ask them for permission to pass their contact information along to you. (The reviews on his website are worth exactly zilch. There's no reason he couldn't have fabricated them completely.)
posted by BrashTech at 1:52 PM on March 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by BrashTech at 1:52 PM on March 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
Is it really true that petsitters can be legally obliged not to give out contact information for references? Should I look for a different sitter? I already scheduled a consultation with this one.
It's at least possible that he is telling the truth; whatever contract he may have his clients sign may include some kind of identity protection language in their for their benefit, or the laws in your state may in some way prohibit it.
I don't really think that's your issue, though, and I think it's a mistake to worry about what's legal or not legal as far as the identities of references. The legal question is a red herring. You want to speak to his references. That's a reasonable desire. He's said he can't.
The truth is that he can, if he gets permission from the references.
So you ask him to get permission, either he does and you trust his references or he doesn't and you trust his answer, or you don't trust him and you decide what to do from there.
posted by gauche at 1:52 PM on March 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
It's at least possible that he is telling the truth; whatever contract he may have his clients sign may include some kind of identity protection language in their for their benefit, or the laws in your state may in some way prohibit it.
I don't really think that's your issue, though, and I think it's a mistake to worry about what's legal or not legal as far as the identities of references. The legal question is a red herring. You want to speak to his references. That's a reasonable desire. He's said he can't.
The truth is that he can, if he gets permission from the references.
So you ask him to get permission, either he does and you trust his references or he doesn't and you trust his answer, or you don't trust him and you decide what to do from there.
posted by gauche at 1:52 PM on March 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
Don't leave your pets with somebody you feel uncomfortable with for any reason. There are other pet sitters out there. Call someone else.
posted by something something at 1:53 PM on March 11, 2013 [8 favorites]
posted by something something at 1:53 PM on March 11, 2013 [8 favorites]
No, you're not paranoid. All he has to do is ask his real clients if he can give out their phone number or email address. His testimonials might be real, but he's not an experienced professional if he can't give you this pretty basic thing.
It might be worth getting a SitterCity membership to find an experienced pet sitter.
posted by Colonel_Chappy at 1:55 PM on March 11, 2013
It might be worth getting a SitterCity membership to find an experienced pet sitter.
posted by Colonel_Chappy at 1:55 PM on March 11, 2013
No, that's crazy talk.
You might also want to check out Rover.com. You absolutely want to check someone out before they stay in your house with your pets.
posted by Flamingo at 2:01 PM on March 11, 2013
You might also want to check out Rover.com. You absolutely want to check someone out before they stay in your house with your pets.
posted by Flamingo at 2:01 PM on March 11, 2013
Check out Care.com, you should be able to find someone you're comfortable with.
I find that teenagers can be great pet sitters. They love having a whole house to themselves, they love to play with the pets, and they follow instructions. Also, they're pretty cheap as long as you stock the fridge with junk.
I was a teenage house/pet sitter and I was responsible and took very good care of the dogs, cats, fish and houseplants I was entrusted with.
Now, not just any kid, but the kid of people you know and trust, someone who can beat the child within an inch of his/her life if they have a party or do drugs or whatnot.
(I don't approve of beating people, I'm just being hyperbolic.)
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:02 PM on March 11, 2013
I find that teenagers can be great pet sitters. They love having a whole house to themselves, they love to play with the pets, and they follow instructions. Also, they're pretty cheap as long as you stock the fridge with junk.
I was a teenage house/pet sitter and I was responsible and took very good care of the dogs, cats, fish and houseplants I was entrusted with.
Now, not just any kid, but the kid of people you know and trust, someone who can beat the child within an inch of his/her life if they have a party or do drugs or whatnot.
(I don't approve of beating people, I'm just being hyperbolic.)
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:02 PM on March 11, 2013
Call your vet's office and ask if any of their techs moonlight as petsitters - many do, and that's how our neighbors found one of theirs, which was great because one of their cats at the time needed meds and fluids daily.
Do not trust anyone with your pets if it seems like they're feeding you crap (or for any reasons that make you twitchy).
posted by rtha at 2:08 PM on March 11, 2013 [5 favorites]
Do not trust anyone with your pets if it seems like they're feeding you crap (or for any reasons that make you twitchy).
posted by rtha at 2:08 PM on March 11, 2013 [5 favorites]
He said he's not legally allowed to give out his customer's contact info and referred me to the testimonials on his website.
No, he's lying. This guy begins your interaction by telling you a blatant lie to your face. And he wants to be alone, in your home, with your animals who would not be able to tell you how he treated them or what he did in your place. Very creepy.
posted by cairdeas at 2:14 PM on March 11, 2013 [6 favorites]
No, he's lying. This guy begins your interaction by telling you a blatant lie to your face. And he wants to be alone, in your home, with your animals who would not be able to tell you how he treated them or what he did in your place. Very creepy.
posted by cairdeas at 2:14 PM on March 11, 2013 [6 favorites]
By the way you are not paranoid or nuts at all. All anyone needs to do is spend a few days in a city animal shelter to begin to get a sense of just how many people out there have zero compunction about mistreating, neglecting, or abusing animals and even enjoy doing it. Hint: it's a lot.
posted by cairdeas at 2:17 PM on March 11, 2013
posted by cairdeas at 2:17 PM on March 11, 2013
It is possible he doesn't have permission from any of his current clients to give their contact information to potential new clients as references. If he had told you the truth about that, he wouldn't seem like such a massive asscandle as he does with this childish "it's illegal" lie.
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:26 PM on March 11, 2013
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:26 PM on March 11, 2013
You or him confused "clients" with "references", and had two different conversations at each other.
I wouldn't raise the red flags until that's cleared up and if he then refuses to ask any of his clients if they will be references.
However, if he's new to the business as you suspect, then references are of limited use to you anyway - there won't be any long-term clients yet.
posted by anonymisc at 2:31 PM on March 11, 2013
I wouldn't raise the red flags until that's cleared up and if he then refuses to ask any of his clients if they will be references.
However, if he's new to the business as you suspect, then references are of limited use to you anyway - there won't be any long-term clients yet.
posted by anonymisc at 2:31 PM on March 11, 2013
I don't know what a "whose flyer" is (and apparently neither does the internet), but you want to entrust your animals to someone with known credentials. He may be new, but he'll have to start out working his own network, of which you are evidently not a part. Find someone whose references you can check.
posted by trip and a half at 2:53 PM on March 11, 2013
posted by trip and a half at 2:53 PM on March 11, 2013
That makes no sense at all; what on earth would be the meaning or use of "references" if that was how they worked?
Sounds like he simply doesn't have anybody who can act as a reference. That's pretty crappy. I'm not a petsitter and I could hustle up petsitting references by the end of the day because I look on friends' cats when they go away, etc. And I'm a nice person, so they wouldn't have a problem with helping me start a business. This guy has, apparently, no meaningful experience and/or no meaningful friendships. He hasn't got anybody in the industry who could vouch for him; the supervisor of volunteers at your local shelter has no idea who he is, he doesn't have a relationship with a vet, nothing like that. All of that's scary, petsitter-wise. Seems unlikely the 'testimonials' are legit.
posted by kmennie at 3:31 PM on March 11, 2013
Sounds like he simply doesn't have anybody who can act as a reference. That's pretty crappy. I'm not a petsitter and I could hustle up petsitting references by the end of the day because I look on friends' cats when they go away, etc. And I'm a nice person, so they wouldn't have a problem with helping me start a business. This guy has, apparently, no meaningful experience and/or no meaningful friendships. He hasn't got anybody in the industry who could vouch for him; the supervisor of volunteers at your local shelter has no idea who he is, he doesn't have a relationship with a vet, nothing like that. All of that's scary, petsitter-wise. Seems unlikely the 'testimonials' are legit.
posted by kmennie at 3:31 PM on March 11, 2013
No, that's crazy. It makes no sense that he can't put you in touch with somebody who is willing to act as a reference. Even if you would be his first client, he should be able to provide names of past employers, friends, etc. who can vouch for his trustworthiness and reliability in a general way.
In your situation, I would keep looking. Perhaps your vet could give you a couple of names? That is how I found my petsitter, and she has been fantastic. (She also provided references without being asked.)
posted by rpfields at 3:35 PM on March 11, 2013
In your situation, I would keep looking. Perhaps your vet could give you a couple of names? That is how I found my petsitter, and she has been fantastic. (She also provided references without being asked.)
posted by rpfields at 3:35 PM on March 11, 2013
He can't randomly give that information out without the customers' permission. He CAN, however, ask customers if they are willing to be references. He's either being deliberately dense or doesn't think he can get good references from his customers.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:41 PM on March 11, 2013
posted by Lyn Never at 3:41 PM on March 11, 2013
I would assume he's new enough that he doesn't have any references and is lying to hide that fact.
Move on.
posted by jaguar at 4:04 PM on March 11, 2013
Move on.
posted by jaguar at 4:04 PM on March 11, 2013
Also, he could totally legally give out clients' contact information (assuming no previous non-disclosure contracts, which would be ... highly unusual in a petsitting situation), it's just not very nice/ethical/professional to do so without their prior permission.
Petsitters are not equivalent to priests, therapists, doctors, lawyers, and other professions where clients are protected by confidentiality clauses.
posted by jaguar at 4:06 PM on March 11, 2013
Petsitters are not equivalent to priests, therapists, doctors, lawyers, and other professions where clients are protected by confidentiality clauses.
posted by jaguar at 4:06 PM on March 11, 2013
I just want to add that my dog walker gave me several references, a copy of a background check he used for another job, and a copy of his driver's license. You are not being unreasonable. I would look for another dog walker.
posted by ablazingsaddle at 4:41 PM on March 11, 2013
posted by ablazingsaddle at 4:41 PM on March 11, 2013
Just echoing that you're not nuts, and this is bullshit. I have house/petsat and I know that anyone I have worked for would be more than happy to provide a reference for me.
posted by radioamy at 6:11 PM on March 11, 2013
posted by radioamy at 6:11 PM on March 11, 2013
I don't think this is an Illinois law, BTW, because when we lived in Chicago, all the dogwalkers we interviewed were more than happy to give us a list with contact information for references.
He could be particularly risk-averse, and could have included something in his contract with prior clients (as has been noted above), but I'm pretty sure this is not the de facto law in Illinois.
posted by devinemissk at 7:28 PM on March 11, 2013
He could be particularly risk-averse, and could have included something in his contract with prior clients (as has been noted above), but I'm pretty sure this is not the de facto law in Illinois.
posted by devinemissk at 7:28 PM on March 11, 2013
I think I know that sitter! I hired him to watch my cats over a weekend, and he was nothing but courteous and professional, and my cats loved him. Very experienced with special needs pets, I had no complaints.
...see how easy it is to fake testimonials on a website? Who knows who wrote them? Do not trust, find someone else.
posted by illenion at 9:59 AM on March 12, 2013 [2 favorites]
...see how easy it is to fake testimonials on a website? Who knows who wrote them? Do not trust, find someone else.
posted by illenion at 9:59 AM on March 12, 2013 [2 favorites]
Is it really true that petsitters can be legally obliged not to give out contact information for references?
Sure it is -- if they sign agreements with their 'references' not to divulge it. But then they're not really references, are they?
Should I look for a different sitter?
Yep.
posted by LonnieK at 11:01 AM on March 12, 2013
Sure it is -- if they sign agreements with their 'references' not to divulge it. But then they're not really references, are they?
Should I look for a different sitter?
Yep.
posted by LonnieK at 11:01 AM on March 12, 2013
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Find a different pet sitter.
posted by pseudonick at 1:50 PM on March 11, 2013 [30 favorites]