Meet and greet checklist for dog walkers.

What happens during a meet and greet?

When you arrange a meet and greet with a potential new client this is your time to see if the dog, and the service you offer, are a good fit.

As well as the client assessing you, you should also be assessing them. Which group walk will the dog be a good fit for? Can you do the days and times they’ve asked for? Do you need to offer solo walks? Do they want solo walks but he’s a 75kg mastiff who pulls…

There are lots of reasons that it might not be a good fit and although it’s tempting to take on everything, especially when you start out, choosing clients wisely to fit in with your vision for your business is the better long term plan.

Let’s take a look at what dog walking questions we can ask potential clients.

What are potential clients looking for?

Trustworthiness

Take along your DBS certificate and any references from other clients if you have them.

Professionalism

Ensure that you have all your paperwork with you, or send it in advance if you have it all online or by email.

Good with Dogs

Make sure you interact appropriately with the dog. Make a huge fuss of them if they’re the friendly type, or let them come to you if they’re shy and unsure.

Fits in with their needs

Some clients will have a definite idea of days and times they’d like their dogs walked, some might want you to be a bit more flexible because of their own schedule changes.

The same type of walk

Clients often don’t realise they want this until they don’t get it, but they want the same type of walk they give their dogs usually. Offlead in a park is normal for some, muddy adventure walks for others and clean, dry, pavement strolls for others. Be sure to ask.

Pre-empt their worries

Some clients will happily hand over the key to their house and book you for walks without a second thought, others might be a bit more anxious about handing over their family member to you so be prepared to make them feel better about it.

Explain how you use longlines instead of letting the dogs off straight away because however good their recall is with the owner, they might not be so good with a dog walker to start with.

Explain your process with travelling and show them your vehicle. Show them the car restraints or crates, ramps and barriers you’ve installed to make travel safer for them. Explain that they’ll be in the van just a minute or two whilst you collect the next dog, always in a locked vehicle.

Tell them about the other dogs in the group they’re joining, how long you’ve had them and something about their personalities. Show your potential client some photos of the dogs if you have them.

Explain how you communicate with clients on walk days to make sure they aren’t worrying if you haven’t messaged them. Tell them you normally sort the photos and message the owners about their dog’s day once all the walks have finished. Unless of course you message whilst on the walks, so let them know that instead.

What should you take with you?

Unless the paperwork has been done in advance or online, take along a copy of your insurance, DBS certificate, 1st aid certificate, personal ID, payment details and your contract/terms of service (which might be one or several documents covering terms and conditions, cancellation periods, offlead release forms, vet release forms, key holding permission and emergency contact details)

Where should we meet?

Most walkers will meet a potential client in their own home but if you’re unsure about the client in any way then suggest meeting them and their dog in nearby green spaces or a park.
If all goes well you can finish the meet and greet back at their address.
For safety, always tell someone else the address when meeting a new client.

What should you expect to be asked?

It’s rare to be asked for all the paperwork (DBS & insurance etc.) you take along with you but it’s professional to be able to show it to clients.

They’re more likely to ask to see your vehicle and ask how you transport the groups so make sure it’s relatively clean and tidy just in case.

Many owners will ask where you live. Some walkers feel uncomfortable about giving this information out but as a dog owner yourself, wouldn’t you want to know where the person who has your dog lives? Most of the time this will be on the insurance documents unless you work for a separate company so you can show them that.

Questions to ask dog walking clients.

Over the years I’ve added to this list after incidents of not being able to get into the house and encountering half-naked people just out of the shower in people’s homes. So in addition to the questions covered by your contract and information forms, I would include the following;

• Is there anything odd about the door lock?
• Will there ever be anyone home or will anyone you meet definitely be burglars?
• What words do you use for off-lead recall
• What types of walks does your dog enjoy?
• Do they have any triggers or things they don’t like? (bicycles, joggers and children are more common than you’d think)
• Does he get car sick? (always fun if you forget to ask)
• Where would they like you to leave them after a wet walk? (You might find they have free run of the house usually but the owner wants them confined to the kitchen after walks)
• Where is his collar/lead/harness etc?

How long do meet and greets take?

Meet and greets can be anything from 10 mins to 2 hrs depending on you, the client and your schedule. Don’t be shy about apologising and saying you need to be at the next meet and greet if you need to wrap things up faster.

Should you charge for a meet and greet?

Meet and greets are rarely charged for however if you need to go back a second time to collect their key and it’s some distance away then some walkers will charge a key collection fee. Be sure to mention it though prior to your meeting and they’ll be much more likely to have the key ready for you.

Should you go for a walk with the owner?

This is more for the owner’s peace of mind because you’re not going to see how the dog is without their owner and they’ll act differently with you and any dogs you have in your group so it’s rarely beneficial usually.

The exception is if they’re looking to book solo walks because the dog is difficult to walk, perhaps due to reactivity or size. A short walk with the owner present to give you tips or advice might be beneficial to you both in these circumstances.

A five or ten minute walk as part of a meet and greet shouldn’t be charged for. If the owner wants an hour with you then this should be booked separately and charged for as a solo walk. Occasionally an owner will ask to come on a group walk with you. This is an unusual request but not unknown and I would check with your individual insurer to double-check you’re covered for this.

How to close and get the booking.

If you struggle to get a commitment from a potential client during a meet and greet, and you want the business and they’re a good fit, then I would try something called an assumptive close.

This is where you assume they’re going to book with you during the meeting and you offer them a choice of two starting dates. For example, “Did you want to start walks this coming Monday or the following week on the 21st?”

Dealing with nerves.

Some dog walkers are incredibly sociable and relaxed meeting new people but some of us work with dogs because we’re the sort of people who would send an email/text/message/carrier pigeon rather than call and have to talk to someone.

There are a few ways to make the anxiety a little more bearable.

Tell them. Make a joke about being better with dogs than people, it’s a great ice breaker.

Play with the dog. Ask about the dog. Focus on the dog.

Remember that they might be nervous too. They’re hoping their dog behaves and doesn’t show them up in front of you!

Take someone with you. If you have someone who covers your work when you’re on holiday or off ill then try and take them with you. It benefits the owner for them to see you’re organised, they’ll have met the person covering for you and you’ll get some much needed moral support.

Tips

The correct approach to greet a dog is to wait for them to come to you but this might appear standoffish in a meet & greet situation so stack the odds in your favour by having treats, but ask the owner first if they’re allowed one in case of allergies.

Dried sprats are tolerated well by most dogs, even the ‘allergic to everything’ itchy ones, plus the dog will definitely be able to smell that you have them and come over to investigate.