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My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

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Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#421

Post by nkrisc »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #227
thatoneuser wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you understand how little these gig apps pay. 1k deposit would exclude a very large percentage of the workers. And frankly - who in the hell in their right mind would PAY a company a grand so start working for them? That's sketchy af.

> who in the hell in their right mind would PAY a company a grand so start working for them? In order: A bond isn't paying them. It would ideally go to a reputable third party. Anyone that works for uber paid a whole lot more for that car, sometimes specifically for the job. Edit: Would the downvoter care to explain? I'm not even saying it's definitely a good idea, I'm just disagreeing with the particular arguments g…

I'm painting with a broad brush here, but my guess is that people who would take these sort of jobs are probably not sitting on a grand in cash.

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#422

Post by sctb »

throwaway713 wrote: post #253
Sholmesy wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who has lost friends and family members, as well as pets, it feels the same. I see this dichotomy quite a bit in the public discourse, regarding dogs especially, where 1/2 the world treats dogs as family and the other half thinks they are some play toy/object. We have been living with wolves/dogs for a long time now, we're responsible for how they have evolved, and part of that is how they have evolved to…

I appreciate you responding and explaining your perspective, even though we may disagree on the issue. > 1/2 the world treats dogs as family Do you think that half the world, if given the choice between saving either their dog or a stranger's child in a disaster situation (e.g. a house fire), would choose their dog?

Sometimes these sorts of hypotheticals lead to interesting discussion and insights, but other times we get this sort of thing. Sparks are just sparks, but we should be careful because of the possibility of utterly bleak flamewars such as this.

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#423

Post by phonon »

beaconstudios wrote: post #409
phonon wrote: post #407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not what rent-seeking means; I am not sure what you are trying to say.

yeah rent-seeking isn't quite the right term, but I'm not sure what is. The companies basically exist as low-touch facilitators that rely on high volumes and low marginal cost. Does that make it clearer? The reason I called them rent-seeking is that (if you remove the vetting aspect, which I believe they have) they don't actually do anything, they just charge a "tax" on top of a service rendered by someone else. If t…

"middlemen"

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#424

Post by tremon »

michaelmrose wrote: post #389
toomuchtodo wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Providers. I only hire child and pet care providers I have performed a background check on, I’ve vetted in person, and who come with references from others. I do not use ride sharing, pet services, Airbnb, or other such P2P platforms.

If people only hire people with references how does one get references?

Through other trust paths. Start by caring for neighbours' pets, or family/friends, anyone that already knows you. Ask them for tips, guidance (aka "education"). Show them you care and want to expand your services (aka "networking"). Then ask them for references (aka "certification").

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#425

Post by dustincnj79 »

thomasec wrote: post #151

We had a similar (but thankfully, less serious) thing happen with Rover. We booked a dog sitter for 4 days with a woman named "Leslie". When we showed up to "Leslie's" place, the lady who we met did not match the person in the photo, and barely spoke any english. We were on our way to the airport, so I really didn't have a choice at that point but to leave our dog (I realize now I should have done more vetting, or me…

I think it's ironic that you were so worried about your dog and thanking that it didn't have any medical requirements because something disastrous could have happened however you left your pet who should be like your child with a complete stranger and not only a complete stranger it's someone who right off the bat appeared to be a fraud! If it were me I would have either canceled my flight or rescheduled my flight because no vacation or leave away from home with an irresponsible possibly psychopathic individual who you have no idea who or what their intentions are you still made the decision being of sound mind to leave your pet with said individual. If something had happened to your pet who would you blame Wag or Rover or would you blame yourself for seeing signs that this was not what you signed up for. I feel like this is exactly the type of situation where people should be accountable for their own pets and or children and not use a company who obviously does not screen their employees to the best of their ability or maybe not at all. Reviews can be faked background checks cannot. You were the one that dropped your pet off and left. I feel like this is exactly the type of situation where people should be accountable for their own pets and or children and not use a company who obviously does not screen their employees to the best of their ability. Unfortunately companies like these who are basically Outsourcing their jobs two people who may possibly have absolutely no qualifications or reason to be doing what their role should have included in the description of the service. However an individual knowing that these services are not held to any standard or requirements unfortunately companies like these who are basically outsourcing their jobs to people who may possibly have absolutely no qualifications or reason to be dealing with what they're all should have included in the description of the service. However an individual knowing that these services are not held to any standard or requirements should out of Common Sense know that is them that needs to do the legwork because the company obviously isn't and is most likely Trading that off for being able to pay little to nothing for their workers because that's exactly what most of them are probably worth.

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#426

Post by ataturk »

dustincnj79 wrote: post #425
thomasec wrote: post #151

We had a similar (but thankfully, less serious) thing happen with Rover. We booked a dog sitter for 4 days with a woman named "Leslie". When we showed up to "Leslie's" place, the lady who we met did not match the person in the photo, and barely spoke any english. We were on our way to the airport, so I really didn't have a choice at that point but to leave our dog (I realize now I should have done more vetting, or me…

I think it's ironic that you were so worried about your dog and thanking that it didn't have any medical requirements because something disastrous could have happened however you left your pet who should be like your child with a complete stranger and not only a complete stranger it's someone who right off the bat appeared to be a fraud! If it were me I would have either canceled my flight or rescheduled my flight be…

Background checks are one of the biggest lies ever foisted upon the American people. They're garbage and always have been garbage.

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#427

Post by megous »

defap wrote: post #37
yegle wrote: post #11

This happened recently: Wag! dog walker charged with animal cruelty; customers concerned about industry background checks http://www.ktvu.com/news/wag-dog-walker-charged-with-animal-... EDIT: and the settlement letter sent from Wag: https://www.scribd.com/document/397139013/SNews-Copie1901081...

Wow. The walker kicks and whips the dog until it vomits blood and Wag offers a refund and a $100 credit as settlement. Who in the world wants Wag credits after an experience like that. If Wag wants to buy these folks’ silence, shouldn’t they at least make a non-insulting offer?

It seems that by accepting the token compensation reflexively (before thinking about other alternatives you might have), the case can be argued to be settled and the company will have an advantage over you in case you change you mind after learning about the options you might have had for a better settlement.

And credits are cheap and can be provided almost instantaneously. Sometimes they also expire (you have to use them in 14 days or whatever, or you lose them), so it can be a free settlement for companies in the "best" case.

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#428

Post by Delete-Prod-Log »

We had a similar incident with ROVER !! A dog damaged our property and the owner said they'll pay for it. Owner came and picked up the dog. When we contacted ROVER to ask who was the owner and if we can have a phone number, ROVER SAID WE CANNOT GIVE YOU THEIR DETAILS. ALL WE CAN DO IS GIVE 1st NAME.

THEY WOULDN't EVEN TAKE A COURTESY TO CALL THE OWNER AND EXPLAIN THE SITUATION!!

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#429

Post by thisisit »

lowercased wrote: post #405
beaconstudios wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> These services like Wag and Rover have literally one job, and that is to make sure you trust the individuals watching your pet. I think this is where the key incentive misalignment is. These companies are rent-seeking, meaning they have a strong incentive to lower marginal costs. Vetting has to be the largest component of that so it's likely to be cut (or just dropped entirely). But the vetting is the entire point…

The vetting is 'crowd-sourced' with customer reviews, no? If 'Bill' thinks 'Leslie' is a great walker... what more should wag or rover need to do? Vet Bill now too!? That's just crazy talk...

Currently the problem arises if the reviews are owned and hosted by the company in question.

You can find tons of complains about the quality of Amazon products. And now there is a need for external tools like fakespot.com to find fake reviews. It wouldn't have taken Amazon much to build a similar service.

The amazing thing about smaller markets like Wag and Rover is that even if there are negative reviews you are not going to find them. There will be tons of 4-5 rated walkers but you will be hard pressed to find people who are rated 2-3. The reason being that customers don't want 2-3 rated walkers and it is in the interest of the company to show all high rated walkers.

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#430

Post by shijie »

dustincnj79 wrote: post #425
thomasec wrote: post #151

We had a similar (but thankfully, less serious) thing happen with Rover. We booked a dog sitter for 4 days with a woman named "Leslie". When we showed up to "Leslie's" place, the lady who we met did not match the person in the photo, and barely spoke any english. We were on our way to the airport, so I really didn't have a choice at that point but to leave our dog (I realize now I should have done more vetting, or me…

I think it's ironic that you were so worried about your dog and thanking that it didn't have any medical requirements because something disastrous could have happened however you left your pet who should be like your child with a complete stranger and not only a complete stranger it's someone who right off the bat appeared to be a fraud! If it were me I would have either canceled my flight or rescheduled my flight be…

> ...however you left your pet who should be like your child

Nope, sorry. A pet is a pet. A human child is a human child. The gulf of difference between these two is vast.

I’m fine with you treating your pet like a human child, do what you want with your life etc... but as someone with a pet AND a human child... there’s a fundamental base instinctive difference. Equating the two is completely intellectually dishonest and frankly kinda scary.

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