What do people usually tip on Rover?
Approximately 20% which is the middle of the recommended percentage that Rover prefills as a recommended tip percentage. I reviewed my bookings over the last two years and that is the most commonly selected percentage. However, there are some caveats: 1) recurring clients often won’t tip every time 2) lower income clients will not pay a tip or will apologize that they can’t afford more 3) out of town/transient clients generally will not tip. If you just count the clients that actually tip, 20% is generally what they select. Before you feel bad about your tipping or lack of tipping habits here are some things to consider:
Your sitter probably doesn’t care whether you tip or not. I am a sitter who handles a lot of bookings and I generally don’t think about tips at all. It’s a factor I can’t control and I provide the exact same care to all clients even though I know some of them definitely won’t tip. If they ask whether they should tip I generally just say that leaving a review is a lot more valuable to me and that’s free to do. They may or may not tip when they leave that review.
Some sitters have their rate already set so high that tipping on top of that would be ridiculous. Even in major metropolitan areas, if your sitter is charging upwards of $75/day, don’t feel obligated to tip. On the other hand, if your sitter is charging $25/day and still doing an outstanding job, feel free to load up that tip. They get 100% of Rover tips and they may be setting the base rate low so that there’s space to tip without feeling like you’re paying too much. Also, you want to make sure you’re on their good list if they decide to downsize their client list or get overbooked and have to pick requests to not accept.
Have they made special accommodations for your dog or been nice about last minute schedule changes? Make sure to tip for that. Remember that to you a two hour delay getting home probably isn’t a big deal for because you built a ton of buffer time into your travel schedule but your sitter is operating a business and if you’re two hours late, they probably have had to move things around. They are not just sitting at home waiting for you to pick up your dog.
Personally, I always tip the max even if they didn’t send any messages or photos. I care about my dogs and want the people sitting them in my absence to understand that and prioritize me and my pets. It’s a selfish perspective but I am willing to put my money where my mouth is on this one. Just remember how much you care about your pet and then consider that an extra $50 bucks here and there is a great way to keep goodwill and make sure your dog continues to get the best care possible.