The mission at Meowtel is to help every cat and cat parent live their best life, and the goal is for cat parents to have a wonderful experience on the platform. However, it's also important that cat sitters on Meowtel know their well-being matters as well. As independent contractors, it's important to prioritize your boundaries and well-being. Prioritizing mental health is a key part of running a sustainable business. Meowtel is committed to platform safety. Meowtel has a zero-tolerance policy for any harassment and abuse, and should anyone - cat parent or sitter - demonstrate any form of abuse, they will be removed from the platform.
Independent cat sitters often feel like it's all about the customer, but it's essential to know if and when you should stand up for yourself. Purrhaps you've had an awkward encounter with a cat parent but you weren't sure if it was something that would hold water. That's ok. Here are a few examples that may help clear that up. If any of these situations (or situations like these) happen to you, hold on to documentation, and alert Meowtel Support as soon as possible.
Pre-Reservation Red Flags
Many cat parents have a very detailed and organized schedule. Independent sitters often manage strict schedules which allow them to multitask. However, when you multitask, sometimes you don't answer potential customers as quickly as they'd like. While it's important to stay on top of your calendar and your reply times, it's also important to know what's acceptable timing and what's unrealistic. Getting back to cat parents immediately after a request is made is not always feasible or realistic. Many sitters aim to respond to a reservation request within 2 hours. Of course, faster response times may ease the cat parent's mind, but with busy schedules, it isn't always doable.
An example of pre-reservation red flags:
A cat parent messages the potential sitter 15 minutes after putting the request in demanding a response. When the sitter doesn't reply within the first hour, they contact Support berating the sitter, the service, and the platform.
If you ever receive a message from a potential customer like this, please contact Meowtel Support immediately.
Verbal Harassment
If you feel a cat parent has harassed you verbally, such as calling you names or yelling at you, you might choose to advise the cat parent that you will no longer be able to take care of their kitty and promptly report the incident of concern to Meowtel Support. Whether the harassment happens in person or via messages, document it. Any unprofessional, hateful, rude, or derogatory language is considered verbal harassment.
An example of verbal harassment:
A cat parent calls a sitter terms like 'stupid,' 'dumb,' 'worthless,' or uses racial, sexist, religious, xenophobic, or sexual orientation-based slurs.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is uninvited or unwelcomed verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature. According to Equal Rights Activists,
For something to be considered sexual harassment, it matters what the person who's being harassed thinks. It does not matter if the person who's doing the harassment thinks it's OK, harmless, not sexual, or welcomed (i.e., they think you like it or don't have a problem with it.) It's still harassment if the behavior is something you do not want or find offensive. 1
Talking about sexual harassment can be difficult, anxiety inducing, and possibly may bring feelings of shame. It's not uncommon to not want to talk about it; however, alerting Meowtel if you have been sexually harassed is crucial. The team wants to help keep the community safe and will remove the user from the platform so they do not contact anyone else. Remember, Meowtel has zero tolerance for harassment. For more on safety, check out these tips for staying safe as a sitter.
A few examples of sexual harassment:
A cat parent says 'I'll only rebook or tip you if you agree to go on a date with me'.
During a meet and greet, a cat parent touches you inappropriately.
A cat parent sends sexually inappropriate texts to you.
In-home cameras are located in an inappropriate place such as the bathroom.
You receive an unwanted comment like, 'you have a killer toosh' possibly followed by a vulgar joke about sexual acts.
If you are comfortable speaking up to the cat parent then and there, do so. Whether you are or if you aren't (there is no shame in not being comfortable saying something), please alert Meowtel immediately upon leaving the situation.
Schedule Abuse
Schedule abuse is when cat parents don't respect the sitter's time. If you have a customer that always waits until the last minute to book or constantly guilts you into making room for them when your schedule is blocked off, it is appropriate to speak up. You can gently remind them that you have other obligations and a schedule, and while you can sometimes accommodate, you won't always be able to. You might ask them for more advance notice, so you can accommodate when possible.
Other examples of schedule abuse:
The cat parent demands the sitter is at their home for a delivery that was never discussed prior.
The cat parent demands two visits a day when only one was booked on the reservation.
The cat parent demands you to stay longer than the amount of time they paid for (20 minutes in most cases).
A cat parent repeatedly books and cancels reservations.
Service Abuse
What the heck is service abuse? Well, it's a term that encompasses anything during a reservation that doesn't fall within the other aforementioned areas.
Examples of service abuse:
A cat parent books a reservation for 3 cats, but when the sitter shows up, there are 7 cats.
A cat parent asks a sitter to run personal errands for them.
The sitter is told to buy food or litter because the cat parent wasn't fully prepared for their reservation.
A cat parent is unwilling to honor Meowtel's Cancellation Policy and begs the sitter to personally refund the fees via Venmo or PayPal.
Post-Reservation Harassment
Sometimes a cat parent will feel as though you neglected things in their house or flat out blame you for things that you did not do. While many sitters offer or agree to do extra services like grabbing the mail, watering plants, feeding a fish, etc, remember that cat sitters on Meowtel are primarily booked to care for the cats. And as a reminder, Meowtel's Trust & Safety initiatives apply to the cats listed on the reservation. This means that if there are surprise additional animals that are not on the reservation request, Meowtel may not be able to assist should something happen during the reservation.
Some examples of post-reservation harassment:
A cat parent sends scathing messages about killing plants or leaving tire marks on the driveway.
A cat parent accuses the sitter of home-related damage that has nothing to do with cat care (ie: the chairs weren't covered properly, and my cat ruined them).
A cat parent fabricates lies about the keys not being returned or an item of value is missing.
As mentioned in the previous article, When and What to Document as a Sitter, always document particular (or peculiar) requests and how you left everything so you can provide them to Meowtel Support if a situation like this arises. Understanding the anatomy of a text update can also help you keep clear records.
Sitter on Sitter Harassment
If another sitter starts spamming you with inappropriate comments via the platform, alert Meowtel Support. The team will review the situation in accordance with the Terms of Service.
While the hope is that these situations or circumstances never occur, Meowtel takes harassment and abusive situations very seriously. If at any point (pre-reservation, post meet and greet, or during the reservation) you feel as though there are red flags, abuse and/or harassment occurring, contact Meowtel Support via email, phone, or text, and the team will be happy to assist in the situation. Meowtel aims to diligently and professionally investigate each case and decide on the most appropriate course of action. As an independent cat sitter, please stay informed, retain reservation proof for at least 30 days, and keep Meowtel Support contact info handy.
Ready to check in on your profile? Make sure your calendar is up-to-date!
(2019). Know Your Rights at Work: Sexual Harassment. Retrieved from https://www.equalrights.org/issue/economic-workplace-equality/sexual-harassment
Photo by Tranmautritam via Pexels
Ready to find the purrfect sitter for your feline friend? Find a cat sitter on Meowtel today!
