Walking SOP

SERVICE PROVIDERS

WALKING – STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE

PawSpace will now be sharing the standard protocol that will be followed for all the Walking assignments. 

For any Walking – the service provider must be Certified and Verified from PawSpace. 

Step 1 – Process of certification and verification

1. Log on to www.pawspace.in and complete the registration and verification process. Visit our website www.pawspace.in and click on “Become pet carer” and then you would be redirected to fill the form – https://backup.pawspace.in/pet-sitter-regform/
2. Once the registering is done, our team partnered with IDFY will send a verification link, which will ask you to submit the following 4 documents

1. Pan Card
2. Address Proof (AADHAR CARD)
3. Current Residing Address
4. Selfie

All These documents submitted are MANDATORY. These documents are protected strictly and will not be shared with any external third parties in any way or form. 

1. Post the verification process, the candidate would receive the host resources and a quiz will be conducted. If the candidate fails the quiz – they can have 3 more attempts.
2. Post clearing the quiz, there will be a round of interviews (2 rounds) to know the candidate better and also to orient the process of services opted on the PawSpace platform.
3. The last step now is the submission of photos, videos, and profile creation. Only post completion of this major step – will the candidate be eligible to receive orders from our end.

Step 2 – Profile creation – Base For Certification

• PROFILE CREATION (Annexure – 1)

Step 3 – Signing of PawSpace contract to affirm the engagement. 

Here you would be required to sign the engagement documents and SLA to confirm the engagement with PawSpace with all the terms and conditions understood and accepted. This is SLA would be valid till you are engaged with us on a part-time and/or full-time basis. 

Step 4 – Commencement of order 

In order to ensure that you get more orders – there are a few suggestions that you can follow to make your profile better and overall improve your scoreboard and ranking on our platform.

• Understanding the Pet Profile (Annexure -2)

• Terms of engagement (Annexure -3)

Step 5 – In case of any mishaps

PawSpace also elaborates on the policies pertaining to mishaps that you may face during the engagement

• Mishap to customer pet – injury/ loss or death

In case of any mishap to the customer’s pet – injury/ loss or death, reimbursement of vet bill for up to INR 10,000 for pet-related injury of either the client’s pet. This can be claimed post-service for up to 28 days after the date of the service booking. 

Step – 6 – Payment terms 

• Commission charged

PawSpace charges a standard commission of 10% with every booking.

• Payment terms

The payment terms of PawSpace are simple:

Payment will take place post completion of assignment with 72 hours

In the event of any damage, PawSpace will take upto 2 weeks in order to validate the damage, damage to property and injury. 

Step 7 – Cancellation Policy/ Refund Policy

Repercussions of frequent cancellations 

If the walker decides to cancel their assignments more than 3 times continuously/back to back they will be banned for a period of 30 days/1month from the system. 

Step 8 – Explanation of Sitter Performance Scoreboard

As mentioned above, we tend to relax the commission when your engagement with our company is more evolved and when there are more orders that are completed.

When you Join PawSpace – you are a Non – prime certified service provider, however, post completion of certain milestones – you can rank up to a prime and further Super Prime service provider.  

PARAMETERS FOR Walking SCOREBOARD

• Booking score – This score consists of your overall booking rate, which looks at the number of new customers who contacted you for the first time and measures that against how many of them end up booking with you.
• Repeat score – tells how often the first-time clients book with you again. If you haven’t booked enough repeat clients to generate a score yet, then it may appear to be less.
• Quality Score – Score that counts the positive and negative reviews by customers. The positive reviews will increase the score and the negative will decrease. This will overall affect your ranking on the page in your respective sub-location.
• Cancellation Score – A score that counts how many times you have cancelled the customer orders from your end. A high cancellation score can result in blocking your account for a period of 3-6months.
• Referral Score – This basically counts the number of referrals you got to our platform and engaged in service through PawSpace.  A high score is favourable as it will push your profile in ranks and get you more business over a period of time.

Annexure – 1

Form – Profile Creation

This is an elaborated form service based that helps to capture all important information pertaining to the service provider and services offered for the same.

It’s a one-time activity and also forms a base for creating a profile with PawSpace.

3 core details are captured 

• Basic Details
• Availability in terms of timings and days
• Home Details
• Bank details
• PAN details
• Google location for Geo Tagging.

Annexure – 2

UNDERSTANDING THE PET PROFILE

Nature

It is the Pet walker’s responsibility to understand the nature and profile of the pet, whether the pet is friendly with people, social etc. Understanding the nature of the pet’s temperament is vital. For Example: If the pet you are walking is an indie rescue dog, they might be territorial and because of the bad experience the dog has faced, adjusting to new people might be difficult. To avoid accidents for the walker and the pet, getting to know the nature of the dog is crucial for a successful and smooth walking session.    

Purpose of walk

As a walker, the customer might have various reasons as to why they want to walk their dog, some customers might want you to walk their dog for relieving their pet, some might want you to walk to dog for physical maintenance/exercise, some might want you to walk to their walk to reduce their weight. It is the walker’s duty to find out the reason/purpose of the walk and maintain the same. 

Here are some reasons as to why customers want to walk their pet

Obesity

Relieving their pet

Exercise

Socialisation

Well-being  

Types of walks

There are different types of walking, so it is best to find out from the customer what type of walks they prefer for their pet including the duration of walk. It can range from a 30 minute walk, to a 45 minute walk up to a 60 minute walk 

Here are a few types of walks that the customer might require:

1. Relieving walk – this is to ensure the pet pee/poops and relieve themselves
2. Physical activity – this is when the pet requires some sort of physical activity like walking, running and so on.
3. Exercise – this is when the pet requires exercise due to obesity and requires to be fit.
4. Socialisation – This is to help the pet socialise with other dogs and people

These are a few types of walks the customer might need. 

Leash trained or not 

This is a very important factor to know, as a walker is it your duty to know if the pet is leash trained as it would help in a smooth walking process For Example: If the pet is not leash trained and you continue with a walk, the pet might try to pull which can insult in injury to both the walker and the pet. 

Any medical issues like hip dysplasia or weak bones or any other issue

FInding out if the pet has any medical issue like hip dysplasia,  weak bones, elderly dog or any other issue is very vital. For example: if the pet has weak bones, you must refrain from pushing them to walk more, pulling the leash aggressively as it can result in a serious accident and cause pain to the pet. 

(Meet and Greet)

Annexure – 3

TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT

Please make sure that you thoroughly read the terms of engagement and follow all the requirements. If you get certified as a Pawspace dog walker, the following are the guidelines you need to be aware of – 

BEFORE the engagement: 

• When you are presented with an assignment, ensure that you are comfortable with 4 aspects – Breed, Distance, Duration and Timings. Ensure that you are comfortable with the demands regarding all these four aspects before accepting an assignment.

• You are at liberty to reject the assignment if you are not comfortable with the details of the engagement in any form. However, once you accept the assignment, you will have to complete the assignment to reserve the fee. If you complete a few sessions and choose to withdraw, Pawspace will not be liable to pay ANY additional amount to the pet care provider.

• Ensure that the attire you wear falls under the category of smart casuals. Ensure you are wearing shoes (sports, walking or sneakers) and not any form of slippers to avoid any accidents.

• Pawspace requires you as a dog walker to know how to handle a dog on a leash – NO pulling or rough handling of any kind is allowed.

• Alcohol or drug consumption of any kind is STRICTLY prohibited before and during the engagement. In such cases, your contract with Pawspace will be terminated effective immediately.

• Pawspace charges a 10% platform fee. Complete 90% of the customer’s payment will be transferred to your account soon after the completion of the service without hindrance.

DURING the engagement: 

• Please note the duration of the walk officially starts when the walk ACTUALLY starts. For example, time spent in the lift, getting the leash on the dog, or getting the dog comfortable is not counted as part of the engagement time.

• To avoid complaints from customers regarding the walk time, Pawspace encourages dog walkers to share their google live location with the customers during the walk (Please note: Our application is under construction and this discrepancy will be resolved once the app is up and running)

• Ensure that you maintain a log of the walk – note down the date, time, and duration of EVERY walk you do. This is mandatory and has to be shared with the customer and pawspace for payments.

• You are not allowed to walk a dog without the leash under any circumstances.

• You are not allowed to use violence on the pet under any circumstances. Pawspace has a strict no-violence policy. DO NOT pull, kick or run with the pet while you are walking them.

• Any kind of leave of absence for more than 2 days needs to be informed to the customer and pawspace at least 1 week in advance so that a substitute can be arranged for the same.

• RESPECT the pet’s boundaries at every circumstance. For example, if the pet is timid, do not challenge it by facing off with stray dogs. Make sure you take the route on which the dog is most comfortable. Ensure that it is a smooth, comfortable, brisk walk.

• In case due to some health issues where the pet has to be taken for a vet visit, the customer needs to be informed and approval for the same needs to be taken. Bills of transport/ vet and medicines need to be shared with PawSpace.

• If you are faced with ANY emergencies, doubts, mishaps or confusions regarding the engagement, ensure that you contact Pawspace for clarifications. Do not engage personally with the customer.

AFTER the engagement:

• Payment method – Dog walkers in Pawspace will be paid on a weekly basis AFTER the completion of the assignments of that week. To ensure complete payments, weekly logs should be mailed to bookings@backup.pawspace.in while keeping the customer’s email ID  in ‘cc’ in the email sent to Pawspace.

• Apart from providing updates during the engagement, having ANY KIND of personal communication with the customer is strictly against Pawspace policies. This is important to ensure issues regarding non-payment, low payment or damage to property is handled by Pawspace professionally.

• After your engagement, Pawspace encourages you to share the review link with the customer. Additionally, if your services prompt more customers to choose Pawspace services, it will be noted on a scoreboard and 3-5%* commision will be provided based on that.

• If you are involved or engaged in ANY way with any other pet service platform, we respect your position. However, Pawspace will be terminating our contract with you and will not be engaging with your services any further.

• You will be eligible to be hired as a Pawspace dog walker after completing 300 hours of dog walking assignments.

*Terms and Conditions Apply 

The right way of walking your pet

Water bottle 

It is important to carry a water bottle in order to be prepared in case the pet becomes thirsty or starts panting. 

Treats 

Bringing some treats from the pet parents can help the pet to follow commands, some pets do not follow commands unless they are rewarded with a treat, so keeping a few handy will be helpful.

Punctuality 

It is important to make a schedule and follow time, being punctual can help the pet follow a routine. Some pets relieve themselves only at a given time, so maintaining the right time and being punctual can make a big difference. It is important to know that the time for walking starts once the walker starts the session and not at the time of arrival. For Example: if the session is scheduled for 10AM, it is important you go at 9:50 and as time should only begin once the walking is started. 

Left side 

Once you start the session, always make sure that the pet is not in the centre of the road, which can be dangerous to both you and the pet. Make sure that the walking happens on the left side of the road where traffic is not moving, always be alert about any moving vehicles. 

Other dogs 

Make sure the pet is not in contact with other dogs, as some are ferocious and might attack the pet viciously causing great damage. For Example: if the pet you are walking is friendly, the might be a street dog that can be ferocious and territorial, it is best to take the dog to the other side to avoid scuffle.

Don’t push or force

If the pet is old, sick, elderly or stubborn do not force the pet to walk extra or pull the leash as it can result in problems in the future. For Example: if you are walking a pet with hip dysplasia ensure that you do not pull or push aggressively and give the pet some time to relax/breathe, offering some water might help as well. 

Attendance 

Make sure that the attendance is marked every day to avoid confusion in the future, mark attendance and submit a copy to the pet parents and a weekly copy to PawSpace as it ensures consistency and can help us validate and can increase your ranking 

Here are a few tips from experts on how to walk the pet, following these tips can result in a smooth and successful walking session:

Walk in Front of the Dog

Walking in front of the dog allows you to be seen as the pack leader. Conversely, if the dog controls you on the walk, he’s the pack leader. You should be the first one out the door and the first one in. The dog should be beside you during the walk.

Use a Short Dog Leash

This allows you to have more control. Attaching the leash to the very top of the neck can help you more easily communicate, guide, and correct your dog. 

Give Yourself Enough Time for the Dog Walk

Giving yourself adequate time for the walk is important, follow and maintain the time as chosen by the customer 

How to Reward the Dog During the Walk

After the dog has maintained the proper state of mind, reward them by allowing them to relieve themselves and sniff around. Then you need to decide when reward time is over. It should always be less than the time spent focused on the walk.