I Became my Own Client Last Month!
I recently went on vacation and got to use my own employees and our app to watch over my home, my pets, and my plants while I was gone. Here's how it went!
Typically when I go out of town, I have the privilege of family who lives close by and loves to watch my house and my pets. But every once in a while that doesn't work out, and I'm also lucky enough to have grown a business that lets me call on my own employees to watch after everything when I need them.
This time, we used the Almost Overnight PM visits and the 1-hour morning visits from Saturday until Thursday. Normally I'm the one behind the scenes: writing report cards, checking my employees' report cards, training new hires on how to watch your homes, and everything else that goes into it. But let me tell you, being on the receiving end of our Time to Pet report cards is amazing!
I say this as unbiased as I possibly can, but having my employees come by my house to feed my animals (I have one elderly dog with a slew of medications, a cat, 15 chickens, and a horse) was such a great way to stay relaxed on vacation. I already check in to make sure the business itself is running smoothly, though thanks to our wonderful Nikita, who manages things while I'm gone, I don't even have to think much about the day-to-day anymore. Having family watch your pets is great, and you always feel lucky to have that. But having a team of people who do this on a regular basis, who send you updates, take amazing photos (my personal favorites are the goofy ones that show off my pets' happy side), and make sure everyone gets the right food, the right meds, and the attention they're missing while I'm away, is priceless.
Every time I got my report card, morning or evening, I could see it all: Bruin was thrilled to have his friends there, my cat Oliver was relaxed and happy to see everyone, Rowan the horse was checked on and always had food and water, and the chickens were their happy, screaming selves. It was so fun to show my family what was going on and share the photos and videos I received. It also gave my husband real peace of mind, since he knows Bruin can be a handful, and making sure he gets all four of his medications in the right doses can be nerve-wracking when you're trusting that to someone else.
I don't always get the privilege of having my own team watch my house, but when I do, it reminds me not only how valuable our services are, but how great of a team we have at All Around Adventures.
Going on vacation also reminds me how much work goes into leaving your home, whether it's for a few days or a couple of weeks:
Cleaning: making sure dishes are done and put away, litter is cleaned up, and the house is tidy and easy for your pet sitters to navigate.
Fresh batteries: for anything that needs them, like fire alarms, cameras, and keypads.
Updating the Time to Pet app: keeping all your pets' info current, since things can change literally the day before you leave.
Convenience for your sitters: at our house we have a lot of space, so we put the hoses in the most convenient spot for filling Rowan's trough and topping off the chickens' water, so the sitters don't have to work too hard moving things around.
Cleaning out the fridge: so you don't come home to something icky or stinky.
A few treats for your sitters: I like to leave out some snacks and drinks for whoever is taking care of my home, so that means a little extra grocery shopping before we head out too.
So I just want to give the team at All Around Adventures a huge round of applause, and say thank you so much to all of our clients for the work you do behind the scenes before you even head out on vacation. We hope we can make your time away from home as relaxing as possible!
Here are some of the photos I got from our app every day!
The team at All Around Adventures is top notch!