New Client Requests
When Dog Adventures Northwest receives a New Client Prospect, the Dog Adventures Northwest Manager will notify a Contractor to assess interest and availability. Contractors are under no obligation to accept a new client; accepting or denying a client is at the complete discretion of the Contractor. Each New Client Prospect will contain basic intake form with the following text:
NEW CLIENT PROSPECT FOR NAME
Here's a potential new client for you! Please look over your schedule and relevant driving distances, and then reply to this message with a "yes" or a "no" within 24-hours. If you do not accept this client within 24-hours, please check to make sure that they are still available, as they may have been passed along to another contractor.
Important Notes
n/a
IF YES...
- please contact the client within 24-hours using their preferred form of communication
- if you can't reach out within 24-hours, let the admin team know when you can do so
- respond to this message thread when you reach out, and let the admin team know when and how you reached out
- if you do not hear back from the client within three days, contact them using a different method of communication
- respond to this message thread if you need to reach out for a second time, letting the admin team know when and how you reached out
- if you do not hear back from the client within three days of your second message, please request that the admin team send the MIA email by responding to this message thread
- Let the admin team know so we can better cater clients for you according to your preferences.
- If the admin team has to manage these initial steps for the contractor, it means that we are not spending time and mental energy on other important tasks, such as procuring new clients, nurturing current clients, and growing and improving the business as a whole.
- The service industry moves very quickly. Our professionalism (which we have in spades!) goes a very long way toward securing new clients, but timeliness is also incredibly important. Like it or not, the advent of email and cell phones have put communication into hyper-drive.
- Contacting clients quickly not only lets them know that we are punctual and reliable, it also may very well land you the work. For every new client request you receive, assume that the client has also filled out similar forms on at least one or two other company's websites.
- Contractors know when they are in communication with a potential client, but unless you fill the admin team in on this communication, we'll be in the dark, not knowing if you have contacted them at all, which is an uncomfortable place for us to be!
- The more time the admin team has to market and grow this business, the more Portland-area dogs get to live their best life and the more money goes in all y'alls pockets! Help us help you!
Ratio Logistics
Dog Adventures Northwest promises clients a ratio of no more than four dogs to one Contractor. Because many Contractors offer multiple Dog Adventure Northwest services, it is important that Contractors factor this ratio into their schedules when deciding to accept or deny a client. If, for example, a Contractor has a regularly scheduled Adventure with four dogs, and is considering Boarding for a dog as well, they must work out their own schedule to ensure that the ratio is always met and that services are delivered as promised.
The only exception to the ratio rule is at Base Camp, where a Contractors own dog can be the "fifth" dog. This is only true at the Base Camp property.
Note that the ratio applies not only for Dog Adventures Northwest client dogs, but also to a Contractor's own dogs, and any other dog in the Contractor's care.
Schedule Management
Contractors manage their own schedules based on the client's needs and their own needs. If a Contractor is unable to make a new client's schedule work with their own, they must make it clear to the client that Dog Adventures Northwest has other Contractors who may have openings more in line with the client's needs, and notify the Dog Adventures Northwest Manager that the new client should be reassigned.
System Calendar Management
Because all client invoicing and communication is done through the Time to Pet system, the Dog Adventures Northwest calendar must reflect the calendar of each Contractor. At present, the Dog Adventures Northwest admin team is the only group that can enter/change scheduling information on the Time to Pet calendar. It is therefore paramount that Contractors maintain clear communication with the admin team about schedules, schedule changes, reschedules, and cancellations. All scheduling-related requests should be sent to schedule@dogadventuresnw.com, with the dog’s first and last name in the subject, and the request in the body of the email. At this time, only urgent schedule requests should be texted. Please be as specific as possible with all requests.
Schedule Notifications
All Contractors will receive an emailed daily schedule on days when services are scheduled, and can also view their calendar for the next twelve months on the Time to Pet System.
Client Reminders
If a client has services scheduled for any given week, they will receive an email reminder on the Thursday before service.
Third Party Calendar Integration
Third Party calendar integration (Google, Outlook, etc) is available to Contractors under the "My Schedule" tab, but Contractors are encouraged to regularly verify proper integration by regularly cross-referencing with the Time to Pet calendar.
Pick-Up and Drop-Off Approximations and Windows
Due to traffic, road conditions, and many other variables, Dog Adventures Northwest does not promise an exact pick-up or drop-off time for Adventures. Instead, Contractors set an approximate pick-up/drop-off time ("approx 9am") or a pick-up/drop-off window of thirty minutes to one hour ("pick up between 9am and 10am"). As clients rely on these times to properly care for their dogs, Dog Adventures relies on Contractors to arrive at a client's home within 30-60 minutes of the estimated arrival time.