Pet and Home Care Shares New Rates and Policies for 2023

This past year proved to be monumental for Pet and Home Care. We expanded our pet care team and office staff, made new investments in our facilities, and improved our technology to deliver an even better customer experience for both pets and their parents alike.

The biggest change came when we launched a new app and online customer center back in March. Both our clients and team members seamlessly adapted to the new tech, and it has made a better all-around user experience for booking, scheduling, communications, and payments. If you haven’t done it yet, we strongly encourage you to download the Apple or Android app today!

As much as things evolved this year, we’re constantly updating our business to adapt to a shifting pet care industry. By keeping up with new trends and practices, we’re better positioned to accommodate both our clients and our team members alike.

In this spirit, here are a few more changes and updates that are coming for Pet and Home Care in 2023.

 

RATE INCREASES ON JANUARY 3

OK, we get it: we can hear you screaming “NOOOOOO!” through your screen. No one likes paying more, but we had to make this difficult decision for two major reasons:

  1. Our team is bigger than ever.
  2. They’re staying with the company longer.

Both of these trends are welcome developments for our clients who rely on our staff’s invaluable experience and their familiarity with your pets. They also mean well-deserved raises and promotions and more benefits to administer. In the end, both our clients and our company are better served by long-tenured, well-compensated, and happy team members!

We did everything we could to minimize rate increases for 2023 — which will officially go into effect on January 3 after the New Year’s holiday — and we took lengths to make sure we’re still competitive with other local pet care companies, without having to implement additional increases anytime soon.

Check out the menu laying out the new prices for our most popular services:

We recognize that many of our clients have already booked services in 2023. If an invoice has already been generated for these services, we will honor those existing rates. We will also honor existing rates for any 2023 bookings made before the end of this year. So if you know you need care in January and beyond, we encourage you to book your services before the New Year and save!

If you are a client with daily or weekly recurring visits we will honor our existing rates through the middle of February 2023. The exact date will vary by each recurring client’s invoicing schedule.

 

PET AND HOME CARE POLICY CHANGES

As Pet and Home Care continues to grow, we’re constantly evaluating our existing policies. Some policies that once made sense a few years ago — or even this time last year – don’t make sense now. After our most recent review, here our some new policies that Pet and Home Care is implementing for 2023:

Free Meet-and-Greets

We know how important it is for our clients to feel good about the people they allow into their homes to provide care for their pets. Pet and Home Care is finally in a place where we no longer need to charge for meet-and-greets, so all new clients will be able to meet with their primary sitters at no additional cost before their services start!

Simplifying and Reducing ‘Extra Pet’ Fees for In-Home Visits

A lot of clients have given us feedback that our pricing structure for extra pets was too confusing, so we made changes and updated the policy to clear things up:

  • All our base prices will now reflect service for the FIRST PET ONLY, no matter what type of pet it is.
  • If additional dogs or cats require servicing in the same visit we will charge an extra $4 per pet, starting on January 3. This will be a decrease from our existing extra pet fee of $5 (YAY!).
  • Care for additional exotic pets (including but not limited to small caged mammals, birds, fish, lizards, snakes, farm animals, etc.) will be charged at custom rates established with our office managers. Please contact us at care@petandhomecare.com to discuss these custom rates.

Updated Late-Booking Policy

We’re always happy to accommodate last-minute bookings made within 24 hours of needed service, but we are increasing our late-booking fee to $15 for standard in-home visits and daycare, and $25 for last-minute overnights and boarding requests. Of course, the best way to avoid these fees is to book your care well in advance (or at least more than 24 hours before your requested service).

New Cancellation Policy

Up until now, we’ve maintained a lenient cancellation policy where clients could cancel services up to 12 hours ahead of time with no penalty. But in the last year we found that the existing policy would regularly throw our schedule into turmoil, affecting services for other clients. So starting in 2023, we are extending our cancellation policy to a minimum of 24 hours before the start of any scheduled services to avoid any penalties.

Of course, we know that some last-minute cancellations are the result of forces out of a client’s control and we will consider account credits in lieu of penalties on a case-by-case basis.

One More Holiday on Black Friday

We updated our holiday calendar earlier this year to include all major holidays and their federally observed dates. In 2023, we’re adding the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) to the mix. There are no changes to the additional 30% fee on all designated holidays.

 

OTHER CHANGES

Here’s a sneak peak at all the other fun stuff we have up our sleeve for the coming year…

Yummy Treats at the Resort!

Don’t have time to pack a doggie snack pack? Or maybe you think your daycare or boarding pup deserves an extra treat for being a good boy or girl? Well, we have your tail covered!

The Pet and Home Care Dog Resort is thrilled to introduce a new menu of healthy treats available as delicious add-ons to your pup’s daycare or boarding stay! We call it our Doggone Good Barkery Treats & Eats!

Starting in January 2023, we’re rolling out our menu of delicious treats from puppy ice cream, to veggie bowls and meal toppings, to other seasonal offerings and calming CBD add-ons. We’re really excited about this delicious new addition to the resort, so be on the lookout for more information coming soon!

Brand New Website!

We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to roll out a new PetAndHomeCare.com that’s cleaner and easier to navigate. Our goal is to make it simpler to learn about our services, rates, and the team members that care for your pets. Target date to launch the new site is mid-January 2023.

 

If you’d like to learn more about the most updated pricing and policies at Pet and Home Care, please reach out to us through our app or at care@petandhomecare.com.

Pet and Home Care Named a Nextdoor 2022 Neighborhood Favorite Local Business in Potomac

Pet and Home Care has been named to the winning list of Nextdoor’s 6th annual Neighborhood Favorites, an awards program recognizing local businesses committed to helping their neighborhoods thrive. Pet and Home Care was specifically recognized for its services in Potomac, MD. Winners of the 2022 Neighborhood Favorites were determined based on the number of neighbor recommendations a local business receives on Nextdoor across various categories.

“The biggest honor any small business can earn is recognition as a trusted and reliable presence in its community,” said Pet and Home Care Founder and CEO Tiffany Lewis. “Our team gained this reputation by following the famed Golden Rule: we care for our clients and their pets the way we would want our pets to be cared for.”

With more than 55 million business recommendations from neighbors, Nextdoor connects neighbors with each other and everything nearby.

“On Nextdoor, small businesses are a trusted and core member of the community. These local businesses go above and beyond to make their neighborhoods a kind, welcoming place. It is a true honor, and good for business, to be voted a Neighborhood Favorite by your most loyal customers — neighbors.” said Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar.

The complete list of winning businesses in each city is available at nextdoor.com/favorites.

‘Time To Pet’ Shines Client Spotlight on Pet and Home Care

Time To Pet, the preferred technology partner of Pet and Home Care, today featured PHC in its Client Spotlight series. Lauding Pet and Home Care as “one of the most highly-rated pet care companies in the country,” Time To Pet’s feature included a five-question Q+A with PHC Founder and CEO Tiffany Lewis. Here’s a sneak peek:

What is the most fulfilling part of owning a pet sitting/dog walking business?

There’s a lot I love about this job, but the most fulfilling part is being a helpful presence in the community. For most of our customers, their pets are like their children and they need to have 100% trust in whomever takes care of them. It feels great that we’ve built a reputation where we’ve earned that trust. We don’t even need to invest much into marketing because word of mouth in our service area is so strong, and that’s the biggest compliment that any business can receive.

Check out the full Client Spotlight on Pet and Home Care.

Pet and Home Care Founder Tiffany Lewis Featured on Subkit

Starting a business is hard. Keeping that business strong and successful for more than two decades is even harder. The kind folks at Subkit interviewed Pet and Home Care Founder and CEO Tiffany Lewis to learn how Pet and Home Care began and how she stays motivated after all these years. Here’s a sneak peek:

What’s your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment thus far would have to be keeping this business alive and growing for almost 25 years. That’s no small feat, especially with how difficult it was for small businesses (including ours) to navigate the pandemic over the last couple of years. I’m still in shock that my little side hustle in high school has led me down a path to work for myself and live a nice life.

Read the full interview on Subkit’s Go Solo blog

Why Do Cats Need Daily Care?

It’s not uncommon for our cat clients to request care every other day or even every third day when they’re traveling on long vacations. After all, cats are more self-sufficient than other pets and you don’t need someone to check on them every day, right?

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Pet and Home Care Rolls Out Tech Upgrade for a Simplified Customer Experience

Pet and Home Care, Maryland’s biggest and longest running pet care provider, has officially rolled out a new client software platform that promises to simplify and expand on its award-winning customer service.

The platform, developed by PHC’s partners at Time To Pet, is recognized as the leading customer service technology in the pet care industry. It streamlines the booking, servicing, and account management process so both customers and PHC team members can spend more time caring for the pets they love!

Here are just a few of the software’s helpful features:

  • A dedicated app for both Apple and Android devices
  • Simplified process to book new services
  • Intuitive interface to manage accounts
  • Mobile push notifications so you never miss an update on your services
  • New communication options, including in-app chat and texting

New clients can sign up for an account and start booking service HERE.

Existing Pet and Home Care clients can easily access their accounts and manage services through the online portal. But for the best experience, all customers are encouraged to download and use the Time To Pet app on their mobile devices:

 

Download the Time To Pet App for ANDROID Devices

Download the Time To Pet App for APPLE Devices

 

Both the app and portal are designed for easy and intuitive use. But users with specific questions can turn to either Time to Pet’s mobile app help page or its online portal help page. New users may also prefer to watch Time To Pet’s video tutorial.

Access Pet and Home Care’s easy-to-use platform and book your upcoming pet care now!

Pet and Home Care’s Simple Dog Biscuit Recipe

Today is National Dog Biscuit Day! Not that you need another excuse to spoil your favorite fur babies, but today’s an especially great day to indulge them with their favorite treats!

We suggest doing something extra nice by cooking up fresh dog biscuits from scratch. Try this yummy recipe and let your pups know you truly care, from your oven to their bellies! And if your dog goes ga-ga over these treats, feel free to make them a regular staple in your kitchen any time of the year!

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 1/2 – 3 cups whole wheat flour

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat pumpkin puree, peanut butter and eggs on medium-high until well combined, about 1-2 minutes. Gradually add 2 1/2 cups flour at low speed, beating just until incorporated. Add an additional 1/4 cup flour at a time just until the dough is no longer sticky.
  3. Working on a lightly floured surface, knead the dough 3-4 times until it comes together. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut out desired shapes and place onto the prepared baking sheet.
  4. Place into the oven and bake until the edges are golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.*
  5. Let cool completely.
  6. Fill the bellies of your favorite furry friends!

6 Things You Don’t Know About Pet and Home Care

What started as an after-school gig back in the late-90s is now a thriving pet care business that services thousands of clients in Maryland and DC. So what’s the secret to Pet and Home Care’s success? Here are six things that even the most loyal long-time customers may not know about Pet and Home Care.

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Join Pet and Home Care in Observing National Blood Donor Month

At Pet and Home Care, we take a lot of pride in the love and care we provide to your pets. But before we can look after your furry loved ones, it’s important that we first look out for each other as fellow citizens. That’s why we encourage all of our team members and clients to take time in January to participate in National Blood Donor Month.

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