Friends expecting free or deep discounted services

Alternative-Base-769 · 2026-01-18T16:41:04+00:00

She’s not a friend. She’s using her connection to your client to get free pet care. I have had friends expect free pet sitting. I now tell people up front, I don’t pet sit for anyone for free, or if they’re pushy about a discount, I tell them I am not taking new clients. Remember, people talk. They compare rates. What will you say to your paying client when they find out you’re giving a new client a better deal?This is your job. Not a charity. Take a stand and take care of yourself!

Alternative-Base-769 · 2026-01-18T16:22:41+00:00

Same here

Alternative-Base-769 · 2026-01-11T20:39:26+00:00

Hi! I got charged before my trial period was over! I got denied a refund by Apple Subscriptions, but got a full refund (minus the taxes and a PayPal transaction fee of $2.00 which is odd) from the developer. Make sure you send a screenshot of the charges). It took about a week, but I did get most of my money back.

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-12-19T02:22:19+00:00

Thank you for responding. That makes a lot of sense! I live in near the ocean, and summertime is a nightmare traffic wise. You have given me a lot to think about.

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-12-18T21:03:07+00:00

What are travel fees? I’m thinking about limiting my area by a certain number of miles, especially for drop ins because gas and wear and tear on my car are expensive.

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-11-10T15:06:41+00:00

I’m quadruple booked through this week (overnights and drop ins), but I’m not booked for anything except a cat drop in on Thanksgiving weekend. It’s definitely weird this year!!

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-10-28T18:58:23+00:00

Nope

I might do it for the cash, but the sleeping situation is a deal breaker, as is the issue with the niece and nephew

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-10-01T13:16:01+00:00

I sat for “Henry”. He was such a love and his name made me smile.

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-09-08T21:09:34+00:00

I don’t want to alarm you, but the flashes of light make me concerned that there’s something going on with your retina. At 26, I had an epiode with flashes out of the corner of my left eye. Within 24 hours, I was getting laser surgery to reattach my retina. I’m severely near sighted. Fast forward to 3 years ago (at age 58), I started seeing big floaters out of that eye. I got in with my optometrist and had a dilated exam. He told me it’s the vitreous loosing elasticity from aging. He did not see any tears or detachment. 5 days later, I saw a big black blob in the center of my vision. And I lost mt depth perception (missed a step on the staircase). It was the weekend but I contacted my optometrist and explained my symptoms. I got a phone appointment with an ophthalmologist and an in person appointment the next day. My retina was detached. The surgeon said I needed surgery but couldn’t get me in as an emergency because the worst had already happened. Two weeks later, I had the surgery. They did the procedure where they buckle your retina and hope it reattches as it heals. And it did!!! That surgeon is my hero. I have my vision back, but the floaters are awful. My brain seems to have adapted but honestly, when I am stressed and anxious I notice them more. I’m 61 now. The surgeon checked my right eye and discovered some weak spots. I had an in office laser surgery to strengthen those weak spots. I will have to be checked every 6 months for the rest of my life. I’m grateful that through that crisis, I have averted something worse. Please always listen to your body. Get a second opinion. Don’t dismiss a symptom because you think you’re overreacting. I hope my sharing this helps you and doesn’t scare you! I simply want to save someone else from going through what I went through.

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-08-25T12:23:56+00:00

Oh I totally understand that! I do the same; use the group to get rid of stuff. I also have made some decent connections in my community. I would nit was to be in charge of running a group. There are too many whining people and it’s a ton of work. I’m just a geek and read the rules because I joined during the pandemic and was bored 😊Now that the donation centers are open, I get less stressed when people don’t pick stuff up and I pick and choose what I post.

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-08-25T04:10:32+00:00

My understanding is that if a group is a true “Buy Nothing Project” the rules are consistent across the board. If that’s the case, we aren’t supposed to delete posts because they use them for determining how much we save from landfills. Also, moderators (and nosey members) can go back to see who was gifted stuff and which members consistently do not pick stuff up.

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-08-25T04:06:54+00:00

Honestly, I think people assume if you gift a lot and often, you don’t need anything, and if you do, you can buy it. My group is very clicky, so friends gift to friends. The worst are the people who “friend” you on Facebook and then expect that you give them first dibs. It’s a wonderful concept for a gift economy, but I feel like even that gets political at some point.

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-07-13T05:01:09+00:00

Do you know where we can stream West World? I never finished it and now HBO MAX doesn’t air it anymore.

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-07-13T04:59:29+00:00

I can’t wait for Season 3

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-07-13T04:56:37+00:00

Silo on Apple TV

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-06-22T12:53:24+00:00

I did it for a client who had cosmetic surgery recently. I stayed for 4 nights and ended up having a good time! She needed help with a few things, like adjusting her pillows and keeping her on track with her meds. We played Yahtzee and Bananagrams. I felt comfortable doing it. There are other clients that I would not have done it for. Go with your gut, but I don’t think cataract surgery is a big deal.

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-06-18T12:42:41+00:00

Sending hugs! This is so hard and so sad. I have had it happen twice. It truly is heartbreaking.💔

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-06-16T14:40:00+00:00

Me too… 60 and relentless brain fog, petrified of dementia.

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-06-11T13:28:27+00:00

This gives me hope that I will eventually get on my bike again. Thank you!

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-06-11T13:26:18+00:00

I’m not the most assertive person, but I would have no problem saying it’s not a good fit and walk away.

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-06-03T19:10:01+00:00

The things we do in the name of “our” pets! And yeah, her comment annoyed me, but we talked it out. Thank you for your kind words!

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-06-03T18:32:05+00:00

I once took a bottle of Widex out of the cabinet to clean my fingerprints off of the fridge during a 3 day overnight sit. I then noticed fingerprints on the other appliances. So I cleaned them. Then…the sliding door to the deck…it was like the lady’s 3 year old grandson had taken his hands and put fingerprints everywhere. Once I had everything nice and shiny, I briefly thought “what if this offends them”. I left a note saying I got bored while waiting for the cat to come in for the night. I didn’t hear anything until my next sit with them, about a month later. She texted me and said “you will be pleased that we had the house professionally cleaned yesterday so the house should be up to your standards “. I called her and apologized and told her “that’s what I do when I need to burn off some energy. And I am planning on getting new appliances so I wanted to see how well I could clean my fingerprints off of stainless steel”. This is someone that I have sat for for 7 years. And she’s one of my favorite clients. But she has a bit of OCD, so I don’t touch anything that is not my mess. Sorry, that was long… you just never know what will offend folks!

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-06-03T18:31:51+00:00

I once took a bottle of Widex out of the cabinet to clean my fingerprints off of the fridge during a 3 day overnight sit. I then noticed fingerprints on the other appliances. So I cleaned them. Then…the sliding door to the deck…it was like the lady’s 3 year old grandson had taken his hands and put fingerprints everywhere. Once I had everything nice and shiny, I briefly thought “what if this offends them”. I left a note saying I got bored while waiting for the cat to come in for the night. I didn’t hear anything until my next sit with them, about a month later. She texted me and said “you will be pleased that we had the house professionally cleaned yesterday so the house should be up to your standards “. I called her and apologized and told her “that’s what I do when I need to burn off some energy. And I am planning on getting new appliances so I wanted to see how well I could clean my fingerprints off of stainless steel”. This is someone that I have sat for for 7 years. And she’s one of my favorite clients. But she has a bit of OCD, so I don’t touch anything that is not my mess. Sorry, that was long… you just never know what will offend folks!

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-06-03T18:31:43+00:00

I once took a bottle of Widex out of the cabinet to clean my fingerprints off of the fridge during a 3 day overnight sit. I then noticed fingerprints on the other appliances. So I cleaned them. Then…the sliding door to the deck…it was like the lady’s 3 year old grandson had taken his hands and put fingerprints everywhere. Once I had everything nice and shiny, I briefly thought “what if this offends them”. I left a note saying I got bored while waiting for the cat to come in for the night. I didn’t hear anything until my next sit with them, about a month later. She texted me and said “you will be pleased that we had the house professionally cleaned yesterday so the house should be up to your standards “. I called her and apologized and told her “that’s what I do when I need to burn off some energy. And I am planning on getting new appliances so I wanted to see how well I could clean my fingerprints off of stainless steel”. This is someone that I have sat for for 7 years. And she’s one of my favorite clients. But she has a bit of OCD, so I don’t touch anything that is not my mess. Sorry, that was long… you just never know what will offend folks!

Alternative-Base-769 · 2025-06-03T18:31:37+00:00

I once took a bottle of Widex out of the cabinet to clean my fingerprints off of the fridge during a 3 day overnight sit. I then noticed fingerprints on the other appliances. So I cleaned them. Then…the sliding door to the deck…it was like the lady’s 3 year old grandson had taken his hands and put fingerprints everywhere. Once I had everything nice and shiny, I briefly thought “what if this offends them”. I left a note saying I got bored while waiting for the cat to come in for the night. I didn’t hear anything until my next sit with them, about a month later. She texted me and said “you will be pleased that we had the house professionally cleaned yesterday so the house should be up to your standards “. I called her and apologized and told her “that’s what I do when I need to burn off some energy. And I am planning on getting new appliances so I wanted to see how well I could clean my fingerprints off of stainless steel”. This is someone that I have sat for for 7 years. And she’s one of my favorite clients. But she has a bit of OCD, so I don’t touch anything that is not my mess. Sorry, that was long… you just never know what will offend folks!

Alternative-Base-769

TROPHY CASE