The Diary of a Pet Sitter: Can You Do It Cheaper? Why a Discount Should Come With a Trade-Off
‘Can You Do It a Little Cheaper?’
It’s a question that most people who run a service-based business will probably hear at some point.
And pet sitting is no different.
When someone is considering looking at a pet sitter, the price is naturally going to be part of their decision. Everyone has a budget, and there’s nothing wrong with asking about the cost.
But there’s a big difference between asking about someone’s prices and asking them to provide exactly the same service for less money.
Recently, I came across a short video by Nick Ayala that gave me an interesting way of looking at this.
His basic idea was simple: if someone asks you for a discount, don’t immediately say yes - but don’t necessarily say no either.
Instead ask:
‘What part of the work would you like me to remove?’
That really made me think about how this applies to pet sitting.
What Are You Actually Paying For?
Sometimes a pet-sitting visit can look very simple from the outside.
Someone arrives at your home.
They spend 30 minutes with your pet.
Then they leave.
But there’s considerably more involved than those 30 minutes.
As a pet sitter, I will be travelling to your home, spending time caring for your pet, feeding them, providing fresh water, taking them outside for a walk where appropriate, cleaning up little accidents, giving medication where agreed, providing attention and enrichment, checking that everything is safe, maintaining their normal routine, and keeping you updated while you’re away.
And then there’s the responsibility that comes with being the person you’ve trusted to look after your pet.
That’s part of the service.
So when a client sees a price and thinks, ‘That’s more than I wanted to spend’, I completely understand that.
But it is worth considering what that price actually represents.
My Prices are Transparent
With my pet-sitting business, I am clear about my pricing.
My standard rates are available for potential clients to see, rather than keeping prices mysterious until someone contacts me.
However, pet-sitting isn’t always completely one-size-fits-all.
The final arrangement can depend on things such as:
where you live
how many pets you have
the type of pets
how many visits are required
the length of the visits
whether medication needs to be administered
whether there are additional care requirements
and what your pets actually need while you’re away
That’s why I can give clear standard rates while still considering the individual circumstances of a booking.
Being transparent about my prices doesn’t mean every booking will cost exactly the same.
It means you have a clear starting point.
So What Happens if Someone Asks for a Discount?
Let’s imagine my standard price for a particular visit is €20.
A potential client says:
‘€20 is a little too much for me. Could you do it for €15?’
It’s tempting as a small business owner to immediately think:
Should I just reduce it?
Especially when you’re trying to build your client base.
You might worry about losing the booking.
You might think that €15 is better than €0.
You might even start negotiating against yourself before the client has asked you to.
‘Maybe €18?’
‘Okay, €17?’
‘Fine, €15.’
And suddenly, you’ve reduced your price without actually changing what you’re providing.
That’s where I think the question from the video becomes interesting:
‘What would you like me to remove from the service?’
It changes the conversation.
A Discount isn’t Necessarily a Problem - But Something Has to Change
I’m not saying that a client should never receive a reduced price.
There are situations where I may already have different rates or arrangements depending on the booking.
For example, I might offer a more favourable rate where a client books multiple visits or has a particular ongoing arrangement.
That’s something I have chosen to structure into my business.
That’s very different from someone asking me to provide the same service for less simply because they don’t want to pay the standard rate.
If we’re genuinely going to reduce the price, then it makes sense to look at whether the service itself can be changed.
Perhaps a particular non-essential element isn’t required.
Perhaps the client doesn’t need something that was originally included.
Perhaps there’s a different arrangement that works better for both of us.
But some things aren’t optional.
I’m not going to compromise a pet’s basic care just to make a booking cheaper.
Fresh water, appropriate feeding, necessary medication and the basic welfare of the pet aren’t bargaining chips.
The purpose isn’t to provide less care.
It’s to establish whether the client actually needs everything included in the original service.
Sometimes The Answer Becomes Obvious
This is the part I really like about the approach.
Imagine a client looks at the service and says:
‘Well, I want you to feed my dog, give him fresh water, take him for his walk, clean up if necessary, give him his medication, spend the full 30 minutes with him, send me an update and make sure the house is secure.’
Okay.
Then what exactly would you like me to remove?
Suddenly, they may realise that they don’t actually want a cheaper service.
They want the full service.
And there’s nothing wrong with that.
They simply need to decide whether the full service fits their budget.
Your Time Has Value Too
One thing I think can be difficult when you’re starting a service-based business is remembering that your time has value.
It’s easy to look at a 30 minute visit and think:
‘It’s only half an hour.’
But the service isn’t necessarily half an hour.
There’s travel.
There’s preparation.
There’s scheduling.
There’s the responsibility of arriving when you’re expected.
There’s the time spent communicating with clients.
There’s running a business.
And there’s the fact that while I’m doing the booking, I’m not available to do something else.
A 30 minute visit might also turn into 35 or 40 minutes when circumstances require it.
That’s something I’ve experienced myself.
And if additional tasks or complications are continually added to a visit, it’s important to recognise that the service being provided may no longer be the same service that was originally priced.
This Is Also Where Boundaries Matter
As a pet sitter, I want to provide excellent care.
I also want to be accommodating.
But being accommodating doesn’t mean saying yes to everything.
If I continually absorb additional tasks into the original price, eventually I’m effectively working for less without the client necessarily realising how much extra I’m doing.
And that’s not sustainable.
A good working relationship should work for both sides.
The client should feel that they’re receiving good value and excellent care.
And I should feel that the time, responsibility and work involved are being fairly compensated.
Asking About The Price isn’t Offensive
I think that is important to say.
If you’re a pet owner and you’re reading this, please don’t feel uncomfortable asking about prices.
You have every right to know what you’re paying for.
You have a budget.
You may be comparing different pet sitters.
You may simply have a maximum amount you’re comfortable spending.
That’s completely reasonable.
And if my service isn’t within your budget, that’s okay too.
Not every service is going to be the right fit for every person.
What I don’t think is helpful - for either side - is pretending that the same service can simply become cheaper without anything changing.
A Better Conversation
So perhaps instead of:
‘Can you do it cheaper?’
the conversation can become:
‘Is there a different arrangement that could work within my budget?’
And instead of me automatically saying:
‘Yes, I’ll reduce my price.’
I can say:
‘Lets look at what you actually need from the service and see whether there’s an arrangement that works for both of us.’
That’s a much healthier conversation.
It keeps the door open without devaluing the service.
The Lesson I’m Taking From It
That short video gave me something to think about because I’m not interested in making pet sitting unnecessarily expensive.
I want my prices to be fair.
I want my clients to feel they’re receiving good value.
I want to be reasonable when discussing individual circumstances.
But I also need to run a sustainable business.
And I’ve realised that being reasonable doesn’t mean automatically lowering my price when someone asks.
Sometimes the most useful question isn’t:
‘How much can I reduce my price?’
It’s:
‘What exactly are you asking me to provide, and what do you actually need?’
Because if the client needs the full service, then the full service has a value.
And that’s okay.
Sometimes the price isn’t the problem.
Sometimes it’s simply a matter of deciding what service you actually need.
And if we’re able to find an arrangement that works for both of us?
That’s a win!
Source/Inspiration: This articles was inspired by a short video by Nick Ayala about responding to discount requests by asking which part of the work should be removed rather than simply reducing the price. The idea has been adapted here specifically to the context of running a pet-sitting business.
