Like many of you, I have had a very hard time making decent money as a college student. So when an opportunity involving lots of cute dogs presented itself, I couldn’t resist. For those who do not know, Wag is an online service where a dog owner can hire a walker or sitter, similar to Uber but for your dog. I was looking for some work aside from my regular job and thought this would be a fun way to get out, avoid people due to the pandemic and make some cash with flexible hours. I, however, was horribly wrong. Wag is full of loopholes, inconsistencies and circumstances that endanger the caretaker and, in some cases, the owner. Here is a list of reasons you should not use Wag or be cautious when using the service.
No Protection
This is the most important piece that I unfortunately learned from experience. Wag in its policy specifies that a walker is not an employee, which means Wag is not obligated to you in any way if something were to happen when performing a service. This can cause numerous problems in emergency situations. This can further cause issues with their customer service and the way they handle their walkers’ needs. Wag seems to favor their users in this way.
Bad Communication
When using the app, you are able to communicate with the caretaker/owner once you’ve accepted a service. However, you are only allowed to communicate through Wag’s chatting system. While this is a typical privacy setting that is used by many similar services, such as Uber, walking a dog is much more involved than getting picked up by a car. There is already minimal privacy among their users. Walkers and sitters must go to the home of the dog they are taking care of, know how to access their home and take care of their dog. Owners can make mistakes when it comes to services, and emergency situations will happen, so being able to have a direct phone number to call the pet parent is ideal. Getting in touch with the owner through the Wag app for an emergency can be a nightmare. Even worse is then having to wait for Wag customer service to get a hold of the owner because only they have owners’ direct information.
No Meet and Greets
Along with bad communication, there can be straight up lies in a service request with a pet. An owner’s dog profile could picture a small dachshund, but when the caretaker goes to the home, they may find a big rottweiler. There are no background checks with walkers/owners or any way to verify documents with pets. A pet parent can lie about their dog being vaccinated, and if a walker gets bit during a service, they may get infected with something as dangerous as rabies. Conversely, from the owners’ perspectives, they could have potentially hired a stranger who is dangerous or lies on their own profile. At least for walkers, there are reviews on each walker/sitter from previous services completed. However, there are no reviews on owners for walkers to look at before accepting a service. Everything done from a walker’s point of view is sight unseen.
No Overtime Pay
There have been countless times that I have stayed hours beyond a service time while taking care for a dog. An owner may forget to leave a key to unlock the door, there may be a lack of necessary equipment to do the service or the owner may be late picking up. However, every service is at a fixed rate that the owner picks, so whatever time and price they choose is final. If you go over the time of your stay, hopefully the owner is nice enough to tip because you will not get paid accordingly.
For anyone in desperate need of a quick buck, this is not the way to go. With little pay and little reward, it is not worth the headache of the Wag agency as a whole. I recommend staying safe and sticking to friends and family who you are familiar with and trust personally.