FLCK102 - Communication with Owners

Building good relationships and communicating with fowl owners is probably the most crucial piece of flock sitting (outside of locking up the chickens before you leave of course). Many owners have never had a professional flock sitter before and building trust is key to ensuring duties and responsibilities are clearly outlined. Below are a few ways to help build that trust which will help owners feel that their flock is being cared for AND will help you garner repeat business.

1) Initial Visits: We suggest you meet with all new customers at least once before your first flock sitting date. It’s very helpful to see their setup and their routine in person. It also gives you a chance to meet the people you will be sitting for, ask questions, and make sure everyone is comfortable.

2) Documentation: It’s quite easy to misremember or misinterpret something (or for flock owners to miscommunicate), so we highly suggest taking notes during your initial visits to help supplement whatever info owners enter when they make their request. We use form that details out all of our duties and notes. It includes things like address, phone number, email, dates of service, duties/notes, vet information (if available), names and breeds of fowl, and a cost estimate. You will see a copy of that form below. You don’t need to use this exact form; something similar would work just fine too!

3) Communication: Whether it’s by text, email, or phone, having an open and established line of communication makes it much easier to reach out if you encounter something unexpected, notice anything peculiar with a bird, or need additional information. One thing that we like to do is take a couple pictures every visit and add them to a Google Photo album that is shared with the owner. Not only is it nice to get pictures of your pets when you’re away on vacation but it also serves as a little extra piece of mind for owners knowing that everything is going well at home and provides them confirmation of your visit on any particular day.

4) Organization: We use a Google Calendar to help us stay organized with dates, addresses, and bookings. Calendars allow you the flexibility to invite people to an “event” which we’ve found is a nice way to confirm a booking by putting it on our calendar and including the owner. Again, you’ll find what works best for you, but this method has helped us stay organized and on top of communication.