We've dealt with Steve and NYC Pet Nannies for just a very short time. After discovering NYC Pet Nannies and meeting Alexandra (who is fantastic and deserving of a better employer) we decided we liked the team and would entrust them with the care of our beloved cockapoo. We were also impressed with the PetTracker system where the walker scans a barcode in the apartment to alert the beginning and ending of your walking appointment. Sadly, the good news ends here.
The first few days went smoothly and we received updates from our walker about where they went and what they did. While we were a bit disappointed that the walker was often times sitting on our couch with our dog, we were happy that he was not alone and was enjoying the walker's company.
The real nightmare begins on Tuesday, January 21nd, the day of the big snowstorm. While at work we were alerted to the beginning and end of our appointment, with a brief note about how they went on a short walk, but our dog was cold, so they came back to our apartment to snuggle on the couch. Arriving home that evening we were alarmed to see that a towel, booties, his sweater, leash, harness, and treat the dog walker gives our dog upon returning home had not been touched, and worst of all found our poor dog begging to go outside.
After checking with our building, which uses a KeyTrak system requiring a fingerprint of a building employee to release the key from a locked cabinet, we were informed that the key was not checked out on that day, and no other key was in existence. As such, it was physically impossible for the walker to have been in our apartment.
After informing Alexandra, she was apologetic, explaining that she would investigate the issue. After not hearing much back, and having concerns about using NYCPN going forward, we contacted the owner, Steve.
It is apparent that Steve is a dog person, and not a customer service person. He called us very late as we both work late and it was the first chance we had to speak. He was rude and tried to make it known that he was doing us a favor, when just a day prior his company failed to take care of our dog and fraudulently logged a visit. While I do not expect that Steve was behind the missed visit and deceptive tactics, instead of owning up to the issue and pledging to make things right, he claimed he was still investigating all of the facts and could not reach the conclusion that our dog walker did not come on that day. After talking in circles for nearly a half hour I told Steve that our conversation was over and to consider our business finished.
In short, our experience with NYC Pet Nannies was a brief and stressful experience. I would not recommend them to anyone. There are plenty of good dog walkers out there, look elsewhere.
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