Franchisee Since: November
2007
Q: What was your career before franchising?
A: Before
becoming involved with Fetch!
Pet Care, my wife Carolyn and I were both working
in corporate America doing jobs like accounting, sales and customer service.
Most recently, I worked with 7-Eleven, which is how I became familiar with the
franchising industry. Initially, we had decided that I was going to get the
company up and running while Carolyn continued to work for the University of
Illinois. However, our circumstances changed, and we decided she would stay
home to start the business. I left 7-Eleven a year later to join her.
Q: Why did you choose to enter the pet care
industry?
A: I
remember the day Carolyn showed me an article on MSN.com featuring Fetch!
Pet Care, which
made me realize that this opportunity was just the venture we had always been
looking for. We rarely traveled because we had an issue with not having anyone
trustworthy with whom to leave our pets. With Fetch!
Pet Care, you don’t have to disrupt
your life to find someone dependable to care for your pets.
Q: What was
appealing to you about joining a franchise system?
A: I loved the idea of having corporate support.
Being able to have help or get advice whenever you need it is very important.
If you start a business from scratch, you will have to rely heavily on family
and friends for that support. When you’re involved with Fetch!
Pet Care, there
is a whole family of other business owners who are waiting to help you before
you ever open your doors.
Q: With respect to your previous career
experience, which skills do you think help most with your business?
A: The main source of help is our
customer service background. Carolyn has dealt with many different types of
personalities from her work at the University of Illinois, and I have
experience providing excellent customer service from previous corporate jobs.
This advantage is definitely one of our strongest when dealing with clients.
Q: What makes your business a cut above the
rest?
A: We
have a variety of
pet sitters who are equipped to handle all different types of
animals. We never had to turn a client down because we weren’t able to meet the
needs of their pet. Having strong, knowledgeable
pet sitters keep our clients
coming back.
Fetch!
Pet Care was founded in Berkeley, Calif., in 2002
by Paul Mann, who wanted his pets to remain in his home instead of kenneling
them while he traveled. Finding no professional company suitable to the task,
Mann started his own firm with the goal of providing as-needed, reliable, and
loving care to pets of all kinds. Today, there are more than 3,000 Fetch!
professionals operating in 1,500 U.S. communities.
FETCH! Pet Care is the nation's largest and most
trusted provider of professional
pet sitting and
dog walking services, serving
thousands of pets and pet parents from coast to coast. Comprised of pet lovers
turned business owners, each independently and locally owned Fetch! focuses on
taking the stress out of finding a sitter and adding convenience to customer’s
lives by doing all of the legwork for them. Fetch! matches you and your pets
with the most qualified, experienced
pet professional possible
. For more information, visit www.fetchpetcare.com.
