Advice, Please
OK, so there's this pet-sitting client. First off, he's an asshole--the first contact he made with me, he started the email off by criticizing my web site for not having my business name anywhere on it. (It does, of course.) I went out there today to meet him and the dogs, and he kept me there almost two hours, talking my ear off about stuff I didn't need to know (stories about the dogs, showing me pictures of them when they were puppies, etc.). One of the stories involved him beating the crap out of his wife's dog for "attacking" the new puppy. (He says that the older dog was really tearing into the puppy, not just warning him off. This may be true--I wasn't there and can't say.) So, asshole.
During out meeting, he asked if I had a cell phone (I don't), and why not, and how he could get in touch with me if I wasn't by my house phone. I said, well, you can't, but I do check my messages regularly. He said he'd buy me a prepaid phone so he can reach me. I thought that was kinda creepy--he'd be hiring me to let his dogs out twice a day on occasional weekend days when he goes somewhere for the whole day, not to be at his personal beck and call 24 hours a day--and said something noncommital about it. (I wouldn't be allowed to use the "free" phone for anything except recieving and returning his calls, either.)
He's interviewed several pet-sitters, and has now emailed me saying that I can be his "back up pet sitter," if I can do another (free) visit, so that he can leave the house when I'm there and see how the dogs feel about it, and reiterated the cell phone deal.
I am not taking this deal. I don't like the guy, plus it's a huge amount of hassle for a small potential amount of money. I knew before I went there that he was an asshole, and decided I'd put up with it for the money--but that was before I heard about the dog-beating and the cell phone thing (which just sets off all kinds of freak alarms for me--I can't really spell out why, but it seems like a red flag for future trouble). I'm certainly not putting up with all that for the off chance that he'll call me if the other pet sitter he chooses is unavailable.
My question is, what do I say? His email isn't asking me if I would like to be his back-up petsitter and come out again for free and haul around his cell phone--it's telling me that I can have this great opportunity. I'm at a loss for how to write back and say Thanks but no thanks. I don't want to offend the guy and risk having him bad-mouth me to everyone he knows, but I do not want to work for him. Suggestions of phrases or sentences that I can use would be greatly appreciated.
During out meeting, he asked if I had a cell phone (I don't), and why not, and how he could get in touch with me if I wasn't by my house phone. I said, well, you can't, but I do check my messages regularly. He said he'd buy me a prepaid phone so he can reach me. I thought that was kinda creepy--he'd be hiring me to let his dogs out twice a day on occasional weekend days when he goes somewhere for the whole day, not to be at his personal beck and call 24 hours a day--and said something noncommital about it. (I wouldn't be allowed to use the "free" phone for anything except recieving and returning his calls, either.)
He's interviewed several pet-sitters, and has now emailed me saying that I can be his "back up pet sitter," if I can do another (free) visit, so that he can leave the house when I'm there and see how the dogs feel about it, and reiterated the cell phone deal.
I am not taking this deal. I don't like the guy, plus it's a huge amount of hassle for a small potential amount of money. I knew before I went there that he was an asshole, and decided I'd put up with it for the money--but that was before I heard about the dog-beating and the cell phone thing (which just sets off all kinds of freak alarms for me--I can't really spell out why, but it seems like a red flag for future trouble). I'm certainly not putting up with all that for the off chance that he'll call me if the other pet sitter he chooses is unavailable.
My question is, what do I say? His email isn't asking me if I would like to be his back-up petsitter and come out again for free and haul around his cell phone--it's telling me that I can have this great opportunity. I'm at a loss for how to write back and say Thanks but no thanks. I don't want to offend the guy and risk having him bad-mouth me to everyone he knows, but I do not want to work for him. Suggestions of phrases or sentences that I can use would be greatly appreciated.