Wag was founded by Josh Viner in 2014 after he realized that he would love to own a dog, but had no time in his schedule to walk his pet.
Wag is a mobile phone app that matches dog walkers with people who want someone to look after their dog. The service also includes pet sitting services. Some have dubbed Wag as an “Uber” for dogs.
Numerous celebrities are known to use Wag, including Kendall Jenner, Mariah Carey, and Chloe Grace Moretz. The app currently works in 43 states and more than 100 cities, with new cities being added regularly. Clients receive a lockbox and dog walkers receive the code to the box when they sign up to walk the dog.
The company donates part of their profits to shelter’s across the US, providing food and has a partnership with Greater Good to foster dogs around the globe.
The company has come under intense scrutiny and has received scathing criticism for sloppy and potential dangerous leaks. Due to a technical glitch, Wag recently leaked clients names, addresses, and lockbox codes for anyone who viewed the site. Dogs have been “lost”, and one dog walker was seen on a client’s camera, making himself at home by watching TV, drinking beer, and slouching on the sofa.
Wag has hired a new CEO, Hilary Schneider, former LifeLock CEO, to handle the company’s booming business and increasing problems. Headquarters for the company are located in West Hollywood, California.
This is THE WORST COMPANY to employees. I have emailed WAG Oover 40 times. I’ve called the WALKER SUPPORT NUMBER only to get hung up on 3 seperate times. I was supposed to be paid on Friday 9/10 and cannot get WAG support to contact me back. I have not had food for 5 days due to no money and this has cost me $50 on bank fees and i have not been able to travel to my full time job due to no transportation money. I have spoke to the pet parents that i did my sitting job gir and WAG has the money but no one will help me. It is discusting. I’m going yo contact channel 7 news next. This is what WAG has been told over and over and this is how they treat their waljers who earn the money for the company. Discusting. I’m starving. I need to be paid. It is 4 days overdue and thats against the labor kaws.
Jennifer Smith
510-978-XXXX
The dog walker was told I would be home but when he arrived he looked under my ceramic dogs by my front door and took the key, opened the front door and just walked in. He scared me to death and said he thought I wasn’t going to be home. He looked disheveled and I was uncomfortable. He took my dog and walked him and left. When I checked this morning to make sure he had left the key it wasn’t there. I immediately called the Wag office and they questioned me like I was lying. They called the walker and his story was different but he said he would return the key in an hour. Then they called me and said he lost the key. I told them I needed to change the locks immediately and they needed to pay for it. They said they would pass it to their security dept and never called me back. I called them two more times and nothing, same story about transferring me to another dept. It’s 6pm and I called a locksmith since I feel unsafe. I will pursue this in Small Claims Court. This is bad business and they will be reported to Better Business Bureau.
I have used wag extensively for several years. For the second time I was charged 9.99 for premium that I never signed up for. I just noticed it was taken out for 3 months. I requested a refund and was told you don’t refund for premium. The man would not listen to me. I never signed up for it. I was told thank you every time I called in for someone not showing up. Thank you you have over 400 walks. So this is the thanks I really get. Getting scammed again. You have lost a really good customer.
September 21st 2018 Kristen Noble walked my dog an employee of WAG a dog fight broke out someone was bitand I was told buyone of your representatives it well b taking care of well it’s not and I’m being pursued by lawyers you said we’re gonna take care of this you’ve never gotten back to me still waiting for a response
I am a walker and I am experiencing a drastic decline in any walker support. I have emailed and sent text to Wag! several times over the past 12 weeks and I have literally received no replies, however each time I receive a “satisfaction survey” in response to the presumed service response. Each time I fill out the “satisfaction survey” accordingly, indicating that I have yet to receive any response, however the problem persists. What is going on in your walker support and financial services departments that causes you to be so busy that you can’t even respond to seemingly easy questions? Additionally, I have lost customers over the past 2 months due to you inadequate customer service. One of my clients was on the phone for over an hour just to see of her coupon had been applied, only to receive an “I don’t know” response.
My questions were basic and straightforward: how come my rate for a walk with one 30 min walk was the same for a client with two dogs and for a client with one dog; and are you going to bring back the walker shirts for purchase or are we expected to have our own made? I had an additional question at the time of the Stripe and Payable merger, but it worked itself out over a three week period, again though without a response to my inquiry.
Your company was built upon the backs of your walkers, and you are failing to support them, and the clients are now catching on. I am a 5 star walker who is positively promoting your business in the Sacramento Valley, an area that has hardly heard of Wag! and is primarily inclined to Rover. At the very least, I deserve a straight answer as respect to my dedicated service. I am extremely disappointed with your walker support and I expect much more from you. Take a look at your blogs sometime and see the disgruntled walkers that you are stepping on in your attempt at big money. Your business will eventually fail, and quickly, if you don’t fix the problems.
Melisa
I booked an appointment last weekend with wag for 3 days —not to leave dogs alone for over 4 hours —2 French Bulldogs— half way through the walker cancelled they notified me 4 hours later and never found anyone to replace the walker— so I had to leave my weekend trip books flight back — 500 dollars and got back 28 hours later —
So needless to say what a mess I walked into— I never heard from wag and they tried to tell me that there wasn’t a walk scheduled until I send them the screenshots then I got Oh Sorry— they are irresponsible with living breathing animals not to mention the extra cost to me to fly back. I won’t use again and I tell anyone that will listen what happens and don’t use them because Wag doesn’t care about animals or their customers .
I had similar issue but much worse they dont even get back to properly apologize.
Hello,
I know someone who is a Wag Walker who has stressed some concerns about the service. She loves it but she mentioned to me that she made suggestions to Support about adding an doggie info field to the photo field in the app, and, making it mandatory that the owner includes a photo. This way, a walker can get more insight on the dog that they will be walking or, decide not to take the walk. She feels that this would cut down on a lot of problems that walkers have or might have with a dog. After one of her walks, she texted me an announcement of that accomplishment and an invite thru the app. I tapped on the link and noticed in one of the reviews that a walker was attacked and mauled by a dog. This was recent too. This is not a review that I’m sure Wag would want. I’m sure this dog had some issues before this walker came along, and the owner did not divulge this information. Maybe this is one of the reasons Wag has only a 3.8 rating.