Let's Talk About Yelp: Why Small Dog Walking Companies Excel

Posted by The San Francisco Dog Walker

We All Use Yelp—But Does It Tell the Whole Story?

Let's face it, we all look at Yelp when we are looking to do business with an unknown firm. I know I do it every time, just to see what others say about them. I recognize that most of us view Yelp as an encyclopedia and make our decisions based on what others say. I know I use Yelp especially when I am curious to find out if they have any bad reviews, how many, and how important or believable are the claims.

My Journey: Choosing Quality Over Quantity

When I started my business over 19 years ago, I really had no intention of growing into a large enterprise, even though this concept seems to be the all-American Dream. When I would have doubts as to whether or not I was going down the right path, I would moan that it seemed like my competitors were doing really well with a more profit-driven business model, and my sister would remind me that this is not a race to the finish line, but rather, that I was creating something that I could be proud of and it is commendable to not follow the herd.

Having the courage to use my brain power to design the critical concepts of my business model instead of being driven by what the competition is doing, was an important component to my confidence as a business leader and to my future success. By staying small, I could offer a higher quality service, which would be driven and shaped by my ethics, not my desire to be a successful business entrepreneur.

It seems funny to say this now, but I have had only 8-20 customers over the last 19 years, while other successful dog walking businesses have had hundreds of customers. The reason I have survived, even with so many fewer clients than my competitors is because I do not have a high customer turn-over rate. Most of my clients have been with me 10+ years and that is why I have only a few reviews on Yelp and Google. I don't have a lot of clients, but if you look at it from a different perspective, that can be a good thing! It's not quantity, it's quality!

What Makes Being Small So Important?

So, what is so important about being such a small-sized company?

Well, for one thing, I give my San Francisco clients more personalized service. They feel very important and they are very important to me. I treat my clients very well and that is why they have stayed with me for many years. For example, at the end of every year, I give my clients a beautiful, professionally published photo book with their dog's picture playing with their friends at the park or beach. Do the large companies do this for their clients? Probably not or probably not for very long. It is expensive to do this and it eats into the profits. In order for it to work for them, they will have to walk even more dogs every day. Many dog walkers feel that this business is already a burnout for them with the number of dogs they have to walk every day, and it is for most. If you do the profit model, you need to charge less than your competitors, walk more dogs to make up for the loss and enjoy making yourself crazy.

The Little Things That Make a Big Difference

As I mentioned in one of my other blog posts, I go out of my way to provide the best possible service for my clients, but it is a subtle thing. For example, I use only rubber balls on my dog walks. These rubber balls save your dog's teeth. Regular tennis balls are like Brillo Pads and wear down your dog's teeth quickly, causing problems later in life when their teeth are completely filed down. And on a regular basis, your dogs lose these costly balls at the park, but I replace them because I care about your dogs.

Other dog walkers tell me that they don't use balls out in the dog parks because it causes problems, such as jealousy between dogs, loud barking of joy, and oh yes, loss of income. But why do they think that a dog's joyful, loud bark is not an important factor? Just how horrible is a dog's bark at a dog park?

Ask your San Francisco dog walker if they use rubber balls rather than tennis balls on their walks. My guess is, no, they do not. Again, it is the bottom line that shapes their businesses.

Understanding How Yelp Works

So then, why do I think that some of the very best dog walking companies may not be surfacing to the top of Yelp's list? The answer is, the algorithms.

Yelp is not going away any time soon and it is probably the #1 way people compile a list of names of companies that provide a specific service in their geographic area. So, for example, if you are wanting to know the names of all the dog walking companies in San Francisco, all you would have to do is type in "Dog Walkers, San Francisco" in the Yelp query box and up would pop a list of dog walkers that service your area.

How Yelp decides which dog walkers are at the top of the list is a science called algorithms, which magically chooses who will be first on the list. It is basically a pretty simple concept, but to be at the top of the list, you must have a lot of positive reviews under your belt.

More Reviews Doesn't Always Mean Better Service

At first blush, this may seem like a good way to find the best dog walker in your area, but think again. All it really says is that you have identified a "large company with positive reviews". They have more reviews because they have more employees providing service. So is bigger actually better in this type of service?

Just because a San Francisco dog walking company has hundreds of positive reviews on Yelp, doesn't necessarily mean they are actually the best dog walking company for your particular needs. Big does not always mean best in the dog walking world. Sure, they have a lot of customers and they are a big company with many dog walking employees or contractors, but they may actually have a high customer turnover rate if they are marketing to a younger demographic. If they have a lot of Yelp reviews, their target market is most likely the young, shakers and movers who relocate often and never look back, which just happens to be Yelp's target market. These people are known as Yelpers.

Who Are These Companies Really Serving?

So let's take a look. What do young people that relocate often actually look for in a dog walker? I would say that they are probably really price sensitive and are looking for a low rate because they are mostly single and are a one-income household wanting to move up financially. Two, they are probably swayed by charming, athletic-looking, equally young dog walkers that they can relate to.

Are these really the factors that make up a good dog walker? In San Francisco, dog walking employees can find it very difficult to make ends meet. There is a high turnover rate in employees because they take these jobs as summer jobs or just until another one comes along that pays more. Often this means they are not completely focused on their work, but rather on their money worries. Is this who you want walking your dog?

What the Numbers Really Tell Us

Just because a dog walking company has hundreds of positive reviews on Yelp and they are one of the first to come up in your search, it does not mean that you have found the best company. It just means that you have found either a big company or a company with a high customer turnover, which often means that you have not found the best dog walker after all.

In the dog walking business, small usually means more because the dog walking companies can be focused on keeping the customers happy, rather than on how fast their drivers can get to the next house to keep to the company's scheduling goals.

What to Look For Beyond Yelp Rankings

When choosing a dog walker, consider these factors that Yelp's algorithms don't measure:

• Longevity of client relationships: Do clients stay for years or months?
• Personal attention: Will you get the same walker each time who knows your dog?
• Quality over quantity: Does the walker limit their group sizes for better supervision?
• Professional credentials: Are they certified, bonded, and insured?
• Attention to detail: Do they use proper equipment (like rubber balls instead of tennis balls)?
• Personal investment: Do they go above and beyond with things like year-end photo books?
• Local expertise: Have they been serving your specific neighborhood for years?
• Owner-operated: Is the person you hire actually walking your dog, or are they managing a fleet of employees?

The Real Value of Long-Term Relationships

Fewer Yelp reviews might actually indicate something positive—that clients are so satisfied they stay for years rather than cycling through multiple services. My clients don't write new reviews every year because they're still with me from their first review! Their loyalty speaks louder than a constant stream of new reviews from customers who come and go.

When a dog walker has served the same clients for 10+ years, that's a testament to quality, consistency, and trust that no algorithm can measure. That's the kind of relationship your dog deserves.

The Bottom Line

Yelp is a useful tool, but it's not the whole story. Sometimes the best service providers are the ones who don't have hundreds of reviews because their clients are loyal and long-term. Sometimes the most personalized, highest-quality service comes from small, owner-operated businesses that focus on doing things right rather than doing things big.

When you're choosing someone to care for your beloved pet and trust with your home, look beyond the rankings. Ask about client retention rates. Request references from long-term clients. Meet the actual person who will be walking your dog. Look for someone who treats your pet like they're part of a small, exclusive family—because that's exactly what quality dog care should be.

After 19 years of walking dogs in San Francisco, I can confidently say: it's not about how many clients I serve. It's about how well I serve each one. And that's something no Yelp algorithm can truly measure.