FAQ
What
do you do, and why?
Mine
Retrievers provides professional dog waste removal to individual yards,
parks, and multi-family housing communities. We will rid the area of
poop, bag it, and take it away with us then dispose of all waste at local
landfill facilities so you don't have to.
Mine Retrievers was
founded with one main goal in mind: to help make the areas where kids
play a cleaner and safer area to play in.
With all the scum out there preying on children, parents cannot
let their kids play outside without supervision anymore except in their
own back yard, or a neighbor's.
Kids play in the yard. Dogs
poop in the yard. Parents SCREAM when kids run inside with POOP on their shoes. Kids can't help it, THEY'RE HAVING FUN AND BEING KIDS!
What
areas does the Mine Retrievers provide Pooper Scooper service?
We currently provide our services in the downtown to west to north portions of Houston. This includes the West University / Bellaire area, out to Katy / Cinco Ranch area, up to Cypress / Tomball area, over to the Woodlands area, and back down to downtown area with areas in between serviced as well.
If
I don’t want to read all of this, can I just call you?
Yes, we would be
happy to answer all of your questions. Just call us 832-220-8050.
How
do you charge for this service?
For yard services up to 2 dogs:
$10.00
Weekly
$5.00 Extra
for large yards (1/3 acre or bigger)
$15.00
Bi-Weekly $3.00 Extra per dog (3 or
more dogs)
$35.00
1st Time / 1 Time
Commercial rates vary for each customer. Please call us so we can schedule an appointment to inspect the area needing to be cleaned, and give an
accurate quote to you.
On First Time services, if it doesn’t take more than ½ hour to clean your yard, then we will only charge the normal amount for your preferred service frequency.
We invoice residential customers at the end of each month. Payments can be made by check and mailed back to us, or payments can be made through the website via
PayPal. For commercial customers, we collect payment every two weeks at time of service. For people just needing a one-time yard cleaning service, we will collect payment at time of service.
How
often do you clean yards?
We offer weekly and bi-weekly (every other week), and one-time services
for seasonal “catch up” or special occasions such as that weekend
backyard barbecue or pool party. Our service representatives are
out cleaning properties as long as there is daylight. If you arrive
home, and your yard has not been cleaned at its normal time, please be
patient as our service rep will probably be there shortly. If there
is any problem, please call us immediately.
Can
I request a certain day, or time of day?
We offer our
single family residential services on Thursdays and Fridays because
normally people are outside in their yards more on weekends than any
other time of week. We will perform services on Saturdays or
Sundays for special occasions or reschedules due to weather or extenuating
circumstances. Cleaning services for apartment buildings and
neighborhood parks are performed on Mondays through Wednesdays. We
do everything we can to accommodate your time of day requests. We
cannot please everyone all the time, but we will certainly try.
Does
it matter when I mow my lawn?
When your
grass is cut very rarely affects our service. The shorter the
grass, the easier it is to see the “land mines”, and less chance of us
missing one or two. The longer the grass, the higher the chance we
might miss one or two. We’re not perfect, but we sure try to be so
we apologize if we miss one.
Where
do you clean?
We clean pretty much wherever you want us to. Normally we clean the
back yard, while lightly scanning the front yard. Nowadays, some
people let their dogs out in the front yard to “doo”
their business so it doesn’t dirty up the back yard. In those
instances, we will gladly clean the front yard as well for no additional
charge. Just tell us what areas you need to be cleaned, and we’ll
do it.
Do
you clean yards all year?
Yes. When your pet stops
pooping, we’ll stop scooping. The weather might delay us, or
sometimes even stop us, but will still try our hardest to get to your
yard.
Are
there any contracts I have to sign to start or resume service?
No. We hate to sign any
sort of contracts, so we won’t ask you to. What we will ask you to
do is fill out our client agreement* found on our website before we begin
service to your yard. It simply states the following:
- You will pay us for
services rendered.
- We are allowed on your
property to perform agreed yard cleaning services.
- You can cancel at any
time.
- You can start and stop
your service over the phone, via email, or in person at any time
(please give us at least - 24 hour advanced notice if at all
possible).
*See Mine Retrievers Client Agreement for more details.
Can
you work with my dog in the yard?
Most of the time, yes. However, you know your dog better than we
ever will. Please let us know if your dog might be the least bit
aggressive. This way, we can help you plan accordingly by making
sure we are there in a certain time period to clean your yard. If
it becomes apparent that your dog will be aggressive, then we will ask
you to restrain or confine it. See Client Agreement for more on
this.
What
if I want to skip a day, or stop service?
Just call us at least 24 hours in advance, that way we can plan
accordingly, and you will not be charged. Help us help you.
What
if I only want a One-Time-Only or a Special-Appointment service?
That’s perfectly fine with us. Our One-Time-Only and Special
Appointment services are always available. The cost is more than regular
service but still very reasonably priced in hopes that you will decide to
keep our Mine Retrievers around for years to come. We recommend our
Weekly or Bi-Weekly services because they allow more peace of mind, and
are a great value at our prices.
Do
you charge more for the 1st cleaning?
Yes, normally the charge is $35.00 for First Time Service. However,
if you have cleaned your yard recently, or there is not a large amount of
waste, or it doesn’t take us very long to clean your yard, then we just
charge our normal amount for whatever scheduled service you sign up for.
How
does bad weather affect service? What about holidays?
We work in
bad weather, but extreme weather we will stop and wait for a break in the
weather, or stop service for the day. If we skip your yard due to
weather, we will try to reschedule, or just resume service at the next
scheduled date. Obviously, we will not charge you for missed /
skipped service due to weather.
As far as holidays are
concerned, we will try to clean all yards on the day before or the day
after major holidays. When holidays fall on scheduled days of
service, we will call you to try and work out a service date. See
Client Agreement for more on this.
How
will I know it’s you in my yard?
All Mine Retrievers representatives wear white T-shirts with the Mine Retrievers logo on the pocket area. Our trucks have our signs on both driver and passenger side doors, and are easily visible. We
always offer to call before arriving at your house so we do not surprise anyone. We did surprise a customer as she was sunbathing topless by the pool on one visit, and we vowed to call her, and anyone else, from that moment forward even though she denied the
need for a call. Most people tell us they don’t need us to call, but we at least offer.
How
do you dispose of the waste?
We use
biodegradable bags to collect the waste. We dispose of the waste at
local landfill facilities.
What
if I lock my gate?
We would be happy to keep 2 copies of your key if you’ll let us. We
keep one copy in our file for you at our office, and 1 copy on the key
ring assigned to the truck for your route. If you have a
combination for your gate, we will gladly use it if you let us. We
are privacy nuts, so we guard keys and combinations just as carefully as
our own.
What
about cats, ferrets, rabbits, birds?
They all are nice animals, but we just don’t clean up after them anymore. We stick to what we know best.
Do
you offer dog walking and dog sitting services?
No we don’t. Depending on your location, we might be able to refer you to a provider in your area.
Isn’t
dog waste good for my lawn? I thought it was just like fertilizer!
No it’s not. Unlike horse or cow manure, dog and cat waste is
protein based and can burn or kill vegetation. We strongly suggest
you NOT use dog
or cat poop for a natural fertilizer for your garden or yard areas.
Also, you should take extra measures to keep the poop from vegetable
gardens or fruit trees.
Is
the price less if my yard is smaller, or more if my yard is bigger?
No. Our normal prices are for small to medium size yards. If your yard is
1/3 acre or larger, then there would most likely be an additional $5.00
charge. This is different for some yards as the area to be cleaned
might only be a small portion of the whole yard. At first time
service, we will evaluate the time needed to clean your yard, and charge
as fair as possible.
Do
you offer any kinds of discounts?
We offer 10%
discount for pre-paying for 3 months or more of service. Other than
that, our prices are already discounted. Check prices from other
companies that offer poop scooper services, and you will find that our prices
are anywhere from 10% - 50% lower than theirs. At the end of the
day, the only thing that matters to you as a customer is that SOMEONE ELSE picked up the poop
out of your yard so you didn’t have to. We just try to be more
efficient so we can offer a much needed service at a lower cost.
Are
the service reps careful to close or latch my gate?
Yes. We had 1
dog escape years ago, and we had to make a claim on our insurance since
the dog was a show dog and was never found. We are bluntly honest,
and learn from our mistakes. We vow to NEVER let that one happen
again. We have compiled a list of oops, worst case scenarios, what
ifs, where’s and why’s, and tend to hammer them into each service
representative’s head until they are second nature. That same
customer is still a customer of ours today as our attitude has always
been to exhaust ourselves if need be to provide a level of customer
service to each and every person that is second to none. Basically,
we treat others as we would want to be treated.
Why
would I hire you to clean the dog mess out of my yard if I can do it
myself?
Why would you
hire anyone to clean your house, mow your yard, paint your house, or
change the oil in your car? Why would you put dishes in a dishwasher
to clean your dishes, or take your car to an automatic car wash, instead
of cleaning them by hand? The simple fact is most people don’t like
doing any of these things, and feel that if they can have a service or
machine to do these chores, then they can spend their precious time
accomplishing something else, or just plain relaxing. In the case
of pet waste, no one likes to clean it up. If you know someone that
does, please tell us so we can try to hire them! Other reasons could
include a person who is physically limited or disabled, or someone living
in an area where there are strict environmental regulations.
Can
I get rewarded for referring someone to you?
Yes, of course. We will credit anyone’s account for a free month of
service after the referred customer has been a customer for a
month. For commercial referrals, we will pay you for two weeks’
worth of the referred customer’s rate after their 1st month of service.
So a $50 per week client could pay you $100!
I
have a question that is not answered here, what do I do?
Call us at 832-220-8050. We love talking to people about what we do
and why.
Where
do I send my payment?
You may send
check or money order to:
Mine Retrievers
15201 Mason Rd., Suite 1000, #280
Cypress, TX 77433
You can also pay your
bill through our website via PayPal.
Payments are easy, convenient, and are secure.
How
do I sign up?
You may sign
up via our Sign Up page or by calling 832-220-8050, or by emailing us at info@mineretrievers.com
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