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Industry guide · Dog walking services

A dog walking loyalty program for completed standard walks

Add one stamp with the owner present after the care system shows an eligible standard walk complete and paid, then let the office approve a bounded credit when the dog, route, and booking still fit.

Use the starting setup
Recommended startCompleted-walk stamps
Guide scopeDog walking services
Review point30 operational days

Why this fits

The trade decides the mechanism.

This guide covers local staffed dog walking services that sell a named standard walk, manage bookings in a care system, and have an owner-present handoff after the service or at a later visit. It excludes pet sitting, overnight care, daycare, boarding, grooming, training, veterinary work, marketplaces, off-leash group adventures, businesses focused on subscriptions or long contracts, and services with no owner-present touchpoint.

The care system knows the dog, owner, booking, assigned walker, access notes, route, service report, cancellation, weather decision, invoice, and payment. Reward Loyalty records one bounded stamp only while the owner is present after that system closes the job.

If the owner is absent when the walk closes, staff keep eligibility in the care system and wait until the next owner-present handoff. They do not add the stamp remotely.

The $20 credit applies to a later standard walk after the office confirms dog suitability, walker availability, route capacity, weather, access, and current pricing.

Customer journey

From the first QR to a reason to return.

The program should follow the transaction or appointment that already exists. It should not create a second queue.

  1. 01

    Join from the booking

    A confirmation or paid invoice carries the stamp-card link and eligibility rule.

  2. 02

    Confirm the walk

    The care system holds the dog profile, booking, access, walker, and route.

  3. 03

    Complete safe care

    The walker follows the service plan and closes the visit report in the care system.

  4. 04

    Settle the service

    The office confirms the eligible walk finished and payment cleared.

  5. 05

    Add one stamp together

    With the owner present, staff scan the card or verify the account and record one stamp while online.

  6. 06

    Approve the credit

    The office checks the next booking, welfare, and route before claiming the $20 reward.

Exact program setup

Configure the base program before the campaign.

Complete the steps in order. Each documentation link opens the current 5.x setup guide for that task.

  1. 1

    Create the ten-stamp walk card

    Set ten stamps, a $24 minimum purchase, one stamp per transaction, and one stamp per day. Name the exact standard walk in the member terms.

    Create the dog-walking stamp card
  2. 2

    Configure the standard-walk credit

    Name a $20 credit toward a later eligible standard walk priced at $24 or more. State that the office must approve the booking and reward claim.

    Configure the walk reward
  3. 3

    Prepare the owner-present handoff

    The walker closes the service report. After staff check completion and payment, they wait for an owner-present handoff, scan the card or verify the account, record one stamp while online, and correct the latest mistake when needed.

    Add and correct walk stamps
  4. 4

    Use fixed milestones

    Activate 5 loyalty days, 10 loyalty days, First reward enjoyed, and One year together. Describe their fixed conditions without turning them into dog-care outcomes.

    Review achievement conditions
  5. 5

    Put the code in owner touchpoints

    Add the card code to booking confirmations and paid invoices, then use it only during an owner-present handoff. Keep account details away from keys or access notes.

    Prepare owner QR materials

Achievement strategy

Use milestones as a supporting layer.

Reward Loyalty provides a curated catalog of predefined, one-time milestones. The business chooses which achievements to activate and whether to attach an optional reward. Names, thresholds, measured events, and formulas stay fixed.

A loyalty day records qualifying loyalty activity on a distinct business-local date. It is not a configurable product, service, branch, booking-source, or purchase-count rule. See the fixed achievement catalog and progress rules.

Exact Reward Loyalty name

5 loyalty days

Fixed milestone
Earn loyalty days on 5 different dates.
Why it matters here
Five qualifying dates provide an initial signal across recorded loyalty activity.
Reward approach
Use recognition. The completed-card credit carries the financial value.
Guardrail
It does not prove five walks, safe handling, pet health, booking attendance, route completion, or payment. Check the care system.
30-day check
Completions, median time, and matches with eligible completed paid walks.

Exact Reward Loyalty name

10 loyalty days

Fixed milestone
Earn loyalty days on 10 different dates.
Why it matters here
Ten qualifying dates can support the review that happens near a completed card.
Reward approach
Use recognition. Add no second walk credit.
Guardrail
The condition counts loyalty activity on ten dates. One date can contain another qualifying action.
30-day check
Completions, card progress, completed paid walks, and stamp exceptions.

Exact Reward Loyalty name

First reward enjoyed

Fixed milestone
Redeem your first reward.
Why it matters here
A first redemption tests the office approval and reward-claim handoff.
Reward approach
Use recognition. The $20 walk credit is the reward.
Guardrail
Check the reward ledger and care system before attributing the milestone to a completed eligible walk.
30-day check
First claims, booking refusals, route exceptions, reward cost, and corrections.

Exact Reward Loyalty name

One year together

Fixed milestone
Earn a loyalty day a full year after your first.
Why it matters here
A qualifying loyalty day a full year after the first can recognise a long owner relationship.
Reward approach
Use recognition. Add no automatic care or booking promise.
Guardrail
It does not prove continuous service, current dog suitability, walker availability, or an anniversary booking.
30-day check
Eligible members, completions, and later approved standard walks.

Before attaching value, review achievement reward availability, expiry, and grant caps.

Reward economics

Show the arithmetic before approving the reward.

Illustrative calculation

Illustrative example: ten eligible standard walks at $24 equal at least $240 before a $20 credit on a later eligible walk of at least $24.

The maximum face-value reward rate is 8.3% at the ten-walk threshold.

Cost the credit against walker pay, travel, insurance, administration, payment fees, and the route slot. A $20 credit reduces revenue by $20 even when the direct service cost differs.

Margin protections

  • Award with the owner present after the care system shows the eligible walk complete and payment settled.
  • Exclude additional-dog fees, extended walks, pet sitting, transport, medication, key service, holiday surcharges, cancellations, and third-party charges.
  • Enforce one stamp per service day for each owner account.
  • Require office approval and refuse stacking with subscription, referral, voucher, or contract discounts.

Where to promote it

Put the invitation inside the existing visit.

  • Booking confirmation: show the card beside the named standard-walk terms.
  • Paid invoice: include the card link and current stamp count.
  • Owner handoff: use one sentence when the owner is present.
  • Office follow-up: answer reward questions from the published terms and care system.

Staff script and operating routine

One line, at the right moment.

“With you here, we can add one stamp for your completed paid standard walk. Ten gives you $20 toward a later eligible standard walk, once the office confirms the booking.”
Best moment
At an owner-present handoff after the care system marks the eligible standard walk complete and payment has settled.
Operating habit
With the owner present, check completion, payment, account, and one-stamp-per-day cap, then record one stamp while online.
Common staff mistake
Adding a stamp without the owner present, or before a walk closes, breaks the supported workflow and can reward a cancelled, shortened, unsafe, disputed, or unpaid service.
If a scan or lookup fails
With the owner present, search by name and confirm the masked email when they cannot show the card, then add the completed-walk stamp.

First campaign

Wait until the base program works.

A campaign should address one observed behaviour. It should not compensate for missed awards, unclear terms, or an untrained team.

Audience
Postpone the launch campaign. The supported stamp-card audience cannot exclude future bookings, inactive service, an unsuitable dog, or a closed route from care-system data.
Offer
No campaign at launch. Keep progress in the member card and owner-present handoff until every recipient can be selected without manual care or route exclusions.
Timing
Reconsider only when a supported audience or verified integration can represent the required external exclusions. Do not export and hand-edit a recipient list.
Intended behaviour
Avoid turning loyalty progress into a booking or care prompt for an owner whose current service status is unknown.
Measure
No campaign delivery metric at launch. Review card participation, owner-present stamps, reward claims, and whether the audience gap has changed.

30-day review

Use the first month to fix operation and economics.

Thirty days can reveal adoption, workflow, progress, and reward-cost problems. It is too early to claim proven lifetime value or long-term retention.

Join-to-first-stamp rate

A low rate points to weak confirmation or invoice placement and an unclear office owner.

Stamps against completed paid walks

Repair awards posted without the owner present, before completion, twice, or against excluded services.

Time to an owner-present stamp

If many eligible walks lack a later owner touchpoint, choose a different mechanism instead of remote awards.

Welfare and route refusals

Keep care decisions outside the loyalty card and adjust the reward if claims strain suitable route places.

Reward claims and service cost

Raise the qualifying price or narrow the service if the credit erodes route value.

Common mistakes

What to stop before launch.

  • Adding a stamp without the owner present or before the walk is complete and paid.
  • Awarding each dog or walker on one owner booking.
  • Using loyalty data as proof of health, behaviour, attendance, route, or care quality.
  • Promising a reward booking before the office checks the dog and route.
  • Using Reward Loyalty to store access codes, key details, medication, or pet-care notes.

Printable launch checklist

Dog walking services launch plan

  • Name the eligible standard walk.
  • List service, fee, and discount exclusions.
  • Cost the $20 credit against a full route slot.
  • Create the ten-stamp card and one-per-day cap.
  • Test owner-present scan, name search, award, undo, and claim.
  • Activate the four fixed achievements.
  • Place and test confirmation and invoice codes.
  • Brief walkers and office staff on the owner-present handoff.
  • Set the launch owner and 30-day review.

Owner: __________________

Launch: ________________

30-day review: __________

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