This morning I was so excited.
I had a great story for my Happy Grooming Stories facebook group today.
Let me start at the beginning.
About eight weeks ago I wrote a post about a very matted Lhasa mix that came in for a grooming.
I charged about $20 more than my usual price because of the matting.
I also explained to the owner that if she brought the dog in to be groomed no later than every 8 weeks, I would be able to do any length that she would like, and the price would be lower. (as long as the dog was not matted)
I spent time educating the owner about regular groomings, how mats hurt a dog, and that if she got her dog groomed more regularly, she could keep her dog in a length that she liked.
The owner made another appointment for 8 weeks right then and there.
To be honest, I was not holding my breath that she would keep the appointment today.
I try to educate every customer that comes in with matted dogs, and most of them will rebook before they leave.
Unfortunately, not all of them keep those appointments, and go right back to letting their dogs mat before they get them groomed again. :(
I was afraid that this customer was going to be a no-show.
So, I was very happy to see the owner and dog show up this morning.
The owner kept telling me that the groom that I did 8 weeks ago was the best groom the dog had ever had.
She also remembered that I had said that she could have any length that she wanted on her dog if she was not matted.
She did not have a mat in her.
I had managed to get a #4F and #5F through her matting the last time.
The owner wanted a longer cut this time.
No problem. :)
She also wanted the hair around the mouth short and tight, but not shaved looking.
Got that?
So, I ran a yellow comb attachment over her and scissored her up.
I ran the yellow comb over the top of her head also.
Blended into the ears and scissored to finish.
I concentrated on scissoring the long hair right around the front of her mouth and taking that short, because that was the hair that the owner was pointing to when she talked about going short.
I also clipped along the lip line, under the mustache and above the beard.
Then I rounded the rest of the face off.
I took pictures, because as I said before, I was going to post about her in my facebook group.
I was just so tickled that this owner listened to me and came back before her dog got matted again.
Then she came to pick up.....
The look on my husbands face, when he came back to get the dog immediately told me that something was wrong.
"What's wrong?" I asked him.
"She is pissed," he told me.
"Pissed? About what?" I asked totally confused. "She hasn't even seen the dog yet."
"I'll tell you in a minute," he said as he got the dog out of the kennel.
"Nooo! Tell me now," I whined.
Grrr I didn't want to wait.
"She won't be back," he told me as he started to take the dog up to its owner.
"What! Why!!" I sputtered.
As he disappeared through the grooming room door, he turned his head and whispered; "She is pissed about the price you charged her."
I had to wait for him to come back into the grooming room to hear the rest of the story.
But, I was in shock.
I had charged her the price I told her that the groom would be if she brought the dog back in 8 weeks, with no mats.
It was almost $20 dollars cheaper than when I groomed the dog in June.
I jumped right on my husband when he came back into the grooming room.
"What is going on? Why was she pissed? I charged what I told her it would be?" I shot the questions rapid fire.
My husband put his hand up to get me to stop so he could explain.
"She came in and put her credit card on the counter, and as I swiped her card I told her the price," he explained. "She immediately got pissed and said that she thought the price was going to be $30."
"What? Where in the world did she get $30 from?" I asked.
I had written down on her file, after her last visit, exactly how much I had quoted her for the next groom.
It certainly was not for $30 dollars, especially when the cut was a comb/hand scissor cut.
"She said that she did not understand why she was charged more than $30 dollars," my husband continued. "She said that she would not be coming back and would go back to PetSm*rt."
Right before she walked out the door, she told my husband to tell me that I do really great work.....
?????
The last time I was in PetSm*rt, behind a customer that was paying for their Lhasa's grooming, the man paid $75.
I waited in my car to see the man come out, because I wanted to see what $75 bought him.
The dog looked nice, but it was nothing more than a #5 or #7 clip on the dog.
Not sure where she thinks she is going to find a PetSm*rt that charges $30 for a full hair cut.
I was so upset.
I really liked the dog.
She was very sweet, and her hair was great to scissor.
I guess money wins. :(
It is more important how much the grooming costs, instead of how nice the dog is treated and looks. :`(
Oh well, I tried.
I'll keep on trying.
✂ Happy Grooming, MFF ✂
EmoticonEmoticon