Very Frustrating Day

It isn't even the Holidays yet, and work has been crazy.

If it is going to be like this until after Christmas, I don't think I am going to survive.

Warning!

I am about to blow off some steam.

My day started with this guy.

According to his owners, he does not like people, but he likes me and I like him a lot.

He is a sweetheart with me. 

He was not my problem, just a very big job. 

While I was roughing in his face and feet, my other 8am appointment came in.

This was my other 8 am appointment, and he was loaded with undercoat.

I am still pulling his hair out of places I don't want to talk about.

Because I am the only one who can bath him, I put him in the tub first and let the standard wait to be bathed by my son while I was drying this one.

Did that make sense?

I can't tell anymore.

I think I need some sleep.

So anyway, while I was bathing this guy, my 9am appointment showed up.

Let me give some background on my 9am dog.

If I didn't like this dog so much, I may have fired his owners by now.

His owner is one of my failures.

I can not crack that mans shell.

He would make the Grinch look like Mickey Mouse.

I have come close to making him crack a smile, but you can almost see him fighting it.

There is absolutely no doubt that he feels I am here to provide a service for his dog and that is it.

He also has no problem letting you know if he did not think that you did a good enough job the last time his dog was groomed.

He also gave us a hard time once when we pulled up to our shop 4 minutes late to open.

We have a 40 minute ride everyday, and most of the time we pull up between 7:55 and 8 on the nose.

I know it is not right, but occasionally we are a few minutes late do to a back up, but never more than 5 minutes.

We are working on doing better.

Anyway, when we pulled up that day, 4 minutes late, the owner of the above dog was pissed.

He did not mind telling us so.

The thing was...his appointment was for 9am, like always.

Ever since then, he is almost always late for his appointment, as much as 20 minutes.

No, I don't say anything to him.

I am not playing that game.

The last time the dog was in, the wife picked up the dog.

She is nicer, and I can get her to smile, but she has no problem making her comments also.

My daughter waited on her when she came in and told her how much the dog was.

"That will be $46," my daughter told her.

"Oh, you all went up again," the owner said.

"No," my daughter said firmly, "it is the same price that it has been for the last two years."

My daughter put her file card down in front of her.

"Well, if you guys keep going up we will have to find another groomer," the owner said.

If you knew my daughter, you would understand the restraint it took for her to walk away without saying anymore, especially when she thinks I should not be grooming their dog anymore.

So, on to today, the owner came in right on time today.

Nine o'clock on the nose.

"I need him back as soon as possible," the owner informed my husband, "I am leaving town as soon as I pick him up."

I have no problem helping my customers out when I can.

I get requests like this all of the time.

In this particular case, I had to finish the dog I was already working on.

I could not stop him, quickly groom the other dog, and then go back to him.

I always do him straight through.

If I put him away, he would think that he was done, and be impossible to finish.

So I made a decision.

I would finish my difficult 8 o'clock appointment, hold off the finish on the Standard to work on the 9 am appointment straight through.

My 8 am appointment decided to act up a little on the table, and took me a little longer then I planed.

By now I was starting to feel rushed. 

I did not want the owner of the 9am appointment to walk in asking if his dog was done yet.

About half way through the grooming I got a 'feeling' (ESP?).

My family hates when I get a 'feeling'.

My 'feelings' almost always come true.

My husband always asks me why I don't get 'feelings' about the Lottery.

Anyway, I got an overwhelming 'feeling' that I was rushing for nothing, and that this owner was not going to pick this dog up when I was done.

It has happened to me so many times.

A customer will ask for their dog out right away, or by a certain time, like say, a 1:00 doctors appointment.

I put the dog in front of other dogs,  I get the dog done,  I call the owner, "I'll be right over", and what do they do?

Show up at 1:20.

Twenty minutes into their so called doctors appointment.

It is SO frustrating.

So, what time did the owner of the 9 am appointment show up for his dog?

Was my 'feeling' right?

I finished him by 11:45.

The owner picked him up at 3pm. :p

Meanwhile, I stayed behind the rest of the day, and had 3 other owners walk in for their dogs without calling first.

It's not a full moon.

I checked. 

I really don't mind doing favors for my customers.

I just wish that when I bend over backwards for them, that they would respect me by doing what they say they would do.

Is that so much to ask?

Tomorrow better be better.

Please.  :)

Happy Grooming, MFF