About Me:

I am a professional Pet Groomer. I have been grooming for 28 years. This Blog is a kind of diary of my work. I wish I had started years ago, writing some of the experiences I have had while grooming. Most days are fun, some can be sad, some can be just down right crazy. If you are a pet owner and come across this blog, I hope it helps you understand how your pet is groomed. If you are a Pet Groomer, I hope you can relate to some of the stories. Maybe even learn a grooming tip or can leave a friendly grooming tip for me. There is always something to learn, no matter how long you have been grooming.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

It Was My Fault....

....apparently.

 It is a little late in the game now, but I wish that I had started keeping a notebook with things that customers have said to me over the years.
If I had, I most likely would not believe half of the things that I wrote down.

Today was a first.
My daughter went up front to take in a customer whose dog I have groomed twice before.
The owner knew that her dog was in bad shape, but it was our fault that her dog was matted.

It wasn't because she had to wait a long time for an appointment.
It wasn't because we had left her dog too long last time.
It wasn't because the dog got caught in the rain.
It wasn't because the kids hadn't brushed the dog.
It wasn't because the dog was sick.
It wasn't any of the normal reasons that I hear all of the time.

Why did she think her dog was in bad shape?

Because.......................we aren't open at night to answer her phone call to make an appointment for her.

Oooookaaaaay. :/




Here he is.

He is a sweet dog.

I like him.  :)

For the last two groomings, he has been getting a full hand scissor cut.

I have been scissoring a an inch off all over.

Today he is too matted.

My fault.....apparently.








We bathed him, and HVed the mats away from his skin.







 The mats came away from the skin, but they were still pretty tight.

His hair is not the type of hair that lets go of the mat easily.






 On top of that, this dog does not care for the mats being brushed out at all.

So the owner was told that I would have to use whatever blade would go between the mats and the skin safely.







I tried the 5/8HT blade first.

The blade was going under the mats, but it was also pulling at the mats, causing the hair to be clipped too close in some places and leaving holes in the coat.








Now I would have to repair these holes in the dogs coat.

So I stopped and switched to a #3F blade.






The #3F blade glided very nicely between the mats and the skin, and left a nicer finish that would require less scissoring.








With a little scissoring and blending in the holes that the 5/8HT blade caused, the clip didn't look too bad.







Even though it was apparently my fault that this dog became matted, I think that he looks nice with the shorter cut.








This owner did have one other comment to add to my imaginary notebook.
This was the end of the conversation that my daughter had with the owner when she dropped off her dog.

My daughter:  "Would you like us to call when he is done?"
Owner:  "No. I have a lot to do today. I will be back at 3:30. (9 am appointment) What time do you close?"
My daughter:  "We close at 4pm today."
Owner:  "So that means I have to pick him up by 4:00 ?"
My daughter:  ........................."Yep."

She picked her dog up a 4:10.
Oh, and she made her next appointment before she left, for 9 weeks.

Happy Grooming, MFF

4 comments:

  1. oh my goodness!
    I would just want to punch her, can't believe she did that!

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  2. Hi Westies!
    The two legged customers can drive you crazy! lol
    Lisa, MFF

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  3. Speaking of silly customers, we had 2 pekenese haircut appointments no show today. Their appointment was for 12. The owner walked in with them at 2:10. The receptionist said "ohhhhh I don't think we can still take them today." (they are notorious for taking people way later than they should.) he came back and we said NO, of course. Btw we also had a bather ask off this weekend and a sick groomer left halfway through the day, leaving one other groomer and I to split those 15 dogs and groom our booked day as well. The receptionist told the customer, who replied "well I called you twice and no one answered." ??? The receptionist said he would be happy to rebook his appointment and the customer replied "I don't want another appointment! I just want someone to answer the phone!" The receptionist checked our messages. At 2:03, SEVEN minutes before he came into the shop, he left a message saying he missed his appointment and still needed to get them groomed today. I was like REALLY!?!? Like I'm just twiddling my thumbs with nothing to do on the first Saturday after school got out!

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  4. Hi Tam,
    Now come on...didn't you know that you were supposed to be sitting around waiting for that man to show up, and that his dogs were the only ones you were supposed to be grooming that day? lol
    I honestly think that some of my customers think that their dog(s) are the only dog(s) that I groom. Some look genuinely surprised when I say that I will start their dog as soon as I am finished with the one I am already working on.
    Isn't it wonderful how they try to blame their missed appointment on you? Good for you for not taking him. :)
    Lisa, MFF

    ReplyDelete