A Groomers Simple Pleasure....

A fully booked grooming day. 

Every kennel filled, and.....

Not one single dog whining,

Not one single dog barking,

Not one single dog pawing the kennel.

A peacefully, pleasant, simple kind of day.  :)

Sorry I haven't blogged much this week.

Doing a self imposed audit on my 2012 books to find a couple of tax errors. :(

I need to find the mistakes.

It may take me the rest of the week.

I have many comments waiting for me to answer.

I will get to them, it just may not be till next week.

Sorry, to anyone that is waiting for an answer to a question.

I will get to them as soon as possible....Uncle Sam comes first. :/

✂ Happy Grooming, MFF ✂

It Has Been A Day!!

Sometimes it is just better not to get out of bed at all.

Today was one of those days.

I didn't feel a 100% percent when I woke up this morning.

I ended up leaving the house later than I should, but I thought that I was still okay, because there is no traffic into work on Saturday mornings, so we actually get there 10 to 15 minutes sooner than during the weekdays.

Well, I thought too soon.

I needed gas, so I had to stop for that.

There goes about 10 minutes.

Then, a quarter of the way to work I ran into a backup.

A backup on Saturday morning.

They were doing road work, and that wasn't all.

When they finally let our side of traffic go, they were detouring us.

Not that big of a deal, but it was going to add another 5 or so minutes to the drive.

So, I take a side road to get back on track.

The only problem is, once I reach our usual road into work, there are 3 Mack work trucks turning onto the road in front of me.

They were from the road work that I had just been detoured from.

I followed them half of my way into work.

They were going a least 10 miles under the speed limit.

Add 10 more minutes to my commute.

I remember thinking, while I was following behind those trucks, that I hoped this was not a bad omen for the day.

Why the heck did I have to think that?

I have a really bad habit of things popping into my head and then coming true. :/

If I had only known what was ahead, I would have turned around, gone back home, and climbed under the covers.

We were close to 10 minutes late for work.

Why is it that all of your customer show up on time for their appointments only when you are running late?

My first dog of the day was a 16 year old Cocker in for a simple clipdown.

I have groomed this dog 3 other times, with no problems.

He was scheduled as my first dog of the day so that I could get him done and back home as soon as possible.

After taking him from his owner, I placed him in a kennel to settle for a few minutes because he was really shaking.

I got the tub and some warm shampoo ready for the Cocker, and then went to get him out of the kennel.

He was patiently waiting and had stopped shaking.

I put him in the tub and started to soap him up with the warm shampoo.

I noticed that he had some dry poop on his rear, but when I went to check it out, he got a little upset and pulled away, so I figured that I would let the warm soap soften it up before I tried to get it off.

He was a little antsy and moving around the tub a lot, but nothing unusual for an elderly dog.

I let him move around and just followed him, continuing to soap him up.

I got him all soaped up and let my hand slide down over his rear to see if the crusty poop had soften up when.....he started to do that old dog scream.

That scream that some older dogs will do when you try to dry them with the big dryer.

He was screaming and flinging his legs all around.

Crap, crap, crap..........

I grabbed him up out of the tub.

Let me tell you it is no easy feat to hold onto a soapy dog while it is squirming in your arms and screaming.

I held him tight to my chest and walked out of the grooming room into the Self-Serve.

Thankfully we didn't have any Self-Serve customers at the time.

It did the trick.

The change in scenery made him stop screaming and squirming.

Now this dog does have a history of seizures, but he had not ever had one with me before.

This was also not a real epileptic seizure.

It was an old dog freakout seizure type, but not truly a seizure, for lack of a better description.

I headed back to the tub.

My goal was to rinse the soap off and get this dog back home immediately.

He was now quite and settled in my arms.

I took him back into the bathing room and started to put him in the tub again.

Before his feet even touched the tub he went into a full blown epileptic seizure.

He went stiff and his body started to jerk.

My mind was racing.

I told my husband to call the owner.

I let the Cocker lay down in the tub, rubbing and talking to him.

I was praying.

What to do? What to do?

On top of the seizure, he was also shivering....I made a split second decision.

I started to rinse him off as quickly as I could while still rubbing and talking to him.

I  felt had to get that soap off of him.

I felt like it was taking an eternity for the seizure to stop, and for me to finish rinsing.

I was also thinking, 'am I doing the right thing?!'

Next, three things happened simultaneously.

I finished rinsing him.

His seizure stopped.

His owner walked in the door.

Once the seizure stopped, the Cocker was very weak and panting, but seemed himself.

I put towels down for him, and put him on them to help soak some of the water off of him.

I also wrapped him up with a towel.

I was still worried about him because he still could not stand.

Thankfully, by the time I finished  toweling him off, he stood up.

I wrapped him in another towel and took him, towel and all up to his owner.

His owner understood and agreed with my decision not to try to dry him anymore, or do any more grooming.

I felt so bad sending that dog out of my shop wet.

But, at the same time I was glad he was back with his owner.

I still had a full day of grooming ahead of me.

It took me till noon to finally ask my husband to call and check on the dog.

I was so afraid to hear bad news.

His owner said that he was doing just fine. :)

The rest of the day went on smoothly....until.....

I was grooming a Jack Russel Terrier.

You must always be on alert with her because she is a jumper.

If she thought for a second that she could jump out of the tub, or off of the table, she wouldn't waste a second doing so.

I was concentrating on grooming her and keeping her on the table when she suddenly stiffened and started a shrill whimpering.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!!

That was all I could think.

I crabbed onto the dog and took a good look at her.

She was still stiff.

She was still doing this weird shrill whimper, but she was also doing something else....

....she was staring.

AT HIM!!!!!!

BOOTS!!!

My husband had let our shop cat into the grooming room.

The cat was sitting on my daughters grooming table watching the Jack Russel.

Mean while the Jack Russel wanted him in a bad way.

I called my husband to get the cat out of the room.

The Jack Russel immediately relaxed, and me?

I was ready to take up drinking.

Too bad I don't like alcohol.

So I finished my grooms without anymore problems.

We were waiting for the last couple of dogs to be picked up.

One was another elderly, blind dog.

I was taking two of my dogs out to the bathroom when the owner of the elderly dog came to pick-up.

My husband waited on her.

I watched the owner and her Grandson walk the elderly dog out of the shop and to their car.

The Grandmother got into the car leaving the grandson to get the elderly dog into the car.

The dog walked past the car door and the boy yanked her backwards with the leash.

Non too gently I might add.

I could hear the boy yelling at the dog to get in the car instead of just picking her up and putting her in.

The dog struggled and tumbled back out to the ground before finally getting in.

I couldn't help.

I was across the parking lot and had two of my dogs with me.

I was not happy when I walked back in the shop.

I spend so much extra time taking care of my customers dogs, especially the elderly ones, only to have the dogs own owners miss handle it.

I told my husband that that owner better not call back to say that her dog was hurt after what I saw in the parking lot!

So, that was the end of my grooming day....or so I thought.

Now, I have a feeling that I may have over reacted to this particular event, but that was the mood I was in.

I got a notification that someone had commented on one of my grooming videos on YouTube.

So I read the comment.

It was not an out and out mean comment, but it was an accusing comment.

Enough so that I felt I needed to defend myself.

Although I think I may have gone overboard since it took me four reply's to say all that I wanted to say.

Actually, knowing me, I could have said a lot more. :/

The comment left on this video just proves to me that people see only what they want to see.

If you would like to check out what I am talking about, here is a link:

Groomers Nightmare 

My reply's are to a comment left by silvike. 

As groomers, do you think that I over reacted?

Probably.....it has been a very long day.

✂ Happy Grooming, MFF ✂

Pricing

Grooming prices.

What a pain in the a**.

I have always hated coming up with prices for grooming.

When I was in Grooming School, I remember hearing a couple of the grooming instructors talking about the prices that the owner of the grooming school charged.

They were talking about how high the prices were when the customers were having their dogs groomed by students.

Of course, at the time I had no idea what the prices at the school were.

While I was a student, it had nothing to do with me.

Later, after I graduated, and started to work at the school, I learned very quickly why the students were never allowed up in the lobby, or allowed to talk to the customers.

The owner of the school did not want her customers to know that her shop was a Grooming School.

She did not want customers to ask for lower, or special prices, because a student was grooming their dog.

I graduated from Grooming School in 1984.

The highest price on the price list was $25.

When I left the Grooming School to work at the Vet/Kennel, the prices were a little lower than the school's prices.

That didn't really bother me at the time either, because I was going to be paid 50%.

The owner of the Grooming School only paid me 30%, because I was just out of school, so I thought that 50% was great.

That job was ideal.

I came in at 8am, groomed 8 or so dogs, was done by 2pm, and was able to leave right after finishing my last dog.

The kennel staff cleaned, and the receptionist, or owner of the kennel waited on all of the customers.

When I left the Vet/Kennel to go help a friend open their grooming shop, (don't ever work for a friend!) said friend set the prices on the higher side.

I was still making 50%, but I was also opening in the morning, taking appointments, waiting on customers, grooming, cleaning, doing the books, and closing at night.

I did not have any say in the pricing.

When I left that situation, (did I mention... don't ever work for a friend?) after taking a short break from grooming, I went Mobile for a little while.

Her prices were the highest I had ever seen.

I had now been grooming almost 3 years.

I remember actually feeling uncomfortable asking for those prices, but I don't remember anyone ever complaining about them.

After moving on from that job, (just imagine grooming Mobile before HV driers even existed) I worked in the back of a Pet Shop.

I replaced another groomer who had quit.

Her prices were a little lower than the Vet I had worked for.

The owners of the Pet Shop were not to keen on my wanting to raise those prices, but they always wanted me to groom more dogs.

I only made 40% unless I groomed more then 11 dogs a day.

I also had to supply ans wash my own towels.

Then I opened my own shop.

For the very first time I had control of the grooming prices.

You would think that that would make me happy, right?

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I found out really fast, it was no fun coming up with prices that both I and my customers thought were fair.

Of course, I made the mistake that a lot of new shop owners make, I tried not to make my prices too high, because I was scared that I would scare people away.

I under priced a lot of the dogs.

I also had a lot of my customers from the Pet Shop follow me. (They did away with the grooming.)

Because of that, most of my prices stayed close to what had been being charged at the Pet Shop.

Several times I made a price list and tried to live by it.

The problem was, I didn't always agree with my own price list.

I have come to believe that there should not even be a set price list.

Even setting a 'starting price' for a breed does not work.

Why?

Lets say that you have a Golden owner call you asking for an appointment.

During the conversation they ask how much you will be charging them.

You tell them that your 'starting price' for a Golden is $65, only there is a problem.

This owners Golden is twice as big as a normal Golden, and twice as hairy.

Oh.....and the owner didn't hear the words 'starts at', they only heard $65.

That is just one of the problems with setting prices.

I have said it so many times about grooming....every dog is different, every grooming is different, even within a breed.

You can have 'set prices' for a Bichon....one price for a full body clip, one price for hand scissoring, one price for a bath and trim.

So where is the problem?

You set your prices for the breed standard.

The breed standard for a Bichon is 9½ to 11½ inches, and 10 to 18 pounds.

So when you have one of these 30 pound, 15 inches high Bichons walk in your door, do you charge the standard (set) price?

No?

But that is what your price list said.

That is what you quoted over the phone.

That is what you charged her sister-in-law, who also brings her (12 pound) Bichon to you.

Have I mentioned that I hate pricing grooms?

That I hate defending my prices?

That I hate when an owner whines about my prices?

That some people actually want to haggle prices with you like it is a yard sale?

So, after 29 years of grooming, have I come up with a fool proof plan of pricing my grooming?

Bahahahahahaha!!

H*ll no!!!

Just like every other groomer out there, we deal with price shoppers on the phone.

Breeds bigger than they should be.

Owners that give you sob stories in hope that they will be able to get the grooming price down.

Owners that buy high maintenance dogs, and then can't afford to groom them as often as they should be groomed, or get mad that it costs so much to groom their dog.

Cheap owners that can afford the groom, they just don't want to pay for it.

Owners that think 'its just a dog, it shouldn't cost that much to groom it', or 'it doesn't cost me that much to cut my  own hair.'

For the most part, I feel that my prices are fair.

Big dogs seem to be the ones that are the most under charged, but I have been working on that.

One of the main things that I have always, and continue to struggle with is Bath & Trims.

We don't get too many Bath & Trims since I opened the Self-Serve Dog Wash.

I mostly get the Bath & Trims during the winter months.

Customers that want to keep their dogs groomed, but don't want to give them a full haircut.

What to charge them?

Like this Westie that came in the other day for a maintenance Bath & Trim.

A Bath & Trim between her regular haircuts.

Lets compare:

                 Bath & Trim                                                        Full Groom

         ✓ Shampooing                                                         ✓ Shampooing
         ✓ Conditioning                                                         ✓ Conditioning
         ✓ Hand drying                                                          ✓ Hand drying
         ✓ Brush/Comb                                                         ✓ Brush/Comb
         ✓ Clean Ears                                                            ✓ Clean Ears
         ✓ Clip/ File Nails                                                       ✓ Clip/File Nails
         ✓ Express Anal Glands                                             ✓ Express Anal Glands
             Full Body Clip                                                      ✓ Full body clip
         ✓ Trim Feet
         ✓ Neaten Ears
         ✓ Trim Around Eyes
         ✓ Neaten Tail
         ✓ Sanitary Trim
         ✓ Neaten Outline/Any stray hairs

So, you charge less for a Bath & Trim, right?

You charge less because you are not giving a full haircut, right?

The owner expects you to charge less because their dog is not getting a full haircut, right?

But, but ,but......look at the list.

You are still doing 90% of the regular groom.

So, how the heck do you price a Bath & Trim?

A lot of customers expect you to charge half of the regular price.

After all, you are not giving their dog a haircut.

 What did I charge for the Bath & Trim on this little lady?

I took a little less than 20% off of her regular price.

I think that it was a fair price.

If a customer questions me about the price, and why it is not cheaper, I list everything that I did for them.

"She got everything she normally gets except for her body being clipped. I bathed her, conditioned her, blew her dry by hand, clipped and filed her nails, emptied her anal glands, cleaned her ears, trimmed her feet, trimmed around her eyes, trimmed around her privates, and her rear. I also neatened up stray hairs I saw."  all said with a smile.

When put this way, they normally do not question the price anymore.

Sometimes it is not that easy to come up with the Bath & Trim price.

Sometimes a dog may come in whose owner wants a Bath & Trim, but the dog is in bad shape.

Not bad enough to have to give it a clip, but bad enough that it is going to take extra time to brush out the coat.

Maybe the same amount of time that it would have taken to give the regular haircut.

So, do you charge the haircut price?

Yes, but warn the customer first.

Let them know that the price will be the same because the Bath & Trim is going to be just as much work as a regular haircut.

Let the owner decided whether they want to continue with the Bath & Trim, or do the regular haircut.

There are still times when I really struggle with what is a fair charge for a specific Bath & Trim.

One other thing that I think groomers need to keep straight is, what exactly a Bath & Trim is.

Every once in awhile I will have a customer ask for a Bath & Trim, but by the time they finish telling you all that they want trimmed, it would be more work (like a hand scissor all over) than a regular haircut.

I don't mind neatening up the outline on a dog for a Bath & Trim, but if they ask me to take inches off of the outline, or want me to trim into the body, it is no longer a Bath & Trim.

I think that we will always struggle with pricing.

It is in peoples DNA to try to get something at a cheaper price.

I am guilty of it too, although pricing my grooms has made me more sensitive to how other businesses price their services.

Oh well.

I do the best that I can.

✂Happy Grooming, MFF ✂

                

Another Cartoon.....

I have had this happen to me so many times, I can't even count.

(I am sorry that the quality is bad, making the cartoon hard to read. If you hold down the CTRL key and hit the + key  at the same time, it will make your screen bigger and you should be able to read it better.)

✂ Happy Grooming, MFF ✂

Just Too Cute.....

Boy, today was one big hairy day.

It's that time of year.

When your regular customers, that like to let their dogs grow out all winter, bring their dogs in for their summer cuts.

There was a heck of a mound of hair all over the floor at the end of the day.

None of the dogs were matted.

They had been groomed through the winter, some with bath and trims, some longer winter cuts.

Now they were all ready for a shorter summer cut.

I know the Goldendoodle that I groomed today felt really good after she got her summer cut.

She was happy, perky, and dancing on my table when I finished her.

It is a great feeling when you take a dog that comes in hanging their head and looking so down, then by the time you  are finished with them, their head is held high, their tail is wagging, and there is a happy look on their face.

They good home feeling so good.

Of course, I would feel pretty good too if I finally got a bath, and got 2 to 3 months of dirt washed off of me. :)

I also had a surprise today.

I had a new customer come in with two dogs.

Whoever made the made the appointment made it for two Lhasa's.

They turned out to be a very tiny  black Shih-tzuX and small Maltese.

And guess what?

The Maltese was a form of the breed that I had never ever seen before....

Just kidding.

After all don't we see Maltese this color all of the time?

 

This is the way this little lady came in to me.

I did not dye her.

I had fun grooming her.

Well....until she pooped on my table.

Usually not that big of a problem, but she would drop a piece of poop, and then two minutes later drop another one.

It took her about 10 minutes and six separate drops to get it all out.

Then I was able to get back to the groom. :)

 I am not sure what the owner used to dye her.

I didn't have time to ask when she dropped off.

I was going to ask her when she picked up, but someone else picked the dogs up for the owner.

My son swore that she used food coloring, because he thought that the dog smelled like the sugar cookies you get at the store that have the blob of colorful icing on the top. lol

  Whatever the owner used to dye her dog, it did not wash out.

She told my husband that she dyed the dog pink first,  then she later put yellow on top and the hair turned orange.

I think that it looks pretty cool.:)

 Her owner wanted a lamb type cut with a cute round face.

She also wanted to leave the top of her head to grow so she can tie it back.

What a cute little thing.

It just made me happy to look at her.

How can it not make you happy to look at that little face?

✂ Happy Grooming, MFF ✂