It Never Fails

When I first opened my shop, I had had a pretty good following of customers already, but not near enough to keep a shop afloat.

So, I would take everything and anything that called for an appointment.

I also got into the bad habit of taking walk-ins and same day appointments.

I quickly learned that every time I took a walk-in, it came back to bite me in the bu**.

~The dog was matted to the skin, and took forever to groom.

~The dog was a nut.

~The owner was a nut.

~The dog was a non-stop barker.

~The dog was a non-stop pooper.

~The owner would pick the dog up 30 minutes after closing.

Take your pick.

The walk-ins always turned out to have one of these problems...some had all of them.

It still took me a long time to stop taking the same day walk-ins or appointments.

When you are building a business, your desperate for all of the customers you can get.

After getting burned more times than I can count, I stopped taking same day appointments and walk-ins, and started to make them wait a day or two for an appointment.

That would bite me in the bu** sometimes also, because some people would not wait.

Every once in awhile I would still break down and take a same day appointment.

It would always bite me in the bu** one way or another.

So, you would think that after 26 years, I have learned my lesson and never take a same day appointment.

I have gotten better.

Really I have.

It's just that every ounce in a while I let the peoples sob stories get to me.

I did it today.

We were fully booked.

On top of that, we also had 3 very large jobs.

About 10 am a customer walked in with her dog...she was not on the books.

After checking the computer, we found the appointment she said that she made weeks ago.

It was for Saturday at 10 am.

"Oh, but I would not have made it for a Saturday when I am running around with my kids," she exclaimed.

"It was most likely the only appointment that we had open at the time," my husband told her.

"But  I am sure I would not have made it for Saturday!" she repeated.

"Well, we are booked up today. Can you bring him back on Saturday?" my husband asked her.

"You can't take him today?! I have a class in 20 minutes. There is no way I can take him home and get to my class on time. I am sure the appointment was today!" she rambled on and on.

Yes!

I took the dog.

Yes!

It bit us in the bu**!

He was a nice dog, but...

~He was matted to the skin. (we had not groomed him since Nov., although his owner insisted we had)

~He was a table dancer.

~He barked all day!

A high pitched bark that went right through your head, and made your ears ring.

Will I take a same day appointment again?

Me?!

I am sure I will.

Just come in and give me a good sob story.

I have sucker written all over my face.  :/

Oh one other thing before I go.

I had one of my regulars come in today.

She comes every five weeks.

Three weeks ago, she was attacked.

She lost her eye.

What attacked her?

A deer!

Yes, I said a deer.

It was a first for me.

Her owner said that the dog was out in their back yard when they heard screaming.

When they ran outside, they found their dog on the patio with a deer standing over top of her.

A deer!

Wow.

I live in the woods.

We have a herd of deer that hangout in the back of our property.

I haven't ever seen an aggressive deer.

Maybe this deer had a baby she thought she was protecting.

Poor little 'Sunshine'.

She is a very sweet Shih-tzu.

I am sorry this happened to her.

I will say, that it has not chanced her personality in the lest.

She is still as sweet as ever.

Happy Grooming, MFF