The past two months have been a roller coaster ride, and just for the record, I hate roller coasters.
We buried my father this past Wednesday, and we said a tearful 'see you soon' to my 20 year old son yesterday as he left for 3 months of Boot Camp five months a head of schedule.
The last two months have been filled with dealing with many different people in respect to my fathers health and care.
EMT's, Nurses, Doctors, Technicians, Therapists, Supervisors, Social Workers, Shock Trauma Team, Administrators, and did I mentions Doctors and more Doctors?
Most of those professionals were just that, very professional, helpful, kind, and informative.....some were not.
Being a Professional, in a customer service based business, I found myself being very sensitive to the way my Father, my sister and myself were treated.
I have talked many times in my blog posts about how important I feel it is to respectfully talk to and educate our customers.
In my book no question is stupid.
The question may seem like common sense to the professional, but if the customer (or family member of the patient) asks a question, it is not common sense (or a stupid question) to the person asking the question.
There was nothing more degrading than to have a so called professional look at me as if I had just asked the dumbest question on earth, or answer my question in a tone of voice as if they were talking to an imbecile.
Sometimes I would ask a question that I was pretty sure I already knew the answer to, but I just wanted to be reassured that what I thought was right.
Sure, the answers were pretty common sense answers, but I just needed that professional to confirm the answer for me.
That is the way I deal with my customers.
No matter how stupid some of their questions may seem to me, I always answer them respectfully, as if they just asked me a very important question.
Of course I know more than my customers, I should, I am the professional.
I am there to help educate them, just as all of the professionals that I dealt with the past couple of months were supposed to be there to help educate me.
It saddens me to read some of the posts on grooming groups when a groomer will make fun of a customer who they felt asked a really stupid question, and the groomer responded in a rude and insulting way, and on top of that, the groomer felt justified to do so, because of how stupid they felt the question was.
After my experience of the last two months, I will always make sure that I answer every question my customers ask as respectfully as I can, and never make them feel stupid.
Okay, I am climbing down off of my soapbox now.
How's that for my first post back?
Sorry, had to get that off of my chest.
Trying to move on....
I am looking forward to getting back to writing again.
I am also looking forward to this coming weekend.
My daughter Jessica and I will both be going to Groom Expo in Hershey again.
We both need this break and we really enjoy the Expo.
I will be competing with my Dachshund/ Bichon in the Salon Freestyle, and my daughters Bichon in the Abstract Runway.
Most exciting of all...Jessica and I will be competing together in the Rescue Round-up Invitational.
We plan on having some much needed fun. :)
Some people find it very hard to be kind to others that they feel are 'inferior' to themselves (either in knowledge or intelligence, though that second one is often an assumption). It is a rare and special person who can be trusted to be kind and patient towards others.
ReplyDeleteWow Lisa, I am so sorry you had to deal with rude people at a time like that. I'm not very good with knowing the right thing to say to people, but over the last year and a half of reading your blog, I always talk to my family about the things you post. My family has been thinking good thoughts for yours since you brought up your dad.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on competing at Hershey, and I am sure you and Jessica will do great!
-Cortney
So glad to have you back.,.so sorry to here about your dad Will pray for your son. Hope your life settles a bit. Have fun in Hershey!
ReplyDeleteI was hoping that wasn't why you were away. I'm so sorry. What a painful time. Fortunately animals can be the best medicine. I hope Hershey is fun.
ReplyDelete-Elizabeth, UT
Lisa, I just discovered this blog as the result of a lively discussion on FB about wet-clipping. Sorry to hear about the loss of your dad, and about the inconsiderate attitude of some of the "professionals" you dealt with recently. You are so right, that we must strive to be genuine and responsive to both our clients and their pets. Otherwise, we are just janitors! Having found your blog, I'll come back often. Thanks for taking the time to write! (I'm a mobile groomer in California.) All best, Pat
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you are back! My condolences on the loss of your father and my sympathies for having to deal with medical professionals with poor customer service skills! Must be very frustrating, especially in a time of stress. I hope the expo goes well and will await pictures -- especially the rescue ones.
ReplyDeleteI am so very sorry to hear about your father. I will make sure to keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers. I hope you and your daughter have a wooftastic time at hershey!! You guys deserve it!
ReplyDeleteLisa, how good it is to have you back! I missed you blogging. So sorry about your Dad, I cannot even imagine what you've been through.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Hershey, you deserve good relaxing (as relaxing as grooming will be for you) weekend.
Hi and welcome back! I'm so sorry to hear of your father's passing, and that you had to see your son off to Boot Camp ahead of schedule.
ReplyDeleteI want you to know that I really enjoy reading your blog. I'm not a professional groomer, but I am a "dog person", and it's so much fun to get this "behind the scenes look" at your profession. Your job sure isn't easy! But your love for animals, and your consideration for your human clients, always shines through in your posts.
I also appreciate all the little tips I've picked up for grooming my Cocker at home. :)
Again, welcome back. Don't feel pressure to post, but do know that you have an audience!
I'm so sorry to hear that!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad your back. I love reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for your loss, Lisa. We missed you!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry about your dad. Sometimes in the moment it can be hard to remember that ill-mannered or condescending people often are that way because of their insecurities. Their poor behavior is no reflection on you. They are incapable of or unwilling to give a thoughtful, courteous response, because doing so requires a bit of effort that they are "too important" to make. It's almost laughable, but surely not when you're in the middle of such grief. Anyway, I'm glad you're back to writing and I look forward to more of your posts!
ReplyDeleteSo, so sorry - I had a feeling that's why you had been away for so long. Sincere condolences.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy Hershey. I hope you carry on writing to us.
Sian x
I'm so sorry for your loss. Welcome back. You have been missed!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry about your father. I have been checking your blog about once a week hoping to see a new post. I couldn't agree more about the professionalism/service rant! I'm sure your customers are grateful to have you answer their questions.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you back to blogging and good luck at the grooming expo!
Hi glad to see your back i knew something had happen :( hope god gives you strenght in this difficult times :( its Jessica from PR
ReplyDeleteI recently found your blog and have enjoyed your entries as a new groomer.
ReplyDeleteMy deepest condolences to you and your family. May your father rest in peace.
Taking some time to do something you enjoy will help. All the best to you and have fun at the grooming expo!
-M
Your blog is amazing! I have been checking in every now and then to see if you have posted anything new .. I love all of your tips and stories!! I also enjoy the way to you explain things and show step by steps .. they are so helpful and helps me understand better :) Thank you for all that you've shared! - Amanda
ReplyDeleteYou have a lot of tips on grooming and clipping dogs. Do you have any siggestion on clipping a large laid back cat who actually could care less what your doing? My problem is my roommate (his owner) wont brush him out and he mats like mad. His hair is soft and fine. We have the clippers, but im not sure how to clip him without him looking sad. He loves his new cuts but the last time i did it he looked awful. I'm pretty sure he was embarrassed for the bad cut. The long fine fur just gets tangled and doesn't clip down and he ends up with these weird lines in his cut.
ReplyDeletealso i have foxhoun/husky mix who ALWAYS seems to be shedding. He has the outer coat of a hound dog and the fluffy undercoat of the husky. I use my furminator a lot on him and even after two hours of brushing its STILL coming out!! he doesn't put up with it for that long. Usually takes a couple days. Any thoughts on the shedding?
Very sorry for the loss of your father. My prayers and thoughts are with you and your family.
ReplyDeleteKathy
SO HAPPY YOU ARE BACK!! I literally checked almost everyday for a while then at least once or twice a week. So very sorry to hear about your father. You can never stop writing this blog, i believe you should have a groomwise blog, I love it! I credit my grooming ability to you!!!
ReplyDeleteI would've slapped those rude doctors hard in the face if being treated like that in such a situation with your father. I've dealt with my fair share of mistreatment from doctors. I've come to have a general strong disliking of doctors, except for the rare good ones. I've yet to personally meet any yet. I got in a car accident 2 years ago, and have been attending this back center specialist place since. I can't believe the incompetence of the so called specialists there. In the 2 years I've been going there they haven't figured out a diagnosis for my back, and as a result aren't legally allowed to treat me with strong enough medicine I need to not be in constant pain, let alone go about fixing the problem or proper physical rehabilitation. Not to mention I can't even call in to the doctor to ask a simple question about medicine or anything, aand have gone in what seems like a million times to get my prescription renewed each month (for non controlled substances! I can't even get a rx with a refill on it!). Im being bled dry, and my pain management specialist is some Asian woman who can barely communicate well with me and ignores anything I have to say about my condition or pain levels. Just looks at my chart and tries feeding me random pills that either dont work or only partially deal with the 2 types of pain I have (skeletal and muscular). I've had to turn to alcohol for the muscle spasms I get because nothing else given to me is strong enough for them. I never even liked alcohol, but I know it acts on GABAa and GABAb receptors which many of the stronger muscle relaxants act on too. The skeletal pain can be dealt with by taking extra of my Tramadol, just enough to manage, but I run out halfway through the month and end up in withdrawals (which I have to take ~20 loperamide pills a day to not be 'dopesick' -- otc anti diarrheal medicine which binds to painkiller receptors in the stomach but dont cross over into the brain to cause any actual painkiller effects) and just hurt through the 2nd half of each month and be mostly bed-ridden the whole time (other than getting up for bathroom/food). Standing/sitting more than 10min causes lots of extra pain.
ReplyDeleteSorry, long post. I hate doctors and am suffering due to their incompetence. Im sorry for your loss and your son is really brave. Im just 22 and even if I was in my former good shape I could never do the whole military thing. Way too much for a little effeminate boy like me to handle.