The majority of customers that bring their dogs to my shop are people that I appreciate, and respect. Many of my clients become my friends. Without these wonderful clients I would not have a business to run. In any business, there will be customers that do not behave ethically. Fortunately, this type of customer is seen in our shop less than .05 % of the time. That means that 99.95 % of our customers are wonderful, honest respectable people that fit our business perfectly.
I would much prefer to spend my energy praising the 99.95 % of our great customers. Today I mention the other .05% of those customers simply because of the stress that this type of customer brings to the grooming business.
In this bony economy, it does not feel healthy to let a customer move on to the next groomer, but even skinny people will skip a meal that doesn't smell right - and they will be better off for it. Here is the summary for walking away from a poisonous client.
Fire your customer when the customer has a history of complaining, when they have a history of miscommunication, when more than one groomer has experienced the same issue with the customer, when the customer is degrading, insulting, or patronizing more than once, when the customer has asked for a refund or other compensation more than once within a year period, if the customer leaves you feeling bad about yourself, your grooming, or your company more than once.
In my shop, any one of these reasons is enough to fire a customer over, especially if a pattern is established by them. Detailed grooming logs are essential for this reason.
Here is the long version of the summary. And this happened today with a high-class woman that was having a bad day:
Today a client came in with a 1.5 year old yorkie. This client was happy enough at the check-in, telling me what she wanted. I groomed the dog as per our conversation. She picked up the dog and and mentioned that she and I had had a miscommunication on the grooming and that wasn't quite what she was expecting. I told her I would take great notes on what she wanted. She told me that would work and she would be back. She took the dog and called me two more times within moments of picking up her dog. In the calls, she complained for 10 minutes about the communication problem. Ten minutes of pure complaining qualifies as a tantrum when she insults me personally. She mentioned 4 times the dog looked so bad that she could have done a better job at home (incidentally, I had done my best to fix her home groom job). She mentioned that she has had her dogs groomed all of her life and never had these issues. She told me 13 times she was 'really really unhappy with this cut'. She asked for a partial refund because "forty dollars was too expensive for this terrible groom". During her complaining, she was not openly patronizing, but the repetition of her complaints took patience to endure. She did take partial responsibility for the miscommunication, but not until she had finished her list of complaints for the tenth time.
All of these complaints were not easy to take, but my nature is to give the benefit of the doubt , bitten the bullet and kept her as a client, except that I looked at the entire history of her card. AND, what a history she had! There were many notes from other groomers about miscommunication issues with her (5 separate small incidences), including 1 huge tantrum 5 months prior with a request for a full refund . The issues written previously by a different groomer were the same issues she was having with me that day - miscommunication (intelligence) issues, bad grooming job.
This woman had established all of the key points as a poisonous customer. I am guessing that this tactic (tantrum complaining) worked for her often to get what she wanted or to get things free when she needed a price break. The history of tantrums, complaints and dramatic behavior with other groomers would be enough reason for me to believe that she was faking. A customer that meant the things she had said over the course of the last 2 years would not have returned to that grooming shop.
I feel great about my decision to fire this client and true to what I promised - I sent her a partial refund. The stress and bad feeling that she brings to the shop and my employees is not worth her business. And incidentally,when I fire a customer, I always do it gently, letting them know that no one of the groomers feels they can confidently give them great service and we suggest so and so down the street that may fit their needs with more success. I thank our poisonous customers for their trust and business and wish them well from all the staff. It is always best to leave a snake plenty of room to get away.
Stay healthy and happy groomers! Remember that some types of customers will charge a price that you cannot afford. And fortunately for all of us, this type of customer is seen only .05% of the time. The majority of customers are wonderful, perfect, respectful, and grateful:)
DuAnn Lustig-Chambers
Happy Pooch Tribune
Professional Tips to Pamper Your Pooch
http://www.thepoochparlor.net
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