When is the right time to FIRE a customer?

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

Grooming the Scottie

Today Leslie G came into school special to groom a Scottish Terrier, Walley.  He is a gorgeous brindle.  It was like wrastling a horse to get those nails clipped.  Phew!, But, it WAS worth the effort.  When Walley was done, he was transformed into a beautiful specimen, and his brindle back just glowed.

Scotties are also very smelly dogs in general.  It seems to me that they have the strongest body odor of any dog that we groom.  They stink like doggie dog within 6 hours of a good scrubbing.  Why is that?  I do not know.  I just know it IS so.

Keep a muzzle on hand, scrub and bathe them twice, and hope that you have a buddy to help you on the nails!
Great job Leslie!

DuAnn Lustig-Chambers
Pooch Parlor Tribune
Professional Tips to Pamper Your Pooch
http://www.thepoochparlor.net

bladder or kidney infections in the grooming room

Today we groomed a beautiful, and well-mannered Great Pyrenees cross.  She is normally extremely patient for her grooming.  We noticed while shaving her sanitary area that her vulva was surrounded by a brown,  gooey area that was not easy to shave.  Shaving this area clearly irritated her.  This dog, Bandit, also had a vulva that was recessed inside a pocket of flesh and was not open to the air.

The combination of a recessed vulva and gummy brown substance around the vulva, |AND an annoyed dog made me wonder if she had an infection somewhere around there: either a bladder, or kidney infection.  I asked her owner about her pee habits, and her owner confirmed that indeed, Bandit was urinating more frequently than normal and not in the normal areas.

All of these signs together are highly indicative of a bladder or kidney infection.  Groomers take note as these symptoms are seen very often in the grooming room and the soon you can detect an issue, the better for the dog, for the owner, and for you.

The owner did take Bandit to the vet immediately and was prescribed antiobiotics.  He did not take a urine sample to confirm, but if she does have a bladder infection, the meds will quickly help her feel better.

Mention these small details to the owner either verbally or on in a report card for the dog.  You would be surprised how often, your details are more than just small, they are real medical issues.

DuAnn Lustig-Chambers

Pooch Parlor Tribune
Professional Tips to Pamper Your Pooch
http://www.thepoochparlor.net

Why do dogs pee in the same spot?

One of my customers asked me today, "Why do dogs always pee in the same spot?"  She has a female cocker spaniel named Bella and my little mini schnauzer, Greta, peed in the same generic stretch of grass after their groom.

Well, I think, where dogs pee, is a lot like humans wearing the most trendy clothes.  Who is to say that dogs don't pee in groups because its trendy?  It makes sense to me.  Dogs don't shake hands, they sniff butts.  They pee in the same spot like groups where bellbottom pants!

Thats one reason why dogs pee in the same spot:)

DuAnn Lustig-Chambers
Pooch Parlor Tribune
Professional Tips to Pamper Your Pooch
http://www.thepoochparlor.net

my dog rolled in an animal carcas, what do I do?

It happens at least once a week at the grooming shop.  A customer comes in with a dog they have washed 3 times at home and cant get the stench out of.  What did they roll in they ask us!

Well, here in northern Idaho, the answer is, an animal carcass.  How do you get the smell out?  The same concoction as for a skunk bath, hydrogen peroxide, dawn, and baking soda, mixed immediately before using it.

If the dog has had the stench on him for more than 24 hours, and has had at least one bath, you won't be able to remove 100% of the smell, but you can remove 90%.  Check out the videos on the website for skunk bath to remove the stench of dead flesh from your dog!  Good luck, and keep some citris spray for your own nose on hand.

DuAnn Lustig-Chambers
Happy Pooch Tribune
Professional Tips to Pamper Your Pooch

http://www.thepoochparlor.net

Airedales and grooming

Today we groomed an airedale named Gilda.  She is a gorgeous speciman!  She may have suffered from ADD however, so we renamed her as Gilda, the airehead dale.



DuAnn LustigChambers
Pooch Parlor Tribune
Professional Tips to Pampur Your Pooch

http://www.thepoochparlor.net

Dogs can get nosebleeds during the grooming process

Today I had a student ask me, is it normal for some dogs to get nosebleeds during the grooming?

The answer is this, it does happen fairly regularly, however, it is not normal.  Nose bleeds can happen from a number of different factors.  Typically, it is stress induced and the dog's breathing increases enough to create friction on the air passage.  A little extra snort, or sneeze, or breath can create a bloody nose.  As a groomer, or pet owner, you want to be sure and monitor the amount of blood, the length the nose bleed lasts and the color of the nose bleed.  If the blood is clumpy or darker than fresh blood, it is likely that a tumor in the nose, throat, or lungs has burst.  In this event, you may have an emergency.  If the nose bleed is a tumor that has erupted, the behavior of the dog will tell you if you should call the vet or rush to the vet.

Fortunately, a simple nose bleed that is not an emergency is what happens 95 percent of the time.  Do you best to calm the dog and quiet his breathing.  The bleeding should not last longer than 60 seconds.  Call the owner and let them know about the nose bleed and see if they know why it happened.  You may just be surprised when you hear the owner say, 'oh, don't worry! Charlie goes diving in the mud for frogs every day!

Nose bleeds are pretty common, be sure you follow them up with the owner.

DuAnn Lustig-Chambers
Pooch Parlor Tribune
Professional Tips to Pamper Your Pooch

http://www.thepoochparlor.net

Funny boy groomers

Here's a funny true one:  my new male student is interested in learning how to scale dog's teeth.  He said to me today at work.  I am going to try to do my dog's teeth, how long does it take to clean up his teeth with the dremel?

Differences between male and female groomers

Here's a real life scenario that happened today.  I said to Leslie, a student groomer, did you do that dog's anals? Her husband, Gary had stepped in that moment and said, "Honey, my pliers are in the car, do you need them?"