🤝 The Groomer's Guide to Good Customer Service

You just yelled at a client…

The first thing I would say is, “did they deserve it??” 😂😂😂

But really….. while groomers can be assertive to communicate their policies and procedures, their priority is making sure customers feel valued and respected.

Customer service can be a balancing act; groomers have to weigh saying what the customer needs to hear to keep them happy against what they’d like to say sometimes.

It’s very hard not to take the insensitive, sometimes cruel, and occasionally manipulative things that clients say personally.

But sometimes you just snap and say how you really feel to a client…

Like in this instance…👇👇👇

First off…. $65 for an overdue, aggressive, double-coated giant dog is insanely cheap… even doubling that amount would be a good deal…. be kind to yourself and raise your prices! Remember you are a professional and should not undersell yourself.

Second off… so many red flags at check in when gathering the initial information about the dog.

There are many things you can require ahead of time that will help you avoid these scenarios such as:

• Pictures of the dog - does this align what they are telling you? Is the size and weight comparable to what type of grooming service they are paying for? I bet you’ve had someone argued that their 90+lbs Pitbull should fall into a smaller and cheaper category of pricing. People lie, pics don’t!
• Policies and procedures - lay out all the “terms of service” ahead of time. This is your chance to set the rules then make sure this is signed before they ever become a client.
• Deposit - make sure the pet owner has some skin in the game before they even step foot in your salon.

A lot of these basic requirements can prevent these miscommunications from happen.

At the end of the day, I think we all saw this was going to be an issue as soon as the customer offered to help….

If someone drops there pet off and insists they get involved in the groom or help, we know what is going on…. We know that this dog is unruly and the owner wants to stick around to make sure that his dog doesn’t hurt someone.

I would say 80% of the time they’re aggressive during baths/grooms if there owner is insisting on sticking around…

Keep in mind something that our friend Mary Oquendo, a pet business consultant, has been known to say:

So here…. “Say it with me:

"I do not have to groom every pet that wants an appointment.”

"I do not have to change my policies because they don’t work for someone looking for an appointment.”

"I don’t have to stay open longer, or leave 2 inches on a matted pet, or not file a police report immediately on a refuse payment or tolerate abuse when I don’t bend my rules.”

"I do not have to lower my prices because they think my prices are too high. I have bills to pay and a life to lead. There are other cheaper options, including taking care of their own pets.”

You should provide good service and good customer relations for everyone that is a client, but you aren’t a good fit for every pet owner, and every pet owner isn’t a good fit for your business model. And that’s okay too.

Don’t forget you can always fire a client and save yourself a whole bunch of heartache in the future. ✌️