There I was again, on my knees, bent over my bathtub, trying to give my two uncooperative Cockapoos, Molly and Oscar a bath. I have two towels under my knees to cushion them from the hard tile floor. The sudsy Molly and Oscar are jumping in and out of the bathtub, shaking dirt and suds all over the bathroom walls, and this was just the beginning of their bi-weekly bathing process.
Self Service: Is It For You? Read More
“Dear Michell, I own a busy upscale salon in Canada. I have been grooming for more years than I care to admit. I am a Certified Master Groomer and I don’t really take new customers anymore, but my employees do. We often get ridiculous special requests from clients. I tend to be intolerant of these requests. However, my employees are still building clientele and need to be open to offering special services. Any suggestions on how to deal with special requests?” — Alex H.
Catering To Your Clients Read More
The paradigm of “customers” and the level of contribution they make to our business is ever changing. Any entrepreneur committed to long-term success has all but erased any trace of the concept that customers are a necessary evil: people who bother us with their problems, individuals that we have to “deal with.”
Scaling the Customer Loyalty Ladder… Rung by Rung Read More
It happened again. Every time it happens, I think, “I will never see one as bad as this again.” Then I do. The time goes by, and it happens again. Over the many years I have visited other grooming salons, daycare centers, and retail pet shops, I am often taken aback at that first impression…
7 Seconds to Success Read More
In the second pet first aid class I taught, someone suggested we bring a live dog. With that thought, Ricky, my golden retriever, joined the crew. Ricky loved coming with us to workshops and tradeshows. In fact, he would walk the trade show floor liked he owned it. Ricky knew everyone loved him and was usually greeted by his human friends well before I was even acknowledged.
Yes, the holidays are coming. Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas—the wonderful times of the year when we all shop, bake cookies, decorate, go to parties, and relax with our friends and family. Yeh, right… Not if you are a typical groomer. For most groomers, ‘tis the season to work, work, work with very little time for relaxing or anything else, but it doesn’t have to be all work and no play this year. It’s all in how you prepare for it.
The Holidays Are Coming! Read More
Although there are times when I just can’t, I usually take walk-ins for nail cutting. Last Wednesday was a particularly busy day, and I was letting the answering machine pick up quite a few calls as I tried to stay on schedule with all of the appointments.
At one point, the phone rang, and I let it go to the machine. The person hung up. A split second later, it rang again, and I still didn’t answer.
That Crazy Nail Lady Read More
As people who work in the service industry, we’ve all been there. Times when you have to be the adult and deal with things that you really don’t want to deal with. I’ve heard the phrases, “Suck it up,” “Gird your loins,” “Pull the Band-aid Off”, or “Draw a Line In The Sand.” But, no other phrase seems to empower me more than “Putting my Big Girl Panties On.”
Time for the Big Girls Read More
With a Winning Attitude
Sally S. began grooming at a young age. She honed her craft, saved her money, and found a mentor in the grooming business. After a time, Sally opened her own grooming salon, Sally’s Soggy Dog. Business ran great for a while with just a few novice mistakes; a missed tax filing here, a disgruntled customer there, but Sally learned and Sally’s Soggy Dog prospered.
Handling Bad Reviews Read More
On particular mornings, the sun beams, a choir of birds serenade, and my soul is full of boundless optimism and goodwill toward my fellow earthly inhabitants. Then there are those mornings. Those mornings, which more often than not, fall on Saturdays. Mornings where I emerge already depleted over a work week and just pray to get through this last day as smoothly as possible.
More Important Than You Think
Almost everyone has a favorite restaurant. A place you love to visit and tell your friends about. Of course, that restaurant has to serve great food, but a lot of restaurants out there sell wonderful food. To become your favorite, and to win your loyalty as a patron – they have to do more.
Do your customers know all the services you offer? Do they feel like you charged appropriately during check-out? It is important that your customer understands that what you do is far beyond just giving a dog a bath. It is also important that they feel they got more than what they paid for during check-out.
Grooming Menus and Receipts Read More