Behavior Clips
Many of your clients need training services and ask you to help them find a qualified trainer. Trainers that come to your salon may solicit that kind of recommendation. They will undoubtedly sell themselves in the best light possible – an understandable and normal thing to do. This is where it gets interesting.
Finding the Right Trainer for Your Clients Read More
Although your official job title may be “Professional Pet Stylist,” it’s a safe bet that many of your clients also expect you to be a mind reader. Whether you have been grooming for only a few months or for 30-plus years, lots of pet owners think that you should automatically know exactly how they want their precious pet groomed.
Client Communication 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
I was sitting at a client’s kitchen table after I finished grooming Misty. I was talking to Mrs. about something funny Misty did when Mr. handed me the customer survey I had given him when I first arrived. He told me that the reason they followed me from the shop I worked at was because I had the best customer service they had ever received from a groomer.
Take a moment to be brutally honest with yourself. Are you being compensated fairly for your work? Pet grooming is a task that requires a great many skills. Groomers must be endlessly patient, able to work with sharp tools and moving animals, have a strong artistic leaning in order to make pets look their best, have talent with time management to make all the magic happen on schedule, and have the business sense to bring home a decent income at the end of the week.
Thinking About Grooming Fees 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.
It takes more than great service to retain clients in today’s competitive pet grooming industry. More than ever, it’s important to build credibility and trust with your own client base so they know that not only are you a grooming expert, but that you care about your customers, too. Email Marketing Campaigns are the easiest ways to keep your business in front of your customers and ensure they continue to use your services rather than a competitor’s.
How to Retain More Clients with an Email Marketing Campaign Read More
Have you ever gone to your dentist for a filling, an extraction, or a root canal and when the dentist entered the exam room you notice that he is wearing stained, tattered jeans and a shirt that looks like he slept in it? As he begins to work on you, he says, “I’m just going to hold an ice cube on your tooth to numb it…It works almost as well as a shot of Novocain.”
Look at Yourself Through Your Client’s Eyes Read More
Check-in, wash, dry, clip, check-out. Seems like every work day can be a fast-paced and hectic experience for you and your grooming pets. Many times it can even be difficult to remember the exact interaction with each pet because you are in such a hurry. Trends have changed though, many of our grooming clients are expecting their pet to receive a full-on spa experience, the same as what they would get when visiting a human spa.
How to Build a Loving Bond Read More
Back when I was a baby groomer, a client walked into the shop where I was working with her two dogs. I had the client cards already out and knew what to do!
Client: You’re new. Is Katie here?
Me: No, unfortunately she is no longer working here.
Client: Ok, do the same thing as last time.
Setting Client Expectations Read More
After 30 plus years of grooming you would think that I’ve pretty much seen it all as far as unwilling grooming customers. I’ve certainly had my share of dog owners who don’t want to give up their precious pet for an hour or two as they get groomed. Honestly, you’d think they were sacrificing their first born when they have to leave them with me for a bath and haircut.
We all groom a “challenging” pet. Mine is Molly, a soft-coated wheaten terrier. Molly is a sweetheart. She is easily one of my best-behaved clients. What makes Molly a challenge is her health issues. I have overcome this difficulty because of effective communication between Molly’s owner and their veterinarian.
Effective Communication Read More