Bad customer experience with some local dog groomers <long>

[Love My Zons]

I work alot as alot of us do so you can understand.......so much that for the second time in 8 yrs I decided to take my Sheltie in for a groom since Spring is here and coats are shedding. I get there and they are like telling me on what a big job he's going to be. How just a comb out is going to be like 2-3 hours. Oh how he's matted all over, back end, neck etc. Then the Groomer starts telling me that he needs to be shaved. I am like NO way, you don't shave a Sheltie!

I tell her he's full of undercoat and the back end is quite messy as well as the neck a bit. It's just undercoat, and it's manageable.

So anyway, our price goes up from $65-80 and I agree. So they are like asking if it's okay. I am like fine with the price. Infact, I offered to pay up front! One Girl who tried to get him to go with her, just her facial expression and looks like telling the other one to look at him as if he's a BIG deal and a real mess (I wanted to slap her so bad) but said nothing...........

So just the way that these Women made me feel, I mulled it over after I got home. I got so annoyed from their comments and such that I called them and told them I was coming to get my dog. They made it to be such a big deal, made me feel awful as a dog Mom that I was surpised they didn't call animal cops! (kidding)

I get there, get my dog and the one Women is like "we want your business" I am like well not with the way that you made me feel. Then the one Women is like starting to tell me how she does Shelties for a Women for show........I am like really???? REALLY? Okay, I then say he's my second one in 16 yrs and the 2nd time he'd be at a groomer in 8 yrs. So honestly, shut the heck up I am thinking. I told her the only reason he was here was to give me some time and let someone else do him due to my working days on.

I get home, his comb out was max 40 mins, I got one pile of undercoat, ONE mat behind his ear..... in the tub he went, nails clipped and done an hour and half after I got him home.

There is a reason I do my own nails, wash/detail my own car and groom my own dog!

Here he is, what a big mess he was to brush out and bathe! Boy was he matted!

 

[itzmered]

He is beautiful Claire, sounds like they were just trying to get a few extra bucks out of you

 

[GG.]

he is gorgeous!!! love the 2nd pic

 

[Love My Zons]

A few extra bucks I was fine with. It was the scenario that they spoke to each other that made it out to be horrible.

How he was in bad shape, OH and how if I took him elsewhere when we were leaving some other places would turn him away.

I was like uhm'kay! I said, don't worry about it, I will do him myself as I always have.

I am about to write them a letter and let them know how horrible they truly are. Word of mouth is your greatest reward in referrals............it's in town, I work IN town and know tons of people. Even my Boss the owner of my Co had an issue with them as did her sister. To the point where they had to ask them "do you want to do my dog or not?"

Isn't this what they do? DOG GROOMING? You'd think they were professionals and would do any dog right?

Guess not.

 

[KimKimWilliamson]

Hi! Im so sorry you had such a bad experience I manage a Canine Care Facility in which grooming is one of MANY services we provide, and though I know there has been instances where we had to sit an owner down and explain how horrible the matting was in their dog, or show them wounds from the matting being so close to the skin, or even Shave a dog that wouldnt normally be shaved (Golden) just to give him relief. But, based on your photos your dog clearly didnt fall into that category or else you wouldnt have been able to do it yourself in such a short period of time and have him looking so good.
I think that if these people are surprised by a shedding Sheltie, its probably because they primarily groom show dogs (as you mentioned) and show dogs are groomed at LEAST one a week extensively. (Brush outs and what not). So they would mostly see dogs in great coat condition.

To bad your not in our area, our groomer does an excellent job on Shelties!

 

[Love My Zons]

Hi! Im so sorry you had such a bad experience I manage a Canine Care Facility in which grooming is one of MANY services we provide, and though I know there has been instances where we had to sit an owner down and explain how horrible the matting was in their dog, or show them wounds from the matting being so close to the skin, or even Shave a dog that wouldnt normally be shaved (Golden) just to give him relief. But, based on your photos your dog clearly didnt fall into that category or else you wouldnt have been able to do it yourself in such a short period of time and have him looking so good.
I think that if these people are surprised by a shedding Sheltie, its probably because they primarily groom show dogs (as you mentioned) and show dogs are groomed at LEAST one a week extensively. (Brush outs and what not). So they would mostly see dogs in great coat condition.

To bad your not in our area, our groomer does an excellent job on Shelties!

Hi, too bad you aren't close by. She said she did show Shelties. First off, anyone who shows Shetlands can attest that they are not washed prior to show. As you can see in the pic where he's on the tile floor, compared to an above shot today, the outer coat on them becomes frizzy. Once you remove the oils from the coat they don't lay down nicely as they should. That is why powders are used to remove the oils, but leave the coat flat.

SO her saying that had NO bearing on my issue. The bottom line is they couldn't handle it and didn't want to. To shave was a fast alternative..........I know my dog and know his condition better than anyone. I also learned a lesson, since I do know so much about my breed I have to continue on and be an un-catered to person and just do it myself. Which I am fine with.........even though I don't have a ton of time off, even though yesterday and today were my 2 days off together I still got him done and got called in for 5 hours!

Lesson learned, do it yourself.

 

[robin's my baby]

some people just have no clue when it comes to dogs thre is this person who just yesterday came over ornd 9 at night to tell us are dogs are being to loud and they had been barking for hours (and he was going to calll the polce) so i told him are dogs have been vary quit they barked for a few mins around 7 and came back inside they have not been out for 2 hours so how could they be barking.... and he has 3 dog (you are only suppsed to have 2) and he has had the polcie called on him because his dog bit a child and they are incredibly loud but yet are dogs are the problem of the narborhood (even tho they like every one)

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

What a pretty boy! Yes, they sound like they were trying to get exra money from you.

 

[Sharpie]

Those people should meet a few dogs that DO actually need to be shaved. Dogs where the skin is sloughing off under the matts because of heat, moisture, and bacteria and you've got to deal with the maggots to boot. That's a whole different ball game.

Your boy looks great and I cannot imagine he was in the shape they made him out to be. I have GSDs and they can get pretty bad looking when they're blowing coat, but a good brushing fixes it- it's not something that needs to be shaved off! Sorry your nice day off wasn't as relaxing as you'd hoped.

 

[Love My Zons]

Those people should meet a few dogs that DO actually need to be shaved. Dogs where the skin is sloughing off under the matts because of heat, moisture, and bacteria and you've got to deal with the maggots to boot. That's a whole different ball game.

Your boy looks great and I cannot imagine he was in the shape they made him out to be. I have GSDs and they can get pretty bad looking when they're blowing coat, but a good brushing fixes it- it's not something that needs to be shaved off! Sorry your nice day off wasn't as relaxing as you'd hoped.

Hehe, no it wasn't relaxing getting called in for Co-workers emergency but that's life!

And for the record, undercoat in a heavily coated double coat can actually feel matted. He is to thick around his neck, that you can't run your fingers through the undercoat wanting out.


In this link is how he looks at his absolute worst in my eyes and how he looked when I brought him in. Puffed up like no tomorrow with undercoat that needs out and Shelties do have oily coats.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php...75073421#!/photo.php?pid=431481&id=1683163111

This is what I combed out.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php...75073421#!/photo.php?pid=503605&id=1683163111
I can feel him right on down to the skin now that it's all gone.

 

[newf]

Your Sheltie is gorgeous I too have a dog that has long hair, an Australian Shepherd, and have had similar problems with a grooming place here. I have only taken her there once, and would never go back. I did take her to another place last year just to save me some time and I figured they would get her undercoat out. Well, she looked good one I picked her up, but I wasn't exactly blown away with their work. I took her back home and brushed her with my furminator brush and got tons of hair out of her still. I won't be paying anyone else to do her coat in the future. Mom was right when she said, you want something done right, then do it yourself.

 

[BamaBirdMom]

Claire,

You have a really beautiful dog! It's unfortunate that you had this experience. I own a pet spa and I'm a certified master groomer who used to teach grooming school. Our profession is a client service-oriented profession, and the bad experience you had is a prime example of why I never allow anyone but me or my business partner to check a dog in or out, or communicate to our clients. We have to 'know' hair to be really good as well. I will only recommend 'shaving' an undercoated breed of dog as a last resort, and really hate to do it even when clients request it. There have been cases of packed undercoat where, when allowed to stay in the coat through lots of rain, left us no choice but to clip it out. That's not the case, though, usually. We have really good tools (the proper shampoo, conditioner, dryers and brushes) and know how to use them.
One thing I can say (with pride) is that before a sheltie leaves my spa, I make sure that I can get a wide tooth comb through every hair. This is what makes us stand out from other groomers who brush the coat out on top and let the owner think they did a thorough job. The groomers you visited may have offered shaving to make their job easier, or it just may have been they didn't know any better. Shame on them either way.
So...I guess I'm trying to say please don't give up on ALL groomers just because this particular one failed to treat you as they should have.

 

[rockoko]

beautiful dog!!!

 

[birdlvr466]

Claire I wouldnt give them a second thought. Sounds like they want something for nothing. I think they were pretty insulting. I am glad you went and got her. She looks beautiful..you did a great job! I know my two are starting with the shedding too.

 

[birdlvr466]

Claire,

You have a really beautiful dog! It's unfortunate that you had this experience. I own a pet spa and I'm a certified master groomer who used to teach grooming school. Our profession is a client service-oriented profession, and the bad experience you had is a prime example of why I never allow anyone but me or my business partner to check a dog in or out, or communicate to our clients. We have to 'know' hair to be really good as well. I will only recommend 'shaving' an undercoated breed of dog as a last resort, and really hate to do it even when clients request it. There have been cases of packed undercoat where, when allowed to stay in the coat through lots of rain, left us no choice but to clip it out. That's not the case, though, usually. We have really good tools (the proper shampoo, conditioner, dryers and brushes) and know how to use them.
One thing I can say (with pride) is that before a sheltie leaves my spa, I make sure that I can get a wide tooth comb through every hair. This is what makes us stand out from other groomers who brush the coat out on top and let the owner think they did a thorough job. The groomers you visited may have offered shaving to make their job easier, or it just may have been they didn't know any better. Shame on them either way.
So...I guess I'm trying to say please don't give up on ALL groomers just because this particular one failed to treat you as they should have.

Great post Janet. I would be thrilled to take my dogs to your spa!

 

[Love My Zons]

Janet in no way am I speaking of all groomers. I'd take him to you in a heartbeat if you were nearby.

This experience in itself honestly made me realize that he's mine to care for down to the grooming. My responsibility that he be taken care of by me. Since I am not new to taking care of this breed, him being my second yesterday's experience made me realize that I need to do him period.

What kills me the most were the insults in how I was spoken to as well as their peception. I guess I can look at it as them not having much experience with Shelties. Anyone familiar would know of their double coat and incredible amount of undercoat when they start to blow their coats.

Yes Pat, I got home was in the house maybe 5 mins and started to rethink of the conversation. I started to get so mad, I grabbed my phone called and jumped back in the car to go get him.

 

[Gen120]

wow, such pretty dogs! Sounds like they were being rude and unfair to you

 

[BamaBirdMom]

Janet in no way am I speaking of all groomers. I'd take him to you in a heartbeat if you were nearby.

This experience in itself honestly made me realize that he's mine to care for down to the grooming. My responsibility that he be taken care of by me. Since I am not new to taking care of this breed, him being my second yesterday's experience made me realize that I need to do him period.

What kills me the most were the insults in how I was spoken to as well as their peception. I guess I can look at it as them not having much experience with Shelties. Anyone familiar would know of their double coat and incredible amount of undercoat when they start to blow their coats.

Yes Pat, I got home was in the house maybe 5 mins and started to rethink of the conversation. I started to get so mad, I grabbed my phone called and jumped back in the car to go get him.

The fact that we care so much about our clients as well as their pets is why our business had a 50 percent growth in our third year of being open in our present location. Many of them consider us as friends, and stick around to chat when they pick up their dog.
I am a business (people) person first and a groomer second (meaning I know the importance of good client service). So many times when teaching grooming school, the students would say they wanted to be groomers because they 'love animals more than people'. They had very little people skills and had no desire to learn. Those people will never be more than mildly successful as business owners until they learn that every client's identity is linked with their pet's to a certain extent.
Claire, you are right to feel you should never have been treated they way you were, and I'm glad you went back to make them aware.
We are so very grateful for every client who walks in our door. I feel that the relationship we have with them should be one of mutual respect; if a dog comes in that is going to require more work than we anticipated, the first rule is not to make the client defensive by making them feel bad. We simply show them what needs to be done, are honest about the effort and time it will take, assure them that we will put their 'babie's' comfort first, and give them a fair price estimate.

I'm not trying to defend other grooming salons by writing this..I'm so passionate about what it takes to do things right and treat people right, and it just irritates me to hear of experiences like this.

 

[Aleu]

I guess that grooming place has never seen a pelted coat (when the fur comes off all in one piece). I've seen much MUCH worse on labrador/poodle mixes. Shelties just have coarse fur (mostly near their rear) that a good dryer and brushing would take care of in a jiffy after a nice sudsy bath

 

[Love My Zons]

Janet, I chalk it up to them having no experience and as you say lack of the business side of it. As for me with business comes the ethical side (what is good for all) There was none of that here, the might dollar mentioned first and secondly to a 'guess' at his condition. By seeing how thick his coat appeared to the feel of how thick one would assume who didn't know that it was all matted.

I have been around shops before we did grooming where I worked as a younger 20's and I will say I have seen dogs come in and be like "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT??" I am talking Poodles that had so much eye gunk and hair it was gross. To where you'd shave and it looked like an entire dog that came off with one connected piece.
I would never assume any others are like this. This is just one experience of this place. I am sure if this is how they are, they won't be around much. And if they dogs that they want to do are the tiny ones like Yorkies and Shiz Tzu's well that's great. I remember the Chows that would be $60-65 grooms 20 something years back. I guess $35 little dogs is the way to go, meaning do more of them to make up what you could on a bigger one?

I don't know, not my business but I would assume that dog grooming is that, all breeds even mutts.