To all dog groomers out there...opinions please....?

Question

I groom dogs for a living and I love it! What I don't love is people who treat the grooming shop like a daycare facility. If I tell a client that their dog will be ready for pick up at 1:00, they often do not show up until 3:00-4:00, etc. Once my day is done, I want to leave. Often I habg around for a couple of extra hours because 1 poor dog has not yet been picked up.
I try to tell clients that they need to come within an hour of the dog being ready but I often get stuck...
So...I am considering adding and extra charge if the dog is not picked up within an hour of completion (unless previous arrangements have been made - I am not heartless).
How do you deal with it? I am afraid I am being too accomodating and I am getting fed up now. I have been in business at the same location for the past 5 years and feel that I am being taken advantage of.
Please let me know.
Thanks

Thank-you all for your answers. They are pretty much what I expected. I even expected to be called a "doormat" (believe it or not...I feel like one!!! LOL). The one thing I won't do is kennel a dog overnight at the shop with no supervision. If I had to I would take the dog home and kennel it there. However, fortunately, it has never come down to that.
Part of the problem is that the space I rent is upstairs at a Pet Food Store and they are open until 5:00 so people ASSUME I will hang about. I cannot ask the store owner to look after the dog since it is upstairs and she cannot leave the store unattended as she goes to get him or her. Once in a while she will but it puts a strain on our business relationship.
You all had great answers. Thanks again.

Thank-you all for your answers. They are pretty much what I expected. I even expected to be called a "doormat" (believe it or not...I feel like one!!! LOL). The one thing I won't do is kennel a dog overnight at the shop with no supervision. If I had to I would take the dog home and kennel it there. However, fortunately, it has never come down to that.
Part of the problem is that the space I rent is upstairs at a Pet Food Store and they are open until 5:00 so people ASSUME I will hang about. I cannot ask the store owner to look after the dog since it is upstairs and she cannot leave the store unattended as she goes to get him or her. Once in a while she will but it puts a strain on our business relationship.
You all had great answers. Thanks again.

Answer 1

Sounds familiar. I think this happens at all Grooming shops. It's weird you either get the crazy people who don't like their dogs put in a cage for more than an hour and want it done as soon as they drop it off and call every 30 minutes to see if by chance they dog is done yet or you get the people who like to get a break from their dog for a day and don't care if they sit in a cage all day. Or even worse you get an owner who wants their dog done by 12 noon because they have something important to do so you rush to get their dog done and they pick it up 3 or 4 hours late. Go figure. Sounds like you have a good idea about charging a daycare fee .They did that at a cage free dog resort i used to work at. If they didn't pick up their dog by the check out time of 11 AM they had to pay an extra $35 daycare fee. Even if they were 15 minutes late. Which sucked for me because I'd have to start my day at 6 AM and have 12 or 13 dogs all finished by 11 am with only 2 people. One Bather one groomer or sometimes just me by myself because people are flakes and don't want to show up for work. Talk about stress

Answer 2

I totally understand why you feel you are being used. I think some people do use groomers as a day care while they run their errands, go shopping , etc. Some do not understand the business and just assume you are there all day and open as other businesses.

Where I work, we have posted that we will call when your dog is ready and you must be available to pick up within an hour. we also tell them this. If they work, and are dropping the dog off on their way to work (we have a lot of clients like this) we have a late pick up between 4-6 and if we finish we at 1:00 we leave and have a part=time person who comes back for late pick up and cleaning. Our clients are aware of this.

We offer day care for the ones who just want to leave all day and do charge for this service. If a client does not pick up within an hour after calling, we call once more and advise them we will be charging if they cannot pick up then.

Of course there are emergencies and exceptions and you just work with these people.

Don't let them take advantage of you. Let them know they must be available to pick up or there will be a day care charge.

Have fun. I know this is a great business.

Answer 3

Definitely charge a fee for late dogs unless prior arrangements are made.

If you are closed, I would kennel the dogs over night if not picked up in a certain amount of time. Please have the client sign a waiver prior to doing this. Say you close at 5. You can charge 10 per hour late until 7pm. If no one picks up by 7, the dog is kenneled until the next day and given food and water for the night.

Answer 4

Figure up what you make as an hourly wage, and charge them that for every hour long they take in picking up the dog. Post a polite sign stating that all animals need to be picked up within an hour of the time they are given as a finish time. Unless other arrangements have been make.

I would be tempted even to close my shop at the time you would normally leave, after being sure the animal has been feed and watered and they are in a suitable cage to spend the night in. AND charge them a kennel fee... I would post that as well

Answer 5

My groomer has only TWO pick-up times available:
11AM-NOON and 4PM-5PM. There's no picking up dogs in between. I'd be happy to pick my dog up when she was done, but it's inconvenient for my groomer to deal with customers while she's trying to groom.

Why not try asking clients when they book appointments what time they are able to pick up their dog? I had a groomer who would PICK UP my dog from my home at 7:30 AM, and then keep her until 5PM when I got off work (I miss her!). I understand your frustration, but where I live, most people work during the day (like you do) and have a hard time leaving to go pick up their dogs...discuss this with your problem clients, see what the problem is with picking up at YOUR convenience, and perhaps you'll be able to work out a solution that works for BOTH of you. If not, you may have to drop clients who are chronically late, or unable to abide by your established pick-up times.

For some people, being direct is difficult, but it's YOUR business to run as you wish. Just be upfront when booking appointments on the phone, and you'll likely have little difficulty.

Answer 6

I totally agree with The Queen (I'd be beheaded if I didn't lol) Though I'd have them SIGN something when they drop off their dog so you don't have "Oh I didn't see that" as an excuse when they show up at the end of the day. "I understand that my dog needs to be picked up by (enter time) or I will be charged a $20 per hour kennel fee." or whatever you want to charge.

Answer 7

No, groomers do not sedate canines; they don't look to be authorized to try this. They artwork on fairly some canines and are for this reason savvy to the tricks that some could pull. in basic terms like a instructor in a lecture room has had (or ought to have had) lots journey coping with toddlers and are proof against tricks that persons's toddlers could pull. comparable element with a vet - different than, for sure, they're authorized to furnish drugs. My cutting-edge groomer trims my miniature poodle often by first an throughout trim with the electrical powered razor very gently. Then she bathes him and brushes him out whilst blowing him dry. Then she does greater trimming with the razor and finally finally ends up with scissors around the mushy eye area. to discover a solid groomer, ask your persons who're canines proprietors whom they use (relatively people who very own breeds that are little or no laying off and for this reason want many times happening grooming e.g. poodles, bichon frisces, and so on.) Then once you drop your canines off, clarify to the groomer your concerns approximately her and for sure what you need achieved (e.g. tub & brush, nails trimmed, fur trimmed, and so on.) solid luck!

Answer 8

You could charge by the hour, this way a smaller dog will cost less (bad for you) but if people pick up thier dogs on time you can fit in more bookings (good for you)

Answer 9

I think you should say its going to cost extra, especially if you made to wait there for the people to pick up their dogs, you do have a life AFTER work too! Good luck to you!