To find a new groomer or to not find a new groomer...

[Laura and Angus]

Hey everyone! 

So let me start by saying Angus has always received a really adorable haircut and good grooming when we've gone. I've attached a picture below and he always looks so handsome. My concern instead if with the service at our groomer's "salon." Every time I have called or visited, I've been met with some attitude by our groomer. One time she was somewhat rude when I asked to keep his hair longer and shared that it depends because if he has matts she'll have to shave him and then proceeded to complain about another customer who brought their doodle in all matted and who was upset when they came back shaved. We owned a standard poodle for 15 years, so I understand the process and what happens if the dog is matted and while I might be bummed, would not throw a fit. Second of all, we brush our pup maybe 4 days a week, trim occasionally, clean his ears, brush his teeth, and wash him...so I don't appreciate the insinuation that we wouldn't be taking care of him (this was not our first visit to them). After our previous visit, she had even told me how easy he was to groom because of all the brushing we'd been doing. What the heck! 

This most recent visit, I had a question about the pricing since the price has changed each time I've gone. It turns out that their online pricing menu is not accurate and they were charging me differently since he was still young. But her response to my asking was not very ... favorable. At any rate, I found out that if I ask for clippers then it's much cheaper than if they do hand scissoring - though they have never once asked me what my preference is for that. The other thing is that the last visit I went, his groomer didn't know who he was (okay so we've only gone there maybe 4 times), but she also thought he was a portuguese water dog and was describing the grooming for that and I said he's not a "porty" he's a goldendoodle and she was all, "Oh yeah that's right of course." And frankly, at the daycare where Angus goes, they knew him by the second or third visit...and knew me! I just feel like there's a serious lacking in customer service.

At any rate, I'm now not feeling so warm to the idea of continuing to go to this groomer, but I know that it can be very hard to find a groomer who does a good job and I've seen so many horror stories. What do you all think? I figured I'd get my fellow DK-ers opinions...

Thanks in advance!

[Marie Dennen]

Just to play devil's advocate and give some perspective on the groomer's point of view. As a general rule groomers are very leary of doodle owners. Please don't throw things at me, I am just trying to give some perspective. Groomers very much want to please and it is a fact of life you cannot please everyone. There are a lot of factors in grooming. The dog's temperament, coat type, tolerance to being handled, condition of coat, frequency of grooming, customers being late, customers not showing up, customers negotiating price down, customers wanting services for free, customers claiming foul and countless other things going on. It is an emotionally and physically taxing job. While these things may not apply to you  specifically, some groomers are out there handling this all with a smile on their face. If the groomer was a little "edgy" so to speak, it just may be something to think about. The absolute worst customer interaction I ever had was with a doodle owner. I spent almost a half an hour with her explaining what I was going to do, demonstrated with a comb and brush how badly matted the dog was and I was going to have to shave it. I physically showed her the length it would be. She smiled, nodded, verbalized she understood several times, signed my waiver and still had an enormous fit when she picked up. Thank God I documented everything, from the waiver, pictures, I saved the pelt , wrote a narrative of what I explained on the waiver. It made me 'gun shy'  of doodle owners for a very long time. I went so far as to limit my new doodle customers for a long time as well. To this day I cover my bases with doodle owners. Some get a repeated lecture on the importance of combing and brushing whether they like it or not. For every grooming horror story there is another side to the story.

[Laura and Angus]

Marie: I totally and completely understand your perspective. I do not want to do the full grooming with my own dog because it's certainly hard work and there are just things I don't know how to do properly that I'd prefer to leave to a trained professional. However, in any customer service job you have to deal with the customers. It's sucky because there are a lot of terrible people out there who are rude and ridiculous (I was a waitress for a few years - just awful). However, the other aspect of customer service is to treat your new customers respectfully, so that you can have repeat customers to your business. I agree that being "edgy" makes sense because sometimes we are all frustrated with our jobs and can be "edgy." However, "edgy" is not the same as being rude every time someone comes in for a grooming. If she's not comfortable grooming a certain type of dog (and I get that doodles are hyper, fidgety, and hairy) - perhaps she should not be the one taking his appointments. I honestly suspected that maybe she just doesn't like Angus cuz he's wiggly --- but maybe not since she didn't even remember him the last time I was there?

The lecturing each time makes sense to me if each time a person comes in their dog is a mess. Our dog gets brushed several times a week, washed every 2 weeks, and has his ears, teeth, and eyes cleaned regularly. She has even complimented me after 2 grooming appointments saying that we did a great job with brushing because there was no matting. I just don't know if I can continue to feel comfortable with this grooming place...

[Marie Dennen]

Understandable. If the groomer does have attitude, the attitude adjustment may be in the form of losing a customer. There is always a balancing act of giving good customer care and being a doormat. But I don't think people realize it's as hard as it is. Sometimes it comes down to a personality thing and who you feel comfortable with. Years back I worked with a groomer who I was always surprised had a loyal following. She really was not a very good groomer skill wise. I don't mean to be unkind but a lot of her grooms were awful. Uneven, breed patterns horribly incorrect, sometimes dogs were not combed out completely. She just was just inconsistent, because occasionally she did put out some nice ones, so it wasn't that she was totally incapable. Who knows? Maybe she had a lot going on in her head that kept her from doing it all the time. But that lady did have some loyal customers and I think it boiled down to people felt comfortable with her for other reasons. I would check how busy they are. If they are doing nice grooms and the dog is happy as  the dog is the customer too , they fill up fast. I have lost people for one reason or another and a lot of times they come back. I did reach a point in my career where I stopped taking new people. A lot of the good groomers are  like that. So it may pay to stick with her for a while.

[Laura and Angus]

Thank you so much for your honest thoughts and experiences! Having heard your perspective (and others' as well), I think that perhaps she's overwhelmed and maybe it's also a clash of personality as you mentioned. I really do appreciate how nicely groomed Angus looks when we pick him up. And while he certainly drags me out to the car to go home, he doesn't seem overtly scared or upset. We'll try a few more times, I think - going to have Angus shaved down for summer, so we'll see how that goes. Thanks again!

[Teresa Joyce]

Laura,

From a good groomer's perspective- your dog is our client. You pay the bill, however our focus and interest of well being is on your dog. Truly, if you have a groomer that is more concerned with the comfort and the well being of your boy than anything else  what more do you want? Have I been labeled as loving dogs more than people, YES, that's what makes me a great groomer.  The experience is about your dog - I have a sign on my wall that reads "a dog's tail never lies"  isn't that what we all really want???  I take on dogs that I would prefer not to take because I believe I can provide the best experience for them, deaf, blind, deaf and blind,  biters, groomer fear, etc - at a loss just to make sure that they don't end up in a non caring salon  :( to to your reply to Marie

[Laura and Angus]

Theresa, thank you for your response. I definitely appreciate hearing the groomer ' perspective. The tough thing for me is that Angus can't talk. If he's being mistreated there he can't tell me. While he doesn't not appear visibly 'scared' to go in to the salon it is something that concerns me greatly. When I am treated poorly by someone, I worry that HE is treated poorly by them too. Now you are correct that this very well may not be the case, but I just can't tell with this groomer. Now at his daycare I can tell they enjoy his visits and are happy to see him. Do you have any suggestions as to how to ensure he's being treated well?

I think it also upsets me to not be treated kindly because I always treat others with kindness and respect and frankly it doesn't feel good when people are mean or rude to you :(