Hi de Hi Campers!
This week's rant may well end up being a long one. Forget the cuppa - grab a bottle - is it too early for gin?
If I had a paper diary and wrote in it in pencil, I can guarantee that the last two weeks pages would be tissue-paper-thin from the amount of rubbing out I would've done re-organising appointments.
I know, these are strange times. I TOTALLY get it that some lucky customers have been able to get away for an unexpected break or extend their expected ones and I thank those that have had the decency to let me know that this was the case so I could reshuffle their appointments in the diary. HOWEVER...
There have been a number of clients who are becoming, shall we say, a little "cavalier" with their timekeeping. Arriving early is as inconvenient or dangerous as arriving late - and here's why...
Like most groomers, I work on a very tight time schedule. I need every minute of the three hours your dog is with me to complete the groom. Allow me to elaborate by starting with the fact that the appointment cannot start until the 2nd dog has arrived...
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Like decorating, the most vital part of any groom is the preparation.
- 10 minutes each dog in the appropriate Wildwash natural shampoo (total 20 min soak)
- Tear stain removal and / or facial scrub
- Ear cleaning
- A thorough rinse with fresh water
- 15 minutes Oxygen Bubble Generator rinse with conditioner
- Soothing warm Essential Oil infused chamois wraps
- Ultrasound teeth treatment
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At this point we're one hour into the appointment with two wet dogs. Drying each dog takes another 10-15 minutes. The dog with the quickest to dry coat will go into the drying cabinet straight after blasting leaving me 10 minutes to dry the 2nd dog with the blaster. It then goes (damp) into the drying cabinet to finish off the drying process while dog 1, who has had a nice little break, gets his turn on the table. I allow 45 minutes per dog to clip pads and sanitary, do their nails and ears then clip or scissor them to a perfect finish.
The styling always starts with the right rear leg and I work around the dog doing all four legs and the body. Then I balance the head and muzzle and tail to the rest of the groom. This always involves scissors that are extremely sharp and are operated near vital organs like eyes, ears and other extremely sensitive vital organs. Each groomer will have their own "pattern" of grooming which the dog will learn. That's why "groomer hopping" isn't a good idea for the dog, they appreciate routine, not change.
A dog well used to this process will stand fairly still for the entire procedure. Puppies, naturally take more time and more patience to groom than a trained adult and therefore should cost more to groom as they undoubtedly take longer and require more skill.
Once the dog is completed, he or she is popped into the crate to snooze and I start (and finish) dog no. 2.
However, this all goes horribly wrong when my timing is interfered with. The client who arrives 15 minutes late who then proceeds to try to tell me about the inevitable catastrophe that caused their failure to arrive on time has now taken 20 minutes out of the styling part of their dog's groom. Remember, there were only 45 minutes to grind at least 20 nails, carefully clip all the pads and do the sanitary (none of which can be skipped) before I can style the dog. Working at that pace is stressful for me and therefore both unfair and stressful for the dogs.
Perhaps even worse than the late starter, is having someone ignore the NOT READY sign on the door who arrives 15 minutes early and proceeds to ring the doorbell or rap sharply on the window. Really, at that point, the groom has to stop for the safety of the dog on the table. Those seemingly insignificant 15 minutes actually represent a full third of the time spent styling the dog. My dogs will alert the whole world that someone is hovering on the doorstep, undoubtedly looking shifty and probably going to steal either the skip or the rosemary bush, and that, in turn, wakes Dog No 1 who was fast asleep in the crate. They will, of course, start to get really excited that mummy or daddy has turned up (even if it's the wrong mummy or daddy) and start whizzing around in the crate. If I'm really lucky, it will be a relaxed, adult, housetrained dog. If I'm not, the geriatric golden oldie or young pupster will pee and or poop with excitement ... and whizz round and round in it. Meanwhile, the dog on the table is now merrily doing Riverdance impressions and yes, you got it, the only bits left to finish are the head - with those delicate organs that don't dance so well with sharp scissors and the tail which is now fiercely whipping from side to side in unbridled joy.
So, lets please reiterate the house rules which are there for both my sanity and your dog's safety:
- Start times are 9 am and 1 pm in the summertime and pickups are 12 pm and 4 pm. When the clocks do their thing, the afternoon shift starts at 2 pm and finishes at 5 pm. Interruptions within those windows, for any reason, (unless the house is burning down) are not appreciated.
- Phone calls within those windows will largely be ignored, voicemails will be answered at the end of the day, but text or WhatsApp me and I'll get back to you as soon as I get a convenient break.
- If you have an appointment that will interfere with your arrival or pick up time let me know and I'll either:
- rearrange your appointment for another day
- take your dog in early
- keep it late.
- what I can't and won't do is let that interrupt my 3-hour window to do a perfect job.
- Everyone gets an email two days before their appointment sent automatically from the system to remind them. Normally this is also backed up with an SMS text message. Do not reply to the text message. It comes from the system and any replies float off into the ether, never to be seen again. If you need to let me know of a change use this email: Katie@CentreStageDogGrooming.co.uk or WhatsApp/Text me on 07767 341424
- Clients who no-show their appointments will be charged in full because sadly I can't pay for my groceries with their apologies, no matter how sincere or valid they were.
- New clients will be invoiced prior to their appointment which will be confirmed upon receipt of payment.
Regular ad-hocs can prepay their appointment so that someone else can pick up their dog for them if needs be, that being one of the major benefits of the VIP scheme; they can always get someone else to pick up as their payments are already sorted.
New date for Teeth and Nails - Tuesday 28th September
The joyful news, however, is that the client who inspired this rant has had all of their double appointments removed from the diary, one of which coincided with a double free on Tuesday 28th September.
This will now be the Teeth and Nails day that Natasha, Fiona and Ruth were after - I'm hoping there is enough notice for you to be able to alter your diaries to attend. Appts start at 9 am and run every 45 minutes throughout the day.
Ultrasound teeth cleaning sessions are £42.00 and nail grinding is £16.
Dog Food
If you let me know what you'd like to collect I will have it ready for you at pick up or drop off or, if you're not having your dog groomed that day, it will be left on the front doorstep for you to pick up at your leisure. You can pop cash in an envelope through the letterbox or pay online but, for all the above-mentioned reasons, please do not ring the doorbell OR rap on the window (which is probably even worse). I have several clients who have the same number of tubs every month and have set up a VIP scheme for them too - it makes the collection extremely easy for all concerned.
... and finally (!!)
Ear Cleaner
That fantastic Wildwash Ear Cleaner has arrived. It's £25 for 300 mls and £20 for a 300 ml refill. Please let me know if I need to put one aside for you - I didn't buy that many bottles this time around.
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These are the signs to look out for by the front door.
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Both dogs are ready - it's safe to ring the bell
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DO NOT RING THE DOORBELL OR RAP ON THE WINDOW
A DOG COULD LOSE ITS EYE.
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This is what the next couple of weeks look like currently.
Free appointments are in yellow text
and the complete list is at the bottom of this section
Monday 6th September
9.00 Ned Maunder and FREE
1.00 Moo Wylie and Cloggy Pelly
Tuesday 7th September
9.00 Daisy Cochrane and Basil Everett
1.00 Zavi Hamilton Andrews and Susie Durose
Wednesday 8th September
9.00 Boris Perry (+ Puppy Intro for Fred) and Macey Player
1.00 Coco Buxton and Enzo Lee
Thursday 9th September
9.00 Evie Attwater and Hopper Hujan
1.00 Florence Jonas and FREE
Friday 10th September
9.00 Oscar Watson (one-one-one)
Monday 13th September
9.00 Reggie Braccetti and Oscar Kirby
1.00 Max Thompson and Truffle Myers
Tuesday 14th September
9.00 Maggie Blundell and Toto Pidgely
1.00 CLOSED
Wednesday 15th September
9.00 Lily and Rolo Durose
1.00 Poppy Bull and Wolfie Buxton
Thursday 14th September
9.00 Nyla Tosh and FREE
1.00 Snoop and Teddy Dye
And the next free appointments are:
Monday 6th Sept 9.00 am
Wednesday 8th Sept 9.00 am
Monday 20th Sept 9.00 am
Tuesday 21 Sept 9.00 am
Wednesday 22 Sept 1.00 pm
Thursday 23rd Sept 1 pm
Monday 27th Sept 9.00 am
Wednesday 29th Sept 9.00 am
Thursday 7th October 2 pm
Monday 11th Oct 2.00 pm
Monday 25th Oct 2.00 pm
Wednesday 27th Oct 9.00 am
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To compare your diary against mine, please click the button above.
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Looking forward to seeing you at your next appointment!
Many thanks and kind regards
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Katie Rourke Dowding
International Certified Master Groomer
T: 01344 291465 M: 07767 341424 E: Katie@CentreStageDogGrooming.co.uk
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