[LunarBerry]

I feel blessed I kind of personally know my groomer, she knows my brother and some co-workers and me at least since high school. When I considered my furbaby's first groomer, I went with her even though I gotten a "puppy kit", which is really a coupon booklet from petsmart, and it had a free grooming session. I never used it and went with my first choice. Never regretted it.
I wanted to go with someone I not only trust, but also have a decent confidence in their skill and also someone that my little Kimchi will trust and be happy to go to. I also want to keep to the same person because I want my baby to feel comfortable with a friend. Also everytime I bring my little Kimchi to her salon, she gets all happy and shakes up her little carrier when we enter (I've never seen any other dogs do this when going to the groomers). Just knowing my little baby gets excited makes me happy ^_^, which to me is worth it, even with non-perfect haircuts. Also, at this point, they all know us just by her name (which is unique there, lol). Sorry I digress a tad ^^;;
So in a nutshell, go with not only your instinct, but also pay attention to your new furbaby's reactions to the groomers (if at first, allow for the first few times, to see. But otherwise, just keep note of their behavior). This is important, because they can give signals if they are happy or scared when they go to the groomers (or certain ones, at least). It's important to find a good compatible groomer for your furbaby for a happy match. I always take my girl once a month to the groomer (in between, I'll do some minor grooming myself). So keeping a consistent schedule will help spot any behavioral changes.