Firsr experience with a groomer. GRRR...is this normal?
 

Atticus had an appt for his first grooming today. I was nervous (perhaps because of my own bad haircut experiences) so I went to place recommended to me, a place that supposedly specializes in toy breeds. When I dropped Atticus off at 10am I asked when he would be done. The young girl behind the counter said, Well, we have a lot of dogs here right now so it will be 4 hours". I expressed concern about the length of time and she said that often they were done sooner and that I would get a call. I told her that in that case I would not go home but do some work at a nearby coffee shop. (I live about 35 min from the groomer and had brought work with me). She took down instructions as to what I wanted done and I left. I called the groomer soon after leaving and asked if they provided water. I was concerned because Atticus gets dehydrated if he goes too long without water and I was nervous. They assured me that he would be given water. (and maybe they did)

After 4 hours of working in the coffee shop, I called to see if Atticus was ready to be picked up. The girl on the other end of the phone informed me that he was NEXT to be on the cutting table. ME: you haven't started yet? HER: no, but he is next. he'll be done around 3:30. ME: It takes and hour and 1/2? HER: well, yes, it's a delicate process. ME: Don't bother cutting him. I can't wait another hour and 1/2. HER: Are you sure? ME: Yes. HER: well, he's been shampooed and blown and nails done... ME: I'll pay you for what you've done and I'll be there to pick him up soon.

I was very calm and polite.

I arrived 15 minutes later. The girl behind the counter told me to wait one minute and disappeared. Behind the swinging door, I heard her say, "Do you want to talk to her?" The young girl re-emerged and told me that Atticus would be right out and that he did get a little bit cut since I called. 5 minutes later, out comes a lady who tells me that she was sent by the owner to tell me that she is sorry and that if (and they hope I will) return again to ask for Wendy or Susan and Atticus will be in and out, that the groomer Atticus had today is only part-time and slow (thanks for that info!). I told her that I would not be returning. Another 5 minutes later, a different lady comes out with a trimmed up Atticus. She apologized and told me that she did not know I was on a tight time schedule. She says she was able to give him a proper cut anyway. I just nodded and took my very-happy-to-see-me baby.

Then the girl behind the counter said, "We are only going to charge you $38.00." I asked how much it would normally be. She said $45.00. I paid and left. Once in the car, I got a better look at Atticus who had short crop on the top of his head and a long flowing beard like Gandalf. It wasn't working for me. I took him back and said, "Since I'm paying $38.00 could you please take off a couple of inches off of his chin?" They did so.

Shortly after leaving, Atticus started softly crying. I offered him a cup of water that I had in the car. He WAS SOO THIRSTY!! :eek:

Sorry this is so long. I just needed to vent.
I am so disillusioned.:(:mad:

I think for the most part most groomers keep them a few hours. Honestly I didn't care for how things went at the groomers so I learned to groom myself.

So far I've taken my yr old Yorkie to a groomer about 6 times and she's been great. She too was recommended to me by our trainer. He is usually in and out in 2 hrs. I always get a call 15 mins before he's ready, and they will do whatever I ask them to. At first, he was quite skittish and she said it was hard to do certain things, like clean his pads. She told me to touch them to get him used to it and he's much better now, though he is still very very very happy to see us when we return. He is always given a bowl of water and a treat as well. I must say, however, after reading horror stories on this site, I am a bit wary of groomers now, even the good ones. I would love to groom my dog but I don't think I have the knowlege or confidence to use sharp tools. Can anyone recommend how to learn to groom a dog?:animal-pa

What a nightmare!!
 

I am so sorry this happened to you.

I have the same misgivings about sending Cooper to the groomer. I have been a Hairdresser for 40 years. I have only had a few experiences with customers like that in those years.... I mean a VERY few. I could count them on one hand... I learned at a tender young age No matter how busy you are you LISTEN to you customer they are always right... They are your bread and butter and word of mouth is the best advertising. If they don't come back and bad mouth you all over town your reputation is shot....I can't believe she charged you!!!
I hope you didn't tip her.

I Cut my own hair. I have only been to a salon a few times. I didn't even let the girls who worked for me cut my hair... Pretty anal huh?? LOL

I haven't tried to trim Cooper. Mainly because he won't sit still for me.
It is all I can do to give him a bath...LOL
I take our old dog (she is a 16 yr.old beagle) to the groomer in our town but she just clips her down and washes her up nice. Not fancy just clean.
But some day I will get brave. I will be doing my homework and making sure that I am comfortable with who ever I take Cooper to.

So sorry for your bad experience.

Atticus is pretty mellow. He loves when I groom him. I'm terrified to cut his hair, but now I am willing to give it a try, for sure. Please let me know if you figure out the best way to learn.

Thanks for the hugs and for sharing your personal misgivings and experiences. It sure helps to know that I'm not alone.

And, nope. I did not tip.

My first (and only!) experience with a groomer was not a good one either...I had a mobile groomer...to cut a long story short..she bathed her without conditioning her coat then proceeded to try and comb through her hair..ouch!:eek: condition the coat then the comb will GLIDE through DUH!:rolleyes: poor Pixie was NOT happy..she didn't like being dried under the dryer but at home she will happily sit on my lap and be dried with no fuss..she then attempted to cut her hair..which was nightmare! I can manage trim away at Pixie's hair with little or no fuss....I think I will be doing all my grooming at home from now on.;) I may even look into doing a course sometime too.

Kezza where does one take a course on grooming? Do you know?:animal-pa

Poor baby. Glad he is home. I groom my own since I can't afford 4 going to the groomers. I have taken Cali a few times to a lady who use to show Yorkies and knows what I want but I am still nervous when she is there. If you don't want to groom him yourself, I would all around and find someone who will do him start to finish and be done in a couple of hours.

well..I'm in the UK..but i'm pretty sure I could find one through my local college.

but..just to add..there are some pretty good grooming DVD's out...i'm going to get myself a couple..

The three times I've taken Selah to different groomers I've had bad experiences- well, the third time wasn't bad, just more than I can afford! So, I bought a pair of clippers, some good scissors, and just trim her up myself here and there. Of course, I'm not too particular about her being perfectly balanced- she never holds still long enough for anyone to notice anyway- and I just cut little bits at a time till I like it. It always grows back if its horrible! I know there are supposed to be some good DVD's out there, but I just don't have the time right now for that, but hopefully it will work for you. I've just found some success with trial and error, and will just take Selah to that good but expensive groomer once or twice a year for a good do-over.

update
 

This saga continues to worsen. My husband and daughter just arrived home from work. They think Atticus looks ridiculous. I was trying to be positive, but, they're right. He does. sigh.Thank goodness hair grows back! :(

I also do my own grooming. I spend my Sunday mornings bathing and brushing out 5 dogs plus puppies when I have them.

Hi Bonnielynn. I groom My Yorkie myself since she doesnt have that much hair, but I do take my Shihtzu cross to the groomer as she has a tonne of hair .Tia is on average at the groomers for 4 hours sometimes a little longer if they are really busy , so that length of time is not unusual for a grooming parlour.If little atticus is not use to going to a groomer he would be a little stressed,but this will get better the more often he goes.It sounds like this shop cares how you feel and would like to keep you as a client. If you are not ready to groom atticus yourself just yet I would give them another chance.The first time I took Tia to the groomers I was surprised at how long it took, now I dont worry about it,and my groomer does an amazing job on Tia ( she hand scissor the legs and feet ) .I had to take Tia to a different shop once and they had her in and out in an hour and a half and what a chop job they did! oh my god ! it took months for the hair to grow out so that Shelly my regular groomer could get it all even again.Well Im rambling on here....so dont feel bad ,atticus will be fine, and if it was me I'd give the shop another chance:)
Eileen

Sam has had a few bad haircuts...it gets pretty disappointing after awhile..

Nothing beats doing your own grooming.

i have been very lucky i guess. I have only had one groomer in 2 yrs. Bella actually ran to the door today to see her friends at the groomers.
She is wild on the table but has calmed alot. The groomer has made a slip here and there but very little slips. I think all of them is because bella jerked away. Most have not been easy to see. She always calls me herself to give me a report. I will stick with her for now.
I think if I had repeat bad experiences it I would do it myself too.:rolleyes:

I absolutely love my groomer. He doesn't keep my baby all day, but rather have me bring him in when he's ready for him. It takes less than an hour and a half, and the best part, he brings him out to my car. I wish you lived in Burbank :) Is the place your going to a chain like Petco or Petsmart?

Thanks, Eileen, for your words of kindness. I wouldn't have had such a hard time with the 4 hours had they communicated that it could be 5 and 1/2 hours. I would have found another place if that had been the case. I'm glad I picked him up when I did. I don't think he had anything to drink while he was there. I am also baffled as to why the went ahead and cut him hastily when they knew that I was on my way and was going to pick him up uncut. And, last but not least, I may have given them another chance had they not charged me $38.00 for a 15 min rush job. I'm afraid they lost my business.

Bonnielynn, I understand how you feel. I hear so many bad hair cut stories and had one myself ! I guess I'm lucky to have a good groomer now!
Eileen

Wow. Your groomer sounds lovely. No, the place is not a chain.

I got the scissors out last night to try to fix the problem.They cut his head and feet and tail but did not touch his body (which was the primary reason I brought him in; he was uneven from his pre-op neutering shave). It was either do it myself or pay someone else another 30+ bucks. I have no idea what I did, but he looks a lot better today. :)

Way to take the plunge! I'm sure you'll feel more comfortable with it the more you do it.

That is insane.. Hes a little dog.. I can see a golden or a standard poodle possibly being 4 hours but a yorkie!!! No way. I get my yorkies done in 2 hours at the most. On a really busy crazy day 3 hours at the absolute most

I know. That's how I feel. And Atticus is pretty easy going. But when he got neutered, he was at the vet for less than 6 hours. I dropped him off at 8 and by 2pm they called and wanted him picked up and brought home as soon as possible. They new he would be less stressed and more comfortable. I appreciated so much their sensitivity.

Hi guys I guess I can give an 'insiders view' as a dog groomer. Like hairdressers and every other profession there are good and bad, and we all do things a little differently.

In my shop we schedule dogs by a 'revolving door', meaning we book dogs so they are there one on one, when I say your appt is at 1pm, your dog is normally started at 1:05pm no later...
For a REALLY well behaved yorkie (my own for example...) I can bath in 5 mins with a bathing beauty (hand held hydro massage machine, gets them cleaner then scrubbing with my fingers), dry time can be up to 20 mins, clipping and scissoring is around 30 mins...so they are often out the door within an hour ...

BUT!!! Give me a puppy and things can be different...when I have a puppy they may be VERY nervous in the salon, so I like to finish the groom of another dog while they are in a kennel at eye leverl, watching another older dog being groomed...sometimes they will see how calm we and the other dog is and try to follow that...5-10 mins later i will start.

With puppies some are docile as can be but MANY are wildcats!!! Especially yorkie pups (not all but the majority are)!

So we take the bath really slow, showing them the water doesn't hurt, soft voices, we go SLOW...a 5 min bath for a good yorkie can be up to 20 mins with a newbie/baby.

Drying is slow with a puppies too, trying to show them how to stand properly, lots of praise, drying is started with the softest and quietest dryers (which means SLOWER drying time)...I try to teach them that is does not hurt, as they get more comfortable we are able to up the leverl of drying (speed and noise) but that can take months...So drying can be 40+mins...

Clippers are placed on the table with no blade, we then start running the clippers on them to get them used to the vibration and no blade...this is another 20 mins with some pups...

Actually clippering or scissoring is also SLOW...they are curious, not stadning well and we have to be on our guard and teach them...another 25 mins...

Sometimes a grom is around hours long, sometimes longer to give them breaks. I want them to LIKE me and form a bond of trust. even if they hate grooming, I want to teach them through praise and gentleness that is will NOT hurt...

When Mom arrives we give instructions for home exercises to get their pup more used to grooming.

This costs around $45, price is no lower or higher then an older dog because it is so much work and we lose money on puppies (time is money, we normally charge $40+/hour) but it is the foundation for a relationship really.
I have a pretty good track record that about 95% of the puppies I have groomed since day one are GOOD dogs to groom who give very few problems. They are not scared of grooming, don't like it but know it is over once I get their bow or bandana out...

Now I have worked in another shop where all the dogs came in at 8am, they were all bathed and dried then we started clipping and scissoring...they then went hom in groups of two, some at 1pm and some at 5pm...that shop made MORE money, they could do more dogs due to less distractions and interuptions, very stream lined but they girls made a good profit, their prices were cheaper too.

I like how i work now but I will be changing my scheduling soon, I am due with a baby in 9 weeks and finding I am MUCH slower then i used to be, it is easier for me to have more dogs come at once and bath and groom them with no need to stop go out front every 40 mins or so.
I am also planning on bringing the baby with me to work (I am self emplyed and get no benefits so I need to go back to work within 3-4 weeks) so I will book dogs for the morning, and call people when their dogs are done.

The dogs get water and blankets to lay on while waiting, I work hard and fast as I safely can but in order for me to stay in business and keep working I have to change to this method of scheduling.

It does sound like your groomers tried to please you. Ask about 'express grooming' having him done straight through...

My customers are spoiled:) I have people who will arrive 10 mins late...take 5 mins to decide what they want for a style, then arrive 30 mins later and complain cause I am not done yet:)

Finding a good groomer may take time but call aorund and find out who is willing to work with you.

Thanks, Carla, for taking the time to post such a reply. Sounds like you care very much about your clients and offer them great service. And your inside information provided much insight. However, I was baffled when you added, "It does sound like your groomers tried to please you." After reading your post, I feel even less like the groomer tried to please me. The receptionist knew I was concerned about the time and knew that I would be waiting nearby. She assured me that the longest it would take would be 4 hours. I was charged $38.00 for a 15 minute rush cut that I didn't even want. His entire body was left untouched. If that is trying to please, I'm afraid it falls woefully short for me. I understand now how this particular groomer operates to make more money. It's just not for me. I have no problem paying a little more money for a more client-centered experience. Thanks, again.