
You’d be lucky to find a pet groomer who can still do a classic Poodle trim.
I had another demoralizing experience a few weeks ago. I guess what made it worse was that I was hoping for a better experience.
I’ve been looking for part-time work because, where I work now, they can’t get me enough work. We are working out the ‘bugs in the system’, because originally, they didn’t want to pay me to groom dogs that were getting ‘just baths’. To most groomers, it is never ‘just a bath’, and we make money on the dogs we don’t clip, but that is not what this is about.
The kennel owner has been training dogs for over decade, and although she provides dog daycare, she is one of the few that does not run huge packs of dogs, and knows that most dogs coming into her business really need more training.
She told me that she knew nothing about grooming, and didn’t even know how to bathe a dog, but that her groomer was overwhelmed—-booked at least two weeks out (doing about 8 dogs a day), and she needed more help. She was even thinking of quitting. The kennel owner was having a terrible time finding a groomer. She called all the grooming schools, and people weren’t showing up for interviews, or would groom for a day and not show up again.
Her set up was ok. She had adequate dryers and tables, and a good tub. She showed me her appointments, and was, indeed, booked two weeks out. I asked what she was charging for a small dog. She told m $45. I said, “That is pretty low, and you really can’t raise your prices over 10%.” She was not averse to raising prices—or so she told me. In fact, she wanted to open a school for dog daycare providers, and asked me if I had eve trained anyone to groom. I told her I had, but you can’t train a person to have an aesthetic eye, and that’s the problem with for profit vocational schools. She, again, told me she knew nothing about grooming, but felt she had to start looking for people to train. I told her I could come in on Wednesday, and to start me with six dogs and we’d see how it goes. The kennel was a bit less than 30 miles from where I live, so it was nice that I could bring my dogs.

A dog I groomed when I worked (briefly) for Pet Supplies Plus. The dog’s owner was over joyed, but I got fired for wearing a scarf.
In any case, I showed up at 8:00a.m., and the other groomer was already there and grooming. She had the computer print -out of our appointments, and I saw I had eight (not six) dogs. I thought that was a bit much, and the other groomer thought so, too, but, as she pointed out to me, the owner and kennel manager decided this. The other groomer always told them no more than six and they always overbooked her. I asked about the shampoo, as the owner told the groomer always diluted shampoo first thing. Well, not exactly. Making it up as I went wasn’t he most irritating thing. Not being able to regulate the water tempeture was the most irritating. I do like to have everything ready at the start of the day,but there were other irritations.
The other groomer had been at this job for 10 years. I asked her why she hadn’t suggested raising prices, and she said she had, but some people refused an increase, so the owner let them get away with the old price—a price that hadn’t gone up in at least five years, and was low even then. In fact, their whole fee schedule made no sense. A small dog, full grooming, was $45, but a ‘bath & touch up was …$40? a Siberian Husky was $45—and that is really just a bath and blow-out, but a Golden Retrieve was $35 + $15 for the nail trim. A nail trim takes less than five minutes, but a Golden Retrieve bath, blow out, and neatening will take at least as long as any small dog that needs scissoring, so….? Yes, the groomer said, but the kennel manager & owner—who do not do her job, told her she wanted too much. I knew I would have to ask for 60% to take this job.
Now, I am getting the lay of the land, and I am called down stairs to talk to a client. The new client were referred by a relative who has their Golden Retrieve shaved, and they want their Golden Retrieve shaved like that. The ‘new’dog is 11-years-old, and never has had a professional bath, let alone had a clipper taken to it. Not good. I said to these people, “I have to be honest with you. I am not sure I can do this, and were he my dog, I would not. It is a matter of integrity for me to tell you he will not be cooler, he will not shed less, and it will not look good. If he’s not used to the vibration of the clipper, he might not let me do this.” They looked at each other and then to me, and, yes, they wanted this 11-year-old dog shaved because they liked the way the other dog looked.
So much stress. The reception area was crowded with other clients, so there was no sense addressing clipper alopecia, and the business owner’s husband, who was at the reception desk, did not say anything. One of the kennel staff had to carry the dog upstairs to the grooming area (later, I heard the owner say the dog does stairs at home, so they didn”t understand what the problem was. What the problem was…was a scared dog). I had to get more cooperative dogs started, so it was about noon before I could start this old dog. He was actually in good shape, but he had no idea what was happening. I needed someone to hold the dog on the table, as he would not stand. The other groomer had to text kennel staff (there is no intercom), and a guy comes up and tells us he’s on lunch break. Huh? So why not send someone NOT on break? About 20 minutes later a girl comes up, and I get the dog out of a kennel and have to ask her to lift the dog and hold the dog up while I do nails, sanitary, and get some hair off. Then she held the dog up in the tub for me (where, by the way, we never got hot water as we could not regulate the temperature), then helped me get the dog into a crate to dry. So this dog (mind you, at the most, a $60 fee in most places, and the business owner is charging $50) is a two person job. The kennel is losing money on this dog. I asked the girl to return in about 20 minutes so we can finish the dog. Meanwhile, the kennel manager came up to ask how I am doing and if anyone is ready to go home. I ask her to send someone up to help with this old dog, who will not stand for grooming. After 10 minutes, the other groomer texts downstairs—again, and about 20 minutes after that, a young man comes up. I ask him to get the dog, and he starts futzing around with a kennel leash, so I get the dog, ask him to put the dog on the table and hold the dog up while I shave the dog. While he’s holding the dog for me, he actually texts someone.
The other groomer uses a very long blade on the other Golden, because the dog has clipper alopecia, and now has a very soft, sparse, fuzzy coat. The long blade is not doing it for this dog, so I use a shorter blade. It looks decent, but not good. Choppy. Meanwhile, the other groomer tells me she actually likes grooming, she is just sick of these people. She is very disrespected. They have not raised prices, they’ve taken her dustpan and they don’t have a shop-vac. Our garbage cans are way too small, and she feels she has options to get a job with less stress. I tell her I can’t return unless they pay a higher per centage, but I also asked her how often she sees the kennel owner, as the kennel owner has not come up to talk to me or given me any paperwork.
I am finished with my eight dogs about 2:30. I went to reception to tell them I am finished. The owner is in the training hall with the kennel manager and her husband. She smiles at me but doesn’t say anything, and leaves out another door with a dog. The husband sits down at the front desk and starts rifling through a drawer. I say, “You know, Katy didn’t give me any paperwork.”
He hesitates, and finally says, “Yes, well, we are parting company. We didn’t like some of the things that went on here today.” Interesting. Nobody came upstairs to say anything to me. Except the kennel manager to ask how I was doing, and I said, “I am a bit overwhelmed.” Several years back, I took a job where I was told I would get seven dogs a day, but the bather would bathe my dogs. That never happened due to the dynamics of the shop. Within two weeks of my starting, a groomer who had been at the shop over 22 years came in one day and took all her stuff—-quitting, but never said anything to management…and suddenly I had nine dogs to groom a day. I told the practice manager it was too much, and she told me to do my best. Then, I was getting ten and 11 dogs a day, and I continued to tell her I could not do a good job on that many dogs. I worked for about eight weeks, from 8:00 until often after 4:30 p.m. One day, she calls me over to tell me she has to let me go—she is getting too many complaints! But give me just seven dogs, and have the bather bathe my dogs? Not happening.
So what didn’t the owner’s husband not like? That I tried to dissuade the people with the Golden from getting the dog’s hair cut! “Now, I know that Goldens are not supposed to be shaved, but…” he says. It’s a money thing. I was—again—in a no-win situation.”That dog was 11 years old! it was a matter of integrity to suggest they not do this. Did they like the way the dog looked?” “I don’t know,” he replied.
What pisses me off was that his wife—the kennel owner—didn’t have the integrity to tell the owners of the dog this was not ethical, and she didn’t have the integrity to talk to me about it, although she had all day. She had her husband—a person I had never met…do it. Yet, she is going to bring integrity and professionalism to pet services. And she wonders why she can’t find a groomer.
We had an unpleasant email exchange, where she accused me of doing a bad job on purpose, and also claimed I cut the dog & she had to pay the veterinary bill & refund the grooming fee. She actually never saw the dog. she also told me the other groomer was quitting because of an injury. clearly, the other groomer needs a reference, and won’t tell the owner the truth.
Here’s what another groomer blogged about, recently: https://poodlequeen.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/where-have-all-the-groomers-gone/
I can’t imagine how someone who has never even groomed their own dog thinks they will just be able to hire a groomer, with no thought about equipment, how long a grooming takes, or what a fair fee for a job is…but this is the direction my industry is heading.