Spoiler alert: I’m going to complain about dog grooming. I know some of you don’t realize what a hot button issue this is, so be prepared.

My dog has hair, not fur, so she doesn’t shed. While this is wonderful for my couch, in reality it means that she needs to have periodic haircuts.

There are a decent amount of groomers in the city, but oddly, I am not a fan of many of them. Awhile back I regaled you with the story of one groomer I met who was incredibly rude. Besides the personality, these appointments are not cheap. So finding a reasonably priced service that does a good job and where the groomer is nice is often a challenge. https://wakinguponthewrongsideof50.com/2021/04/21/yelp/

But I found a place.

One of the things about this establishment is that you are supposed to book your appointments on their app. Well, I think we all know that sometimes apps are better in theory than reality.

Betty needed what is referred to as a “touch up”. This means they bathe and brush her, trim her nails, and trim the hair around her eyes and what they refer to as sanitary (I’ll let you guess what they do). However, the app does not list the touch up as a service. So I call the place and they tell me to book a bath and brush, but put in the comments what she needs trimmed.

Fine. I book bath and brush and enter in the comments, like they said.

When the appointment came, as I dropped Betty off, I repeated what I had listed on the comments.

Of course you know that if I’m writing this, they only did the bath and brush…

The people who work at this salon are really sweet. They are very good with Betty. So I didn’t read them the riot act…

But…

It turns out that no one at the salon read the comments before the appointment, so they scheduled a brand new groomer, to take care of Betty, someone who is only ready to do the bath and brush because they haven’t reached the next level of grooming care- they are apprenticing.

Do I have a right to be annoyed because they didn’t do what I asked them to do? That they didn’t even check the comments, even though that was what I told them to do?

How would you have handled this situation?

45 thoughts on “Grooming”

  1. You have the right to be annoyed when you did what they said but then didn’t follow through on their end. I’m not sure what more you could do besides point out the mistake in hopes they might fix it for next time.

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  2. I agree with Tater. I’d grind my teeth in frustration, but if I usually prefer the service in this place, I’d voice my disappointment, point out the major omission and the fact that they did not follow their own instructions, and then ask for Betty to be rebooked for what she actually needed asap. Sigh.

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  3. I agree with Jane. They should have managed to reduce fees for the 2nd visit as it was clearly their issue. I suppose the only thing you can really do the next time is literally not hand Betty over until the groomer stands directly in front of you and reads aloud from the comments exactly what service Betty is supposed to have–Maybe three or four times just to make sure they get it?

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    1. I found out the other day that the bookings can only be done via the app because there’s supposed to be control from a central location. Of course the central location is Arizona so I don’t think info feeds through. It’s the problem with apps and chains…😆

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      3. I was thinking of Deb too, as I read your post, then the comments! I’m an app girl, but I’m learning more and more that she’s right.

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  4. I have no particular advice. I can only nod and say it sounds like the same experience my friend (and parent of my god-dog 😉 ) has all the time over here. One groomer she thought was going to be “the one” gave my god-dog a Sanitary clipping that was, shall we say, over-enthusiastic. Just hearing about it made my eyes water.

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  5. I’d probably call and just make sure they know I’m unhappy and then I’d try to book an appointment with an experienced groomer on that same phone call. Or maybe not. I’m confrontation averse, so it’s possible I’m just talking a big game. But if I really did want to continue that relationship with that groomer, I think I’d have to say SOMETHING.

    I groomer woes as well. My dog does have fur, but she doesn’t like water or baths or the noise of the dryers. She needs fancy prescription shampoo (I provide it!) and can’t eat treats unless I provide them. Basically, she’s slightly more high maintenance than a normal dog and so many groomers will ignore one or more of those issues. If they use regular shampoo, there’s a good chance she’ll get a skin infection. If they give her treats, chances are she’ll have GI distress. I used to have a groomer I loved, but she went out of business and now I’m starting all over. It’s been a challenge, so if I stumble upon a good groomer, I try to do whatever I can to keep that relationship strong.

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  7. I wonder why there is such a lack of groomers? We take Benny to Pet Smart about every three months to get a bath and haircut but while I would love to schedule the appointment online, there are so few groomers that it won’t let me. Last time I got smart and scheduled one in advance. We’ll see how that goes.

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  9. The comments section is meant to provide further direction. So it drives me crazy when it’s not read. While I can’t relate to a dog groomer, I can to a restaurant when I put in the comments no onions. I’ve never complained but I probably should have because removing them doesn’t hide the taste. Why bother with comments if they’re not read?! Sheesh.

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  10. How frustrating! You try and work within the boundaries of their appointment policies and no one bothers to follow their own instructions. I would politely as possible let them know what happened and simply ask, “how do you plan to fix this?” Put it back in their lap and see if they are truly a reputable place. Sorry you had to deal with all that LA, hugs, C

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  14. I would have been very annoyed too. I’m sure I would have said something and depending on their behavior/attitude I would have decided if I wanted to continue doing business with them. I had a Persian cat, who as he aged, couldn’t groom himself appropriately anymore due to arthritis . The vet suggested we get him a lion’s cut which helped. But this cat needed member of the family to stay with him. He stressed out too much and then would break out in cold sore blisters from nerves. For a while I actually found a grooming mobile truck which came to my condo and parked in the parking lot. I would carry my old boy down in his cat carrier and he’d get his bottom shaved, nails clipped etc. it worked. And they were great! I did have to go through a few groomers until I found one who was to my liking. And one where my nervous kitty got proper care. It can be difficult to find a good match for our pets.

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  15. Over here we do not leave our pets at the Grooming or Vet Centre. At least I don’t. When I used to get my pet’s hair shaved I would wait there. Reason being I can’t trust anyone in so far as my pet is concerned. Secondly, my pet won’t stay with any stranger if I am not around. Now, as per her vet’s advice, I don’t shave her coat (in summers). So problem solved.

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    1. I don’t think there’s any grooming place that lets you go with your pet. I guess you could have the groomer come to your house but that’s financially tough for me…the cost would be at least triple what I pay

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      1. Yes. Systems are different. Even here there are owners who leave their pets with the groomer. I don’t. I am possesive about my pet. So is she insecure without me. 😂

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  16. Well known saying and so appropriate for this and a couple of your prior posts this week. “People are annoying. That’s why I love my cat.” I am realizing more and more as I continue to emerge from the cocoon/bubble of pandemic/death/move/divorce and now surgery that no man (or woman) is an island, nor would I want to be. The “price” for this emergence from isolation includes some of the annoyances you’ve grumbled about as I have found myself with similar complaints about working through the process of getting my left hip replaced. I’m not surprised that I have complaints because I also had them when my right hip was replaced 5+ years ago, though I am surprised how different they are from “the suffering” I endured then! I guess the bottom line is that people are people and systems are systems and that they all have their problems which are usually very different among them.

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