Grooming Matters
vector graphic of a woman holding a large pen against a wishlist
What Do Your Customers Really Want typography
by Daryl Conner
If I were to ask you, “What do you do for a living?” You would likely reply something along the lines of, “I am a pet groomer.” As a pet groomer, your work mainly focuses on bathing, brushing, trimming, and enhancing the wellbeing and appearance of dogs and cats. You are not selling a tangible item to earn income; you are selling a service. No matter how well you groom the animals in your care, if the customer who brings them in is unhappy with your service, they will not return.

If you do a little research about providing excellent customer service, you will find that most advice focuses on delighting the customer and going the extra mile to earn their devotion. In our industry, some groomers provide extra things like bows and bandanas, offer discounts or free upgrades like facials or toothbrushing, take photos of pets, or send them home with a cute report card or goodie bag. These add-ons are nice, but are they enough to ensure customer loyalty?

vector graphic of multicolored leaves with a yellow blob

When working with pets and people, sometimes mistakes happen. How you handle these situations goes a long way toward earning your customers’ loyalty.

Put Yourself in Their Shoes
In today’s fast-paced, hectic world, I propose that what people really want from service providers is to make their lives easier. Try putting yourself in your customers’ place and imagine what it is like for them to access your services. Walk through the entire process from when they attempt to contact you to make an appointment until they pick up their freshly groomed pet and head home. Is it a simple thing to do, or is it complicated? Here are some things to consider:
  1. How does it work for a pet owner to make an appointment with you for grooming?
    If they call during business hours, do you answer immediately, or do they have to leave a message and wait for a return call? Do you offer multiple avenues of contact? Some people prefer talking to their service provider on the phone; others think texting or making an appointment online is the most straightforward. Offering several points of contact makes things easier for your customers from the start.
  1. When a customer checks their pet in for their appointment, what is the process?
    Is it complex and time-consuming, or is it easy-breezy? Imagine bringing your beloved pet to be groomed and going through your check-in protocol. How do you think you would feel about it? Are there ways you can change things to streamline the process for customers?
  1. The same goes for checking out and picking up their pet.
    Do customers regularly have to wait or undergo complicated steps to retrieve their pet, or is the process swift and straightforward? Do you accept multiple forms of payment, making it simple for them to pay and go?
Righting Your Wrongs

When working with pets and people, sometimes mistakes happen. How you handle these situations goes a long way toward earning your customers’ loyalty. Here is an example: Mr. Green arrives on Wednesday morning with his Shih Tzu tucked under his arm for his scheduled appointment. You realize you made a mistake when you see him walking up to the door. You remember talking to him on the phone but accidentally wrote the appointment down for the following week. Your schedule for the day is already full, what do you do?

Option #1) Tell him you made a mistake, apologize and ask him to come back next week.
Option #2) Greet him, take the dog from him and give him a pick-up time, knowing you will be grooming that dog on your lunch break to make everything work out.

The first option will likely make his day a lot more complicated, as he is probably on his way to work and will have to return the dog home. It will not be simple for him. Since you know the error was yours, taking the second option is the best choice, though it will complicate your day.

Handling Complaints
What about customer complaints? No one likes having a disgruntled customer, but we inevitably have one occasionally. Making the solution process for the customer easy will help smooth the situation. Here is an example: Mrs. Grouse asks you to use unscented products on her dog because Mrs. Grouse is sensitive to odors. Not thinking, you spritz a little cologne on her Chihuahua as you take it off the table. She calls once she gets home, and she is very unhappy. So, what do you do?

Option #1) You see she is calling but you are busy and don’t want to deal with her, so you let the message go to voice mail. She calls twice more during the day, sounding more frustrated each time. After your last groom is completed, you call her back, and she gives you an earful of complaints. Not only that, but while she was waiting to hear back from you, she left a snippy one-star review about your business on social media.
Option #2) You see she is calling and answer the phone. You listen to her complaint and apologize for your error. You offer to re-bathe her dog in unscented shampoo at no charge if she will come right in.

Choosing the first option intensified bad feelings and earned you a poor review, while selecting the second one quickly made the best of an unfortunate situation. The customer was still displeased, but you proposed a solution to her problem and followed through.

Focusing on how to make interactions with your business simple and streamlined will significantly increase customer satisfaction. And that will give you more time and energy to do what you enjoy most—grooming pets.