I do not condone business people whining about problems they are having with customers, but I'm going to do a little whining anyway. It's been a frustrating week (May 26, 2018).
I had a customer call me and book just before the long weekend holiday. Holidays are always busy and it's a good chance to get in some new customers with the possibility of them becoming regulars. The customer who had booked the Friday, called me that morning and cancelled. Something had come up. Ordinarily I tolerate this sort of thing. I like to give the customer the benefit of the doubt, but in this case I had been fiddled one too many times by this man. When he called a couple of days later (holiday over?) he wanted to rebook. We booked an appointment and I asked him if he was sure he was going to be able to make it ok. I wasn't being nasty or sarcastic--I just didn't want to lose the income of a groom twice in a four day period. He said yes, hung up and called back a few minutes later and left a message. He was nasty, rude and accusatory. He said he was going to leave a bad review.
A week before that a regular customer cancelled her appointment just before the weekend, from her car phone. First time she'd done that. Then she re-booked and then didn't show up to that appointment. The reason for this behavior? Well, I'm not absolutely sure but she had asked me to babysit her dog a week before that and I wasn't able to because I was sick. I had also already told her awhile back that babysitting a dog while grooming was tricky in my situation and I wouldn't be able to accommodate her in the future. I had done it for her, for payment, previously, but it was difficult for me to balance dog care with all that was needed to be done with my work and my own dogs. Was it a coincidence that she didn't show twice for her appointment within a week?
Today I had a customer from Brantford drop her dog off and then leave to have a coffee with a friend just around the corner. When the dog was done an hour and fifteen minutes later I called. She asked if it was ok if she stayed another 20 minutes and since I figured she'd likely ordered a meal, being that it was lunch time, I said sure. 30 minutes later, the dog is getting real antsy and I kind of wanted my lunch too. I called again and she asked me if she had to come right away. Since I don't entertain doggy day care, I said yes, please. When she got here, instead of apologizing, she made allot of excuses and argued with me. (And she hadn't had lunch in fact, which may have made her behave in an arbitrary manner)
What I would like to know is why do people think that it's ok to mess with the groomer? Do I look and act like a pushover? I don't know, but I'm really up to my eye balls with frustration.
Would I leave my son with the barber for 35 minutes after his hair cut was done? Would I stiff a service person 30-40 dollars and not give it second thought? Would I just not turn up to an appointment without calling first? No, no and no. And I won't tolerate it either. All three customers have been terminated as far as using me for their groomer is concerned. The sad part? I really liked their dogs.
I had a customer call me and book just before the long weekend holiday. Holidays are always busy and it's a good chance to get in some new customers with the possibility of them becoming regulars. The customer who had booked the Friday, called me that morning and cancelled. Something had come up. Ordinarily I tolerate this sort of thing. I like to give the customer the benefit of the doubt, but in this case I had been fiddled one too many times by this man. When he called a couple of days later (holiday over?) he wanted to rebook. We booked an appointment and I asked him if he was sure he was going to be able to make it ok. I wasn't being nasty or sarcastic--I just didn't want to lose the income of a groom twice in a four day period. He said yes, hung up and called back a few minutes later and left a message. He was nasty, rude and accusatory. He said he was going to leave a bad review.
A week before that a regular customer cancelled her appointment just before the weekend, from her car phone. First time she'd done that. Then she re-booked and then didn't show up to that appointment. The reason for this behavior? Well, I'm not absolutely sure but she had asked me to babysit her dog a week before that and I wasn't able to because I was sick. I had also already told her awhile back that babysitting a dog while grooming was tricky in my situation and I wouldn't be able to accommodate her in the future. I had done it for her, for payment, previously, but it was difficult for me to balance dog care with all that was needed to be done with my work and my own dogs. Was it a coincidence that she didn't show twice for her appointment within a week?
Today I had a customer from Brantford drop her dog off and then leave to have a coffee with a friend just around the corner. When the dog was done an hour and fifteen minutes later I called. She asked if it was ok if she stayed another 20 minutes and since I figured she'd likely ordered a meal, being that it was lunch time, I said sure. 30 minutes later, the dog is getting real antsy and I kind of wanted my lunch too. I called again and she asked me if she had to come right away. Since I don't entertain doggy day care, I said yes, please. When she got here, instead of apologizing, she made allot of excuses and argued with me. (And she hadn't had lunch in fact, which may have made her behave in an arbitrary manner)
What I would like to know is why do people think that it's ok to mess with the groomer? Do I look and act like a pushover? I don't know, but I'm really up to my eye balls with frustration.
Would I leave my son with the barber for 35 minutes after his hair cut was done? Would I stiff a service person 30-40 dollars and not give it second thought? Would I just not turn up to an appointment without calling first? No, no and no. And I won't tolerate it either. All three customers have been terminated as far as using me for their groomer is concerned. The sad part? I really liked their dogs.
RSS Feed