Be Specific at the Groomer's

[LoriAnn]

I had a customer today come in with her standard poodle & told me she wanted a Dutch clip. I had her describe it just to be sure & when I pulled out a book it turned out she really wanted a Town & Country clip (pants & jacket). I don't expect everyone to memorize the names of clips, Lord knows I have to look them up enough! I've had quite a few people tell me "whatever you think", or "just make her pretty" only to have them come back & say they wanted more, or less off. Now when someone tells me that, I just keep asking until they show me on their dog how much they want off.

Know that your groomer isn't a miricle worker. I have a *****n Frise who's owner wants it to look fluffy like a show dog, but the coat is just too thin. After taking her to 2 other places in town she finally believed me & now I see her regularly & we do a clip that suits her better.

Bring pictures. If you want a "typical westie" cut only to find out you were looking at a picture of a cream scottie you'll be dissapointed.(yep, had that happen too) Most groomers want you to be happy with the way your dog looks, help us out by being specific.

[ December 08, 2003, 12:36 PM: Message edited by: LoriAnn ]

[Dawn]

My groomer seems to find it amusing to shave them and then say "Oh, I know that's not what you wanted." Or, "Oh, I know that's not what you wanted, but it was so matted it was all I could do with it." And yes, she knows exactly what we want for each of them.

[LoriAnn]

You have poodles, right? If you are brushing them regularly there shouldn't be any reason to shave them down. Although I've had well meaning people brush them every day with a brush that didn't go all the way through the coat & they are amazed when the top layer of hair comes off & I show them the matted stuff underneath. A slicker brush works best. In any case I always call the client before I deviate in any way from what we discussed. Sounds like you need a new groomer-doesn't she have any competition? I don't think I'd be in business very long if I did that.

[Dawn]

Well, she has another groomer that works with her who is excellent. But oh well. No, they were not matted at all. She just can't do the cut the way we want, takes to long, so she shaves them. There's no way they can get matted now, because there is literally not enough hair on her body and legs to brush. Plus take in the fact that it's winter and she absolutely freezes.

[Kimmer]

If she has another groomer that you think is good, then request her [img]smile.gif[/img]