We’ve all been there before. Clients can be upset for a number of reasons. They’re mad the groom is wrong. They’re angry their dog had to be shaved when they didn’t brush them. They didn’t even show up to the groom and now you’ve lost money. Their dog has blood in their stool and are possibly trying to blame you. Whatever the reason may be, we can give you this advice on bad clients: don’t let it get to you. And your groomer community is here to support you with words of wisdom.
Handling Angry Clients
1. Be as happy and helpful as possible! It’s hard to be angry when someone is simply being kind to you! -@jhandymotherofcats
2. Setting an expectation, open and clear communication respectfully -@agroomernamedtristian
3. Kindness, you never know what some people are dealing with. Or fire them lol. -@luxepawsmobile
4. Stand your ground! -@groomkind
5. With kindness and facts -@pampered_paws_studio
6. Don't kill them with kindness, but patience and meeting ono a possible ground zero first. -@outlawpetgrooming
7. With wine afterwards
When You Have No-Show Clients
1. Fire them or pay 100% of the groom and then be made to make deposits - @luxepawsmobile
2. Usually call them, life happens, but if they do it twice, you're out! -@eross530
3. Cancel the appointment and give others an opportunity to fill in that slot if they'd like -@maul_villa
4. $25 deposit required at next appointment if they show up… no deposit, no appointment -@pampered_paws_studio
5. I invoice them a no-show fee with my square app -@threedogsandagirlgrooming
When Your Client's Pet Has Health Issues
I always take PIX/video of everything!! Documentation is everything these days especially when clients put blame on us groomers. It can be "he said, she said" all day, but proof and evidence are everything. Dates, photos, notes, all needs to be documented. Always better to be safe than sorry, better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it (I watched Judge Judy on a client vs. groomer) and it was not the groomers fault but she didn't have all the documentation and she ended up paying all the clients vet bills of years of neglect. Anywho, I see all these groomers say sent it home, call the owner, not one said take a picture of it. Yea sounds weird but it makes a grand difference. Also, if you were to throw the poop away, you have a photo to send to the owner who then can show it to the vet specifically what it looked like. -@katrina_short
Let us know what other types of situations you’d like to hear about! We are here to uplift each other and share our experiences so that we can all be the cleverest groomers we can be! Grooming is so much more than “I just want to play with dogs all day.” It’s dealing with pet parents, with coworkers, and so much more. The best way to prepare yourself for these bad client experiences is to be knowledgeable on best practices with customer service.