Cost of Grooming

Question
What is a reasonable rate to groom a standard poodle. We bring them in
every 6-7 weeks. Base rate is 85.00 but if matted I get a huge surprise every
time I come to pick them up. Today it was an extra 50 for one of my dogs.
Asked owner to give me a max rate for the future considering I have been
taking one dog there for 4 years every 6 weeks and added another dog a year
ago, so 2 dogs every 6 weeks. She refused. Don't want to be unreasonable
but I am a regular customer of hers  Thanks/

Answer
Ok, get a cup of coffee and relax- this is a long one- first let me tell ya, location, location, location... I charge double that! You are still getting away easy even with another fifty tacked on in my book. In your defense, you should be told before hand and shown the problem ares before just randomly being charged extra. You need to be clear with each other on this. It may actually help you understand what you need to do in order to eliminate some of this problem. De-matting is usually charged in 15 minute increments.
On the other hand, unless you clip your dogs down with a #5 or 7 blade, in my opinion, 6-7 weeks is just too long between grooming. If you want to keep the coat on your dogs of any length, be prepared for a couple of non negotiable facts. Learn to comb your dog out properly, or have them groomed every 2-4 weeks or keep it short. Having been doing this for over 20 years, imagine how many times I have heard this lament. You have 2 high maintenance dogs. They take a lot of time even in good shape so when they need de-matting - time is money. This is, after all, our livelihood. Your groomer could fit in another full priced client in the time it takes to dematt your Standards that she does not get paid double for all the extra time it takes. This is a groomer's least favorite part of our job because there is no silver bullet or quick fix except the shave down. How many times have you told her don't shave the dogs? These are things you have to consider when picking out a breed. It is a long term commitment to the health and comfort of the dog.  
Being a regular client is a good thing- but bump it up to 4 weeks if you don't want any more surprises. Why do you presume that being a regular client entitles you to extra work for no extra pay?
Things that worsen the problem? Leaving a webbed fabric collar on the dog all day, especially if you live in an apartment- no reason for it unless your dog has direct access to street level and does not obey recall commands. These collars wind hair under the ears and around the throat and when wet causes major matting. Ear infections or too much hair in ear canal can cause scratching and matts ear and neck hair.
Jackets, coats, particularly sweaters, and harnesses cause tremendous problems with hair around the brisket if you are not fastidious about brushing the dog out after use. Rain, snow, improper bathing and not blow drying, cause what are commonly referred to as bath matts. The hair becomes like felt in that every time it gets wet it pulls more and more hair into the matt and as it dries it gets tighter and tighter making it more difficult to brush out and it HURTS you dog! Oh and how does Fluffy react to all this pulling and scratching of the skin? Is your dog difficult? That is another charge by the way- difficulty restraining the animal- which is not usually an issue for a dog that is well maintained. Hazardous dog duty- our hands are our business- being bitten, straining muscles trying control an aggressive large dog are not something to be ignored and certainly not encouraged.
Have a real talk with your groomer about what you need to do to avoid all this. Maybe she can give you some pointers. If not then you want the dogs gone over before they take them and show you where the problems are.