your feedback would be appreciated

Question
Hello,

First of all, I am not going back to this groomer. But I wanted to get some feedback on how I "should have" or "could have" handled the situation. This is going to be long but I will try to not make it longer than it needs to be.

I have a 10 year old dog. I made an appointment for her to be groomed. I asked the groomer if I could bring her in at noon so she did not have to stay there all day. (vs dropping her off in the am). Groomer said no problem.

I got her there about noon. An hour and a half later I called and was told "I haven't even started her yet, I will call you when she is ready". Was not happy with that but let it go.

A while later I decided to go up to the groomers and wait in the waiting area that they have. It is a brand new grooming shop, air conditioned with a small waiting area. I called first to let the groomer know I was on my way.

She said "I would rather you not come up here. Dogs get excited". I said "OK" and hung up. But then decided that I was not talking about a shirt at a laundry mat that I had dropped off, it was my dog. And I did not like being told that my presence was not welcomed. Any more than I would like a nursery or day care telling me I can't drop in.

I went up to the shop anyway and quietly slipped into the waiting area. The groomer saw me (only one in shop) and took a hissy fit saying "your dog knows you are here now" and was quite direspectful in her body language and attitude.

I saw her "drag" my dog out from the back (I never have to drag my dog, the groomer was just angry) and put my dog on the table. We were gone in about 15 minutes as the groomer RUSHED through a touch up after my dog having had the initial groom and bath. However during this rapid 15 minute speedo touch up, she told my dog (NO EXAGERTION) about fifteen (yes!) times to "stop it". I went over to the grooming area as I had had enough and told her I did not like her telling my dog that much to "stop it" and asked what she was doing. She said "she is moving on the table". From there I watched and my dog was not walking on the table nor was she trying to jump off. She simply was taking small movements to the side or a bit forward a wee bit but nothing extreme. I was really turned off. She was looking my dog in the face at one point and I swear I feared she was going to hit her she seemed soooo angry that I came up there. When I walked in she was sitting down and my dog was in the back and she said "I was just sitting down for a few minutes". I said "that is fine, I have no problem with that" and she went and got my dog who apparantly was ready while she was sitting down.

Her anger had me so upset I was not sure if I should say "look, just give me my dog I am leaving" or what. That is what I felt like doing and am sorry I didn't.

How would you have handled it?

Thank you. This will help me if ever there is a next time at another place. ps the groomer was angry because her daughter normally washes the dogs and she grooms (they don't own the place) but her daughter was out. However, for the whole day I only saw about 6-8 dogs on her board where she ahd the names listed. I am really fuming about this? Besides the BBB, who can I complain to? The owner does not work there. She has this idiot who manages the shop and does the grooming! I have been there before a few times and the lady didn't even remember us. That upset me too! Thanks.

Answer
You did not say what your breed was nor how much work it required, but it does sound to me like that groomer was just having a very bad day. You may have only seen 6-8 dogs listed on her board, but if they (or some of them) were high-maintenance grooms requiring extensive work, and then on top of that, she had to do all the bathing, brushing, and drying herself, it is easy to see how she could have been falling behind. And I will say that when an owner shows up, it just puts added pressure on the groomer to hurry up and try to get that dog done.

As to the "stop it" and what appeared to you to be your dog's slight movements on the table, it is very hard to clip or scissor what I call a "moving target" on the table, and it can be dangerous if the dog does not stand still. A groomer's equipment is very sharp. You maybe could have asked her if it would help if you held the dog's head so that she wouldn't move around quite as much. (Although many dogs ARE worse when their owners are around... the "Save ME" complex.)

I realize it sounds like I am defending this woman, but I am just trying to explain how difficult her day was probably going for her. She had been on her feet for hours, her feet and back were probably hurting, and I'll bet she didn't take time for lunch. She did not have justification for being angry, however. (Does it sound like maybe I worked in a grooming shop at one point?)

In the future, I think you should explain to the groomer that because of your dog's age, you would like her to be in and out as quickly as possible and not sit around, and I will tell you now that would probably mean getting her there first thing in the morning. All it takes is one client to show up late, and the whole day starts backing up badly (and this may have also happened that day).