Allergic.. To your groomer?

Today's crazy story comes from an exchange I had with a long-time client. The fact that I had done her dog for so many years, made it just that much more crazy.

I had already taken grooming instructions, and taken the dog to the back, when the front desk told me to come back up.   I was greeted by the customer, who had forgotten to ask me something.  She wanted to know if I used latex gloves when I groomed the dogs.  I do not. I wasn't sure what she was getting at, maybe she was concerned about transfer of germs?  She then went on to say that when I came up to get her dog, the dog ran and hid behind her.  Sadly, I get that a lot, and had not noticed.  The owner then went on to tell me that the reaction she saw was exactly how the dog reacts when it sees a balloon.  "She's terrified of latex".  Uh.. Ok. (?)

I think there are many more reasons for a dog to fear balloons, than the substance they are made from..  Did she test this, and non-latex balloons are fine? Are balloons even latex?   I'm going to go with, she just didn't want a grooming today, and leave it at that.

All's well that ends well... eventually

I apologize for there being no separation of paragraphs in this blog post.. Blogger is acting up and will only let me type in HTML, which caused it all to run together. No clue what that is about. So, if it's not too annoying.. read on! So yeah.. I've been a bad blogger. It doesn't mean I don't have anything to write, life just got busy, and I didn't write it. We had one of our busiest summers ever this year. After the very slow start to the spring, due to winter sticking around til nearly June, it was great to be busy. It was like the week of Christmas.. for about 6 weeks straight. Exhausting, yes, but the income was great! Now, as I say good bye to the seasonal dogs one by one, I will try to do more blogging. The reason I picked today, is because of what happened to me yesterday. I groomed a dog that we had groomed a few times before. Upon looking at the history from her last haircut, I saw that my notes stated that she had to be shaved short due to matting. So, when I looked at her that morning, she appeared to be in much better shape than last time (possibly due to how short the last haircut had been) I started the conversation by acknowledging that we had to take her short last time, and was about to ask if she'd like to go back to a longer trim, when she interrupted me. She said "Yes, you are going to find that problem again, I know she is matted" "And, trim her ears, I'm not one of those Shih Tzu owners that likes all that long hair." Ok, so I took the dog, and she asked to pre-pay as someone else was picking the dog up. Turned out she was right, there was some matting underneath, and in the rear legs. I still left her longer than last time, seeing no reason to take it that short today. Fast forward to pick up time. I brought the dog up, handed her off to the guy picking up, and headed back to the grooming room. Not a minute had passed when the receptionist came back (I didn't even make it back to the grooming room) to tell me the guy was upset about the groom, saying I had shaved the dog! I couldn't imagine what he was talking about.. I mean it wasn't that short?! I get up there and he attacks. He tells me that the dog had been skinned. (?) He then turns the dog over and shows me the groin area.. uh, yep, I always shave that area?? He said he used to groom his own poodle, and even he could do a better job than that. He then went over the dog and did find a stray hair I had missed. So.. I told him I would immediately take her back to get rid of that hair. I explained the conversation he had with his.. wife? I wasn't sure who he was, and he didn't argue with me, so I went with that. He said he would show her the dog, but couldn't imagine anyone would be happy with such a bad haircut. When I come back up with the dog, he is on his cell phone. He looks down at the dog, then angrily looks at me and says, "DO YOU WANT TO TALK TO HER ON MY PHONE, OR DO YOU WANT TO CALL HER!???" I am shocked that he is this livid.. but I say I can certainly talk to her now. I get on the phone, and she's pretty quiet. She says "So, she was matted?" I respond that yes, we talked about that this morning, remember? She says, no, I brushed her last night, and bathed her last week, she shouldn't have been matted. WHAT? Am I in the frigging twilight zone? He continues on his rant. Showing me the dog's hairless groin again. Loudly (there were other customers in the lobby)repeating that it was the worst haircut he'd ever seen. I told him I was sorry that he wasn't happy, but I couldn't put the hair back, so I wasn't sure what he wanted me to do. He really lost it then.. He said "WHO IS THE MANAGER HERE??, I WANT TO FILE A COMPLAINT!!" "I WANT MY MONEY BACK NOW!!" I had a headache all day, and this did not help. Plus the fact I still had a dog to finish, and I needed to get home for an appointment. I didn't have time to deal with this crazy person, nor was he going to shut up, until he got what he wanted. I told the receptionist to give him his money back, and left. I hate giving money back.. regardless of the haircut, do they really deserve a free nail trim, anal glands and bath? I had just had enough. I would be sending them a letter to say that they were no longer welcome to come for grooming. (though I seriously doubted they would ever darken our doorstep again) I speak to the receptionist later, who tells me he instantly tells her to make sure you thank that girl for grooming the dog.. WTF??? Then, they realize that the "wife" paid with a credit card, so until she called with the number, they couldn't refund the money. He said that was fine. I went home. Still steaming about being treated that way. It was so random.. the anger.. crazy. Luckily, my manager called to tell me the rest of the story. Later that evening, the "wife" and actual owner of the dog called. She said that the man was just a friend, not her husband, and had no right to complain about her dog. She apologized for his behavior, and said there was no problem with the groom, except one nail had started bleeding (weird.. but it happens sometimes). She did not want her money back. No clue why she didn't say something on the phone.. other than perhaps this ogre scared her and she didn't know what to say. Who does that?? Ask for "MY money back" when it wasn't even your dog.. or your money? Who complains about someone elses dog's haircut? If I picked up someone's dog, and didn't like the groom.. I'd just think "I guess that's how they like it". I certainly wouldn't make a scene over it. I hope to never cross paths with him again. Hopefully he takes over the dog's grooming.. she's kind of a pain to groom anyway.. Lucky for me, most of my clients appreciate me. I had called to tell a customer that her dog's hair was just past the point of no return in my opinion, and though I could brush it, it would really be too much for the dog to take. She told me she trusted me, and to do what I thought was best. I clipped her down, it was a huge difference. Anyone would be shocked to see a change like that. Instead.. they thought she looked cute and gave me a very large tip. Thank goodness for normal people! Hopefully my next blog won't be such a rant. But it feels good to have that off my chest.