How many days a week do you normally work?

[nihal]

I’ve been grooming for over a yr and half. I normally work five days a week 7am-6pm. I take no breaks and try to show up early. I know I’m doing too much but I don’t know how to fix it. I have this mentality that if I’m not overworked then I’m underworking and not good enough. I also jump stores. I work two days at one(store A) then pack all my stuff and work three days at another store(store B); they’re owned by the same person. Store B has a bather that washes and dries all the groomer’s dogs and takes her own appointments if you tip her $20 a day, I usually give her more because she’s awesome. She says that all the groomers in the years she’s been there have worked 3-4days. At store A we have no bather. The other groomer there works 5 days a week and the one I replaced also worked 5 sometimes 6. I’m bipolar and my rough season is spring. I’m burnt out as hell. The bather told me to drop down to 4 days because grooming is A LOT. However, I would feel like I’m no longer enough. What’s yalls normal working schedule? How much should I be working?

 

[maysa]

@nihal I think you already know the answer you just need someone you respect to tell you that if you cut back your hours and dogs you will still be working hard enough and that you aren't lazy and bad.

This job is extremely demanding and this industry is a mess. The average general expectations put on groomers are completely unreasonable. If your self worth is tied up in going beyond expectations and working harder than others to validate yourself and the expectation you're starting with is already too much, where you end up is unsustainable at best and a total nightmare.

Setting boundaries for yourself, taking care of yourself, prioritizing being thorough and keeping the dogs comfortable. These are commendable things. They are also work. That's still you working. That's still you putting in effort. Giving of yourself. It's not lazy - it's hard. That's why people avoid it. It's hard work, just of another type.

The real answer is take it as easy as you can while still being able to pay your bills and save for your future. Drop down your days and your dogs. And if you need to work 5 12 hour days every week to be paid adequately, there's something wrong with your compensation or your job duties not you or your efforts.

 

[nihal]

@maysa You’re definitely right, I just needed to know that I’m not crazy for only working 4days a week. I’ve been working here since December and am still learning what works for me in each store. I’ve been adjusting what services/what type of dog I want scheduled in what time slot. I’m in the process of decreasing the number of full haircuts I do and replacing them with partials or baths. I’m also discussing with the owner that his prices are too low. He’s given me free range with doodle prices for store B.

 

[recheal95]

@nihal Most of the people at my shop work 4 or 5 days a week. Some work 4 days, 730-5 for 38 hours a week, some more some less. This is hard and stressful work and its important to treat your body with respect so you don't damage your health (physical and mental!) and subsequently damage your career.

I would consider doing 2 days at each shop for the summer and take some time to relax, it's no surprise you're burnt out at 55 hours a week!

 

[nihal]

@recheal95 That’s most likely what I’m going to do. I feel like taking Thursdays off, I work Tuesday-Saturday now, would be good for me. I’m just nervous about the pay cut. I’m slow and there’s no way I could add more dogs. I’m doing 5 at store A and 6 at store B.

 

[maysa]

@nihal Hey, I'm also slow! I've always groomed the least dogs in every salon I've worked at even with a decade of experience.

But nearly 12 hours for 5 dogs in a salon environment to me says there is something else potentially going wrong here. You're being scheduled inappropriately, you're doing a bunch of unpaid secretarial work, your tools aren't up to snuff, there is issues with the product available, some combination of these things or something else. Something in this environment is not right.

 

[nihal]

@maysa It typically takes 3-4hrs for a dog to be done. I haven’t had anyone complain about how long it takes. They’re all returning clients and very used to 3-4hrs. Except on Saturdays, I’ve adjusted my schedule on Saturday to take more partials/baths(the bather is not there) instead of haircuts to help with that. I am doing some secretarial work and my stuff definitely needs to be sharpened. It’s a shame I had scheduled a sharpener to come out and my stuff still needs work. There are definitely issues with scheduling, more at store B than A. Our front desk keeps scheduling me large dogs in small spots and DECEASED dogs so then I have to go and make the dog a whole profile just to schedule it properly. Not to mention no one else is asking/putting in rabies info for the dogs, which is required by my state’s law.

 

[mike1234]

@nihal Have you thought about just staying at store B? If that's an option, it'll get you one extra dog when you go down to 4 days. It's not much, but it's better than nothing to help ease you into a schedule that's better for you.

Also, you will be surprised how much better and productive you'll feel during those 4 days when you have 3 off. (I went from working 5 days to 4 when I moved because the commute was killing me at an hour each way)

 

[nihal]

@mike1234 Store B is cursed. If can go wrong it WILL. It’s the forgotten store of the two, meaning it’s rundown. I absolutely love the other two groomers I work with and the bather but I would rather work at store A. Somehow I make more at store A and the front desk staff is a lot more on top of it. Store B’s staff does not like me because I address with them when they mess up my schedule. I WAS nice about it the first several times and kindly informed them how to book appointments. Now they purposely mess up my schedule and I’ve stopped being nice. I’m very blunt and direct with them now.

 

[excpomelo]

@nihal The first 8ish years I was grooming I worked 7am to around 6pm and also worked in the daycare when I wasn’t grooming. I burnt myself out so bad. You NEED to go easy on yourself if you want to last in this industry.

Now I work 7:30 to about 2:30ish four days a week. Sometimes if I want extra money I’ll add one extra day a couple times a month. I have a bather and limit the amount of large dogs I take. I rarely feel physically exhausted and I still feel like I can function enough to have a life after work.

When I used to work myself into the ground the dogs would sense my exhaustion and it would make them uneasy which would make them more difficult to groom. I never even realized that was happening. When I started limiting my work hours I instantly noticed that my groom dogs were more cooperative and generally happier to come see me.