[rant] You know who you are

[chris_1989]

Dear pet parents who consistently arrive late for your appointments.

You are just the absolute worst. Just the f****** worst. And you should know absolutely none of the groomers in your chosen salon look forward to you coming in. And sometimes your very existence can completely ruin our day. You might think it does not matter because “it’s just a dog/cat” but your actions can (and will) significantly impact the groomers work load for the rest of their shift. Do you pull this bs with other appointments you make for yourself, or do you know you can get away with it because most places will not hold you financially responsible for your blatant disregard of everyone who is not you? Believe it or not we do not exist just for you and we absolutely love it when we have to work past our scheduled shifts because of you. Oh, and when you get any kind of attitude toward the employees for any reason? It is the entitled audacity for me.

Since you have consistent zero respect for my time I have zero respect for you in general. Your dog is cool but you are the worst.

The end.

Disclaimer: as already mention in the first sentence I am strictly referring to pet parents who consistently show up late to their appointments Bonus points when they get attitude with the groomer for anything. And yes I did post this while very angry. All 5 of my appointments today showed up 15-20 minutes late and I cannot wait to be working well after my shift ends. I don’t care if this gets downvoted or removed because it needs to be said.

Update: Got off work two hours after I should have and left the salon 2/3rds cleaned/closed because the entire store was closed and waiting on me. Thank you so so much pet parents. I really appreciate you. Seriously. Don’t come back.

 

[phada]

@chris_1989 Not a groomer but I worked for a grooming/boarding facility with a "no late-drop off tolerance" policy. All dogs had to be dropped off for grooming appointments on time or they wouldn't be taken back at all. Defiantely doesn't work for every salon though, we were corporate so it was a bit easier

 

[changeslife]

@chris_1989 Even if I had time for it, if they are 15 minutes late, they have to reschedule. You let them get away with it one time, and they will think it's okay every time to be late. They are lucky I do not charge a fee when they no-show or are late. They are lucky I still reschedule them when they are consistently late for drop off or pickup.
I groom dogs in my home one-on-one. It pisses me off when they take an hour to pick up their dog after I call or text them. It irritates me when they say they are on their way or don't text back at all, and they still take an hour for pickup. I've had someone that I groomed their 3 dogs, and they took 2 hours to pick them up, and they said they would be there soon. I always text early for people who live a little farther away. It's so disrespectful to not pick your dogs off in a timely manner. I've had to cancel plans because pet parents are still not picking up their dog.

 

[mhm4him]

@chris_1989 I have a client with an elderly doodle and a difficult min pin and I dread his appointments every time. A few months back he had an appointment at 9am that he was late to. I called him at 9:15 and he said he'd be there soon and that I can work on another dog in the mean time. First of all..... why are you telling me what to do with my job? Second of all, I dont do a mass drop off in the morning. Everyone shows up at the time of their appointment. 10am I call him again, no answer. He shows up at about 10:30-10:45am. First thing I told him was that I dont have time to do his doodle but I can do the min pin if he'd like. He replies "I told you to start on another dog." This was when I explained to him that I dont do mass drop offs and my other appointments were not in house. He didnt argue further thankfully and rescheduled for both dogs. He actually showed up on time for the next appointment. Recently he no showed for his appointment and ended up calling after I left work to reschedule. He was rescheduled for 1:00pm on a different day because it was all we had. Day of his appointment, dude shows up at 8:30am, before I even arrive at work mind you, and says he needs to pick up by 2pm because he "owns restaurants." ......... ok? Your dogs will be done when I get them done. This dude swears the world revolves around him. All of my coworkers have witnessed this and also know how annoying he is. His dogs are pretty well behaved so I wouldnt feel right telling him he's not welcomed back but god I wish I could get rid of him. We will be requiring a deposit from him whenever he makes an appointment from now on and I increase his price anytime he inconveniences me

 

[not_a_unicorn]

@mhm4him Oh. My. God.

 

[starheel]

@chris_1989 And this to people who don't call ahead to being late and give you a major attitude when you happen to call them just as they're pulling up.

I went to call a client yesterday who was 15 minutes late. She picks up "I'm here, I'm here, I'm RIGHT here."

She strolls in in a huff and says, "I LIVE AN HOUR AWAY." Like that's an appropriate excuse. I have an hour-long commute and yet, here I am, on time for your dog. Simply I asked her if she could just call us if she was running behind. And all the annoyance rushes out of her expression and she sheepishly says, "oh.."

Like is this a new concept? Common courtesy to tell people you're running late?

Two weeks ago, we had another client with 3 dogs show up 30 minutes late because she forgot. Upon arriving, she says she can't leave the third dog with us because he's her driving buddy and she's about to go on a 2hr drive to her nieces house. Are you fucking kidding me¿

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@starheel Lol, if it was an hour long drive, she could have called you an hour ago to let you know she was running a little late

 

[hrosec]

@imagebeastmarkbeast This... I'm perpetually either waaaay early or 5 minutes late to everything (thanks ADHD time blindness), and especially when that combines with traffic (or a mile-long freight train coming through lol) when I'm going somewhere that's an hour or more away, I can end up being 15-20 minutes late very easily. But I always call ahead to let folks know if I'm running behind, tell them my ETA, and ask if they'd like me to reschedule or not. I feel like that's just common courtesy tbh.

 

[ahmed360]

@chris_1989 I don't mind so much if it's my request and I know they'll take care of me (like large tips and not calling every five seconds to see if their dog is done yet) but it seems a lot of new customers have this entitlement that I'm gonna just bend over backwards for them and their matted dog that they showed up 45 mins late with. Like sir/ma'am, I don't desperately need your business, I have ten people waiting for a cancelation to get their dog in asap I could replace you with one phone call.

 

[noelp2015]

@ahmed360 I have a small handful of regulars that can pretty much wander in whenever up to a certain time and I'll still take them because 1, I've been doing them every month or 6 weeks for years, 2, they tip well and treat me well, and 3, they don't care when I get the dog out unless it's a random special occasion. One in particular, I love her but she seems to be allergic to arriving on time, but I've been doing her 3 dogs every month for 10 years, and she has them split up so I see her twice a month, every month, for 10 years. My first request client lol. It grants her a lot of leeway.

 

[ahmed360]

@noelp2015 Lol exactly! I have a gorgeous standard poodle client that I basically let her get away with being late (and being a diva sometimes) bc she's a big realtor in my area so she tips really well and comes in every 3 weeks and is like "text me whenever I dont care", plus when people see me grooming this angel of a dog they get really interested in working with me. I'm loyal to my requests bc they treat me good but anybody else? Nah, gtfo

 

[noelp2015]

@ahmed360 Yeah, my client has 2 Shih Tzus that come in together and an Old English Sheepdog (that is a demon for being brushed). The OES usually draws attention-- whether because of the breed or because she constantly looks like she's trying to eat me if my brush is out is up for debate lol.

She was actually in today, and I discovered a new trick to keep her from snapping at my brush! Fluff drying! It's not something I usually bother with because her coat doesn't really benefit from it, but her nose hit the air from the force dryer and it completely derailed her entire day

 

[ahmed360]

@noelp2015 Gotta bamboozle them sometimes, like when I accidentally found out a nippy puppy is like likely to bite you if you just put hand sanitizer on! I felt bad, but I was also like "well have we learned a lesson here?"

 

[noelp2015]

@ahmed360 That's... actually a really really good idea. I'll have to remember that one.

 

[jcc19240]

@ahmed360 looks at my hand that got ripped to shreds by a puppy a few days ago well THAT would have been nice to know!

 

[jariid]

@chris_1989 Amen to this whole thing! its gotten down to the point where I can predict who will apologize for being late and who won't (doodle owners never apologize because the world revolves around them doodles )

 

[jktluvsjesus]

@jariid As a doodle owner who mostly got a Doodle by accident, I’m sorry so many of my “breed” co-owners are assholes.

I try very hard not to be a Doodle Karent.

 

[galileesilk]

@jktluvsjesus I think you being on this subreddit kinda proves you're not like them lol. I just feel like they would never be on here

 

[not_a_unicorn]

@jktluvsjesus Karent lol

 

[jandi]

@chris_1989 And when you get angry and disrespectful with US because YOU were late and we can no longer take you? Is the cherry on top of the fucking shit cake