No shows

[amysue2638]

If a customer doesn't show up for their appointment, do you call them at some point to find out if they are coming? If you have a customer that doesn't show and never calls, but then tries to make an appointment at a later date, do you accept them back? Especially if you had called to confirm with them.

In the past 2 days I've had 3 no shows. 2 had made their appointments just a couple days before so of course I didn't call them the night before to remind them. And the other 1 we called the day before, actually spoke to the owner, and confirmed the appointment. I swear, do these people need me to come to their house to pick up their dog??!!

[rainingcats&dogs]

i dont call them i guess i should,but im not their mother,only if its a regular good client i call,to see if alls ok,and if the no show tries to call to schedule an appt,i tell them they have to be walk in status only if i have availability,

[PetsRus]

I hate no shows. I had 2 this week and the #'s they gave were wrong. I think they book appointments and then get in quicker somewhere else. I am finding that most of them do try and book again. I make them wait even if I have openings quicker (other groomers in my area told me these people around here want to get into someone who is always booked and it seems to be true). Some turn out to be good customers and some don't. I had 1 get me a few weeks ago. In December she make an appointment and tells me that her dog may have to be muzzled. Ok no big deal. She doesn't show for her appointment. I call and she says she is having car trouble and she will be there in a few minutes someone else is bring her. Ok fine. Well an hour goes by and she doesn't show. I call again to tell her that I had other dogs and wouldn't be able to take her and she doesn't answer. So last month she calls while I am busy and I didn't have a chance to look up the name and let her rebook. Well when she came in she is apolozing for the last noshow appointment and I remembered who she was and could have kicked myself. She even told me a totally different story than before. So I groom the dog (Clip, bath, nails, ears) dog was a little crazy but it is a min. sch. (no offense) had to have her help me when she came back with the hair cut trying to keep the dog calm. I can tell you it was not my best but dog would not behave. Told me that this was the best job on him and that the other groomers were so rough with him and I just said oh really (I don't run down other groomers even if I don't like them or the way they do stuff) So she gives me this you are the nicest person speach and I treat the dogs so well blah, blah, blah...... She makes another appointment for 2 weeks ago. 1/2 hour before the appointment she calls me and tells me that I treated her dog mean and she wasn't coming back. I think she does this with everybody but she is a pain in the a%* and I don't need her, I think she has mental problems. I also have 1 lady call me everymonth to ask me if I could groom her dog right then and there. I always laugh and say no in about 2 weeks! She always says oh that won't work. She has stood me up 3 times since I opened with the worst excuses in the world!

[KarlaSnyder]

I will give them 15min, and then call. I do reminder calls the night before, but still a few will forget. Most are very sorry. If it's a new client, I may give them a second chance, but no more than that. Regular clients have a 3 strike rule. I've only had to fire a few in all the years I've been grooming, and I tell them politely that I can no longer afford them as clients. I explain that this is how I make my living, and if I'm not grooming a dog, I lose money. They seem to understand, and hopefully are more considerate of the next groomer's time.

[pamperedpups]

Edited.

[Bearmtn]

If it is a regular client I will call them if they are late, because most of the time they forgot or something came up. If it is a new customer I do not call them, as I figure they changed their other mind, and really don't want customers like that that think it is OK to make an appointment and not show up.

[Chicken]

We call after 15 minutes. The folks who eventually call & genuinely forgot, are apologetic, etc - we re-book.

It's the people who never show or call who tick me off. We have some of them try to re-book. I won't rebook them during a holiday week at all, and if they're really nasty I tell them there's a 25% cancellation fee that must be paid first.

There was an article in Groomer to Groomer 2 months ago about No-Shows. They recommend charging people. 25% the first time, 50% the next, and pre-paid the third time.

[amysue2638]

Well now it's Saturday and so far my first 3 clients haven't shown up. I am so aggravated right now because I turned away 2 people for today who ended up going elsewhere....I'm fairly new and every new customer is a big deal. People are so freakin rude!

[k9stylist1968]

I Did a Bad, Bad Thing...

...yesterday.

I had a new dog scheduled yesterday, a shih tzu mix--one of only two at the vet's. The Lab bath/brush/nails came in, and since the owners wanted her done early, I did her straight through.... Done by 9:20. No Shih Tzu mix... receptionist calls, no answer, leaves a message.... I rather slowly cleaned up my area, even running vinegar/water through my bath pump.... Take the pump apart and clean the hair out of the inside filter.... Take my HV apart and clean the filters.... Still no shih tzu mix. Pack up my equipment and load into the car to take to job #2.... vacuum my area, go up front and check the appointment list for next week...Still no shih tzu mix, so I leave at 10:20....

JUST as I'm pulling into my carport, I get a call from the animal hospital--you guessed it, the shih tzu mix is there. Now, it's only an 8-minute drive from my home to the hospital, so I COULD have gone back.... But I asked T to reschedule the woman's appointment. It's not like she wasn't given MORE than ample time to show up "a bit late"--and she was called an hour before I left. And loading/unloading my toolbox is a pain in the butt, so I just didn't feel like going back. I DID tell T to call and I'd come back if the woman really objected....

Whether it was a correct or incorrect response, I guess I'll find out on Monday. It's just so aggravating that people think that their time is valuable and we're just there for when it's convenient for them.