Hourly Pay

[K-9 Designs]

I've seen a lot of talk on this board about employers paying groomers by the hour. Does any one on this board get paid hourly? (Not someone who can commission out!) What other benefits do you get.

I'm just curious to hear how groomers like it or dislike it? I don't think I would like it, how much would you have to pay to come close to comission pay?

[DAPER DAWG]

I wouldn't like it because I don't want to hang around with nothing to do when there were slow days and it would be used as an excuse to get you somewhere everyday even when there was nothing going on so one dog could be booked and you could be told to go home. I prefer commission and the ability to leave when I am done.

It doesn't make sense as an employer either to be paying someone when their not making you any money.

[redbird]

me myself

Well, I know some of the grooms where I worked only got half of a groom, and some days only did like two dogs.
If those are forty dollar grooms, driving to work for forty dollars isn't to great after taxes.
If I could get 15 and hour, I would gladly also clean, bathe, do the phone and anything else they asked me to do. To me a steady amount a week would be better than the feast or famin that seems to be the norm in grooming.

[Dawn125]

I have read lots of posts where people say paying commission is becomming a thing of the past and hourly is the best way to go. The thing is that I occasionally keep a log of my hours and figure out what my commission works out to per hour and I'm sure I would get less if I were paid hourly. I am also sure I would do less if it didn't effect my pay. There are lots of days that I squeeze in another dog because is means another $xx in my pocket where if I were hourly it wouldn't matter. When I was a bather I worked hourly and I didn't work near as fast as I do now. I don't know what hourly wage I would be willing to settle for. I know what I average now but some days are really good because I am motivated by commission. If I was hourly and someone wanted me to squeeze in their Chow....ummm, I think not! I didn't really answer the question about how much would come close to commission pay because I am sure that varies so much by location. Maybe about triple the bathers hourly wage.

[Gracy Rose]

Dawn you are the norm:-) When I paid salary only; my employees were more willing to say no to squeezing in that extra client, they were quicker to send dogs home without those "extra" touches. Now, that they can get commission they KNOW where their bread is buttered:-)

[sudsypup]

So on a commision based pay, on a good day what is a decent hourly rate?

[fortheloveofpawz]

hourly

im piad 11$ hour. i do 9-10 dogs a day sometimes more. it avarages out at 88$ day. they want to pay twice amonth. to me,being a groomer for 4yrs,its not enough.
they want to sqeeze dogs in after 12pm and then want me to drop my overtime.
so i suggest getting paid commmision,its the only way to go.

[bananabread]

lets see, if i do six dogs in seven hours...at $40 per dog (thats the absolute minimum)...thats $240. i'm currently paid 60%...so my take is $144.

$144 divided by seven(hours) is $20.57 per hour.

thats if every dog is a $40 dog, with no extra charges..so thats the minimum.

[sudsypup]

lets see, if i do six dogs in seven hours...at $40 per dog (thats the absolute minimum)...thats $240. i'm currently paid 60%...so my take is $144.

$144 divided by seven(hours) is $20.57 per hour.

thats if every dog is a $40 dog, with no extra charges..so thats the minimum.

That sounds about what we were thinking. Our groomer is just out of school so she is a bit slow, hopefully for her, she can get her speed up and work on more dogs and make that as a minimum too.

[bananabread]

thats without a bather of course. if she had someone helping with the bathing and drying, she could do more.

[luv4furbabies]

What about taxes?

I am interested in this because I'll be opening a shop and hope to hire a bather and another groomer and I am trying to figure out how to pay also...

Do all of your figures take taxes into consideration? if you get 50% commission who pays the taxes. If I paid you by the hour then I would be paying the taxes so is it still going to be 20.00 per hour or is it really more like $16

Should I start another thread?...lol

[Shei77]

I'm Hourly

I moved to a new shop and my boss pays 15 an hour. We don't get to choose when we are done for the day if more dogs call in we do more dogs. She expects us to finish 8 dogs a day. We have a bather and receptionist. I like the hourly system because I no longer have to worry about not getting the high dollar dogs. At the last shop I worked at we had one groomer who took all the high priced dogs and I was stuck with the left over $30 dollar cheapos. I made less money on commission then I now do hourly. Yes with hourly I make less at the new shop as I would if I made commission there but I don't have the hostility, back stabbing and throat slitting I had to deal with at the old shop.
If you have employees that play nice and someone else to divide the dogs amongst the groomers fairly then commission works. If not hourly works better.
With hourly there would be more money in your pocket as well to expand your business and get benefits for your employees.

[neanea]

I am an hourly employee and at times I'm happy with it, and other times, wish I made commission

The great thing about hourly is that I can depend on my take home wages, but it may not be as good as what it could be (at times) on commission.

I work 10 hours a day 5 and 6 days a week and my pay weeks are split up to avoid over time for the most part. I get alot of work done, but not as much grooming as I could if I were only grooming. Basically, I groom about 5 or 6 hours a day and do any where from 4 - 6 dogs a day. If I was a commission groomer, my boss would hog all the dogs so I didn't get as much pay, LOL.

Another good thing about hourly at this point im my career, I don't HAVE to rush through my grooms and take the time I need to hone my skills and be the best I can be. I feel I'm a better groomer because of it and my boss is supporting that. BUT, I'd like to mention, I don't dawdle!!!! I WORK MY BUTT OFF! I clean the kennel, feed the dogs, answer the phones, do laundry, check in/out, do billing, ordering, stocking, you name it, I do it AND still manage to get my grooming done and looking good. I feel I am putting out quality work, not rushing through to earn an extra $$

I need my own place, LOL!

[Helly]

Personally, I like making draw plus commission. I have a base amount that I can depend on every day, no matter if there are no dogs scheduled or if there are 10. I work a minimum of 4 1/2 hours, maximum 8 hours. At the end of the day, they add up what my commission would be at 50%. If my base amount is greater, that's what I make for the day. If my commission is greater, then I make that amount.

Examples, using easy numbers to work with, not actual amounts:

Day one, 5 dogs scheduled, all Chihuahuas. Commission works out to $50, base rate is $80. I work 4 1/2 hours, and I get paid the greater amount; $80.

Day two, 5 dogs scheduled, 1 cocker, 2 schnauzers, 1 Yorkie and 1 standard Poodle. Commission is $135, base is $80. I work 7 hours, and get paid the greater amount, $135.