I have a question for everyone. I have a home grooming shop with only myself working in it. I have a few clients that drop off in the morning on their way to work and pick up after work. Love those! But then there's the rest.... When I opened 5 years ago I let people drop off morning 7:30-8:30, one or two at 10:00 and then "afternoon" clients that drop off 12:00-1:00. I have clients picking up all times of afternoon, some even pick up late morning. This means I NEVER get lunch, no breaks, and hate answering the phone because I know it will slow me down.
I could get more done if I could get everyone to drop off in a.m. and pick up at end of day. I now do 7-9 dogs a day, but am booked up 6-8 weeks ahead of time, so would like to do more dogs per day. I do offer express grooming for an extra $10, but most of the time I don't charge them for it. ( my fault, I know)
My problem is this: clients that want to drop off or pick-up on THEIR lunch hours, clients say they have to get up so early to get here, they would rather have an afternoon appt. I am in a very small rural town, so many clients are coming 15-20 miles away, so they want to hang around here in my town and have me call them as soon as their pets are done.
If I don't change something, I will go crazy, I am getting so burned out from working at a crazy pace with no breaks. I can't hire any help as in our town, a home-based business can only hire family members. How do I get my clients to switch to this new schedule and how do I notify them of it. What about the drop-offs and pick-ups on lunch hours?
Advise please
I could get more done if I could get everyone to drop off in a.m. and pick up at end of day. I now do 7-9 dogs a day, but am booked up 6-8 weeks ahead of time, so would like to do more dogs per day. I do offer express grooming for an extra $10, but most of the time I don't charge them for it. ( my fault, I know)
My problem is this: clients that want to drop off or pick-up on THEIR lunch hours, clients say they have to get up so early to get here, they would rather have an afternoon appt. I am in a very small rural town, so many clients are coming 15-20 miles away, so they want to hang around here in my town and have me call them as soon as their pets are done.
If I don't change something, I will go crazy, I am getting so burned out from working at a crazy pace with no breaks. I can't hire any help as in our town, a home-based business can only hire family members. How do I get my clients to switch to this new schedule and how do I notify them of it. What about the drop-offs and pick-ups on lunch hours?
Advise please
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