HELP

[schnlove]

I groom this sch about every two months, and today he came in, and I read the instructions and it said "short". Ok I think how short do they want him? He was matted on his chest, and matts under the arms and well, just about all of the skirting was matted. I could have dematted him, but instead I called the owner and asked her how short she wanted him. She said short. Ok I told her he was matted, and if she wanted him short I could leave him about 1/2" long on his skirting. So, I used a 10/4 pattern. He looked really cute, and I was quite proud of the groom. The husband picked up and took the dog home. The wife got mad and said it was way too short!! I feel like I did everything I could do to make sure I did what she wanted. How did I miscommunicate this? His pattern was already short, so where else would I go short except for the skirting? He does have difficult hair, and I thought he looked great. Little did I know. How else should this have been handled?

[Poodleluv]

Sounds like you did your best with what you had,and made a judgement call in favour of not stressing out the dog. What else can you do? You can't please everyone. A lot of clients will get off your back about the too short thing if you simply say "I didn't want to hurt your dog" Then I show them how to brush and comb properly,and let them know I would love to do the groom exactly how they like next time. Hope that helps. There will always be the odd person you can't please no matter how many hula hoops you jump through,or hula skirts you dematt LOL

[pooh13]

do you normally use a 10 on the back? I know several groomers do as a regular routine for schnauzers .personally I think that is too short myself I use a 7 on the back if they want really short Ill use a #9 .sometimes leaving a tad more hair when it comes to the back leaves even then shorter shirting not so drastic looking to the owners. and the blend comes out much nicer IMO.

[Doubledogdare]

My "short" may be someone else's "too long" and another's "You SCALPED my dog!" So, "short" is a matter of personal opinion.

You did not "miscommunicate" anything. The owners said short, you confirmed that with her and took the dog short.

If she wants the dog "long", tell her to buy a brush and comb and take care of the dog's coat between professional groomings. She does that and she can have the skirt dragging on the floor if she wants.

[Groomerchick]

Owner can't measure?

I don't think it was you so much as the owner not seeing '1/2 inch' correctly in her mind. I'm assuming since you usually do this dog every 8weeks that you usually use a ten, so it must be the #4 she had issues with.

Try this next time: "Her skirt is matted, and if you want her short, I think the best thing would be to leave it about half an inch... so about the size of my nail.' That is, if you don't have long nails! If you draw out the word 'so' like you're thinking a little, it tends to not offend them by making them feel as though you have to explain what half an inch is... even though you do. Most people I talk to, I can see that their nodding their heads as I'm telling them about lengths (when they say short), then when I compare that length to something they can visualize, their eyes widen and they start with the 'oh no, not that short!' stuff! It's kind of funny if it was't so frustrating!

[Jenneversage64]

It seems like communication

is a lost art when it comes to clients. No one knows what an inch looks like. No one knows how long a mile is, or even the names of the streets they take every day, too and from home. No one seems to know how to be dependable, or even to call and cancel if they aren't able to be home for an appt. I also ask, short from the skin or from the ends of the fur? I even have a tape measure and a little kids school ruler to show people what an inch really looks like. I will also show them a length on the back of the neck to see what they think. Usually they want one or two longer than my 7F. But if you have a shop, they aren't always there to see. I usually do what I think the wife wants because they are boss, and hubby wants it shorter.Fingers and s are a good one to use as examples.

[Dawn125]

How short do you usually leave him?

[stewiedog]

I think the problem was doing this over the phone. I don't know how you take your dogs in, but you need to speak directly to the person. Go over the dog on the table and discuss the haircut in person, don't leave it to someone else to interpret grooming instructions for you even if it is another groomer