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Manipulative customers...
This is kind of a rant mixed with a question. I just started my mobile in December and I've been doing pretty well. My prices are not extreme, but I do charge about $20 more than the box stores in my area. About a year before i started the mobile groomer in a small town about 10 miles north of me left, so I've picked up quite a bit of her business since I opened. One of my first calls from that area was a lady that lives in a very nice gated community. I advised her of what my grooming entails and of the price of $60, and she schedule the appointment. I got there groomed her dog and she was thrilled with the job I did, but then started asking questions about why I charge so much and told me that the previous mobile only charged her $35. Truthfully?! I thought she was lying. She paid the full price when she saw I wasn't going to drop my price. She pre booked for 6 weeks out and even called two of her friends that live in the same community and raved about me. They immediately called and even after quoting them the price they booked their dogs for the same day as her next appointment! I was thrilled!
Then I showed up last week for their appointments. First one knew I wasn't going to budge on the price, but needed to remind me that she was always charged a lot less before. No biggie... when I got to the second customer all she did was complain about how the groomer they've been using recently does such a horrible job, it's uneven, etc. so after I groom the dog she just raves about how good her dog looks. She asks me the price which is $5 more than her friend because she has a bigger dog, and she starts telling me that she has referred so many people to me and that I "need to keep that in mind when I charge her" because they aren't used to paying anywhere near that much! I was in shock! I didn't know how to respond and honestly I don't think I did. I just kind of stood there and let her get it out of her system. Then she paid the full price.
Out of curiosity I got in touch with the previous mobile groomer through a mutual friend. Come to find out her prices were that low. She worked her fingers to the bone and she was extremely busy but all the money she made went into the grooming van. She basically said that I would have a tough time making it in this area because people don't want to pay that much for grooming. Now, I'm lucky enough that I have a trailer instead of a van right now so I don't have a lot of overhead, but am I wrong in refusing to drop my prices for these customers? How do I handle customers like the second one above? I'm sure I looked real professional standing there with my mouth open not knowing what to say!
Then I showed up last week for their appointments. First one knew I wasn't going to budge on the price, but needed to remind me that she was always charged a lot less before. No biggie... when I got to the second customer all she did was complain about how the groomer they've been using recently does such a horrible job, it's uneven, etc. so after I groom the dog she just raves about how good her dog looks. She asks me the price which is $5 more than her friend because she has a bigger dog, and she starts telling me that she has referred so many people to me and that I "need to keep that in mind when I charge her" because they aren't used to paying anywhere near that much! I was in shock! I didn't know how to respond and honestly I don't think I did. I just kind of stood there and let her get it out of her system. Then she paid the full price.
Out of curiosity I got in touch with the previous mobile groomer through a mutual friend. Come to find out her prices were that low. She worked her fingers to the bone and she was extremely busy but all the money she made went into the grooming van. She basically said that I would have a tough time making it in this area because people don't want to pay that much for grooming. Now, I'm lucky enough that I have a trailer instead of a van right now so I don't have a lot of overhead, but am I wrong in refusing to drop my prices for these customers? How do I handle customers like the second one above? I'm sure I looked real professional standing there with my mouth open not knowing what to say!
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