Common Q&A's on House-call Grooming Services
I know it's a little late, but Happy New Year to my readers! As many of you already know, I metaphorically jumped off a cliff last week. I left an environment and situation that didn't feel right, and dove straight into business ownership and the world of house-call grooming services. It's been a wild ride of a week taking these steps, and making changes that I believe will be a better fit for myself and clients.
I've gotten quite a few questions about House-call service, and I would love to make a post that can help explain the service better!
1) Why house-call? Why not open a salon? Very good question! Maybe one day a physical salon will be in the cards, but I don't think that would suit me and what I want to do at this point in my career. A big factor on why I've chosen house-call is the dogs themselves, and the cats I groom. I truly believe that the overall health, including psychological is important to the grooming process, and that we should be working with behavior whenever possible to create a calm experience for the animals. Unfortunately this isn't always possible in a salon setting. I personally think limiting interactions can be very beneficial to the many things that we need to accomplish in the sometimes short time we have to groom the pets. Quite commonly by the time the pet walks in the salon door, they've come in contact with so many different things that they're already stressed and exhibiting "fight/flight/freeze" When the animal is already in this mode it can be very difficult to calm them down, and proceeding can create further distress, which then makes a dangerous situation for the dog or cat and the groomer. In the short time I've been doing house-call; the clients I've worked with have been surprised and amazed at how much calmer their pets have been in a home setting. Calm, confident, happy pets are what I strive for with my client base and my style of grooming, and I think house-call can help me better accomplish that. 2) Who's eligible for house-call grooming? How does scheduling work? Unfortunately I can't provide this service to every pet, or every area. House-call will be limited to cats and toy/small/medium sized dogs on the island of Montreal. Due to the limited amount of appointments available, it's strongly recommended to pre-book your next appointment at the end of the grooming session. I'm only one person, and factoring in travel time will mean that there will only be around 30 spots per month for house-call services. 3) How does pricing and payment work? I'm really happy to say that I'll be accepting all forms of payment shortly, I'm just waiting on my card reader to arrive. I've legally registered this business, so taxes will be applied to the bill for all clients. Prices are calculated with travel time and expense in mind, and include full service grooming with high quality pet products in the comfort of your own home. Dogs that require hand-stripping will be charged $1/minute of stripping Bath appointments will start at $55 Haircuts on dogs start at $65 Haircuts on cats start at $65 Prices will depend on coat condition and haircut style All services (excluding some cats) will include a bath with Chris Christensen SmartWash and SmartRinse shampoo and conditioner or iGroom Hypoallergenic shampoo and condtioner. Have any other questions about house-call service? I'd be happy to answer them!