People Pleasing Policies

Now I know you’re thinking…what does this have to do with pet retail? Don’t worry…it’s related!

Most people in the pet industry (myself included) are here because they are obsessed with their pets. We tend to be the household caretakers and as such more empathetic to the needs of others. DISCOUNTS

Every business owner has friends or family requesting discounts. Clients may even have multiple dogs in their household in which they would love a price break for dog grooming or treats.

Being an “Empath” is wonderful for society but quite taxing as there are many people that exploit an Empath for their own gain. It is for this reason, it’s extremely important to have a store manual or policies and procedures in place to refer to in order to keep your “people pleasing” ways from being taken advantage of and your business running at maximum efficiency. We’re going to discuss ways you can be your caring self and run an efficient business by employing “People Pleasing Policies” or 24 “PPP.” Copyright © 2013 Find A Groomer Inc. All rights reserved Subscribe www.egroomer.com

Let’s be honest…it’s not that much less work grooming three dogs from the same household than from three different households so why should they get a break? If you have a policy in place in written form in your business and on your website, it will make it much easier for you to refer to your policy than argue with a client. If a friend or family member asks for a discount; you can say, “Our friends and family discount policy is 20%.” Or if a multi-household client asks for a discount; you can explain, “It’s not our policy to give discounts for multi-household (Continued on page 25)

families.” In this way, someone can blame the “policy” without getting upset with you directly. If you have difficulty enforcing these policies, have a receptionist or assistant do it for you.

Having all your policies online on your website is a great way for you to set expectations for your clients too. New clients can scour your website before entering your business and they’ll have an idea of your policies and procedures and professionalism before they ever walk through your door. If you think your online policies will scare off potential clients…those are NOT the clients you need!

NO-SHOWS & LAST MINUTE RESCHEDULES

Nearly every service business that sets appointments for their clients should have a “No-Show” policy in place. Clients are not thinking of the loss of income a “no-show” will incur, they’re generally only thinking of their own situation. My absolute favorite way to avoid a rescheduled appointment or “no-show” is to utilize a notification system to remind clients of their appointments. Pet Desk is an app with a notification service that texts your clients of upcoming appointments which can save you thou-

sands of dollars annually. In addition to using technology to assist your appointments, you can put your appointment cancellation policy on your website. Adding this information to your website will set the expectation before a client walks through your doors. Example: “We recommend rescheduling your appointment 48 hours in advance in order to avoid a $50 cancellation fee.” On the occasion this occurred, I would give a client a one time “freebee” and not charge them that time but let them know we would charge next time. If a client canceled a second time; they were more than apologetic and willing to pay the cancellation fee. Having a clear cut policy in place with a little wiggle room for a 1st time offense always made my clients more respectful of my business and time.

DON’T GIVE AWAY THE HOUSE

items that I see Pet Groomers constantly giving away and then wonder why they make ZERO sales on these same items in their retail stores.

Bows: Yes, Bella looks cute with bows walking out of your salon and these are typically included with a good grooming appointment. Providing inexpensive ribbon and or mass quantities of simple bows (under 5 cents) to create a polished effect… go right ahead. Unfortunately there are many pet grooming salons that spend way too much time and labor buying and making fancy bows for clients when they could upsell them to increase profit margins and lower labor costs. Many of these same grooming salons will actually offer really nice bows for sale and then wonder why no one buys them. Why would a client spend money if they can get it for free? Offer a base bow and upsell for clients that want something more so it’s a win-win for both business and client!

Bandanas:

The cheap bandanas of the past are falling out of fashion for many grooming salons. There are so many fancy bandanas that are for sale on sites like Etsy and Amazon. Instead of spending the labor & money cutting bandanas for cli-

As Empaths, not only do we love taking care of people, but we love the smile on their face when we give them something that they need or like! Don’t come at me, I’m not saying you can’t ever give anything away as there are special circumstances where a giveaway is cru26 Copyright © 2013 Find A Groomer Inc. All rights reservedcial. We’re going to talk about a few Subscribe www.egroomer.com(Continued on page 27) PetGroomer.com Magazine www.petgroomermagazine.com Subscribe Free © 2022 Find A Groomer Inc All rights reserved

ents that may or may not like them… offer custom bandanas as an upsell to your clients. Some salons and stores have their own Cricket machines & take orders when clients drop off their pets to be ready in time for when they are picked up! You can charge $10-$20 for a custom bandana instead of spending the labor & capital on bandanas that your clients might throw away anyway!

Treats:

Clients will often expect free dog treats because grooming salons LOVE giving them away. Now if you’re trying to promote a treat for sale in your salon or store…this policy makes more sense. However; many salons that retail often get frustrated with clients not wanting to purchase their treats when they are constantly giving them away. Save some treats for “special” clients and put them behind the counter. If you are going to set up samples in your store…I highly recommend getting rid of a bowl and carefully placing treats in a nice pattern like this photo because people take less when there appears to be less to take. In a bowl, I’ve seen clients dump an entire bowl of dog treats in their purse! Merchandising your treats with less makes a client consciously think about messing up the display and they will be inclined to take one at a time. This phenomenon is called “retail psychology” and it’s amazing!

SANITATION STATION

In the pet industry there’s a lot of sanitation for those pups that get excited in your business or need to “mark” their new territory. I don’t know about you but I did not open a pet business so I can clean up after puppy “accidents” all day long. A good way to handle this issue so that you can keep your business running smoothly is to put the responsibility back on the client.

If a puppy has an accident, you can say, “Awww, your puppy is so cute & excited!” “We have a sanitation station right over here for these little accidents.”

Set up a trash can, paper towels, sanitizer, & roll of bags with signage so the client can take that “monkey” off your back. Not only will this train your clients to clean up after themselves, it will teach them to respect your business, and save you payroll by not having to send an employee out every time an “accident” happens.

Not everyone will agree with many of the PPP’s in this article, and that’s ok. Many business owners are in business to do what they love in a pet centric business with less of an eye on making profit which is called: a very expensive hobby.

With peace and love; I get you and love you for all you do. For those business owners that have their eye on building a profitable business; every minute, sku, product, and service will determine their success and ultimately their profit margins.

If you aren’t currently employing any of the above policies…take it slowly, try one or two and see how much pressure it takes off your shoulders and try another. You will begin to understand that you can build a business you love while increasing your profitability!

Until next time…

“The Art of Pet Retailing”

Leel Michelle ABOUT THE AUTHOR

An Entrepreneur in the Pet Industry since 2006; Leél Michelle previously owned an award winning brick & mortar pet boutique (1st Place "America's Coolest Store; Pets+ Magazine,) grooming salon, and pet bakery. Leel sold her grooming salon & boutique to former employee and "Pooch Perfect" semi-finalist; Gabriel Feitosa to scale her commercial dog bakery business. Dog Cake Bakery was created to provide the pet industry & pet parents a collection of premium, Instagrammable dog treats, and dog birthday cakes. Leél was inspired by her own pets to create brands that utilized her skills, creativity, and passion to build memorable businesses catering to pets, pet parents, & retailers nationwide. Leél enjoys giving back to the pet industry with trade show speaking engagements such as SuperZoo, Barkleigh Productions, and Global Pet Expo. Leél also consults with pet stores and grooming salons to improve their pet retail merchandising & grooming salon operations. Leél Michelle loves sharing her passion for animals in the pet industry and looks forward to sharing her passion with you!