ComplaintsforShampoochie's Pet Salon

• Initial Complaint

  01/18/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I took my little dog here and he was butchered. He had bald spots and she tried to convince me that he was not bald. She says that you pay for her time and hands no matter how terrible she does. I left a very honest review on ******** and was blocked, so my review went away. This is not a fair representation of how people really feel about this service. I am just so sorry I took my dogs to her. One dog, who just lays down when he is groomed is also chopped up. Behavior is not and issue here. It is skill and customer service that is a problem. She did offer to “try” to fix one of my dogs but I could not trust her to make his cut even worse.

  Business response

  02/19/2024

  This is a long story, but I will defend myself when someone so maliciously campaigns to bad mouth my business and reputation. All my correspondence is included in the attached documents with screenshots of our texts. This customer's husband contacted me asking to book appts for his 4 dogs. I stay booked out about 6 weeks and he expressed that one needed groomed asap bc he was "pretty bad." I booked 2 of the dogs on different days and he said he would wait to schedule the other 2. The day of the first dog's appt, it had snowed pretty bad in our area, and when he dropped off the 1st dog, I told him a few of my appts had canceled bc of the weather and if he wanted to bring the other dog, he could. He said he could do that and would go ahead and go home and give "him his medicine for grooming." Well after being a groomer for over 15 years, I knew that he was having to medicate the dog for grooming bc of prior issues and knowing that the dog needed prescription meds to get groomed. The 1st dog is the light colored (almost white) dog pictured named ******. He came in very matted and the husband showed me a picture his wife sent him asking to make ****** look like that. I told him that was not possible bc his body was very matted and he would have to be shaved. I showed him the matting so there was no question. Well upon completion of that dog's groom, the husband came back bringing the 2nd dog, ****. I told him ****** would look choppy in a few places bc the matting was severe and very close to the skin and I wouldn't shave him any shorter than that bc of the possibility of skin irritation. When he handed me the 2nd dog, ****, I made the remark that oh he's a cutie. The husband replied with "Oh you'll have some trouble with that one." He also asked if I could trim **** like the picture his wife wanted, and I said I could bc he wasn't matted. The picture was of a yorkie with a shaved body and the hair on the legs left long.

  I found out while grooming ****, that he was very reactive and aggressive at different points in the trimming. He got very snappy and would not tolerate me trimming his legs or feet. I did the best I could safely and humanely. I don't fight with dogs to accomplish a certain trim or haircut. It creates a stressful environment for myself and the animal, and their safety and comfortability are my upmost concerns. When I was almost finished, I texted the husband and he asked the price. I told him it was $120 for both ($60 each) to which he replied saying he thought it was $35?! I was confused bc he had never asked a price when booking the appts and his cousin is a longtime client of mine and she knows my prices and I would assume she would relay that when recommending me to them. I told him No and he sent me a screenshot of an excerpt from online saying $35 AND UP for pet grooming. I asked him where he found that and he just replied with website. He said no more. He then texted me a picture of a 3rd dog asking how much to do some trimming on her. I didn't respond bc I knew he was on his way to pickup and talk to him about it then. When he came to pickup, he was quite blunt and angry over the cost. He paid in cash and I explained how difficult it was to groom ****. I then quoted him a price for the 3rd dog and he replied with "that's absolutely ridiculous and nah I'm good." 

  Shortly after he left, his wife began texting me asking to bring **** back to even him up. That is evident in the screenshots. I did not "offer to fix him" as she states in her complaint. I explained to her that I wouldn't be back until 2:30 and after several hours, I didn't know how much I could accomplish given his meds were going to wear off by then. She said in her texting that she knows he's difficult but that was extreme. So she knows BEHAVIOR IS AN ISSUE WITH HIM. After explaining to her how my pricing works and what I will and won't do with an animal when I groom, I asked if she was bringing him back that afternoon to which she said they were not.

  At this point, I thought this situation was over. I knew they were mad but the next day, I get an email from ****** saying the wife had left me a 1-star review. I then decided to go to my shop's ******** and block her and her husband from my page, bc I wasn't risking them going onto my ******** and leaving a bad review or posting/tagging me in anything. ****** is very difficult to get reviews removed, I didn't remove it bc a business owner doesn't have that control with ******. I attached a screenshot of her review in the email I got. I also attached a review left by one of her ******** friends that was pretty nasty and my reply to her. A second person when on and left me a 1star review but no comment bc this person is not a name of anyone I groom for so I know she's related to this customers bc both of their reviews came in on the same day.

  At this point, I texted the wife back and was very blunt myself bc with their reviews and no doubt bad mouthing me on social media, this had become harassment. I'm a sole proprietor and have no employees, so any reflection on my business is a direct reflection on me and my name. I told her it needed to stop or I'd be reaching out to my attorney. All of this is in the attachments. She responded saying I had falsely advertised my prices which I didn't. Even if the screenshot was mine, it says $35 AND UP! Why she would assume that her dogs would be on the low end of that range is beyond me. Especially an aggressive dog that requires medicine to be able to be groomed. 

  Now, the "baldness" she's referring to is an area on the chest where the hair grows in multiple directions, that requires blending when shaving to which I knew this dog would not tolerate. So I shaved it the same length of the body (7F blade) and it looks that way bc it shaves it a length shorter bc you're shaving against the grain. A groomer knows what I'm talking about here. Her reference to a dog that lays for grooming and was chopped up. I explained to her husband that ****** would look choppy b/c some of the mats were so close and I wasn't cutting him any shorter than a 7F b/c of risk of irritation with any shorter blade. The WHOLE ISSUE IN THEIR DISSATISFACTION IS THE COST OF THE GROOMER. I can't help if someone can't afford to get their dogs groomed. If budgeting or finances are an issue, it is a customer's responsibility to ask how much grooming is instead of assuming and sending me a bogus screenshot of a price that clearly states AND UP for pricing. Also they shouldn't have agreed to bring a 2nd dog for grooming on the same day if affordability was an issue. As well as, have responsibility for their aggressive dog's behavior and not have unrealistic expectations for a groomer to magically make a difficult dog look like a random picture you find online of a desired haircut. Groomers do not possess magic wands and can make any dog look perfect. Behavior and the ability to be handled are basic requirements to safely groom a dog. This dog is a big risk for getting nicked or cut while getting groomed and that DID NOT happen at my shop b/c MY SKILL exhibited a groom safely on a difficult, snapping dog. As far as customer service, I'm not discounting my price bc someone assumes its cheaper, I'm not discounting my prices bc someone's dog is extremely difficult for grooming and didn't have a picture perfect groom to their satisfaction. People need to take responsibility for their animals and their behavior. Everyone wants to pass the blame and turn to social media and now the BBB to defame a person's character, business, livelihood and the ability to support themselves and their family.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩