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Most of you with any experience under your belt in the United States – just complete Phase 1. Phase 1 of the holiday marathon grooming. Getting all those pooches ready for family and friends.

Those of you in the United States, you have just gone through grooming marathon Phase #1 for the holiday season. Thanksgiving.

How did it go? Smooth as silk? Or would you like to make improvements as you move into Phase #2 – Christmas and Hanukkah?

Most of us are involved with the pet industry are here because the passion. We simply love working with the pets. However, even the most passionate groomer can feel the pressures of the holiday demands.

If you are one of those professionals who felt the pressures of the Thanksgiving crunch, take heart. It’s time to review what you did right — and areas that could use some improvement in the areas of time management in the grooming salon.

Here are My Top 10 Tips for Getting Through Your Day with Easy
#1. Mental Control
Stay focused. Pay close attention to what you are doing at all times. You’re working with live animals and sharp instruments. Chatter between your coworkers and pets breaks your focus. You lose time and you make mistakes when you don’t stay focused on the pet.

Always practice the three C’s; stay calm, stay cool, and stay collected. When you’re working with a pet you want to be friendly but aloof. You want to correct any undesirable action before it becomes a major problem. Frustration and anger have no place in a professional salon setting. If you feel yourself getting frustrated, take a break. Breath. Step back to the grooming table when you have regained your composure.

Work methodically with all pets. Don’t get flustered. Set an even and steady pace when it comes to handling, bathing, drying, brushing, clipping, and scissoring. Set time goals for every step of the grooming process and strive to achieve them.

#2. Invest in Yourself and Your Equipment
What is the condition of your equipment? Are you working with top-quality equipment?

It’s amazing how much time you can save when your equipment is in top condition. Or when you splurge on that new pair of blenders that cut like butter. Or you have a high velocity dryer that has plenty of punch. Oh, and all of your shears and blades have sharp edges on them — correct? There’s nothing more frustrating than working with dull and ineffective equipment when crunch time is on. Right now you’re in crunch time.

#3. Organization in the Salon
Do you have a smooth process for client check-in and checkout? If you’re computerized, is it easy to pull up client records in a flash? If you’re still working with a card file, are all the records pulled the pets that are scheduled for that day?

Most stylists in a salon setting find working in a minimum of three or four hour blocks of time can be highly advantageous to time management. The more you have to stop to check-in or checkout clients the more you lose your focus on the pet that is on the table. By working in blocks of time, you can check multiple pets in and out in tight windows of time when it comes to dealing with customers.

Do you have a method to track all the collars and leads that accompany the pets? This is no time to be looking for that lost collar or lead! Do you have a bright assortment of those pre-made? Do you have festive bandannas cut and ready to go on the dog?

#4 Mental & Nutritional Stamina
When the rush is on, you need to be at your peak — mentally, physically and nutritionally.

You’re not going to be at your peak if you’re not getting enough sleep. I know … I know. With all the demands between work, family and holiday festivities, slumber can be hard to come by. Normally, a professional groomer is so physically exhausted that when your head does hit the pillow — sleep comes easily. Just make sure you’re getting enough hours each night so you can perform at high levels the next day.

With the holidays upon us, most salons find themselves overrun with holiday treats from their clients. Be careful with this one. Personally I learned the hard way you are not good to feel your best if you consume all those goodies all day long!

I learned in my early 20s to pack healthy food options to keep me nourished all day long. I was mobile so in between every client by reward was to eat. If I had healthy options at my fingertips, it was easy to keep my energy level in high gear. In a salon setting, this might be a little bit more challenging. Still, eating healthy small amounts on a regular basis is the best way to keep you both mentally and physically content.

Pack a nutritional lunch plus snacks. (You know your days are to be long!) Or do a potluck between staff members. We’ve done this for years at the Paragon School of Pet Grooming with great success. The rule is: Healthy, quick food options only. No sweets. No desserts. Our clients do a great job with that. The potluck is set up so everybody can grab a quick bite in between dogs quickly and easily.

If you’re not a cook – have a stack of local takeout menus available. If they deliver – BONUS!

The holidays are a great time to really test your skills. We’ll find out quickly just how successful you are. If you have a full book and struggling to fit into just one more pet each day, you know you have arrived. Be thankful for creating a service that your customers desire. If you take care of them well — they’ll take care of you. That’s what successful customer service is all about!

Happy trimming and happy Thanksgiving!

~Melissa

If you need a brush up on any time management lessons, here are a few titles from Learn2GroomDogs.com that could help you.
Video Title                                                                       L2GD Training Partner
• Building a Grooming Code — the Card Game                       Melissa Verplank
• Preparing for the Holiday Rush                                               Melissa Verplank
• Speed & Efficiency — Monster Sized Dog in 76 Minutes           Lisa Leady
• Speed & Efficiency — Daisy Dog in Less Than 45 Minutes       Suesan Watson
• Speed & Efficiency – Shih Tzu in 45 Minutes                             Suesan Watson
• Anything from the ‘queen’ of Gettin’ er Done – Judy Hudson    Judy Hudson
• Melissa’s Best Time Saving Tips                                                  Melissa Verplank
• Tails from Holidays Past                   Suesan Watson, Lisa Leady, Marc Lafleur,     Melissa Verplank
• What I Know for Sure (this one will just make you feel good!)    Judy Hudson

Why am I on the payroll?

Have you ever thought about it? Come on – really thought about it?
When we hire someone in one of my companies, we want to see results in exchange for a paycheck. Every job will be different. If you are a groomer, how many dogs can you groom with quality and safety foremost in your mind?

If you are a receptionist, how many appointments can you book error free? How are you helping the salon grow the client list or maintain a steady pace? If you are a groomer’s assistant, how many dogs can you help your team produce?

And with all of these tasks, are you doing it with a positive attitude?

The roll of a business is not to give you a ‘job’. The role of any business is to provide a product or service to a customer. If they do it well – you’ll get a paycheck .Enterprising owners don’t go into business to break even or worst yet – lose money. They open businesses for many reasons. One of the biggest reasons — to chase the American dream. To make a profit doing what they love doing. Working with pets.

So what is your role in the pet care service business? Think about the results you need to accomplish in your job. How many pets do you need to groom to be deemed productive – and profitable – in order to be valued by your supervisor? When a prospective client calls, are you able to book the appointment? Are pets going out the door injury free? Are the trims done correctly and with quality? Are clients smiling when they pick up their pets? Are they rebooking their next appointment in six weeks or less?

Most businesses have goals and quotas. This is the way performance is measured in the work place. Are you reaching your quotas easily? Are you doing the tasks you have been assigned without being reminded? Are you meeting and/or exceeding your goals/ quotas? Everyone that gathers a paycheck at the end of the week has responsibility to help the company in a productive and positive way.

Are you living up to the expectations of your employer? Are you truly earning the paycheck you want every week by being the most productive you can be? Stop and think about it. What can you do to improve the results that drop down to the bottom line, ensuring you HAVE a job every week? That you stay on the payroll.

Happy Trimming!
Melissa Verplank

Melissa’s Top 4 Tips for Getting Through Your Holidays with Ease

Why Am I On The Payroll?