Getting Into Grooming
My experience at the first salon I worked at was very mixed. I found out about the job from my previous boss, who owned the pet walking/sitting business that I worked for. I wasn’t getting enough clients and asked her what I could do, because I wasn’t making enough money to survive. She knew about this receptionist position at a nearby dog grooming salon and recommended me for the position to the owner. I interviewed and got the job on the spot since she liked me so much. We vibed great and seemed to have the same views on things.
As a receptionist, I used a book to write in appointments. We had 3-4 dogs come in every hour, so this was very challenging to keep up with. I mostly got the hang of it after a while (not as quick as the boss had hoped), but still struggled to keep up with the phone sometimes. We just had an iphone and hand wrote all of the texts rather than using an automated system for appointment reminders. The industry was so new to me that what seemed like the everyday lingo for her was a complete blur to me. It was like learning a new language. I didn’t understand the processes or tools that were being used, or the timing of everything.
The employees we had in the salon besides me and the owner were a few bathers and one other groomer. The difference between a bather and a groomer is that bathers don’t do haircuts, only baths and nail trims. Once I got the hang of things as a receptionist and became more independent, one of the bathers left. I took that as an opportunity to try it out for myself. It became an extra challenge, since I had to split the days half and half with another girl who wanted to be receptionist/bather too.
I struggled to maintain a fast pace while doing either of these jobs. While I was a teacher, I dealt with anxiety in the form of moving super fast all the time. It caused a lot of stress, which manifested in physical ailments like migraines and stomach issues, and I had to work on slowing things down in my life. However, dog grooming is very fast paced, or else you don’t make any money. I had to retrain myself to work quickly with my hands. It was a major challenge, and the owner lost all respect for me because of it.
I also came to the owner with ideas on making the front desk more efficient. For example, I created a Google form for clients to answer questions we have before their first appointment. I made a flyer to give to the pet parents about how to maintain their dog’s coat between grooms. I made signs to put up about things we would complain about, like people pulling the door instead of pushing, or what to do when they walk in. The owner did not want to even look at any of it, simply because she did not want anybody else’s input on how she ran the salon. She said something along the lines of “you are here to do the job the way I tell you to do it.”
Clearly this was not the right salon with me. It was hard for me to see that, because I had already seen so much growth in myself since discovering that I have a way with dogs. I did not want to lose that momentum. I had become the person that people call over to calm down a fussy dog, and didn’t want to potentially lose that. I also wanted to work toward doing haircuts. However, I did eventually get too emotional too often because of the stress, and decided to leave for a new salon where my boss will treat me better.
My boyfriend had a car that pooped out on him, and I was taking him to work in the mornings. It was a long drive, so I decided that I should apply to a salon near where he works. That worked out well because I got that receptionist/bather job on the spot just like the previous one. I finished out my two weeks at the previous salon and started fresh at a new salon near my boyfriend’s work. Driving to work together has since become a fond memory.
There are some wild stories about the next salon I worked at too, so I will be sure to tell you about them in another blog post. Thank you so much for reading. I will see you on the next one and on my socials.
