“The Crazy World of Setting your Groom Price!
Are you getting paid for what you are worth?”
Part I
Pricing your grooming services can be one of the most frustrating, confusing and yes, for some people very scary. I will tell you this, in most of my years in the business most groomers or salon owners are not getting enough for their services. There is a very logical way to determine your pricing and we will get into how that is done in detail in Part II.
First I want to mention in order to get top prices:
1. You need to have a professional, service orientated attitude. That means you have to convey a positive attitude and be able to have the knowledge to solve client issues with their pets.
2. You need to be able to have the styling skills to groom the pets to a high quality level and to the client’s request.
3. You need to be able to groom the pet at this high quality level as quickly and efficiently as possible without sacrificing quality and have the pet enjoy the experience. There are many time saving tips and techniques in our DVD’s (Due out in Dec.2009). The information will be available at www.goldenpaws.com.
4. You will also need to use quality products and shampoos that will help keep the coat in good condition and help you with the styling process.
5. You need a clean, warm, organized inviting facility.
6. You have to convey confidence in yourself and own the knowledge you have and what you offer is worth the price you charge. With everything you need to know and the skills you have had to develop to be a great stylist and the care you take of the pet, you need to charge for you service! People will pay for it. Let me give you a couple of examples:
Back in the early 80’s in Humble, TX ( Near Houston) there was an oil bust and overnight Houston was in a great recession. There were 3-4 pages of house foreclosures and many lost jobs. It virtually affected everyone. My mother had to raise her grooming prices (as she was planning on) by $5.00 and she never lost a client because of the increase.
At my own salon and pet styling school I noticed the front person and/or another stylist mispriced a dog or the dog wasn’t current on updated pricing so I had to sometimes go up on some as much as $15.00 and I never had a upset client over it. It is always important on how you explain the pricing. They know prices go up on gas, rent, the quality products we use and salaries for the top stylists we have that take wonderful care and style their pets beautifully. They also can understand if we missed an increase that they were getting a savings. It was our mistake but now we have to fix it. You want to keep a pretty close price to breeds so one client doesn’t get with another and wonder why they pay more than the other with the same breed. Of course there will be some differences based on service, extra hand scissoring, nail filing, teeth brushing, spa treatment, etc. The client always needs to know what they are paying for and anything that takes extra time you have to charge because that time is not available to groom more dogs. This is a time service business and you need to be paid appropriately for your time.
This is a huge subject. In Part II “The Crazy World of Setting your Groom Pricing!” we will get into more detail about how to take emotion out of pricing and take logical and practical steps to setting your pricing.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Mitzi Parrish
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