keeping clients during the economic slump

Now is the time to give....and I promise you,if you do, you will get it back ten fold.......What I mean is, keeping clients during such economicly woeful times means that ,every american, no matter their financial status, is watching their money. Let's face it, we all want our money's worth right?.....

Giving the most impeccable service, with a guarantee of satisfaction will ensure you keep your appointment book full.  Throw in a nail filing, give extra perks for those who  book a follow up appointment before they leave your salon. The perks can be in the form of a free or discounted service such as teeth brushing,nail filing, or, in my experience, people respond really well to a dollar amount as opposed to a percentage off......give them a small  amount off of the next full groom service.

We all take for granted our customers will always come back. But the truth is, that we have to execute our services to the best of our ability each and every time they entrust their pet to us for services. If we give them inconsistent quality , we are only asking for them to leave us to find a better service provider.

Take into consideration the circumstances of the pet owners .  Have they lost thier Jobs? Are they struggling to make ends meet?

Take this instance of recent that happened to me personally a couple of weeks ago.

My neighbor behind me,Glen, emailed me , stating that he had to take his son and daughter in law and thier children into thier home because they had lost thier employment and home in Texas. They had a boxer named Apollo who had to be placed in a home. He couldn't move with the family because he was not good with smaller dogs and Glen has a li'tl poodle named Cheyanne. with the children obviously upset with the loss of Apollo tugging on Glens' (thier grandfather) heartstrings, he had emailed me looking for a small poodle or such for them. He stated that they were not prepared to spend a lot of money, and didn't know if they could afford the grooming on another poodle, but that would be the breed of choice. I emailed him back , sympathizing with the agony of the situation, I told him that I would chip in and give the first six services for free. He was ecstatic, gladly accetping and offering to pay me back when he could. I told him not to worry about that, just take care of your family.

Its just time  and a tad of product after all. When all is said and done, what I get in return is a client for life, who will speak my name to many many people, and I've done the right thing because it's the right thing to do.

Rather than keep our services at such prices that people may have to choose between thier pets grooming services ,or,groceries, or, putting gas in thier vehicles to get to and from work, try compensating the owner with a bit of an economic break... consider a barter/trade..do they themselves provide a service that you yourself may need?..

Especially take care of them if they are established clients in your clientele. Those are the bread and butter of our livelyhood ! You will get so much back in return.   We all have to band together as Americans , humans, during this difficult time in our countries' history.........give a lit'l you won't regret it!  Thanks for checking in ! Talk soon! Kim West. NCMG