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Even fewer pet grooming businesses invest time and money to train a professional receptionist to greet clients, answer the phone, book appointments, talk with pet owners about their concerns, and offer pet owners a questionnaire seeking their opinion of the services received. If a trimmer earns an average of $12 to $15 an hour, why are they often required to put their clippers down and answer the phone, or serve a client? Those assignments are best done by a well-trained Receptionist making about $6 an hour. Receptionists can take the time the client desires because they are not worried about rushing through client services in order to get back to trimming the pet they left behind. In fact, Find A Groomer, Inc. has shown in From Problems to Profits that a Receptionist can actually pay their way and earn a profit for the business. Yet, Receptionists are still somewhat rare today, but always seen in the more profitable and growing businesses. They are a key position, and we agree with Find A Groomer, Inc., Receptionists create more income when trained and applied properly to a client relations program.

Receptionists are prevalent in hair salons for people; why not pet grooming businesses?

It is an illusion that they cost money when you train and supervise them to make money for the business. Owners, especially those that must manage and trim, say hiring one was the best thing they ever did. Groomers must focus on their grooming assignments in order to be safe, productive, cost-efficient and expert. Occasionally, the owner and trimmer should stop and say hello to clients, and stop for an important call, but not to regularly accept or close service orders, check-in or check-out pets, schedule an appointment or answer random calls. In fact, busy pet groomers simply don't provide on a regular basis the quality of client services delivered by skilled Receptionists. Groomers providing these services are far more costly than the wages of a Receptionist wage. In fact, pet groomers serving clients often get behind schedule, and that can displease the returning client finding their pet is not ready.

Well-trained Receptionists truly impress and bond loyal clients. Wouldn't you rather walk into a pet grooming salon as a new customer and be greeted by a trained Receptionist welcoming you with the salon's professional brochure without your asking for one? His or her polite greeting asking about you and your pet's needs will capture your attention. The Receptionist that learns the names of clients and pets is very impressive too. What if the salon's price list was automatically explained to you, along with all of the salon's policies, procedures and benefits for both pets and pet owners? What if you were offered a tour of the facility and asked to rate and comment on the services received with a questionnaire? What if the salon's high standards for humane pet care and aesthetic pet grooming were explained to you, and you were shown an album of available pet styles? Good grief...you would go from being a new customer to a loyal client in no time. This is no dream; such salons are here today.

Most pet owners form an opinion of a business within the first 2 minutes after they enter it.

Not long. It takes a manager supervising a well-trained Receptionist following a professional Client Relations Program to beat the 2 minute barrier. We'll lead you to more resources so that you can do it.

Viewpoint: Each new customer is worth thousands of dollars.

Profitability in pet grooming is not viewing a new customer as a $25 or $35 appointment made today. They will come back again and again, perhaps 6 to 13 times a year. If your average service fee is $30, a new customer made into a loyal steady client is worth $180 to $390 a year, and over a period of the pet's lifetime, up to thousands of dollars. Of course, each client may potentially refer several new customers. When that is true, the value of a new customer leaps to thousands of dollars. And of course, the newest new customer can bring more new customers. Do you see how one loyal customer with a strong sphere of influence can be worth $10,000 dollars easily.

It's true, and it's been proven true at some of the larger pet grooming salons we work with daily. They don't see just what they are earning today, but how what they do today creates ballooning profitability and stability tomorrow. Repeat business and referrals are the mainstream in pet grooming, you must master them with effective client relations management. That's what makes a business charging average fees soar to $500,000 a year or more and thousands of loyal clients, and they don't have to be in the "Big City." Hard to believe it? Many are our clients, and they all started out as a small one person business at one time.

There is plenty of room for thousands more small and large grooming businesses. Every major metropolitan area in the U.S. can support dozens of pet grooming businesses with with 3,000 or more loyal clients. We are offering you the opportunity to learn how they do it. You are very fortunate because this kind of information was not available before 1990. We are pleased to help you and our industry.

Isn't it time more pet grooming business invest in their future by hiring and training expert Receptionists? Yes!