Q. Why don’t you have online booking for my dog's appointment?
A. In this modern age, everybody wants things to be quick and easy. I’m no different. My sister lives in Chicago, and she has a service where she can order all her groceries online. I wish we had that here in Steamboat Springs. I can book an appointment with my hairdresser and my massage therapist online, but not my acupuncturist.
At Powder Hounds Grooming Salon, we use an appointment system that has the capability to offer online booking, however I have not enabled it. Why the heck not?, you ask.
Dog grooming is different from a massage or a human hair appointment. Each dog is different and has different needs. Each dog has a different thickness or texture of hair, even within the same breed, and there are differing sizes as well.
Here’s an example. Let’s just say an owner needs to make an appointment for her three golden doodles. One doodle is a First Generation doodle and has wavy, wiry hair that sheds but does not mat. The second golden doodle is Second Generation and has wavy hair that does not shed and is not matted but is very thick. And the third doodle has very curly, poodle-like hair that has matted in the 8 weeks since his last groom. Each of these dogs is of the same breed, but the time it takes for each cut will vary greatly, with a 30-60 minute difference. (The First Gen will take about 1.5-2hr, the thick wavy hair 2-2.5, and the matted dog between 2.5-3hr). That is something that I would be able to talk about on the phone, or that I would know if I had seen the dog before, but if the owner were just making an appointment, they might not know these things, heck, they might not even know their dog is matted, and so how would they know how to book the right amount of time.
Another example could be with Bernese Mountain Dogs. There are a lot of Berners in Steamboat! They are a perfect mountain town dog. But there are great variances of size and thickness of coat in these types of dogs. One Bernese Mountain Dog may get groomed every 4 weeks, which would make his appointment less time and not as difficult. However, another Berner may not get brushed at home, he gets groomed twice a year and comes in with a matted and compacted coat. This dog would need considerably more time and work in the tub and on the grooming table.
So, this is why I haven’t opened up online booking. I hope you can persevere with me and give me a ring to get an appointment scheduled. I love hearing your voice. Or, at the very least, I have tried to make it a bit easier by being available by text as well. :)
If you have any other questions, you can email me or leave a comment.