Terms & Conditions
As part of booking your appointment with The Groomers you automatically agree to our terms and policies which are set out below:
Thank you for choosing The Groomers. We are fully Qualified and insured professional groomers.
Your pets welfare is our main priority and therefore require you to read these terms and confirm you agree by signing.
Whilst your pet is in our care its health and welfare is our primary concern. It will only ever be groomed according to it’s tolerance of the process. If your pet is fearful of any of the procedures employed during grooming, a workaround or alternative will be employed. Occasionally during grooming a pre-existing condition may be discovered which you may not have been aware of. We will notify you of this so that you can seek veterinary advice. Although extremely unlikely, accidents can happen during grooming. In the event of an accident or serious medical issue arising during your pet’s groom you authorise us to seek emergency veterinary treatment. Any veterinary cost are liable to the customer.
GROOM FEEDBACK
You will be given detailed feedback after every groom. If you have any queries or need further clarification, please just ask or contact us at a later stage. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of your pet’s groom please let us know before you leave. Reasonable requests to alter the trim will be dealt with immediately or changes noted for the next groom. We are more than happy to disclose any details of your pet’s groom or advise you about how best to care for your pet’s coat.
SOMEONE ELSES DOG
If you are dropping or collecting someone else's dog please make this clear to us so we can speak to the owner as to how they want the groom to look. We can understand how you want the dog groomed when it is discussed and explained!
PRICING
Pricing is specific to breeds, sizes and requirements. We can give you a guided price 'from' however please be aware if you dog isn't the breed you have stated when booking or looks different from the breed standard the price may change.
You can reasonably expect to pay more than the starting price for:
• Matted, poorly maintained and/or overgrown coats
• Pets which are difficult to manage or uncooperative during grooming
• Overweight pets or oversized for the breed standard
• Timid, anxious or nervous pets, which require frequent breaks & may need special handling
• If you dog has flees we will call you straight away to inform you. Our flee treatment is charged from £20.00 per dog depending on size. Treating the flees takes a minimum of 30 minutes to treat effectively and so this cost covers the treatment and the time element.
If your dog requires two people to groom your dog this will be charged at £10.00 per half hour. We will call you to let you know if your dog does require more than one groomer. If you do not wish to pay this additional fee you will need to collect your dog as he/she is and payment will need to be made for the booked groom. This is very rare but it does sometime occur.
If we are unable to complete a groom due to behavioural problems or aggression you will be charged the starting price of the groom.
All costs are payable in full at the time you collect your pet.
SALON EXCLUSIVITY
If your pet will not tolerate the presence of other dogs in the salon there will be an extra charge for Salon Exclusivity, Please contact us to discuss this.
TIME KEEPING
Please be punctual. We work by appointment only; the appointment slot allocated for your pet’s groom has been booked at your request exclusively. Please let us know if you require notice to come and collect your dog once the groom is completed. We cannot hold your dog for an unlimited amount of time.
Most grooms take between 1 – 3 hours or more depending on the size and temperament of the dog, and its coat condition. You will be advised what time to collect your pet. It is advisable not to return to the salon before this time, as your presence may distract your pet during the finishing stage of its groom. It is essential that you collect your pet at the agreed time as once the groom is finished your dog will be eager to go home and may become unsettled or anxious and cause a distraction to the next dog being groomed. Late collections may incur an extra charge.
Please phone us if you are running late. I understand that from time to time unforeseen circumstances may arise.
HOWEVER…
Clients arriving more than 30 minutes late for their appointment can be considered a missed appointment and may have to re-book, this will incur a charge of the cost of the groom. If you need an earlier drop off/later collection time due to other commitments, please discuss this with us when booking. If your pet is collected after closing time a late pick up and/or sitting fee of £10 per 30 minutes or part of applies. If you incur any of the above mentioned fees, they are payable in full at the time you collect your pet.
BOOKING YOUR DOG IN
All customers are required to pay a £20.00 deposit per dog when making a booking. This amount is deducted off your groom on the day.
CANCELLING YOUR DOG’S APPOINTMENT
I respectfully request 24 hours notice if you need to cancel your pet’s appointment or make changes to the appointment. The slot can then be offered to other clients.
NO-SHOWS & LATE CANCELLATIONS (of less 24hrs notice)
The Full price of your pets groom must be paid in full where failure to turn up or on the day cancellations occur. This is because as a small business we cannot afford to pay staff to not be working where we should be grooming your pet. For notice within 24 hours a charge of 100% of the groom cost will be payable before any future appointments can be booked.
NEGLECTED & MATTED COATS
In the event that your pet’s coat needs to be clipped down to release it from matting or coat neglect, The Groomers are not liable for any post-grooming effects of this procedure, which is not without risk.
Any humane de-matting will be undertaken solely at our discretion, in compliance with The Animal Welfare Act 2006 (clause 5 – Animals are to be protected from pain, injury and suffering). De-matting during a routine groom is limited to a maximum of 15 minutes and is only possible if the matting is minimal. For severely matted coats where de-matting isn’t possible, the only humane way to deal with this will be to completely shave off the coat.
You will be given an estimate of how long matt release is likely to take & an estimated cost for the procedure. A shave down consumes significantly more time, labour, product & tool/equipment wear and tear than a routine trim therefore will incur an extra charge. All shave down costs are payable in full at the time you collect your pet.
If your dog requires a clip off this will be discussed with you either when dropping the dog off or during the bathing when we can clearly see the condition of the coat. Clip off are charged from £10.00 depending on size of dog and how badly matted the dog is.
AGGRESSIVE & POORLY SOCIALISED DOGS: THE DANGEROUS DOGS ACT
We reserve the right to refuse to groom any pet at risk of harming me or itself. If your dog is accepted for grooming & displays aggression that I have not been informed of during its session, the groom will be terminated immediately. You will be contacted to collect it. The full starting price of the groom will be levied.
You must inform us prior to grooming if your dog has ever bitten or displayed aggression. Failure to disclose this information may result in refusal of further services.
Your attention is drawn to the Dangerous Dogs Act, which holds owners liable for bites and injuries caused by their dogs.
Is your dogs collar tight enough?!?
We will check to make sure your dogs collar is fitted correctly, however it is the owners responsibility for ensuring their dog is secure and will not slip their lead/ collar. As our salon is within a busy car park area it is very important to check this. The Groomers cannot be held responsible for an owners dog slipping their lead in their care. Slip lead can be lent to walk your dog back to your car if required.
Toilet Before Your Visit
Please ensure your dog has been given the opportunity to go to the toilet before arriving at the salon, whilst we understand accidents can and do happen we would really appreciate if they do it before they come so we can keep the salon as clean and fresh as possible for you and other clients.
We thank you in advance to accepting our working policies. This is to inform you, protect the welfare of your dog and our staff members.
Kind regards
The Groomers