Customer complaints

I had a call from a customer today who had her dog (a Lhasa) groomed on September 16 and she complained that because of the grooming both eyes have infections and the dog was bruised during the grooming (I do shave the corners of the eyes because it's safer than scissoring and they tend to get crusty). She went on to say that she's contacted the BBB and is going to put me out of business. I've had my own business since 2006 and this is the first time I've received this kind of call. I was just wondering if anyone has any advice.

BTW I didn't actually talk to her, she left a message on my machine

I would call her back and ask why she didn't inform you of the problem in September. If she had you could have worked something out with her. Maybe say that you are sorry that fido had a problem and that if you had known at the time you could have left the crusty eyes alone and let the vet look at them. Chances are the eyes were already infected hence the crusty eyes and you are just being blamed. I wouldn't worry about the BBB or her putting you out of business she is just upset and lashing out at you. If you really care to try and make things better with her you could offer to pay half the vet bill (for the eyes only) and go from there, but I wouldn't let her bully you. If you know that the eye issue was there before the groom then I wouldn't offer the payment. When did she take the dog to the vet? If she just took the dog now then the problem was certainly not your fault. My local vet and I have discussed this before and it's amazing what people will say, things like well he was just groomed (and it was groomed 2 months ago) etc. Find out when she went and make your decision from there if you want to. Good luck and don't let this get you down, you have been grooming for 3 yrs and if this is your first complaint you obviously have a loyal client base that is not going to be affected by one unhappy one.

I wouldn't let it get to you. I understand completely to have someone lash out at you , but like you said, you groomed the dog back in september. I would call her, find out when she saw the vet, call the vet and ask to speak to the dr. explain your situation. I had a client go to a vet, 2 months after the groom, with a problem (can't remember right now what it was), well the client led the vet to believe the dog had just been groomed so the naturally assumed the problem was because of what we did. When the client called he was quite rude, and told us we caused a problem with the dog, and the vet said it was our fault etc. Well i quickly found out who the vet was, and talked with him. The vet told me exactly what he told the client and it was not the same story, he also agreed to call the client to clear up any misconceptions about what was going on and that it was not our fault. Perhaps you have a similar problem, they go in with the dog to the vet, vet looks at the eyes, asked was there anything different going on "why yes, we just had the dog groomed!", oh well that must be the problem. They fail to mention the groom was 2 months ago!!! I would definately get on the phone to clear this mess up, you don't need a vet thinking that you are causing problems with dogs, and bad mouthing you!!!

As far as remembursing the client, for starters, it obviously did not happen right after the groom, or i'm sure you would have had a phonecall. I wouldn't offer to pay the vet bill or half of it, until you speak with the vet, find out when she saw them. If she comes back for a groom, make sure she signs something that states you are not held for liability, and clarify that you will not touch the eyes perhaps they can go to the vet. She obviously likes to point fingers, and if you feel that you did nothing wrong stand by that. If anything i would offer a free bath and tidy or groom. But it sounds like she's not coming back, so perhaps forget about her.

Thanks for the advice. I feel much better

Well I called her back today and she said she's going to sue me, put me out of business, get the media involved, has pictures, etc. She said her vet told her to sue and that she took the dog to several groomers and that they said "you don't shave a Lhasa's face (corner of eyes). If there are any groomers in the London, Ontario area who looked at this dog, name is Lucky, please let me know.
Thank-You!

Did you find out who the vet was? I would definately call them to talk about this, the vet should not be saying that. When did she see the vet? How long after the groom?
If she won't cooperate with you, do you know who the vet is? Or just do cold calling and let them who you are and what dog you are looking for info on, in the past i haven't had any problems by doing this, just one vet said they couldn't tell me they were a client.
I would definately get to the bottom of this.

Just to clarify, when you said you shaved the corner of the eyes, you meant that you scooped the inside of the eyes, over the bridge to the other right?

Yes I always scoop away from the eyes. I do know who the vet is and he has a reputation of being a jerk. The dogs owner says she took him to the vet immediately so I asked why I was not informed of this right away.... she didn't really give me a response just kept bitching. I'm going to talk to the vet and maybe my lawyer.

Yes definately call him, find out exactly what was told by the dr. explain your situation, also he may be able to tell you exactly when the appointment date was. Obviously it couldn't have been right away, or she would have contacted you right away instead of waiting 6 weeks. I would be livid right now if i was going through the same thing as you.

Just wanted you all to know that I thought I'd search the woman's last name to see if anything came up on the computer. I found a document from the City of London, entitled Notice to Muzzle Dog. It's five pages long and the dog has a colorful history. It also mentions ear infections. If anyone's interested in reading it feel free. It makes for some interesting reading.

http://council.london.ca/meetings/ETC%20Agendas/2009-09-14%20Agenda/Item%2011.pdf

Well thats interesting, i didn't know you could find those on the internet. Perhaps if she calls you to harass you, mention that you noticed that her dog didn't have a muzzle on when they entered your premis. If i were you, i would really call her vet now, find out the truth behind everything.

I'm curious about others experiences with questioning vets in situations like this. I used to work at a vet clinic and we were not allowed to discuss cases at all for confidentiality/privacy issues. I would think that a vet could get in trouble for discussing someones pets health without the owners permission.
Also in my owner information sheet that all clients must sign on their first visit, it clearly states that all claims of injury or negligence by our staff must be reported to us within 48 hours of the grooming.
We recently had a matted bichapoo that was stripped with a 10. The owners called 10 days later to say it needed an $800 surgery due to a cut on the leg. They were upset that we didn't tell them we cut the dog, because they didn't notice for a week. Umm, you didn't notice a cut on your naked dog that required surgery for a week? Definately didn't happen here, and not our problem!

I just remembered that there was a dog about a month ago that had an infection which I noticed when I was shaving the eye area. It was not the eye that was infected but in the folds under the eyes. May have been this Lucky. I'm 99% sure that I told her when she picked up the dog. Unfortunately I did not write it on his card. STUPID ME!

It's unfortunate you have to deal with someone like her. She sounds like a nut job. You can tell by the letter in the muzzle order what type of person you are dealing with.

Until you talk to the vet, you really can't know exactly what is going on because the key question is when she went to the vet, after the groom or 6 weeks later. If you are being accused of something, and that accusation is truely is being backed by the vet, then you have the right to the details. However, the owner might have to give the vet permission to talk about her case to you. I know my vet won't discuss any dogs with me (I asked him about a dog who I suspected had heart probs because I was worried about stressing him too much. The owner was a little old lady who had no clue. My vet couldn't tell me anything)

As for going to the media. I wouldn't worry about that at all. Look at it from a newspaper's point of view. No media outlet is going to care about this. It's not a sensational story (now if you had cut the dog's ear off and glued it back on, now that would be a different story), and if they do want to look into it, they will call and talk to you and you can explain your side to them, including the part about it being 6 weeks before she notified you. The whole situation sounds fishy but you are completely professional and it shows. Good luck to you.

Did she sign a waiver when she brought the dog in? Also I would tell her that before you go any further she has to call her vet and give him permission to speak to them. If she continues to call and threaten you it is time to threaten back, and tell her you will have her charged with harassment. Personally she sounds like a nut job and I would just stop any comunication with her until you can speak to the vet. Chances are the eye area was wet and irritated before you did anything and once cleaned out the dog went town scratching the irritation and made it worse. If she had taken care of the the dog to start with she wouldn't have an issue. Speak to the vet.