Cover Story
'Tis the Season for Success
For groomers, the holiday season can be the most profitable time of the year.

By Missi Salzberg

Preparing for a successful holiday season takes some planning and forethought, and it’s never too early to get started. Every year, retail stores seem to nudge up their rollout of holiday products. I must confess, seeing Halloween costumes in August and Christmas decorations in October is a little disconcerting, but there are far more people looking for a piece of that retail holiday pie these days. By no means am I suggesting that salon owners whip out the mistletoe and deck the halls right this minute; however, proper planning can certainly make a business run more smoothly and bring in higher profits during the holiday season.

Scheduling & Time Management
Regular, rebooking customers are a grooming salon’s bread and butter, and they should be taken care of first. Get their holiday appointments scheduled in advance, and the next time they pick up their pet, simply hand them an appointment card with their Thanksgiving and Christmas or Hanukah dates. Let them know that, “We’re very busy during the holiday rush, and we want to take care of our VIPs (very important pets) first.”

Have the salon’s daily schedules made up and available a month ahead of time. My salon’s scheduling information is computerized, but during the holiday rush, I like to write it out to get a feel for the day. I am a very visual person, and it is a great help to have my grooming dockets arranged far enough in advance that I can refer to them quickly and easily. We will typically be booked to capacity two to three weeks ahead of time during the non-holiday season, so this is even more important when the shop is in high gear during the holidays. As customers reschedule and cancel, having that docket available makes life so much easier for everyone.

Review the salon’s staffing needs for the holiday rush. A salon owner may consider bringing in an extra person to assist the lead groomer so he/she can do more finish work. My grooming manager can finish five or six more hand-scissor haircuts if the dogs are given to her fluffed and fully prepared for finish. This brings in more money, of course, as well as accommodating more customers, so it’s a win-win.

Consider reviewing the way the daily schedule is set up during the regular season and adjust to fit in a few more brush and bath dogs, if possible. For example, we will have a second shift of “easy pups” come in around 2:00 p.m., which we can put directly in the tub. The bathers do all the prep work and the groomers finish them after they wrap up their regularly scheduled clients. Do the math when you have a moment. Three more easy dogs each day adds up to a nice holiday bonus over two to three weeks.

Have all of the shop’s necessities stocked at least a few weeks ahead of time. Get shampoos, register tape, computer paper, clipper lube, paper towels and all of the other day-to-day stock in place so there are no little emergencies during the rush. Sitting down and brainstorming a list now will save a salon owner a lot of stress in the middle of the holiday madness.

“Bow shops” and “bandana salons” should have all of the accoutrements to dress the pets made before the grooming day starts. In the swing of the holiday daze, the minutes add up quickly, and having these little chores done ahead of time will make the day run smoother.

Take an inventory of the salon’s equipment and be sure that the tools of the trade are ready for the rush. Be sure to have the shears sharpened and all other critical gear checked out in October to avoid hassles during the holidays. Replace the carbon brushes on the force dryers, clean all filters and sharpen those blades. There is no such thing as being too prepared.

Decorate and adorn the salon well ahead of time. I like to do the holiday blitz a few weeks before Thanksgiving, as many customers will not return prior to the December holidays.

Holiday Retailing
For salons that have a retail component, it is important to have plans for point-of-purchase holiday displays thought out in October or early November to capitalize on impulse sales. Referring to past holiday sales and categories, they should also be sure to review their inventory and adjust accordingly.

For those salon owners who are not retailing, the holiday season is a great time to reconsider. Pet owners will buy their dogs and cats gifts this holiday season. Pet treat sales alone spike 23 percent higher during December than any other month, according to the Nielsen report. Your customers are spending money on their pets. It’s time for them to spend that money at your shop.

I am a firm believer that every grooming salon should have retail offerings. Whether it is simple impulse items at the checkout counter or full-line dog and cat products, there is an enormous amount of money to be made with the captive audience that a salon already has.

Cute, inexpensive impulse toys and edibles are a great add-on for the holiday season. Place them in baskets on the checkout counters and they practically sell themselves, and they are usually great margin makers. Munchy candy canes have been a best seller at our salon for years. Asking customers, “Would you like a candy cane for your puppy?” at the end of a grooming session is a no-brainer.

“The customer is happy, the dog is happy and the groomer is even happier,” says Trina Bicknell, vice president of sales at PetEdge. PetEdge offers a holiday startup kit for those salons that are just getting into the retail game. Priced for fantastic savings, this kit provides a basic mix of holiday offerings.

Many manufacturers offer holiday-specific products. Check with sales representatives to see what is new and hot this season.

Don’t forget customers that celebrate Hanukah. It is easy to tie a blue and gold ribbon on products, and check out the fantastic toys from Copa Judaica (www.copajudaica.com).

Don’t overdo it on apparel at holiday time. As cute as antlers and Santa hats may be, they’ve been around for a while. Order only a small amount of these products, because once the season is over, they’ll have to be either marked down or packed away for another year.

With over 54 percent of dog owners and 41 percent of cat owners buying holiday gifts for their pets, according to the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association (AAPMA), it is certainly worth the time and planning to add holiday retail cheer to a grooming shop this year. It’s fun, it’s festive, and it’s profitable.

Customer Care
Every year, we try to come up with presents for our regular customers. My mother has been giving out Village Groomer calendars for over 20 years, and our clients start asking for them in September. That’s great for the humans, but what about the pets?

If you sell biscuits in your shop, buy them in bulk and put a handful in a small holiday bag. You can even get your distributor to give you a few cases if you ask nicely. Give them to customers, and if they like the cookies, they’ll want to buy them again. It’s another win-win. Special bows and baubles for your favorite customers are always fun too.

If you are computer savvy and keep email addresses, have a digital camera on hand and snap a picture with the dogs decked out and email it as a surprise. Customers love that special attention. I have a friend that still snaps pictures with an old Polaroid and gives them to her top customers.

The Staff
If you are the owner or manager of a salon, honoring your staff at year’s end, in my opinion, is incredibly important. Studies have shown that praise and appreciation are just as important to employees as financial reward. Whether it’s bonuses, gift certificates or an appreciation dinner or party, let the people that help you run your business know how much you appreciate them. Hang stockings for them so customers can leave their cards and gifts as well.

As hectic as the holidays can be, they can also be a time to make a nice profit, to have some fun celebrating your customers and to connect with your staff. Take the time to plan ahead, take care of the details and have a merry, merry season. GB

Born into the grooming world, Missi Salzberg has been ‘in the business’ since the age of four. She owns The Village Groomer and Pet Supply with her mother, award-winning writer Kathy Salzberg. Missi has led workshops on retailing, management, niche-marketing and many other subjects. Her true mission in this industry is to see groomers and pet care professionals succeed, financially and personally. Missi has been a featured speaker at Groom Expo, The NEPGP and Tufts, and she also teaches for PetEdge. She was twice nominated for The Cardinal Crystal Achievement Award and hosts the Cardinal Crystal Achievement Awards each year at Intergroom. Missi also owns Bad Dog Realty, a real estate management company, and Bad Dog Productions, which provides promotional resources and consulting to small business owners.

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