GETTING BETTER GROOMING TIPS

This is an article written for pet groomers. It has application, however, in many salon-type service businesses. If you are a pet owner and you are asking the question "Should I tip my groomer?", the answer is YES! By all means! If you wish to express your appreciation of exceptional service, then a tip is appropriate. Now that I've answered your question, pet owners can just run on and go play with your puppies while I talk to my groomer friends about how we can go about increasing our tips.

CREATE A CULTURE OF TIPPING

O…Kay, what do I mean? You want to create an atmosphere that tipping happens in your establishment. It is important that you be perfectly clear yourself that you want and deserve tips. If you are ambivalent or less than completely comfortable about receiving tips, if you are not sure they are appropriate, or if you have issues about tips, it will slow down the flow. You don’t need signs all over the place, but some evidence of tipping is helpful.


HAVE A VISIBLE TIP JAR
VISIBLE is the operative word here. Have a big jar that will hold a lot of money, not a little jewel box. I’m sorry if this offends, but you get what you ask for in life, and you know the saying "out of sight, out of mind." If tipping is not a visible activity in your establishment, you won't get very many tips. Some clients have questions about whether you accept tips, and having a visible tip jar answers those questions without them having to embarrass themselves.

SEED THE GARDEN
If you want a money garden, you must plant the seeds. When possible, have a tip jar where the money can be seen. The sight of money yields more money. I'm not lying! An empty jar ain't happening. Put "seed money" in your jar. And I don't mean just a couple of $1 bills, unless you just want to receive $1 bills. I usually seed my tip jar with a couple of $1 (folded together), two $5's and a $10. This tells people what has gone on before in the way of tipping.

REMOVE THE COINS!
Look, it's not that you don't appreciate a couple of quarters and a dime, but that's not what you wish to encourage. Think of coins as weeds in your money garden. Pull them out of there (and put them in your pocket) before they take over the garden. Coins are fine for the Salvation Army at Christmas when hundreds of thousands of people are giving, but we don't have that many clients. We need fluffy bills for a luscious green garden. Note: wait until the customer who gives the coins leaves before removing them. All tips are graciously appreciated, of course. When a customer has been obvious about leaving you a tip, be obvious in your appreciation...say THANK YOU.

DON'T HAVE PRICES THAT ENCOURAGE SMALL TIPS
This is a secret so don't go blabbing: People often round up in tipping. If you charge $31.50, they are likely to give you $32.00, with a big .50 tip. If you charge $32.00, they are likely to give you $35.00, but if you charge $35.00, they are likely to give you $40.00. I'm not crazy! This is my BBird Observation of Human Behavior and I'm sticking to it. If you want more $5 and $10 tips, then have prices that are increments of $5.00.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.
The more convenient your tip jar is for your customers, the more they are likely to slip something in there. The best location is at your counter right where people stand to pay for the service. Because my tip jar is in the front of my establishment and I often work alone in the back, I have had to bolt my jar to the counter. Here is a picture of my tip jar being guarded by a shop cat.

HAVE AN ATTRACTIVE TIP JAR
Our tip jar, which we affectionately call "The Kitty", was made by our welder friend. I'm going to tell you a story. Ready? There are two places near me where I drive through for food service. One is a Mexican food place and at their window they have a large Styrofoam cup with the word TIPS written in a black marker. The other is a coffee place where they have a nice glass jar in a wire holder with visible bills in it under the their window (where it's reachable). Which place do you think gets the best tips? Do I have to tell you?

EARN YOUR TIPS
Creating a Culture of Tipping does not simply mean that tips are expected. Tips are a gratuity, given because of outstanding service. In a grooming salon, this has mostly to do with how the pet owner feels you treat the pet, and how they feel treated, and less to do with the actual grooming. The grooming is your product, the service is how it is delivered. Do you cheerfully welcome your clients, listen to them and HEAR their requests, accomodate their schedules? Does your love of animals show up in how you talk about their pets and how you meet and greet the animals?

Let me share a little more about the burrito place and the latte place where I often drive through. I go to each one of those places once or twice a week. At the burrito place there is a scratchy old intercom system. They never even acknowledge my order, they simply ask "Whaddyawant" and turn it off without repeating my order back or saying "Thank you." When I get to the window, they never recognize me (and how can you fail to recognize my flaming red hair with white forelock and a car full of dogs), and make no personal connection. They are not rude, but they are not friendly either. For this I'm supposed to put something in the Styrofoam cup? Hmm. They are trying to create a Culture of Tipping by putting a cup on the window, but not being personable? I don't think so! The guys at the latte place are a whole different story, they are energetic, friendly, and have dog cookies on hand. They know me well enough to ask, "Do you want an apple-walnut bread with that mocha?" They don't use an intercom, you drive up to the window and talk to a person with a face. On the face is a smile. 'Nuff said?

Just a little more. Every interaction we have with every person is an energy exchange. If you interact with your clients in such a way that it lightens or brightens their day,or makes them feel good about themselves as a pet owner, they are going to be ever so much more likely to return the exchange with a tip. Are you happy to see them walk in the door? Show it! What is it you like about their dog? Share it! Are you grateful for their business? Express it! It's not only the dog that needs fluffing up, people need to be fluffed up too.

A BBIRD STORY: How My Tip Jar Got Started.

One summer, several years after opening my grooming shop and not having a vacation, an advertisement appeared to me in a local fitness magazine. It was for a special deal for local residents of a day at Canyon Ranch. Canyon Ranch is a five-star fitness resort in Tucson, Arizona. Cher goes there, as do many other celebrities and wealthy people. You have to be fairly wealthy, as a week at Canyon Ranch costs, oh about $10,000. It is a super spa. The ad showed a lovely lady reclining on a grecian-style lounger with a strategically placed towel, and offered a full day of spa, yoga, aerobics, massage - your choice - for only $250.00!

Do the math, it was quite a deal, and looked like a perfect way to get maximum vacation value in one day off. I wanted it! There was no way I could afford it...

I didn't have a tip jar at the time, so I made one. It was a glass jar with a slotted lid. I cut out the ad, wrote on it: "This will be me!" with an arrow pointing to the reclining lady. I also made a donation goal meter with a goal of $300.00. I set it out on the counter and seeded the jar with a ten-spot. I reached my goal within two weeks. I discovered that my clients want to see me healthy and happy. They want me around for a long, long time! Also, people want to "play", and they love to contribute. I simply gave them the opportunity. The jar worked so well that I wisely kept it there after my fabulous day at Canyon Ranch. The lid you see in the picture above was crafted by a welder friend, my landlord. It features a long bolt that goes through the bottom of the jar and attaches to the counter. As much as people like to put $$ in that jar, there are a few lesser types that drift through and want to remove it. Whoops! We don't want subtractions, only additions!

I LOVE my tips! Accepting tips is not tacky, tasteless, low-class or crude. It is a gracious way of accepting affirmation. Tips should not be expected, but always appreciated. I also believe that tips should be shared and passed on, especially in the form of tipping when we go out and when we travel. I enjoy being a good tipper.

Was this article helpful to you? Are you a Big Fan of the GroomBlog? Surprise of surprises, we are offering you this opportunity to show your appreciation. You can send us a little Paypal present. Yes, we are creating a Culture of Tipping for the GroomBlog. Another way you can support my writing is by shopping at www.bbird.biz for scissors, Hanvey Bathing Beauty, and other grooming tools. Your donations and purchases help me free more of my time for writing. Who loves ya'???