How important are past or current client relationships(or confidentiality) to you?

[AdrianneIsabel]

When looking into a breeder or a trainer or, well, anything?

This week alone I have seen a breeder trash a puppy buyer publicly by calling them a liar and an idiot, a trainer call their clients "asshats", and a groomer call their clients "stupid and annoying".

I have a hard time imagining myself choosing to go to and pay money to someone who'll openly bash their clients, especially when doing so by name. It would make me hesitant to engage with them. There are exceptions , of course, but for the most part, IMO, it is extremely unprofessional and impeding of my trust.

Am I alone in this?

[Shai]

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

Am I alone in this?

Definitely not.

[Airn]

Venting is one thing. Of course you're going to have bad/annoying/rude customers. And sometimes, you might let it slip that this dog is realllllly badly trained, but I don't think it's appropriate to voice that with other clients or really with people who you don't know every well.

I would want people that are realistic, but not rude. If you have a problem with that client, address it. Don't just bad mouth them.

I agree with you. I wouldn't deal with someone who is so open about their opinions. There are many ways to say "You're an ass and an idiot".

Not to mention, a lot of people take what they know for granted. Something like positive training methods might be common (dog) knowledge to you, but to someone who isn't a 'dog' person, that's a whole 'nother world of dog owning!

I am very hesitant to get a trainer since I am a newbie. I want to train my dog, but I want to do it in a 'good' way and I feel like I might get pushed around because of my lack of knowledge. (Especially in the herding world.)

Anyway, no you're not alone!

[release the hounds]

Originally Posted by Airn

I am very hesitant to get a trainer since I am a newbie. I want to train my dog, but I want to do it in a 'good' way and I feel like I might get pushed around because of my lack of knowledge. (Especially in the herding world.)

Anyway, no you're not alone!

A couple words of advice, LEAVE YOUR DOG AT HOME! go to training, meet trainers, watch people train, watch their dogs work, talk dogs, talk training, eat and talk training, go watch more people train, go to a seminar, watch the pro give instruction and work on other people's dogs, then after you see what you like and don't like, then let some one put their hands on you and your dog.

Dog training is about relationships and not just the one between you and your dog, especially starting out. some of us get lucky, some start out very unlucky, but if you put in your time, without your dog, you're much less likely to be taken for a ride.

[LauraLeigh]

Yeah... No....

I'd not be comfortable unless it was the odd, totally anonymous vent.... Dealing with a professional who slammed clients/ customers

[~Jessie~]

I NEVER bash any clients, especially not in front of other people! I don't care if they frustrate me, annoy me, etc. I think it's very unprofessional. If you, the professional, has an issue with a client that is making you miserable enough to air complaints about them, then FIRE THEM.

[Kirsten&Gypsy]

I immediately dislike people who are negative and disrespectful to others. My dislike would be even more exaggerated if this was a professional relationship. I consider it completely inappropriate for a, say, a trainer to tell me how stupid or mean another client is. Um, wow. No way would I want to work that trainer anymore. I shouldn't have to worry that any problems they have with me will be aired with a stranger whose business it certainly isn't.

[sassafras]

No, you're not alone.

[~Tucker&Me~]

I try very hard to avoid drama. Not only does it make someone look very unprofessional, but it also doesn't come across as very intelligent.

If I am frustrated with someone in a professional setting, I would probably vent to a select few close family and friends that I can trust and that I know very well. In general though, blabbing about that kind of stuff is a very, very bad idea.

[milos_mommy]

It depends.

In the case of a BREEDER saying their puppy buyer is an idiot if they...idk...let the dog roam loose and get hit by a car, or signed a spay neuter contract and didn't honor it, or gave the dog away on craigslist without notifying the breeder...calling them an idiot is pretty justified.

A trainer telling another trainer that the people were difficult to work with because they left the puppy alone for 12 hours and wondered why he wouldn't become housebroken...or notifying another person in dog care that they haven't paid their bill in months and months, is understandable.

Calling you clients asshats because of who they vote for or because they are difficult to schedule or kind of jerks...not really justified.

I can't imagine talking about a client or customer unless someone else in dog care, either a coworker or someone who would be working with them at the same time asked about them, though.