Opening a new grooming shop!! Could use advice!

[JantheMan]

I'm new to this site as well as the grooming business in general. I am opening a new grooming shop in NS and I don't know anything about grooming or groomers. I could use some advice!! Thanks in advance.

I have hired a groomer on a 50/50 split contract. Already she has started talking about hiring a bather/brusher for when we are busy. OK then, but if I pay a PT bather/brusher an hourly wage, does that mean the groomer still gets 50% of the total groom even though the bather/brusher baths and brushes and the groomer only does the cut?

Wouldn't that mean I am paying twice for the bath?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Zoom]

I think I would renegotiate the split if you have a PT bather. There are very few groomers I know that don't have a good enough system, or a good enough estimation of what they can do in a day, that they actually need a bather to help them. Now, the dogs that just need a bath and brush and no clipping, that's a whole different story and I would just negotiate an hourly wage with the bather themselves.

[Tankstar]

Id say the groomer should be paying for the bather brusher. If they are busy enough to need one, then they will benifit from hiring one for themselves.

Having one is great and helps make work easier and quicker. But it should be up to her to pay IMO

[RD]

I agree with Tankstar. The groomer that wants a bather for their dogs should give a percentage of their pay to the bather for their work. Bathers actually tend to do MOST of the work on a dog, as they usually detangle, brush, clean ears, bathe, blow dry, clip nails and brush again.

If the other groomer doesn't want to give a fair amount of her pay to the bather, then IMO she probably should do the work herself.

[JantheMan]

Thank you very much for your replies. We have spoken with her again and now she informs us that she is expecting her 50% cut for dogs she does not even touch; dogs that come for just a bath and brush! I crunched some numbers and discovered if we groomed twice as many dogs we would only be making 50% more money. This does not seem right!

Is there not some sort of standard for groomers?

Thanks again, any info would be a big help in our negotiations.
Jan

[corgipower]

Originally Posted by JantheMan

Thank you very much for your replies. We have spoken with her again and now she informs us that she is expecting her 50% cut for dogs she does not even touch; dogs that come for just a bath and brush!

I'd look for a different groomer. That's completely absurd.

When I worked as a bather, I handled all the dogs that were just there for bath/brush and I got a commission pay on them. The groomer bathed her own dogs.

[RD]

I agree with Corgipower. Find a groomer with a head on her shoulders. Why should she be paid for work that her bather does?

Also - good luck finding a bather that'll agree to something like that!