Blue Fox 001 Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 I put this in an old post re: hydrobath costs but thought it might warrant a new thread. Do any of the groomers here charge purely by the hour? Or any clients have groomers who charge this way? It has been suggested to me that by the hour is the fairest way to charge, both for the groomer and the client. If they can maintain their dogs between visits then it gets cheaper - if they come in once a year with the same tangled mess of a dog it is expensive. I am in country SA but can't see that it could be any cheaper to groom here than in the city (possibly more expensive as we have additional freight on our consumables :rolleyes: ). I have worked out it would be approx. $30 per hour to cover costs and still make it worth my time. Your thoughts as always appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 I think that is probably too cheap (but I am not a groomer, I'm a client). I pay $40 to have my Lhasa Apso clipped, bathed, nails done etc. and it takes the groomer around an hour. I'm happy to pay that 3 or 4 times a year because she does a way better job than me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 (edited) When I started as a mobile groomer in NZ in 2000 I called numerous grooming parlours to find out what their charges were and it was between $30-$35 per hour, the same applied here when I arrived in 2005. Remember to take into account what it costs you to stock shampoos etc, the cost of having blades sharpened, electricity, rates etc Edited November 23, 2007 by Hesapandabear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 I charge per job, not per hour. Standard groom out, wash, dry, nails, ears, colgne etc on a lab for example is $35.00 and takes around 45 minutes. If it is for a husky, malamute etc it is $50.00 and higher again for Samoyed etc as these breeds take aroudn 1.5 hours. For a standard maltese/shih tzu so including the above and clipping, regardless of condition is $55 to $60 and takes around 1.15 hours, poodles are around $65.00 as they take longer and up to around $100 to $120 for goldens, groodles etc. I charge the same regardless of condition, so regular clients are good jobs as you can make good money as you know the dog and their condition is always good. Occasionally I feel I haven't charged enough for a really bad dog, but I dont mind as I make up the money with the regular clients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalmyshadow Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Although my prices are different I charge the same way as BC. IMO it isn't fair to the clients to charge per hour, I have worked with so many slow groomers they would be ripping half of their customers off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 I have worked with so many slow groomers they would be ripping half of their customers off. Yep, another reason I dont charge by the hour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 My charges are roughly the same as BC's.... altho' I charge only $95 for Goldens and $85 for Borders (clips). Although they only take me an hour and a half, but so do the swf's if they're getting a longer clip (I fluff dry those). I don't charge extra for nails only or face tidys if a client pops in with their dogs - takes two seconds. I also dont charge extra for Malaseb/medicated baths. I was charging $65 for Westies, Scotties and Mini Schnauzers but when I ask new clients what they used to pay general consensus is $50-$55 - which I reckon is too cheap. There is someone around here who only charges $30 for a swf clip if you wash/dry the dog before you take it - most of the time a good cut is all in the drying IMO so there is no way I would want to go down that path despite losing potential clients when they call for a quote to see if I can better that. To be honest I havent heard of any groomers charging by the hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 There is someone around here who only charges $30 for a swf clip if you wash/dry the dog before you take it - most of the time a good cut is all in the drying IMO so there is no way I would want to go down that path despite losing potential clients when they call for a quote to see if I can better that.To be honest I havent heard of any groomers charging by the hour. I will sometimes get clients asking me to just clip their dog, nothing else. But I wont do it. The dogs I do are clipped, washed, dried, and clipped again then finishing touches on face, legs, feet etc. I agree Dru, you cannot get a nice even clip, regardless of length if you dont do the washing and drying properly prior to finishing it off. I see so many messy clips, and I can guarantee the dog is clipped, washed and dried and given back Some dogs have quite a bit of hair that lies flat to the body and cannot be clipped to the correct length unless washed and dried prior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalmyshadow Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 I have a few dogs that I do a 'clip only' hey are all over 12 and get easily stressed, I ask the owners to wash them the day before so they are completely dry they don't always look the best but they stay comfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Fox 001 Posted November 27, 2007 Author Share Posted November 27, 2007 Thanks everyone for your replies. I does seem to be the done thing to charge by breed or size. I am still at a bit of a loss as to why not charge by the hour! If you spend hours and hours on a standard poodle show clip why not charge them? If you spend the same amount of time on a badly matted border collie why not charge them the same amount of money? I expect you would have to make some sort of concession for a really slow groomer but if most of the time it is just you and you set your price for you perhaps it can work. Anyway I need to put some more thought into this. Thanks for your comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 Naturally if it's a badly matted Border you could always charge extra on top of your base charge - most groomers do (I don't though). :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 There are a couple of things that make it hard for you to charge by the hour. What happens when you answer the phone? Are you clocking on and off for this time? What if it takes you 2 hours to do the dog but you really want it there for 3 hours (maybe crate drying, doing another clip in between etc). How do you explain to the client that they are paying for only the 2 hours but it will take longer than that? Or are you going to do the dogs one at a time, straight through? What if it takes you 1 hour to do a dog one week but 1.15 the next week? That could happen if you're tired, feeling sick etc. How do you charge for that? I think hourly would work better in a mobile. I WISH it would work better in a salon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldiesRgr8Poodles2 Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 My charges are roughly the same as BC's.... altho' I charge only $95 for Goldens and $85 for Borders (clips). Although they only take me an hour and a half, but so do the swf's if they're getting a longer clip (I fluff dry those). I don't charge extra for nails only or face tidys if a client pops in with their dogs - takes two seconds. I also dont charge extra for Malaseb/medicated baths. I was charging $65 for Westies, Scotties and Mini Schnauzers but when I ask new clients what they used to pay general consensus is $50-$55 - which I reckon is too cheap. There is someone around here who only charges $30 for a swf clip if you wash/dry the dog before you take it - most of the time a good cut is all in the drying IMO so there is no way I would want to go down that path despite losing potential clients when they call for a quote to see if I can better that. To be honest I havent heard of any groomers charging by the hour. Wow based on this I think I am under charging. We charge $45 for swf's but thas going up to $50 in the new year. $55/$60 for melike bc's and $70?$75 for goldens. Std poodles etc. All my prices are going up in the new year ut only but about $5. All my services are hydrobath wash (special shampoo no extra charge) hand dry, brush full clip or strip and shape, nails cut, ears cleaned and plucked. all included. Maybe things are a bit different in Sydney to Adelaide though. On the topic at hand I have never heard of a groomer charging by time.. If that were the case Ive worked with someone that would make a fortune casue it would take her 2 and a bit hours to do a little dog!!! Charge by what it costs you and what you think your skill is worth. Persoanlly I dont think charging more cause of extra frieght or any other reason just because your in the country isnt very fair. Itsmore taking advange of people who dont have another option but that just my opinion. Im sure Im wrong ut it just sounds a little weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Fox 001 Posted November 27, 2007 Author Share Posted November 27, 2007 I have worked out what it would cost me per dog for consumables, water, power, cost to cover the new building etc... Some of those costs are increased because yes we do pay extra for quite a few things here in the wilderness LOL (I can't just wear that cost I need to make money). I certainly don't intent to take advantage of anyone but I have to work out what I need to charge to cover costs and make some profit otherwise you have to question why your doing it in the first place. I have read enough posts in here to know that grooming is hard work and I certainly don't intend to do it on a break even basis. If clients won't pay what is required for me to do a good job and make some money then obviously here it isn't a viable business. I suppose that is what I'll find out once we start. The thought of doing all that work for $5 an hour profit doesn't sound very appealing! Don't get me wrong I don't expect to make a squillion dollars but I have to pay the morgage LOL. I suppose cause I'm the boss I thought I could moderate the prices I charge people similar to what everyone else does eg. use the charge by the hour rate as a base and if I think I'm tired or it took longer today than it should have you wouldn't charge the extra. On the other hand if last time the dog took 1 hour and this time it is extra matted etc. then you charge some extra. I certainly wouldn't be charging for phone time, we are encouraging people to think of us as a one stop shop for their pets and will remove sutures, clip nails etc. at no charge if people are not confident to do these things themselves. We are aiming to provide a service to our community that doesn't currently exist (no pet shop, no vet, no boarding kennels) and we want people to pop their dogs in for any reason that we can help them with, or to phone for advice. I should say we are setting up boarding kennels as well and the grooming is an additional service we plan to offer (not just to boarders but to the whole community), we will be living on the premises and I really want people to think of us when they have any dog or cat queries - I figure by offering great service we will pick up on the swings what we loose on the round abouts (so to speak). I think I will work out a base price per breed as is the norm and also keep some record on how long it took as a comparison to start with. I expect it will work out fairly similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nevafollo Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 (edited) aft4er reading this ive realised we dont charge near enough for our clips so they are all going up by $5-$20 after chrissy Edited November 27, 2007 by sammy_ballerina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 I have worked out what it would cost me per dog for consumables, water, power, cost to cover the new building etc... Some of those costs are increased because yes we do pay extra for quite a few things here in the wilderness LOL (I can't just wear that cost I need to make money). I certainly don't intent to take advantage of anyone but I have to work out what I need to charge to cover costs and make some profit otherwise you have to question why your doing it in the first place. A lot of groomers forget that important fact. You really do need to set prices based on what it costs to run the business (including your own wage) rather than what everyone else is charging. No point setting yourself up to fail right from the start. I'm sure you'll have a great business set up before you know it. Good luck with it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 (edited) To the people who think they are under charging, bear in mind where your clients live and your competition (if any). It's all relative. Where I used to live I was charging on average $10 more than I am now as the area was very affluent, but now my area is mixed I try to keep the prices on an inner city/North Shore average. I think I will work out a base price per breed as is the norm and also keep some record on how long it took as a comparison to start with. I expect it will work out fairly similar. I note how long every dog takes me, every time. It's handy to have as a reference and then as I am a sole operator I know exactly how much time I will need to allocate for that dog when booking it in. This then often decides which day I will do certain dogs due to time constraints/commitments on some days. Edited November 28, 2007 by Dru Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 You really do need to set prices based on what it costs to run the business (including your own wage) rather than what everyone else is charging. I disagree with this. If someone is over priced I wont use them and if they are cheap I wont use them as I assume cheap workmanship. If you do have local comptetion I truly believe prices should be competitive, although if wanting to be a little cheaper that's fine but bear in mind that clients do not like price increases so dont undercharge to start with as it gets very hard to put prices up. People get very set in their ways. I havent ever increased prices to old loyal clients but rather only to new ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Fox 001 Posted November 28, 2007 Author Share Posted November 28, 2007 You really do need to set prices based on what it costs to run the business (including your own wage) rather than what everyone else is charging. I disagree with this. If someone is over priced I wont use them and if they are cheap I wont use them as I assume cheap workmanship. If you do have local comptetion I truly believe prices should be competitive, although if wanting to be a little cheaper that's fine but bear in mind that clients do not like price increases so dont undercharge to start with as it gets very hard to put prices up. People get very set in their ways. I havent ever increased prices to old loyal clients but rather only to new ones. I think what Ari was saying is that there is no point just setting price based on your competitors - they may not be using the more expensive shampoo, may not be spending the time drying properly what ever it takes to make them cheaper. I am not going to base my prices on my only competitor - she works out of a shed, doesn't have a hydrobath or dryer, god knows what shampoo she is using etc... She may well be cheaper than I am (I haven't been sneaky enough to find out yet LOL) and it doesn't really matter because I need to work out what I want to clear to make it worth my while doing it. I am setting up the best salon I can afford and I believe people will pay a little extra to have their dogs groomed properly. I don't want to offer a two bit service, I want to provide a service I can be proud of - I may be proven wrong and if so then we won't be doing much grooming LOL. I agree people won't want a sudden increase in price so I hope to get it reasonably right to start of with - I can imagine people getting rightly peeved with a sudden increase after only a few months when I realise I'm too cheap. OHHHH so much to decide LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal House Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 I would avoid any groomer who charged by the hour. I want to know upfront what its going to cost me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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