08/31/2026
🎄🐾 Every year. Same surprise.😱
🚨The holidays happen on the same dates every single year.
Traffic gets worse. Schedules fill up. Groomers book out.
And somehow, people are still shocked when there are no appointments left. 🫠
⚪️A client’s lack of planning is not their groomer’s emergency.
Groomers are human beings first, service providers second. They have families, plans, days off, holiday events, and lives outside of work—and they deserve time for those things too. 💜
No groomer should have to:
🚫 Race through holiday traffic
🚫 Bump loyal clients who planned ahead
🚫 Give up family time
🚫 Overbook themselves into burnout
🚫 Work late because someone waited until the last minute
🚫 Sacrifice their holiday to accommodate someone else’s poor planning
If a client needs a holiday grooming appointment, BOOK EARLY.
Ideally, appointments should be booked 4-6 weeks ahead… and even earlier for a specific day, multiple dogs, evening/weekend availability, or a standing recurring appointment.
Waiting until the week of the holiday?
That’s a gamble. 🎰🐾
A cancellation might happen. An opening might appear. But it is never guaranteed.
And if a groomer chooses to rearrange their schedule, extend their day, or give up personal time to accommodate a last-minute request?
Some salons have a rush fee and holiday fee.
That is not a punishment.
It covers the inconvenience, schedule reshuffling, holiday traffic, extended hours, added stress, and personal time required to make that last-minute appointment happen.
And here’s the part some people really need to hear:
⚪️Clients who planned ahead should never be inconvenienced because someone else did not.
👉🏼Book early.
👉🏼Keep recurring appointments.
👉🏼Respect the groomer’s time.
And if a groomer protecting their personal time and setting reasonable boundaries is enough to make someone leave?
Then perhaps that groomer needed to lose that client. 👋🏻
The holidays happen every year.😱
Holiday appointments are booked in advance, not created on demand. 🎄✌🏻🐾💜