Keitha came out today and gave Gizmo his first mobile grooming.
This is one of these reviews that I 'm going to have to list and rate by line item - then give it cumulative rating because there was good and bad:
When I called to make the appointment - Keitha was friendly - but clearly busy and slightly overwhelmed. She wasn't able to take down my info and requested that I text her instead. 2 stars
I asked her if she was able to give me a courtesy reminder call and she agreed - but on the day of - she forgot. The scheduled appointment was for 11am - and she arrived late (11:20am). 1 star
She jumped out of the van and immediately acknowledged Gizmo. My first impression was that she was cute and young looking but dressed professionally and appropriate. Professional with a boho / punk sort of twist - maybe it was the large chunky streaks of purple hair pulled back in a pony tail. 5 stars
She did a rather lengthy but informal interview where we discussed Gizmo's temperament & normal grooming routine. We also discussed my expectations - I asked her to shave his paw pads down as low as she could safely take them - I even showed her pictures so that she would see how they typically look after a visit with a competent groomer. I also requested that she shave his sani areas and belly. 5 stars
She appeared to be a kind, caring and knowledgeable individual. She IS knowledgeable. When I commented on how young she looked - she told me she's been grooming for FIFTEEN years. 5 stars
The van was equipped with a reservoir that holds 75 gallons of water - so there was no need for a hose hook-up - but they do plug into your electricity. 5 stars for not wasting water or polluting the environment using a generator.
The price on her website says baths START at $35. On the phone - she said price was $35. I remember asking her if she was sure because she was so far away from me. And I distinctly remember it because I told her I used to work 'out that way' about a decade ago and it was 39 niles unless she took the 'back way' and she said she would take the 'back way' and always does. Today - before she got started - I asked her what the price was - just to be certain, and she said $45. I wasn't sure if he's $45 (instead of $35 'start at' price) because of his long hair, or because I'm a little further away from her than her routine clients. I probably should have gotten a text confirmation. Honestly - I didn't argue with her because $45 was more than reasonable - but I mention it here because she did change the price on me. She did also mention that when people schedule routine grooming - the price per visit is lower. 2 stars
She completed the grooming very quickly. 5 stars
I wasn't thrilled with the end result. Paw pads did not look good. Tops or bottoms. She did 'fix' the tops and take the paw pads down more after I asked her to - but I honestly felt like she was under the impression that I didn't mind risking harming Gizmo's paw pads to get the 'look' that I wanted. I told her not to take them down any further if she didn't feel comfortable doing so. But she had her assistant hold him to keep him calm and steady and she took care of it.
Primarily though - I was disappointed because Gizmo's coat wasn't as fluffy as it typically is after a fresh grooming. And the hair behind his ears was wavy and crinkly. Plus his belly wasn't shaved as low and 'clean' as I'm used to. She did explain that the straight, fluffy look I'm used to comes from the dog being placed in a blower box and she used a forced air dryer (she explained further but I think I've provided MORE than enough detail here.) She also explained that shaving him too low can give him razor burn. 2 stars
That nets a cumulative rating of 3.5. So I'll list them as 3 stars - A-OK! read more