Sadness of losing dog, and now this…

[Nurseamy87]

I’ve been very upset by something that has happened recently and I want to know if I am BU and should just pay up.. or whether I’m right sticking to my guns and insisting I’ve done nothing wrong here.

About a month ago, we suddenly lost our dog due to a serious illness. It has been awful and we miss him more than words could ever say :(

He’d been going to the same groomer every 8 weeks, for around 4 years or so. Because she’s in demand, we would block-book his appointments for many months ahead. I feel we’ve been good customers; - always turn up on time - I think we’ve only ever had to reschedule once, and we gave her plenty of notice - and we’ve sent new business her way on a few occasions, through recommending her on social media (she’s told us this).

Our dog used to love his appointments and would get very excited when we parked up outside the salon. As she had known him for quite a long time, I messaged her to tell him that he had passed away. She replied the same day, saying she was sorry to hear about this, and she was asking me what had happened to him.

His next appointment was due two weeks after he died. She requires 48 hours notice for cancellations, otherwise full payment is due. Maybe I’m crazy, but I just assumed that him passing away was confirmation that he would not be attending any future appointments..

The day after the appointment date, I received an email from the groomer. It was a no- show notification, saying that as per terms and conditions, we did not show up or notify her that he would not be coming, so full payment (£35) would be required, and there was a link to make the payment.

I was surprised to receive this but thought it was just an admin error, an email that had been automatically generated by her systems. So, I ignored it. We really have been grieving for our darling boy and I forgot about the email.

3 days later, I received a payment reminder email from her. This time, I decided to give her a call just to let her know that I’d received these emails, in what I
assumed was an error.

I was very taken back when she replied with “yes, you never told me that you actually wanted to formally cancel, so the payment is due as per terms and conditions that you signed when you became a client….!! “

I burst into tears at that point - I’ve been struggling with his death as it is - and asked her why on earth she thought I would bring him when he had passed away?! We only had one dog, so it’s not like I was going to bring another one in his place. She is only one woman on her own, and she does all her own admin, so it’s not even like there has been any kind of miscommunication.

She told that she was sorry we had lost him, but the terms of conditions still applied, she did not receive any kind of message from me specifically saying I wanted to cancel, so I owe her the full amount of £35.

I was very upset, so I told her that I needed to end the call at that point. Later on that day, I messaged her and said that I would not be paying. I reiterated that I thought the whole thing was ridiculous, and also that we have been good customers over the years.

She told me that she will therefore be “taking things further, as is her right”.

…… what??!!

This is so sad. How awful to go through this on top of everything else.

This is one were I would be leaving reviews everywhere including social media. I would also confirm that she has cancelled all future appointments

Tell her to take you to court if she wants the money.
You notified her when you advised of your dogs passing, and she acknowledge it by enquiring further. If she didn’t take from that conversation that the dog wouldn’t be attending the appointment then that’s her own fault. Tell her to whistle.

Tell her to go ahead and sue you as her to let you know how is goes.

More importantly tell people she is not only thick but callous and nasty. You can’t trust an animal with her.

@Nurseamy87 Go to the Daily Mail and name and shame her - They love a pet thread and everyone will sympathise with you-

This groomer is absolutely unreasonable to be like this when your lovely dog has died.

If she was that good she’d have clients waiting- do not give her a penny.

Awful behaviour on her part.

Ignore. I missed that piece in the first post.

The OP messaged the groomer and told her that the dog had died when it happened...

Yeah sorry, just read that bit. I lost it in the first message. In that case she's a bit of an arse.

@Nurseamy87 She’s also very short sighted.

Most people in time get a new pet to love and these are often the same type of breed so would need grooming.

No way will you be taking a future pet there.

I’d be posting this all over her reviews, local Facebook pages etc!

so sorry for your loss

I am very sorry indeed to hear about your lovely dog. I have a lovely thought of him enjoying the grooming and getting excited.

Please pay no more heed at all to the crazy dog groomer. Had your boy died the day before the appointment and she still charged you she would have been heartless. But this is something else entirely. Heartless but also plainly wrong. She almost certainly will not take you to the small claims court but, if she did, any judge hearing the matter would agree that in you telling her your boy had died you had inferred that the appointment was cancelled. The law when applied properly js generally quite sensible (unlike your groomer) and will easily infer intent when it’s obvious. As it is here. Do keep the messages though in case she tries to twist things and say she never knew he had died.

Think no more about this silly woman.

See you in court... Then block her..

She's insane. Tell her to crack on and take it further! Screenshot your messages, you have the proof. Any competent business would have taken your boy off their client list when you notified her of his passing. She is careless and this is her mistake.
If she carries on with her small claims nonsense, tell her that's great to hear because you'll counter sue for emotional distress. She's talking out her arse. Be sure to post reviews all over everything too.

This is so strange. All the dog groomers I've met have been really lovely, caring people. I can't imagine anyone being that heartless to any loyal, regular customer.

She must be completely heartless as well as not very bright.

Having re read this I think she needs a Google review stating the facts but trying to keep the emotion under wraps. I know that will be difficult under the circumstances but as long as it is completely factual then she has no wriggle room for squeeling libel at you. Just write the factual bits about how you contacted her to tell her the dog had died and she acknowledged that offering sympathy then billed you for missed appointments and threatened further action. Google reviews reach thousands and won't be good for future custom. She might even find a few leave when they read it. It's a bit like a vet billing you for a health check after putting your dog to sleep.

This! ^ What a stupid, insensitive woman she sounds. She may groom animals, but it doesn't necessarily mean that she likes them! She sounds heartless, and like an inconsiderate fool. I'm sorry this has happened to you @Nurseamy87 And I'm so sorry you lost your lovely doggo. 🐶

As others have said, ignore her. She will be laughed out of any small claims court.

This! ^ Send this @Nurseamy87 !

I am so sorry for your loss. That groomer is a heartless c**t . It will cost her more than £35 to take you to court. She is a stupid money grabbing excuse for a human being.

So very sorry for your loss. Rubaiyat’s draft response is perfect. Although I would perhaps not mention awaiting a response. You probably want to avoid contact. I would be tempted to write something like ‘It is deeply regrettable that your recent actions and apparent lack of empathy for a grieving client have added to our stress and upset at a very difficult time.’
As other people have said, most caring pet services go out of their way to offer support when an adored pet has died - sympathetic texts, cards etc, and bookings are just cancelled. I think you should certainly let other people know about your dreadful experience, keeping things factual and unemotional as previously suggested.

I'm a dog groomer. Lots of clients take the piss massively, and Ts&Cs are there to protect us from people's bullshit.

However, "my dog has died" does NOT require the client to add "...therefore I would like to cancel all future appointments". Quite honestly, if a good, regular client didn't show up for an appointment because the dog had been pts the day before, and the owner had forgotten about the appointment in the upset, I expect most of us would let that go.

I'm sorry about your dog, they are family

I’d pay it, say nothing else, and then leave a review explaining exactly what’s happened on Google, Facebook, and anywhere else available.

She is disgusting op
Utterly disgusting
And to threaten you with action over £35 fuck her.
Spam any and every review option you have to let people know how awful her behaviour is.
Sorry to hear about your dog.

When my dog died I had several texts from the groomer, all full of sympathy and concern. She said what a wonderful dog she had been and how sad she was and asking how we were coping. Surely this is normal?

Your groomer is batshit @Nurseamy87 .

I’m so sorry to hear about your loss. 💐

So sorry to hear this. How insensitive can one person be?

I would send her the following:

“I am shocked and saddened to see that you’ve chosen to go ahead with charging me for grooming my dog after being told he’s passed away. This is extremely insensitive and callous of you.

I can pay the £35 but you insisting on this means that I will be explaining this situation along with posting screenshots of your messages on every review site and local social media that I can. As you can imagine this will be very damaging to your reputation, but I do feel I need to warn other pet owners who they are dealing with. If you’re happy with that I will pay the bill that you’re charging me to groom my deceased dog.

Perhaps you haven’t considered how £35 is a small amount compared to loss of bookings elsewhere once people read about this?”

I would be absolutely wanting to destroy her if I were in your shoes.

I agree with this, although the damage has been done, so not paying the £35 is a small thing. It’s the awful way she’s behaved, which others should be warned about..