After sharing the media coverage vs the actual facts, we wanted to learn more about how many of you have actually been affected by this respiratory illness. You’d assume that something like this would have a detrimental effect on the overall pet grooming industry so we wanted to explore deeper…

When asked “how have you and your grooming business been affected?”, almost 40 groomers responded with first hand accounts from their business. Unfortunately, almost 65% of you have been asked about this disease from a client or even worse, lost appointments because of it 🤒.

Many poll participants left some notable insights from their responses….

“A lot of our clients are very concerned and are not wanting to bring their pets in for grooming, which has slowed us down as we are normally very busy at this time for Christmas”

“My salon is in a small community with a lot of elderly clients. We have had a lot of those clients canceling/rescheduling because they're scared.”

“One customer had an elderly dog and was concerned, but came in. Another customer canceled their appointment due to it.”

“People are canceling their appointments due to fear of their dog contracting the virus.”

Although many grooming shops are unaffected, it seems elderly clients in smaller communities or pet owners with elderly dogs are most fearful of the virus.

When asked “how many cases of the pet respiratory illness have you seen in your area?”, 87.5% of responders have seen 0 cases which alludes to this illness being pretty isolated in certain states and metropolitan areas. Only 3 business owners have seen cases in their area while no one has seen more than 3 instances of the virus.

Here are some take aways from the community based on this response….

“So far there hasn't been any cases Albuquerque NM. My clients are practicing "safe distancing". “

“None as far as I know. Fifty miles north of me, there have been a few reported.”

It seems although this virus exists, it has not been prevalent in many grooming salons.

We will continue to monitor how things play out through the holidays and into the new year which is usually a very busy time for groomers!

We wanted to keep this issue short because we know the holidays are crazy but If you’re looking for some cozy content while you’re resting up this holiday season, check out our newest podcast episode covering how the Alford’s built a family grooming business here → How We Started A Family Grooming Business

From our goodest boys to yours, have a Merry Christmas everybody!!