I work at a dog salon part-time (I’m a full-time student), and I often schedule new appointments for clients. We have a lot of clients who specifically need Saturdays because they work all day and we close pretty early — like between 3:00 and 4:00 — so we tend to have the same groups of dogs every five or six weeks.

Yesterday, we had the normal doodle and corgi group — as we call it because we have a lot of doodles and an adorable corgi — but with an added Yorkie. I personally bathed this Yorkie and she was a doll. She was perfectly behaved and let me do basically whatever (except nails, but we expect that from Yorkies).

When the “mom” showed up to pick up the Yorkie after her groom, I happened to be free and went to check them out.

Me: “Do you need another appointment booked?”

Customer: “Yes, six weeks out.”

Me: “Do you need a Saturday?”

Customer: “No, I need a Friday.”

Me: “Okay. Need a specific time?”

Customer: “First thing in the morning.”

Me: “Okay, 8:00… It appears the date we’re looking at is booked in the morning, but we can go a week before or after if you really need a Friday.”

Customer: “What does [Boss/Owner] have in the morning?”

Me: “Looks like a Shih Tzu.”

That happens to be my dog, but I don’t tell her that.

Customer: “Well, that Shih Tzu can wait. My precious Bella needs that appointment!”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I can’t just reschedule a dog’s appointment. This person happens to schedule appointments throughout the entire year, so he’s had it since December.”

I know this because, again, it’s my dog and my grandpa makes the appointments.

Customer: *Getting louder* “I don’t care! I want that spot!”

At this point, one of my coworkers came out to see if I needed any help. I have very bad anxiety, so this lady yelling at me was causing me to visibly shake and I was close to having a panic attack. [Coworker] saw this and said she’d take over and whispered for me to get our boss.

I did, and then I went into the bathroom to quietly freak out and hyperventilate in peace. My boss ended up scheduling the woman out for five weeks and telling her that if she ever yelled at one of her team members again, she’d have no choice but to blacklist the woman. My boss knows I have bad anxiety, and she’s absolutely amazing.

Moral of the story: don’t be an a** to a small business owner and expect to get your way.

A woman brings in her dog for grooming at 6:00 pm, our last slot before we close. She is in a nice dress with immaculate makeup, and she looks ready to be spending a night on the town drinking expensive cocktails.

I check in her small dog and go through the details.

Me: “Okay, you’re all set. [Dog] will be ready in about an hour.”

Customer: “Well, I’m about to head out for a date, so I’ll pick up [Dog] in the morning.”

Me: “Uh, ma’am, we’re a grooming facility only. We don’t do boarding.”

Customer: “Oh, I know. But I thought one of you…”

She pauses and looks around at the staff, all teenage girls covered in dog hair and the complete opposite of elegant compared to what this customer is wearing.

Customer: “…ladies could take [Dog] home for the night. It’ll be fun, like a sleepover!”

Me: “Sorry, ma’am, but no. Our responsibility for your dog ends when we close and you pick her up at 7:00 pm. We can’t take [Dog] home for the night.”

Customer: “Well, you’ll have to figure something out because I won’t be back until the morning.”

She flounced out despite our protests. As she’d paid, I groomed the dog while my colleague called the police and a local animal shelter. We had the customer’s contact details and we passed them on to both agencies. A policewoman came by just after close to pick up the dog and we provided a quick statement.

A few months later, the same policewoman came in with the same dog, but no longer in uniform, just as her new owner!

This story is part of the Highest-Voted-Stories Of-2022 roundup! This is the last story in the roundup, but we have plenty of others you might enjoy!

Our Favorite Stories From 2020! 

Read the next Highest-Voted-Stories Of-2022 roundup story!

Read the Highest-Voted-Stories Of-2022 roundup!

My coworker is talking to a customer.

Coworker: “No, ma’am, I am afraid we cannot trim your baby’s nails.”

Customer: “Why not?”

Coworker: “Because your baby is two months old. Also, we’re a dog-grooming salon.”

I work at a pet salon. Someone doesn’t show up for their 9:00 am appointment, so the owner calls them to find out if they’re still coming.

Customer: “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in a few minutes!”

Owner: “Okay, see you soon.”

Thirty minutes go by and they’re still not here. The shop owner calls again, and again the customer says they’re almost here.

After an hour of them not showing up, the owner leaves a message saying if they can’t make it by 1:00 pm, we won’t have time to groom their dog. They don’t respond and they don’t show up by 1:00 pm, so we assume they’re not coming and cancel the appointment.

At 1:30 pm, the customer walks in.

Owner: “Sorry, we don’t have time to groom your dog; it’s too late in the day.”

Customer: “Are you sure you can’t do it?”

Owner: “We won’t be able to finish before closing time. You’re more than four hours late for your appointment.”

Customer: “That’s because my dog needed to exercise, so I took him for a walk. And then he got hungry, so I had to go to the store and buy him a chicken. Can you please still groom him?”

Owner: “We can reschedule for another day, but we aren’t able to do it today.”

Customer: “In that case, you should have called me!”

I work in a pet grooming salon. We have a customer who brings six dogs in every two weeks to get their nails trimmed.

Customer: “Your nail trimming prices are ridiculous! They’re far too expensive.”

He gave me a very long lecture about our prices. His dogs are very well-behaved, so I really don’t know why he just doesn’t trim their nails himself.