PetGroomBossPro Blog — Cat Grooming

Texts to Cat Owners: Night-Before, On-the-Way and Arrived Alerts

The fastest way to lose twenty minutes on a cat appointment is to arrive while the cat is still loose in the house. Owners mean well. They just did not know the van was ten minutes away. A text at the right moment fixes most of that.

PetGroomBossPro sends those texts on its own.

From the Report to the Reminder

Writing the Note for the Cat Owner at the End of Every Groom covered what you tell the owner after the visit. This article covers what they hear before it.

PetGroomBossPro sends automated reminders and alerts by text and email. The owner chooses which alerts they want from three:

• Night before. A reminder that tomorrow is grooming day.
• When they're next. A heads-up that the groomer is on the way to them.
• When the groomer arrives. A text that the van is here.

The groomer app also sends automatic “on the way” and “arrived” texts as the groomer works the route. The groomer does not have to type anything.

The Night-Before Reminder for Cats

For cat owners, the night-before reminder does a lot of quiet work. It is the cue to:

• Keep the cat inside in the morning.
• Find the carrier, if the cat goes out to the van in one.
• Close the bedroom doors so there is nowhere to hide.
• Text back if tomorrow no longer works.

The reminder itself does not say all that unless you tell owners in your own words. Many groomers send new cat clients a short welcome text explaining what they like the owner to do before the van arrives. After that, the night-before reminder is all the nudge most owners need.

On the Way: The Ten-Minute Warning

The on-the-way and when-they're-next alerts are the ones that get the cat into the carrier. They go out as the groomer moves through the route, so they follow the real day, not just the set time on the schedule. If the morning ran long, the owner hears when the van is actually coming, not when it was planned.

Owners can also open the customer app and see today's route on a live map: “You're stop 12 of 20 — the groomer is 5 stops away.” Cat owners who like to plan to the minute tend to use it. More in The Customer App for Cat Owners: Live Route Map, Invoices and Tips.

Arrived

The arrived text goes out when the groomer gets there. For a cat in an apartment or a house where the owner works from a back room, it saves the groomer knocking and waiting.

If your van notes say where to park and how to get to the door, the groomer already knows the way in. The arrived text just tells the owner to open it.

Owners Choose, the Office Answers

Owners set their own alert preferences: night before, when they're next, when the groomer arrives, or any mix. Some cat owners want all three. Some only want the night-before reminder. Either way, they get what they picked.

Replies do not vanish. When an owner answers a reminder with “Can you come after 2?” the reply comes to the office through two-way texting, attached to the client. That is the subject of the next article, Two-Way Texting With Cat Owners From the Office.

Text Allowance on Every Plan

Every plan includes a monthly text allowance: 500 texts on Start, 1,000 on Pro and 2,000 on Crew, counting texts sent and received, in the US and Canada. Automatic alerts and two-way conversations both come out of it. For most small mobile grooming businesses, the alerts for a day of cats and dogs are a small part of that.

There are no marketing blasts. The texting is for appointments and conversations with your clients, which is what cat owners actually want to hear from their groomer.

A Welcome Text for New Cat Clients

The automatic alerts cover the timing. A personal welcome text from the office covers the expectations. For a new cat client, a short message after booking can explain how your visits usually go: when to expect the night-before reminder, what you like the owner to do before the van arrives, and how to reach the office. Send it once, by two-way texting, and every automatic alert after that lands on an owner who knows what it means.

The Right Text at the Right Time

A cat ready at the door is the result of a reminder the night before and a heads-up when the van is close. PetGroomBossPro sends both without anyone on your team lifting a finger. For the rest of how cats work in PetGroomBossPro, visit the cat grooming software page.