PetGroomBossPro Blog — Repeat Appointments

Reminders and Texts for Recurring Grooming Clients

A fixed slot is easy to remember, but people still forget. They forget it is the sixth Tuesday. They forget to keep the dog in from the muddy yard. They forget to leave the side gate open. Reminders and texts close that gap. In PetGroomBossPro, they go out on their own, based on what each customer chose, so the office is not typing “see you tomorrow” over and over every week.

Why Repeat Clients Still Need Reminders

Turning new customers into regulars is covered in Turning One-Time Grooming Customers Into Repeat Grooming Clients. Once they are on a slot, reminders are a big part of keeping them happy there.

With six or eight weeks between visits, even the most organized owner can lose track. A reminder the night before is not nagging; it is a courtesy that saves you a wasted trip and saves them the awkward moment of a groomer at the door while they are at the store.

The Three Alerts Customers Choose

Customers pick their own alert preferences in the customer app. There are three:

• Night before — a reminder the evening before the visit, with the day's appointment.
• When they're next — a heads-up when the groomer is heading to them next.
• When the groomer arrives — a note that the van is outside.

Letting customers choose matters. Some want all three. Some only want the night-before reminder. Some work from home and only care when the van is outside. Each customer gets what helps them and nothing else.

Automatic On-the-Way and Arrived Texts

On the groomer app, the on-the-way and arrived texts go out automatically as the groomer works the route. The groomer does not have to stop and type anything. When they head to the next appointment, the customer knows; when they pull up, the customer knows.

For grooming, that timing is useful. The owner can bring the dog in from the yard, get the cat into a carrier, or put the leash by the door before the groomer knocks. The visit starts on time and calm instead of with a chase around the house.

The customer app adds a live view on top: “You're stop 12 of 20 — the groomer is 5 stops away,” on a live map.

It also cuts down on the office's inbound calls. A customer who can see the van is three stops away does not need to call and ask when the groomer will get there. The office phone stays quieter on route days, and the groomer is not interrupted mid-groom by a call from the office passing along the question.

Reminders Follow the Slot

Because repeat visits keep their planned day, time and van, reminders use the right details automatically. If you change a client's time on the Recurring Clients list, the next reminder uses the new time. If you move a single visit for a vacation, the reminder follows that visit. Nobody has to edit a reminder by hand.

That is one of the quiet benefits of fixed slots. The reminder and the slot are always in agreement, so the customer gets one consistent message. More on keeping slots steady in Why Set Slots Work: Same Weekday, Same Time, Same Van for Every Repeat Grooming Client.

Two-Way Texting With the Office

When a customer replies to a reminder — “Can you come a bit later?” or “We're away, can we skip this one?” — the reply goes to the office through two-way texting. The conversation stays with the client, not on a groomer's personal phone, so whoever is confirming tomorrow can see it.

That makes the day-before routine easier. The office opens Pending Jobs, sees a reply asking to move a visit, moves it, and confirms the rest.

Texts, Emails and Your Allowance

Reminders and alerts go out by text and email. 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. Plans are $59, $89 and $199 per month.

A few habits help keep texting useful:

• Encourage customers to choose only the alerts they want.
• Keep office texts short and personal.
• Use email for longer messages, like a price change notice.

Fewer No-Shows, Fewer Calls

The point of all this is simple: the van arrives, the owner is ready, the groom starts on time. Fewer wasted trips and fewer “are you still coming?” calls to the office. To see how reminders fit with the rest of the repeat tools, head back to the recurring grooming software page.