We recently used this mobile grooming service for our husky and were disappointed with the…read morecommunication and lack of pricing transparency.
The website listed a grooming range of $180-$250 for our dog's size and coat type. Our concern is not that pricing can vary, but that the final price should be determined and clearly communicated before the service is performed, not after it has already been completed.
Our dog is an indoor husky who is groomed regularly, brushed frequently at home, and had been professionally groomed only a few weeks prior. Despite this, we were charged both the maximum grooming price and the maximum impactation fee, bringing the total cost to approximately $300.
When we asked what specifically qualified our dog for the impactation fee and why the maximum fee was applied, we never received a clear answer. We were repeatedly told that the office staff handles billing while the groomers focus on the dogs, yet no one could explain exactly what condition justified the additional charge or how the amount was determined.
We also raised concerns that our dog was returned to us still damp and continued shedding afterward, which left us questioning whether the service matched the premium price we were charged.
To be clear, the groomer himself was kind, professional, and handled our dog well. Our issue is not with him personally. Our frustration is with the lack of transparency regarding pricing, the conflicting information we received, and the inability to obtain a clear explanation for the additional charges.
Another frustration was how our concerns were addressed. Rather than directly answering our questions regarding the impactation fee and final pricing, much of the response focused on the fact that we did not raise our concerns until approximately an hour after the appointment and that the groomer had been tipped.
To us, neither of those points addresses the actual issue. Tipping the groomer was a reflection of our appreciation for how he treated our dog, not an acknowledgment that we understood or agreed with every charge. Likewise, whether concerns are raised five minutes later or an hour later does not change the fact that we were never informed of the final cost before the service was completed.
Had we been told beforehand that the final cost would be approximately $300, we likely would not have proceeded with the appointment. Customers deserve to know what they will be charged before the work is completed and should receive clear explanations when additional fees are assessed.
UPDATE:
After posting this review, the company responded to my wife, and unfortunately their response only reinforced our concerns.
At no point did we request a refund. We did not argue that mobile grooming should be inexpensive, nor did we dispute that it is a luxury service. In fact, before moving to the area, we routinely paid approximately $300 to have our husky professionally groomed and had no issue doing so because the pricing was transparent and clearly communicated beforehand. We were excited to try this company because it offered the convenience of mobile grooming at a price that appeared lower than what we had previously paid elsewhere.
The issue was never whether we could afford the service. The issue was transparency.
When we repeatedly asked what specifically justified the maximum grooming fee and maximum impactation fee, those questions were never directly answered. Instead, the company suggested that we were "price sensitive," that their pricing may not be "in our bracket," that we could find "$50 grooming somewhere nearby," or that we should groom our dog ourselves.
We found those comments dismissive and unprofessional. Customers should be able to ask reasonable questions about billing and pricing transparency without having assumptions made about their finances.
This entire situation could have been avoided with a simple explanation of the charges before the service was completed. Even afterward, a clear explanation would have resolved our concerns. Instead, we received personal remarks that had nothing to do with the questions we asked.
For anyone considering this business, I strongly encourage you to obtain a final price before grooming begins and ask how any additional fees will be assessed and communicated.
