Last month I tried to book the dog grooming service that I have used for the last 5 years, but the WhatsApp group I used for this business had it's settings changed with only admin allowed to message. I tried phoning the number, but there was no response so the obvious thought was they had gone out of business. I had started looking for other companies that offer a home grooming service.
Yesterday whilst driving home I saw this vehicle and recognized the name being the same business as the WhatsApp group and phoned them after memorizing the phone number on their vehicle. It turns out they had not closed down and the lady who owned the business had handed over the marketing of her business to a company that specializes in this stuff.
When I told her I had given up on them because the WhatsApp group had changed she was shocked. This to her made sense as her business has suddenly gone very quiet since they had taken over and had no idea the WhatsApp settings had been changed. I checked this morning and her group is active again after being down for 2 months. Who forgets to make sure their social media tools are working and it makes me question how actively they are working on this business as they have done nothing with her client base of WhatsApp for 2 months.
I was a bit stunned as surely you would check these things yourself and wonder why your bookings had dropped off. The so called marketing company are to blame, but I also blame this lady for not double checking. If your business suddenly goes quiet after being active for many years then surely there has to be a reason and would be curious if the marketing company have to pay any penalties for lost business.
Usually I have to book a week in advance because these services are very popular and conveniently come to you at home. They arrived today after only having phoned yesterday which shows how quiet they are and a change in settings has cost them not only their regular clients, but also a good few months of income.
I had two of my dogs groomed today and the total cost is R560 or $35 which is super cheap plus they come to you so for the convenience factor alone you would expect them to charge far more. If we had this service in the UK I would expect to easily pay anywhere between $50 and $100 per dog. The economy is not strong in SA right now so maybe this price is regarded as fair so people do not groom their own animals as a cost saving.
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