Englands business award nominee!

So last month I received a letter to say we had been nominated to compete in the business awards for best dog grooming salon! I’ll admit I was taken aback as we are a small independent salon, and although we are awesome at grooming dogs our premises isn’t the glitzy parlour that some people expect! We are on a trading estate so we have little to no foot traffic and our client base has been built by our reputation alone! We always do our best to cater for everyone and work hard to get people booked in even when we are jammed full for weeks! As with anything we can’t please everybody!

So if you read this and think we are worthy, please go to the website and give us a vote, it will only take a few minutes of your time but would mean the world to us!

Thank you

Lisa and Ellie

The struggle continues!

Hi folks,

So covid feels like a distant memory, for those who lost anyone or are still struggling with symptoms then my thoughts go our to you all, getting through it financially was hard but I feel like I’m the lucky one that still has a business at the end of it, so many weren’t so lucky and some amazing businesses perished, it takes a lot of time, money and dedication to build a business and we are all only a couple of pay-checks away from losing it all.

And just when we thought we were getting back on our feet these crazy electric prices hit us, it’s like a constant uphill battle and seems there is no end in sight, because of rising prices of fuel, food, stock and power I have had to also put my prices up but I am well aware that this causes a knock on effect, I hate being in this position when I know people are struggling but it’s that or close my doors, I want to thank every one of my customers for their continued support through these hard times and hope that things will improve for all of us soon, all we can do is keep smiling, look after each other and keep on keeping on!

Soon the sun will be shining and spring will make everything seem so much nicer,

Thank you!

COVID-19 and I

hi folks, As you probably know I have been closed since 19th March due to the Coronavirus, things seem to be improving slowly and I’m planning to open my doors in the beginning of June, obviously this is subject to change if we get another increase in fatalities between now and then, please be patient, I have a long list of people to book in who have been waiting since March! I am hoping everyone is safe and well as that is what is most important, please let me know via my FB page, email , voicemail or text if you would like to be added to the list, I will try and keep you updated but the best place to follow me is on my FB page,

thank you

lisa

No longer mobile!

Hiya, I thought i better explain to my customers why i am no longer mobile, you see life has a way of throwing you off course, well you think it is but it actually turns out it was for the best, i decided that after driving the van for 4 years i had had enough, it was like living in a tin can, it was to hot, then to cold, in the winter driving was hideous and i used to dread driving around the ungritted countryside on icy days, just to get to work for two hours and earn £35, i was never sure it was worth risking my van as one wrong move and i could be in a ditch with a smashed up van, and that would be my income gone until i could get it back on the road, i wouldn’t be able to rent another one! so winter was stressful, then in the summer i only had a fan to try and keep me cool, i tried to get an air conditioning unit which would have been great but because some of the places i visited where quite old it would trip the switch and knock out the electric in the van and their house so i could no longer use it, i remember one day this happened, it was the hottest day of the year and i had three dogs to do in the same spot, by the time i got to dog three i had the worst headache which was getting worse, i was sweating so much the dog hair was sticking to my skin, i felt so sick but finished the dog, cancelled my next appointment and just drove home as fast as possible, by the time i got home i had tunnel vision and could barely hold my head up with the pain, i sat in the cool kitchen with a glass of icy water and did not move till my husband came home, i had heat exhaustion and for three days felt terrible, i think this was the final straw and decided i had to get out the van, i found a unit in dorchester that needed a lot of work but the rent was reasonable and applied to rent it, the ball was rolling, i advertised for a employee to take over the van, to cut a long story short all was well until she unfortunately lost her licence but to be honest employing someone is a real pain in the ass and i don’t think i will do it again, so i decided to get shot of the van and concentrate solely on the salon, i had a real nightmare having to cancel at least 6 weeks worth of appointments, i felt like i had let those customers who couldn’t get to the salon down but it was out of my control and i think most people understood, i hope they did anyway, and the salon is picking up nicely too, i haven’t the stress of employees as my family help me out and as long as the customers keep coming to me i should be able to keep my head above water these next few months and hopefully have a thriving business for years to come, so i just want to say thank you to all my customers, family and friends that have made all this possible,

thanks

lisa cheesman