Ultimutt Cut's Procedures & Policies

Upon arrival

All dogs must be on a leash or in a carrier when bringing them into the salon. Even if your dog listens well off leash the parking lot can be busy at times and the busy road may startle some pets. We don’t want to see any accidents happen. Also, there may be another dog inside when you enter and even though your dog may love everybody, the dog inside might not. If you forgot your leash, please ask to borrow one from us before getting your dog out of your car. We recommend not using a retractable leash but if that is all you have please keep it locked in a shorter length.

Pee & poop business

Please make sure your dog has done his or her business before coming in. If your dog leaves us a gift in the yard we ask that you please pick it up and dispose of it in the poop pail on the side of the building.  There is a scooper and bags outside if needed.  We also ask that you try to keep your male dogs from peeing on the merchandise and walls inside the salon.  Too often pets poop right after arriving and our staff needs to stop what they are doing to clean and sanitize the affected area.

Owners staying

Pet owners are not allowed to be in the grooming or bathing room to help. Pets who see their parents while being groomed can become too excited and could cause injury to themselves or the groomer, therefore we prefer to not have owners wait inside or to show up before a scheduled pick-up time. 

Grooming time

We like to ask for AT LEAST 1 1/2 hours for bath only dogs, 3 hours for most dogs getting haircuts and possibly more time for cats or very large dogs or pets that are in bad shape. We make every effort to give you an estimated time for grooming, but unforeseen things can disrupt that timing and we will try to give you as much notice as possible to any changes in grooming time. We want to make grooming as enjoyable as possible for your pet. We will especially not rush a nervous dog, puppy or elderly dog through grooming, most of the time they need a break between different grooming processes.  But at the same time, we don’t want to keep a pet here longer if they are stressed or barking and cause the other dog’s stress.

A professional bath guarantees satisfaction

All pets being groomed must be bathed here at The Ultimutt Cut, there is no “discount” for dogs bathed at home before their grooming (the ONLY exceptions will be at the discretion of the salon owner, based solely on dogs with special needs).  A professional bath, brush and blow out is included with every grooming appointment, and this produces a much nicer base for a great haircut.  We strive to cut your pet’s hair as close to what you’d like, but sometimes it’s easier to notice things at home than during the excitement of reuniting with your pet. If for any reason you’d like us to tweak your pet’s haircut, call us within 48 hours and we will correct any issues at no charge, not including another bath.

Appointments

Making an appointment reserves that space for your pet, but when someone cancels last minute or does not show, we not only lose money from that pet but also from the pet we could have put in that spot.  Everyone can run into a problem sometimes, us included, but just as your time is important, so is ours, and when we work on such a tight schedule, we need to make the most of our time. Making or changing appointments must be made over the phone. We do not set up, cancel or change appointments via Facebook, Instagram or e-mail.

Cancellations

We ask for at least 24hrs notice for an appointment cancellation or change. We will forgive the first last minute cancellation but after that we will charge a fee of 25% of grooming rate. (we may excuse it if we feel there is a TRUE emergency but that is at our discretion).

No-show

As a small business, no-shows can have a detrimental effect on us. We will forgive the first no-show but for a second no-show we will charge a fee of 50% of grooming rate, third no-show will result in a charge of the full grooming rate, and you will be required to pre-pay in full at time of making your next appointment with no refund.

Punctuality

We are a small shop. We must keep everything flowing on pace so that we are able to serve you, your pets and other clients efficiently. We are on a tight schedule, so if you’re late dropping off, our timing is off, or if you show up early to pick up, it takes us additional time to settle your pet down to get back to grooming, therefore we are behind in our grooming’s, and this trickles down throughout the rest of the day.  We ask that you please try to be as punctual as possible, please do not show up earlier than 10 minutes before your scheduled drop off or pick up time, and no more than 15 minutes after your scheduled time.  If you are more than 15 minutes late for drop off, we may not be able to take you that day and you will need to reschedule with a 25% of grooming rate fee for second and third late arrival.  If you are late more than 3 times in a calendar year you will need to pre-pay in full at time of making your next appointment, with no refund. Also, being punctual for picking up your pet helps us greatly.  Most dogs know when they are done and are ready to go home and they can become impatient. Their noisy behavior can cause stress to the other dogs, and we may also need their space for dogs coming in later that day.

Open & closing time

The salon opens at 7:30. We ask that you respect this time, and wait until 7:30 to come in,  We may be in the building, but we need to set up for the day. Occasionally an exception is made, and we take an early drop off appointment. During the week we aim to close at 4:00 pm, Saturdays 1:00 pm.  There are days that we plan to work later, but we will always tell clients if we NEED to close by a certain time.  We hope you understand that like you, we have family, children we need to pick up by certain times, pets at home that need our care or other plans. We do know that “things happen” and therefore we give you 30 minutes past our closing hour for that day to pick up your pet. Anything past the 30 minutes we will charge a $20 late fee.