Welcome to the Brilliant Pet Accountant Podcast with me, Vicky, where I will give you practical business and finance advice to help you grow a sustainable pet business.

This podcast is sponsored by Low Pay, the low rate payment platform that gives you more let's get cracking.

I hope you guys are well for those of you who don't know me, I'm Vicki from the Pet Accountant.

I do these lives every week.

They are part of a podcast as well, aptly named the Pet Accountant Podcast.

So make sure that you go and find that on Spotify or Apple and follow and you'll get prompted when I do these, which usually go live on a Monday, so make sure that you subscribe so that you don't miss them.

So before we start talking about clients and how we're going to handle clients and which clients are costing you money, which ones are causing you ag financially and emotionally, sometimes we're just going to go through a little bit of admin first, so I've got a few things I want to just go through with you guys.

The first one is firstly, thank you for me for listening to these lives.

I've had so many people actually ring and speak to me directly or speak to Tegan and say how the lives on the pricing and the boundaries etc.

Have given them a kick up the ass to go and actually do it.

And we've had lots of wins already and so thank you for that.

People are making more money, people have put their prices up substantially.

People who have enforced boundaries, sorted their diary out, people who have done the homework with the bank statements which was in the last one, have actually realized that they can cancel some direct debits that they totally forgot they even had in there.

So lots and lots of wins over the last few weeks from the previous lives.

So thank you for sharing those with me.

Maybe we'll do a little post on that later or later in the week just to let you know who's done what.

So big thank you for me and keep watching because we're going to do more of these.

I am going to sort of mix them up with business and tax related topics.

So don't worry, the tax ones will still be here and we'll probably do an MTD one at some point over the next few weeks as well.

So we have that to come.

But today we are talking about clients, clients, clients.

Just before we get into that, just an update from us.

We will be at Crufts this year.

Hall 1 stands 72.

So please, please, please come and say hello.

It doesn't matter if you're not a client.

You can come and say hello, you can chat to us, ask any questions, or if you are a client, then just come and say hello and get yourself a glass of fizz.

It's always a good time.

I think Romney's going to be there with us as well on the Thursday, so Romany, the finance woman, she's going to be there, so make sure that you come and see us on Thursday and you can chat to Romany as well.

If you've got any pension questions or anything like that, she will be there.

We also have obviously the other event of the year, the Pepper Expo, which is hosted by myself and Tegan, and that is going to be on the 3rd of October in Birmingham.

You can watch it online as well because it's been streamed live, so don't worry if you can't get there.

You can also get an online ticket.

We've got about 60 odd left, so people are still chipping away at those, so make sure you grab one before they run out.

There will be no extra ones.

And the Expo kind of talks about the topics we've been discussing over the last few, like three or four weeks.

I know Bill's going to be doing one on boundaries to pricing.

We've got marketing and all sorts.

So these are the sort of topics that we'll be chatting to with you at the Expo, but in a lot more detail.

Also, if you are in that turnover bracket of 50 grand or more, please remember that MTD is coming into play from April.

That is turnover, not profit.

And if you've got.

If you rent houses or flats, that has to be combined with it as well.

So if you have a turnover of 50k or more, making Tax Digital will apply to you.

And I'm actually going to do a webinar on making Tax Digital at the end of this month.

So we will let you know what date and what time and give you the link.

If you want to join me for that, to go through what it is that you're going to need to do.

So if you are that person, make sure you keep your eyes peeled for that.

We are going to be obviously doing the MTD submissions as part of our accountancy services and they will be £15 plus VAT per month.

So if you want us to do them, then please get in touch with Tegan or give us a ring on the office number and we can get that sorted for you.

Or DM us or however you want to communicate, send a carrier pigeon to Bedlington, but get in touch with us so that we can help you.

So now we've got all that out of the way, let's get cracking, as always.

Please, please, please.

Because it makes it a lot more interesting for me.

So I'm not talking to myself.

If you guys put questions in the comments or just say, yeah, that's me, or, yeah, I've got this client that's annoying me or this client that drains my energy or whatever it may be, put it in the comments because it does help other people reading it.

You're not the only one that's going to be going through it.

The dogs are kicking off next door, if you can hear that.

Apologies.

It's dinner time for them.

So I will stare at them to calm them down and said, sorry, sorry.

So there we go.

So, yes, please use the comments.

We'll be all good and then I'll answer any questions as we go through.

But use it, even if you want to, use this as a sounding board, like if you've got an awkward client that you want help or advice with, put it in the comments and we'll all.

We all share and help.

Right, so let's get into it then.

The topic of clients, which is.

Can sometimes be a bit of an emotional one because I think from working in the pet industry, we are emotional sometimes with our clients rather than have a business head.

And I did actually have this conversation with a client this morning where we were chatting through a pricing and things and she said something to me and I was like, yeah, but you're looking at that from an emotional perspective and not a business perspective.

And this is what we struggle with.

And this is why we let them off with doing various things.

This is why we let them treat us like shit.

This is why we let them be rude, because we want to be nice.

And that's where we've got to sort of switch from our business mindset, from our personal mindset and emotional mindset to a business mindset.

And I get it.

People feel nervous when it comes to dealing with difficult clients or guilty or panicked because, you know, you're gonna be like, oh, my God, you know, am I gonna get a bad review?

Or, you know, are they gonna go on social media?

What are they going to do?

And I think this is why we all get so stressed, is because we panic and we're like, what the hell do we do?

So, you know, you might be scared of losing income or, you know, just.

I think, to be honest, it's probably the online thing.

After speaking to hundreds of clients over the years, probably thousands.

It's the online thing.

You know, everyone goes online and the last thing you want to do is see an ex client slack you off because then you're going to be like, right, I'm going to lose all my clients.

So it's better just to, you know, put up and shut up and just let them get on with it.

But we're going to be talking about client quality today.

We're not going to be talking about boundaries of pricing, but who you've actually building this business for.

So at the end of the day, you need to say to yourself, if I started my business again tomorrow, would I have all of these clients with me if I could start from scratch?

If you automatically go in your head to a certain client, then that is the person that you're going to need to deal with.

Okay?

And we need to start fixing this because the bad clients always say bad, but the awkward clients are the ones that are costing you money.

So this is what we need to sort out because we need to keep our money in our back pocket.

And actually just.

And I'm going to go off on a tangent probably in this because there's so many directions this could go in, but people are scared of being taught about online.

And actually a client said it to me the other day, I've got this really horrible client that comes in, she brings a gob matted all the time and when I try and tell her she's rude and blah, blah, blah.

And I said to the client, well, why don't you just tell her to go somewhere else and that they don't fit your ideal client and you don't want them anymore.

And she said to me, yeah, but you know, she's very well known in the area and she'll go on all the local Facebook groups and slag me off.

And I was like, right, I said, but you've answered your own question there because you've just said she's well known.

So if people know she's a bit of an awkward one and she starts slagging you off online, people are going to know.

Probably it's just her being a morning metal and there's no justification to it.

So I think we've got to be stop being scared of someone going to social media.

Yes, it's annoying and yes, it makes you feel like shit and you think, oh God, client potential clients going to see that and they're not going to come aboard.

They will, because people can tell when people just being a monumental or whether they've got a justified complaint.

Because someone that had a justified complaint will do it in the correct manner, they'll go through the correct procedure.

They won't start slagging you off online because that just shows that there is no like foundation to it.

Because you wouldn't do that as a normal person if you had a genuine complaint.

Like if you go to a restaurant, you have a genuine complaint, you speak to the manager, wouldn't go online and all the local Facebook been this restaurant shit, blah blah, blah.

Unless you were just being a bit of a money mertle and you were just one of those type of people.

So please don't worry.

And just to give you an example, I am going massively off tangent sort of because I'm going to talk about this later.

We had, we obviously disengaged with clients as an accountancy firm and again, all of what I'm talking today is kind of relevant to any business and we very, very rarely disengage with clients, maybe one or two a year for whatever reason that may be.

It might be because they were rude or they were trying to do something illegal or whatever.

And a client came on board fairly recently and left fairly swiftly after a few months.

And I'm not going to go into as to why, but it was something that was deemed our fault but something we were never aware of for it to be our fault.

So anyway, she was quite rude and we ended up parting ways and that was that.

And then.

And you'll know if you're in part of the Facebook group because I screenshotted it and put it in the Facebook group and she basically put up in a grooming group, can anyone recommend an accountant but not the pet accountant, exclamation mark.

Now obviously because I'm in the groups and people tell me or so and so has put this and it was anonymous as well.

So I thought, well, I know who it is straight away because a, you're in a grooming group.

So no, it's a groom and we don't disengage with that many people and we don't get in people's nerves that much.

So I knew who it was and it was like, obviously with that comment everyone's going to say, well why not the pet accountant?

Because everyone knows who we are.

So I was like looking at the comments and it was like, they're rude, they don't take responsibility for what they do, blah blah, blah.

I went on a bit of a rant.

Now there's one of two ways you can handle that.

You can go in and you can blame, no, I'm not.

Blah, blah.

And you get sucked into it, which is, which is the wrong way to do it.

Don't get sucked in because I know it's gonna sort of appeal to your emotional nature and people automatically want to defend their business.

So you go backwards and forwards of, no, I didn't.

This is what happened.

Blah, blah, blah.

That is what you don't want to do.

So what I did was, you know, I just said, imagine if it was one of your grooming clients that went on all the local Facebook groups slagging you off for a group, but only gave one side of the story and remained anonymous.

I think if you're going to go online and say that sort of stuff, have the balls to put your name on it to start with.

And I just said, you know, I'm not going to put on here what happened, but you know, I will defend myself and say, look, we're not rude, but whatever.

And then she started coming back and I thought, no, no, I'm not going to get stuff, didn't do it.

So I just said, yeah, cheers.

Well, I hope you wish you well for the future and gave her a thumbs up emoji.

And then I copied it and put it in the Facebook loop.

And people might be like, why the hell did you copy that and let everyone know that you've had a bad review.

Well, who cares?

Like, I had nothing to hide from her.

I know we've done nothing wrong.

And it's just the sort of thing that people, if we hadn't got, if we hadn't parted ways, maybe the relationship, we've got more difficult, more time consuming.

And when you're spending more and more time with these difficult clients, it's costing you money.

Admin time, your own time, you know, chasing for stuff, chasing for payments if they're a late payer, constantly waiting around, if they always pick the dog up late.

So these clients cost you money.

And this is what you've got to look at it from more of a business mindset rather than an emotional mindset.

And I said this to the client this morning.

You're going, oh, well, it's only 15 minutes or it's fine, or, you know, surely did it once.

And you know, you've got to look at it from a business mindset because if we carry on looking at it from an emotional mindset, we're never going to get anywhere.

So don't worry if someone puts something on social media, if you're justified and you've followed your procedures and you've done it in the polite way and then just let them crack on, just let them put it on social media because people will know.

And if someone doesn't come to you because of someone's moany, moany metal on Facebook, then they're probably not the right client for you.

There was actually a couple of people that posted on that post saying, oh, I was going to ring the pet accountant, but I'm not sure now, and that's fine.

If they want to listen to someone do something on Facebook that we all hate, then just let them get on with it.

Let them go on with it.

That's what I say.

As Mel Robbins, as we quote in every podcast, just let them get on with it.

But just pop in the comments.

Whether, you know, the whole social media bad review thing does put you off from doing what you want to do sometimes.

It'd be interesting to know.

It used to, when I first started, I was terrified and I took on everybody and anybody.

Even if they were rude to me on the telephone, even if they were difficult from day one, I still took them on because I thought if I say no and say, actually you're not the client for me, they're going to go to social media and slag me off and say, the pet count is awful.

So I get it and we don't do that anymore, but I can see why you'd get sucked in.

So it'd be interesting.

There's quite a lot of you watching, so just pop in the comments whether you've had that experience or tell me that all your clients are lovely.

Even better.

Just be interesting to know the split, if anyone does fear that, or whether they've got any clients in mind straight away where they think, actually, if I start my business tomorrow, would I take this client on?

And most of the time we don't choose as accountancy businesses, as normal businesses, as pet businesses.

We don't necessarily choose the bad clients.

We kind of drift into them.

And it usually happens, like I said early on, because when you start now, you say yes, because you need the money.

You know, you lower your standards slightly because you want to get the bookings in because you want to fill your books and you ignore the red flags because you're like, well, maybe they'll just haunt it off day or, well, maybe this, and you think, oh, you know, I need the clients.

I know he or she was a bit of a pain, but we'll give it a go and you ignore the red flags.

Now I've told Tegan to definitely do not ignore the red flags.

And we are, like I say, being a bit more strict in who we take on.

And that can be with any business.

You know, anything we chat about is all interlinked.

So it doesn't matter if you train or a walker, a boarder, a groomer.

It all stems from the same thing.

And you know you will have those clients that you took on early on because of those things.

You needed the cash, needed the bookings and you're like, oh God, now I've stuck with them.

But over time, those clients become the loudest voices in your business.

And here's the problem.

Because the clients you attract, and this is where it links into the podcast, when your prices are low and your standards aren't as clear as they should be, that's the sort of clients that you then attract.

So when you sort out your prices and your boundaries, you will start attracting the right type of clients.

Imagine when people say, oh, you know, the cream or the walker down the road is start doing grooms for ten pound of walks for a fiver.

They're going to attract the worst clients because any person who takes their dog for a groom, it costs a five or a tenner, then needs a head checked in the first place.

So we don't want those.

Let, let all of those other pop up pet businesses take the bad clients.

Yeah, that are focused on price and you take the good clients that aren't focused on price and actually value what you do as a service.

So think to yourself, do I still have those annoying clients that I took on three years ago when I when I needed them?

Do they warrant all this time and effort that I'm having to spend on them because they're being annoying.

Right guys, I'm just gonna interrupt the podcast for a quick second.

As an accountant, we're always trying to find ways of saving you guys some money, which is why we have teamed up with the brilliant Low pay who are half the price of summer.

And so make sure you guys click the link in the bio and save those pennies.

Let's get back to the podcast.

Tegan has put a comment in.

I had a really bad experience with a client's husband in my salon when I was dog grooming, screamed and swore because I charged for 40 minute late pickup.

They went to social media.

I responded to the comment with a screenshot with a huge amazing review that the wife gave me about only a few weeks prior to.

So there you go.

People are fickle and people are annoying and we get it.

In every industry.

And it's like I say again, part of it's how you deal with it.

Don't get sucked into the social media back and forth because it sometimes will make you look just as bad.

Just either ignore the comment or do what Tegan's done and respond it.

Thank you very much for your feedback.

Blah, blah, blah.

And look this who your wife gave me two weeks ago.

So there's a way we can deal with it, but this is what happens.

And like we were guilty of it when I first started, I was taking on everybody, anybody, even when there was clear red flags.

But we don't do it now.

And all of those pop up ones that you hate.

And I hear all the time from clients where they say, oh, you know, this person's popped up this business, this business and they're charging really cheap.

Let those bad, bad people not, not bad people.

I don't want people to get confused.

I'm not calling clients bad people.

They're just bad clients.

They might be lovely people, but just not the best client.

So don't get bad person and bad client mixed up.

Just as a disclaimer, I'm not saying everyone's bad, just a bad client.

And the thing is, they will cost you financially and emotionally.

And like I said, we've had our fair share of awkward clients over the four years and it does drain you emotionally as well as financially.

And that's something that will then linked to burnout, which we can maybe talk about separately.

So let's talk about how we spot a bad client before they get to that point, okay?

And like I just want to be clear, bad clients aren't bad people, okay?

They're just the wrong fit for your company.

Sometimes we say on the phone, look, I don't think you're the right fit for us.

Maybe you might be suited to a local accountant or someone listened to my podcast years ago and I think I swore in it.

I think I said the F word by accident because every now and again it does slip out.

And she sent me a really long dm, basically saying, how dare I swear on my own podcast and she doesn't appreciate it, blah blah, blah.

Well, just don't listen to it then.

So they're just the wrong fit.

We're probably not going to be the accountancy firm for you because every now and again I do slip up in a swear word, pox out.

And if that's not the sort of accountant you want, then that's absolutely fine.

And it's the same with your Dog grooming businesses or your pet walking businesses, if you do things that the clients don't like, then that they're just not the client for you, and that's absolutely fine.

And again, it's just how you communicate that to the client, that's fine, go and find a local accountant.

Or if you don't like the odd swear word, we're probably not for you because we're not the most corporate accountancy firm.

So it's just because they're on fit.

So some warning signs.

Okay, guys, that should raise a red flag when you're talking to them, when you text them, when they're emailing, they focus on the price.

Now I said this to the client this morning.

If you get a message or a phone call and the first sentence that comes out their mouth is how much do you cost?

What is your price?

And they don't start with, hi, how are you?

I've got this dog, blah, blah, and they go straight in with the price.

They're just a price hopper, okay?

Don't spend hours on the phone, don't try and convince them, just give them the price off the bat.

And they will either go, yeah, okay, or go, no.

Oh, I'll let you know and I'll come back to you.

And they'll never come back to you because they're just trying to find the cheapest groomer, the cheapest dog walker, the cheapest dog trainer.

And I say the same to Tegan.

If someone inquires for our services and the first thing they say to me on the phone or the first thing they write in the email is how much do you cost?

We will send a blanket email out with the costs on whether they come back or not.

Or I will just say to them off the bat on the phone, okay?

Before go into any in depth conversation about my services, I will tell you the price.

If that's within your budget, happy days will continue with the conversation.

If it's not, that's absolutely fine.

And I don't want to waste my time or your time being on the phone for half an hour.

If we're too expensive.

And you can do that with any business, you can say to them, someone rings up and says, how much is a cockapoo?

And you say, £80.

And they go, it's a bit expensive.

You haven't wasted half an hour by going, you know, I do this and I do that and they're like, yeah, yeah.

And I do this with my dogs.

And I'm this groomer, I'm this trainer, and then you go, yeah, how much is it?

And you've got 80 quid.

And they got, nah, you wasted half an hour of your time.

That's half an hour you could have done a dog walk.

Half an hour you could have done admin.

Half an hour you could have groomed a dog.

So again, if they say price straight off the bat, just give them the price straight off the bat and don't waste your time because they're just focused on the price.

They question or argue every invoice.

So every time you get someone that comes to pay for your services, if they quibble every single time they have to pay you, that is a red flag.

And that is something that you don't need as a business owner.

And that's something you might want to just think to yourself, right, I've done this three months now.

And every time they've moaned about the price, probably not the right fit, they create agency around their poor planning.

So exactly like Tegan said, this person was 40 minutes late, you charge them for the late fee and then they start getting aggie.

But actually that's there.

They haven't planned their time properly.

That's not our problem.

Okay, so again, people who argue with you for your boundaries and your policies probably aren't the right fit as clients because the ones that do value wouldn't argue, they leave emotional or reactive messages.

Now, again, I hear this quite a lot, even from the client I had this morning.

I know, was it yesterday?

Might have been yesterday, who said, like some of our clients and I really like emotional messages.

And she's like, I'm not your mate.

But again, they will try and suck you in with the emotional messaging.

And I'm guilty of it as well.

Still now I am a bit of a softy and I do say, oh, okay, then maybe we'll let you off for like a few moments.

And I am guilty of that.

And that's because my emotional side comes out rather than my business head.

So don't get sucked in to the emotional reactive messages because at the end of the day, you're running a business, you need to make money.

And their personal circumstances, as harsh as it sounds, is not your problem.

Okay?

They've given you the dog, you've done the service, you need paying.

So don't get sucked into the emotional messages.

And they make you feel relieved when they cancel.

That is probably a big sign if you're having a dog and or you hate the owner and you're like, oh, thank God, I don't have to Groom that dog today because I don't particularly like the owner.

They're not a very good fit for business, then that is probably a warning sign that they maybe shouldn't be a client.

So, so all those things are red flags, okay?

And the things that you need to start listening to and you probably in your own head have a few clients that you're like, yep, that is what I should probably get rid.

And it's fine to get rid of them.

You're not being horrible, they're just not the right fit for your business.

You're not saying that they're horrible people because they're not.

Some might be, but majority of them aren't.

You're just seeing a not the right fit.

Like imagine if that one person you didn't get on with or just weren't the right fit and they doubled their frequency.

Is that going to make you happier or sadder?

Again, that's another sort of thing you say, right?

If I had to groom this dog or walk with stock and see this client another five times a week, would that make my better?

Would that make my business better or worse?

Would it make me better or worse?

If the answer is worse, then it's a client issue.

It's not a pricing issue, is not a capacity issue, is not a boundary issue, it's a client issue.

And you just need to part ways, just do it in a nice friendly way and you don't need to feel bad about it.

Some businesses look at an ideal client profile.

It's something that probably like much, much bigger businesses do.

But there's no reason why we can't do it as an accountancy firm, why you guys can't do it as groomers and trainers and think to yourself, right, who is my ideal client?

Where can I get them from?

Because sometimes you think ideal client profiles are for bigger companies and maybe you can't use them in your equipment business or whatever, but you can.

So you need to be attracting people that respect your expertise, that follow your processes, that pay without any issue and just fits the business that you're trying to build.

Look for those people, we don't want people who are price hopping, who are whinging at you all the time.

And I've had a few clients just this week be really disheartened about their business and saying, oh, I want to quit because of X, Y and Z.

And it's not because they don't like doing their job.

It's because everything hasn't been set out properly at the start.

The price might Be off.

So you get burnt out and you start resenting it, you know, or you've got the wrong clients and they're just not the right fit and they're driving you up the wall to the point where it's making you resent what you do.

And the.

That I have spoken to, I know, love their job and they want to continue doing it, but they just feel like a bit of a shift position because all of those other things have fallen to the wayside and we just need to tighten them up.

And it's easily done.

There's a lot of dogs, pets, animals out there for everybody.

Even if you had 50 groomers next to you, still be enough dogs because half of the ones that pop up and charge a tenner aren't going to last longer than 6 to 12 months.

So don't worry about it because then those clients will come crawling back and then you can go, no, sorry, my books are full.

Okay.

So just we've got to try and start looking and thinking about what our ideal client is.

You know, do your best clients feel easy?

Okay.

If that's the case, happy days.

Are there some that feel exhausting?

We get rid of those, but in a nice way.

Okay.

Once you get your ideal client profile set in your head, you will start automatically picking up things when you're talking to people.

So don't try and serve everybody that comes through your door.

Okay?

Because usually you end up then with the difficult ones and we don't want the difficult ones.

Has anyone got any comments on what I've said so far?

There's a lot of you watching.

Anyone got lovely clients, all lovely clients or has anyone had any bad clients in the past and they've got rid of them?

Just give me like a thumbs up or a thumbs down, that's fine.

We're all, all gonna help.

But let me know because a lot of you watching Abby, Christine, Julia, let me know, let me know.

It's the only one people have been silent on all the other lives everyone's been comment on and I think this one I was expecting not many comments because it is quite an emotional topic and no one wants to say anything.

So anyone just let me know.

Just put great clients, awkward clients, I've changed it up or have a profile.

So let me know in the comments.

It would be fab.

There's more questions you ask guys and more you put out there.

Sorry, what was the question?

Thank you, Lucy.

Just as anyone.

Does anyone have that in their business at the minute where you have awkward clients and you don't know how to get rid of them in a nice way or have you sorted that out in the past?

Just give me an idea of what everyone's situation is because it'd be interesting to know out of the 20 odd of you that are listening, who has really great clients and he was managed to weed out the not so good ones.

Or are people struggling with that at the minute because we can help each other.

I've said, Michaela, I've said no to a client as they admitted they had a pulley dog and my arm and my army injury in my back won't allow me to be pulled out.

Yeah, fair enough, exactly.

You don't want to be saying yes to someone that you know is going to injure you.

And was it difficult, Michaela, to say no?

Did it feel a bit awkward?

Christine, I have a family member that's a pain but I'm now going to stand my ground.

Yet family members are the worst, I think because they expect everything for free sometimes in the past I've had family members that have gone, oh, you know, just do my tax return, just do this, do that and you do it and then you think, oh my God, you're like the worst client I've got out of everybody.

But yeah, family members are the worst because almost you can't sack them because they're the family and you have to see them next year.

I'm ex military, so I'm blunt and say no, great, love it.

Michaela, just no, just.

Michaela goes, no, see ya.

Put the phone down and love it.

And yeah, you can, you can be stern and friendly and I think again, that's what people struggle with by saying no, you almost feel bad and guilty and you're like, oh no, I shouldn't have done that.

But you absolutely should.

A lot of people go into self employment because they want to work for themselves.

I did.

I was in the police for 10 years in London and I can tell you now, I've been punched, head butted, spat on, I've had bottles lobbed at me, I've been jumped on like the list is endless.

I thought, you know what, after 10 years of that, I've had enough, I'm going to go and work for myself.

So then why when working myself would I pick equal made, not equally, but just awkward, difficult clients?

Because that's what I've moved away from and I've got the power now to go, actually, I'm not dealing with you because I don't want to deal with that.

Whereas 10 years in the police, in the Met, I don't have that option to say, do mine.

Not jumping on my back like a crazy banshee, which I did have at one point.

She's nuts.

But there we go.

So, you know, take that control back of your business and say no.

It's absolutely fine to say no.

I'm sure Michaela's probably got loads of stories as well, being in the military, so.

But yeah, that's a story for another day about the crazy woman that jumped on my back.

Bryony just said that she had a client when she was dog walking that would pay her on bank holidays.

Bryony hadn't walked her dog but the client was sent her money because she said she deserves to be paid on rent holidays too, being self employed, even though she was off.

Oh, bless her.

And you get lovely clients and actually we get sent chocolates, we get sent hampers and all sorts of different things and it does make you think, oh, you know what, there is some lovely clients out there and I've got the best clients, so when they do something nice, it's great.

And that's what we need more of, more chocolates people, accountants or people too.

We need food, so feel free to send us lots of chocolate.

Lucy's put, yes, I felt bad about clients even being written in my book.

Would dread them coming.

He got nasty when I said about Matt and never came back and I was pleased.

There you go, Lucy, you see.

So we don't want them if they're getting nasty.

Like, why do you have to put it with rude people?

Some professions, like the police, you have to.

As a dog groomer, as a dog walker, you do not have to.

As an accountant, we do not have to to put up with that.

As a business owner, you don't have to put up with that.

Here, to put.

I'd say 99% of my clients are ideal clients.

Fab.

I've weaned out the ones that don't fit over the years.

I'm quite picking who and what I take on.

Exactly.

And this is what we need more.

Kate, you've got to be a bit more picky because you only live once and you don't want any business awkward clients.

And like I say, just to be clear, I'm not saying they're bad people, I'm just saying they're not the right fit client.

They're not bad people, Lucy.

I can also, I can also be unprofessional sometimes and ghost people need to stop doing that.

Yeah, Lucy, I mean, fair enough, but no, don't ghost them.

Just be honest.

You can be honest and polite and it's how you deliver it.

Don't be like, oh, you or I hate you.

Really, you're really annoying and I hate you whinging at me every Monday.

So I'm going to sack you.

Just be polite.

Unfortunately, my books are now full.

I don't think really the right fit or however you want to wear it.

Use chatgpt.

Use Copilot.

Chatgpt will word things.

If you talk to it and tell it what you need to do, it will word you a text message.

Chat GPT can write anything you want it to write as long as you give it the information that you need.

So use ChatGPT if you are stuck of how you word things.

Because sometimes I do that with emails.

When I don't know quite how to word an email, I'll put it in ChatGPT and it rewrites it for me.

Maria, I've been lucky and have lovely clients weeded out bad ones and most problem dogs had bad owners.

Feel like, is someone ringing me?

And that's in a different room, maybe it's not me.

So yes, weed them out and that's what we end up doing because like I said at the beginning, we take them on at the beginning because we want our books to be full, we want money, and then we have trouble weeding them out at the end.

So that's what a lot of people do.

I have clients like you were saying, that don't appreciate my time, turn up late, drop off late, don't show.

And I never, I don't ever charge Lucy.

Start introducing deposits so that they will stop not turning up.

And if they turn up late the first time they do it, charge them.

The more you let them off, the more they're going to carry on doing it because they'll think that you're just going to let them off every time someone doesn't show up.

That's whatever your average charge is every single time.

You add that up over 12 months, that's a lot of money.

Figure out what your hourly rate is.

Divide it by four.

Every time people are 15 minutes late, you charge them without fail.

If they don't pay, you, don't put them back in.

No one should be saying, I have a client that's always late and always doesn't show up because they should only ever get one chance or no chances, and then they don't.

You don't have that issue.

They get one out of jail Free card, they've used it up, you charge them, they don't pay, they don't book them back in.

Or if they desperate to come back in, you take full payment and say because you mess me about, I'm not going to take that risk again.

I'm running the business, not a charity.

You pay your fee and then I'll book you appointment.

If you don't want to do that, please go find someone else.

Maybe less clip than that but just it winds me up.

So Lucy be stern, do it on the first go.

Or if you want to give him one out of jail free card, tell them you've got one out of jail free card that you've just used up and next time you do this I will charge you.

If they don't turn up and then try and get another appointment, take full payment over the phone to secure their appointment.

If they don't want to do it, they're probably just not going to show up again.

So be stern Abby.

I'm only weekend and have lovely clients so far.

Fabulous.

Keep it up Abby, don't take on any other ones.

Joe, I have a client that thinks it's hilarious the head dog crapped everywhere mid dry.

Unfortunately I'm not strong enough to take her off my books job.

We will have a conversation about that.

And we have had a conversation about that.

Tell the client that you will keep the dog on even though it shits everywhere but you will charge her an extra 15 pound cleaning fee.

That's the easiest way to get rid of her or him because they won't want to pay the 15 pound cleaning fee.

So then he go okay, no that's absolutely fine.

Unfortunately I won't be able to book Fluffy in again then because it takes me time to clean this shit up after every groom.

So just tell her that or him.

15 quid, 20 quid, make a 30 quid if you want to get rid of them so that they don't do it.

And if whatever freak chance they do decide to come back in, you've got an extra 30 quid for cleaning the shit up.

So look at it that way.

Almost every house had treats at Christmas for me cat sitting all the way.

Yeah, lots of treats.

Nicola.

Agreeing with everything you're saying.

The red flags you mentioned are ringing a bell.

With so many clients I've had in the past, it's a good feeling.

I've managed to get rid of loads of red flag clients.

I'm much happier and less stressed.

Exactly.

Everything will just settle into place when you get Rid of those bad clients or wrong fit clients, however you want to word it.

Tegan said, what about the lovely gentleman yesterday who spoke to me about becoming a client and fantas for the podcast?

It's not necessarily money or gifts, but kind people who value you just as rewarding.

Exactly like people who value your service.

And we had this conversation today.

If someone can go to a hairdressers and pay 90 quid to get their hair washed and trimmed when they sit still, this is what you need to be saying to your clients.

You know the reason I charge £90 for this particular groom is because what you're not seeing is the drying, the washing, the washing shit off its ass, cutting its toenails, the fact it doesn't sit still.

That's why it costs more than your haircut, because you sit still and the hairdresser doesn't have to wash your ass.

So that's what I'd say.

But then I'm probably a bit more blunt.

Samantha Brown on the whole, mainly amazing clients.

Over 15 years of dog walking, I've learned to say no to any clients that don't fit in a polite way by saying I'm currently full to take on any more doggies from a previous podcast.

I'm going to increase prices as there are clients that always ask for more and want to pay less.

Exactly.

And the easiest way to get rid of those clients who are price is just pretend to up your prices, an extortionate amount.

They won't pay and they'll leave Happy days.

What would you do if the client has an appointment and because of some reason not their fault, like a road closed for example, they will not make it or they will be late.

Would you charge for them?

This is a really difficult one because this is where your emotional sort of side rather than your business side comes in because you're like, well it's not their fault.

But if you flip that it's also not your fault.

So why should you miss out on the appointment?

Because they've got stuck.

And I know it sounds awful and this is why I said before maybe you could have like a one out of jail free card rule.

But yeah, I get it's not their fault that you know the road's closed or something's come up and made them late or something's come up that they can't then attend appointment, but that's why we take deposits.

Then you can just say fair enough boss, we've got to take the deposit.

And also it's not your fault either.

So it's kind of, it is a difficult one.

And maybe that's where you have your one out of jail free card rule for stuff like that and just say, right, if it's not their direct fault, they'll have one out of jail free card.

You use that up.

If they do, then do it again.

It becomes poor planning on their part.

So then you have to say, well, look, unfortunately I let you off the first time because of whatever the reason was, but actually now you're costing me money because I could have fit that slot into some with someone else or I'm now running behind because you've picked up the dog 20 minutes late.

So that is how I would approach that if I was in your position, I'd give them one out of jail free cards.

Every client would have one out of jail free card for something that wasn't their fault.

But once they've used it, they've used it.

And then they get told at that point you've used your out of jail free card.

If it happens again, unfortunately I will have to charge you because it's your time, it's your slot, your diary, it's your money, it's your bank balance.

So yes, it's not their fault, but it also isn't your fault either.

So that's why you've got to have your business head on and not your personal head.

Hope that helps.

Lucy.

I also have some that are too ott baby my dogs.

And I'm nervous leaving the dog and it makes the dogs nervous.

Usually when they are gone the dogs are better, but when they say things like they were relieving them, I find it rude when I take such good care.

Yeah, well, yeah, Lucy, sometimes you get funny, dirty funny to do people like.

I'm not gonna lie, I treat Frank like an absolute prince.

That he is.

But you're a professional and yeah, I wouldn't probably be that extreme.

I wouldn't want to leave it in the capable hands of someone.

But maybe just say to them, look, you know, I've done this for X amount of years, I'm fully insured, I know what I'm doing.

I've worked with thousands of dogs and then just maybe try and reassure them the first time and if they say it again, then just say, come on, why are you coming here then?

So it's just, again, it's a way that you handle it guys and what you say to them.

The only good thing about these type of customers are it does make you appreciate the good clients.

Will it?

Exactly.

My next customer's already 10 minutes late.

Well, there you go, Lucy.

Perfect, perfect time whilst everyone's listening to see when this client comes in and tell them there's a however much charge you've charged for someone that's late and make sure that they pay it.

I do.

I send the videos to show them how they are.

Fine, yeah.

Then you can only do that so many times, you see, before it takes up time and adjunct of you to send in all the videos.

So again there's a fine line between doing it and them taking the piss.

But I hope you're going to charge your customer for a list that's 10 minutes of your time that you could be doing something else.

Always think about it as money lost and then it might make you rethink things.

I had one owner last year who know showed I have T's and C's which states 100 groom free for missed appointment.

He came to pay but tried to haggle fee as felt it was unfair.

I told him not to pay, then if that's how he felt he wanted to book back in.

I said I'd text as I was busy, which I was, and then messaged him later to sit on reflection offer any further appointments if he doesn't respect my T's and C's.

Not quite worth like that.

Anyway, he was truly good and sent me a message to apologize.

And there you go, you see.

Once they think they're getting away with it, they'll carry on doing it.

Whereas if you set your boundaries from day one, like Kate said, look, actually I'm reflection, if you're not going to respect my boundaries, I'm not grooming at all.

And then all of a sudden they come back and apologize and they won't do it again.

So it's all about just enforcing your boundaries in a fair, polite way.

Shall I send a ring door mouth video to show you how weak I am?

And I'll say don't worry, it's fine.

Yes, please do Lucy.

But no, we won't want to shake.

We're not going to be like Lucy, you shit.

Just, just honestly put your big girl pants on Lucy and say you're late as per my terms and conditions, which you signed or should have had a copy of your fee.

There's gonna be an extra 10 quid on top of the bill today.

If they say no, tell them to leave.

That's all you've got to do.

If you're not prepared to pay my late fee, then unfortunately I'm not going to groom your Dog or whatever.

Whatever it is that you do, Lucy.

But no, just tell them off the bat when they come in like you're 10 minutes late.

I'm now running behind.

So as per my policies, you're going to have to pay whatever the whatever your policy is.

And if they say no to say, okay, well then I'm not doing the appointment, then you've got to respect my terms and conditions and that's it.

And then they'll go or they go, sorry, no one's going to want to feel awkward in front of you.

So let's put everyone tell Lucy, put a big girl pants on and we're going to do it.

And Lucy, please tell us on here if they do come and you said it or even if you have got it on the ring doorbell and you have said it, put the video up.

It'd be amazing.

I don't have the terms and conditions.

I'm not great money business dog.

We.

Am I right?

Lucy, get some terms and conditions, go on chatgpt of write them for you and have some terms and conditions because it's hard to enforce policies that you don't have to.

Do me a favor.

Tonight is your homework.

Go and write some terms and conditions and some policies.

Think about what policies you want to enforce and what you want to include.

Put it in chatgpt or copilot, whatever, and write it for you.

So please, please, please get some T's and C's because you can't force stuff like this.

And the moment you don't force it, it's a moment they carry on doing it.

So please, please, please do that.

Fabulous.

And I've gone massively off tangent.

But thank you so much for all the comments.

I feel like that podcast, there's two women that always tell like funny stories online, which are quite hilarious bad reviews.

And I'm going to skim over this.

We've gone over it.

Please, please, please don't be terrified of people putting stuff on social media, okay?

The unreasonable clients will leave them anyway, okay?

One negative review doesn't outweigh all of the 99 other good reviews.

And your response matters more than what they have put because people will look at you and what you respond, okay?

So just keep it calm, keep it factual, keep it brief.

We're sorry this experience didn't meet your expectations.

Our policies are in place to ensure fairness and consistency for all clients.

That is it.

No defense, no oversharing, no emotion.

Just we're sorry this experience didn't meet your expectations.

Our policies are in Place to ensure fairness and consistency for all clients.

Clients, you can use that.

Just copy it and then send it in a message or if someone does it, that's what you need to report.

End of.

I need to do teas and Cs for trans, my booking app.

Yet would I put them on my socials or I would put them on your socials and I'd also, when your clients come in, get them to sign a copy and take a copy with them so at least they know and point out the obvious ones.

And Lucy, I'm the same.

I. I do have them, but shit enforcement.

At least you have them.

Exactly.

But we can.

There's.

You can start now.

Lucy, this is not the end of the world.

Starting now is better than nothing.

Just turned up 20 minutes late.

Exactly right.

Lucy, go and tell them now.

We're all waiting online.

I should be going, but I'm gonna wait because I want to see what you've said.

Please, please, please do it, Lucy, charge them.

Charge them.

I'm just going to write it in here now for you.

I don't know if that's going to go on.

There you go.

We're sorry.

The experience with me, expectation of policy replacement should have plans and consistency for all our clients.

Go on, Lucy, do it.

Enforce that.

But obviously she has not T's and C, so that might be a little bit difficult.

But if you've learned anything from today, Lucy, get your T's and C's written up.

Like I say, use ChatGPT.

Oh, Lucy, do it.

Everyone's like, go, go, Lucy, enforce it.

Even just pretend you've got them.

They'll not know.

But 20 minutes is a long time, guys.

It's an absolute long time doing this.

Like I said to you before, and I said there's newer ones, less stress, your diary becomes better, you get better clients.

Life is good, life is happy.

You don't have to have those awkward conversations.

All the awkward clients, the bad fit clients are just going to stress you out, create havoc and we don't want it.

And they're going to cost you money at the end of the day and money is aim of the game.

So just stand by your policies and stand by everything and weed out, like everyone said, the ones that we don't want.

You are allowed to choose who you work with, people.

And that's what we've got to keep in your head.

Find quality is not about ego, okay?

It's about building the business that pays you properly, protects your energy, is sustainable and so go away.

Think about what your ideal client is.

That could be homework for today.

I didn't bless you.

So I get the T's and C's and then get that person that'll be the first person to sign them next time they come.

Or tell them if you're late again, I won't be able to groom your dog.

So now I'm messing up the school run for me.

Exactly, Lucy.

So say to them, if you're late again, I won't groom your dog.

I won't have the appointment.

Sorry.

Then if they'll go, they'll go, Lucy.

But get your T's and C's written up for your homework.

Everyone have a think about who your ideal client will be.

If there's any that don't fit the ideal client, think about how you want to sort of get rid in the nicest way possible and start booking in your ideal clients in that spot.

So that is your homework.

I'm dominating this.

Feel like everyone's behind you, Lucy.

We want to know what's happened.

We want to know about your T's and C's.

We want to know what's happened.

Don't do a full groom.

Yeah, exactly.

From Nicola.

Don't do a full groom if he's only.

If you've got an hour appointment and he or she's 20 minutes late, do 40 minutes of work.

Don't make yourself late for your school run because they're shit poor planning.

So please, Lucy, do 40 minutes like Nicola said and then ring him and say, your dog's ready.

We only had 40 minutes left.

Sorry, I've got plans.

Don't do it again, otherwise I'm not booking your dog in.

End of the.

So there we go, peoples.

Right, I'm gonna go now because I am starving and need some lunch.

And thank you so much to everyone and their cooperation.

It makes life so much better when we've got real life examples as Lucy's is in literally real life as it's on, as she's listening.

Someone turned up late.

You couldn't get more ironic.

So please do your homework.

Think about all of your clients, who you would change if you could start again.

Think about who your ideal client is and how you can find them.

And if you want this podcast will be again released on Monday.

Please go to the pet account on Spotify and subscribe and follow so that you get notifications of when they pop up.

I do try and keep it on the same day every week, but obviously busier times of the year mean that I might not be able to do every Wednesday.

So if you follow you will see when they come up if I did it on a random day and hope you all enjoyed it again.

Thanks so much for your contributions Lucy.

We will all want an update next Wednesday as to whether you've done your T's and C's and no pressure and what happened to that client, whether you've kicked them into touch and please only do a 40 minute groom and I will be back next week with another insightful topic.

I was going to do something else today but then because I spoke to a few clients this week already about clients and I thought we'll do on that because it made sense.

Again, any ideas or anything you want us to discuss, please let me know.

You can DM me directly if you've got any topics you want to go through.

But I hope you all have a fab week.

Have a fab Valentine's weekend.

Hopefully we'll see you all at Crux.

Hopefully you've all got your ticket for the Pet Pro Expo because this is the sort of stuff that the Pet Pro Expo is about.

Is about enforcing these boundaries, making a sustainable business and having something that lasts you forever.

So if you haven't got your ticket, please get it.

Don't, don't dry them then.

No, we need to look after the dog.

But just try your best Lucy, but don't, don't overrun.

Do as much as you can.

If you can't fit it in, that's not your fault.

But yes, please make sure you come to the Expo, grab your ticket because this is what we do and we'll all be there.

We're gonna have a networking party.

It's gonna be brilliant and no one will be left on their own.

I must stress that we are very hot on that.

No one's gonna be stood on their own not talking to anyone.

Everyone was going to be included and everything.

So please don't worry if you are coming by yourself.

But yes, have a good week everyone.

Make lots of money, make sure we're keeping all those receipts and I will come back with you next week and let you know when the NTD webinar is going to be and we'll have another juicy topic and we'll all find out from Lucy how she got on with that client.

So no pressure.

Lucy, we all want to know.

But yes, have a good week guys and I will catch you all later on.

Bye.

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