An answering service for dog groomers that books by breed and size
You are holding a wet dog and the phone is ringing. Here is what a missed call costs a grooming business, and how each way of answering handles “how much for a full groom on a goldendoodle?”
No card needed. Keep your number. One code undoes it.
The problem
Grooming calls come while both hands are busy, and a new owner who reaches voicemail often rings the next groomer. Many of your callers are also booking the next visit, or asking about a rule: vaccines, matted coats, a nervous dog.
Here is what grooming callers ask.
The calls you’re missing
- “How much for a full groom on a goldendoodle?”
- “Do you need proof of vaccines?”
- “Can you fit in a nail trim this week?”
- “My dog’s coat is really matted. Can you still take him?”
- “Do you come to the house?” (mobile groomers)
What a missed call may cost
About $458 a month in missed revenue
An estimate, using the missed-call calculator’s sum with example numbers: 5 missed calls a week, 80% who never call back, 33% of them who would have booked, 80 dollars for the average grooming visit, times 52 weeks, divided by 12 months.
An average visit of $80 is the calculator’s pet-grooming example. Use your own average, and remember a groom is often repeat business. These are not your numbers and not a promise of what any service wins back. GotItDesk is $99 a month ($79 for our first 100 customers): at that average, 2 bookings a month brings in revenue equal to the subscription price, before your own costs.
Your four options, side by side
| Voicemail | Answering service | GotItDesk | Front-desk hire | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answers while you groom | Records only | Depends on the plan | Yes, 24/7 | Another pair of hands |
| Quotes by size or breed | No | From a script | From the services and prices you set, one per size | Yes |
| Books the appointment | No | Some do | Yes: its own calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook | Yes |
| Your rules (vaccines, matting) | No | Only if scripted | Repeats what you wrote, a message for the rest | Yes |
| Typical cost | Free | Per call or per minute: ask each provider | $99 a month, 1,000 minutes | Wages |
Answering-service prices vary a lot by provider and plan; check each one.
When another option is the better pick
- Voicemail is fine if most of your clients rebook at the counter and the phone is quiet.
- An answering service is the better pick if you want a person to take messages for a mobile groomer on the road.
- A part-time helper is the better pick if the real shortage is hands at the table, not the phone.
How GotItDesk handles the call
- Greets the callersays it’s the grooming shop’s virtual assistant
- Which dog?breed and size, so it picks the right service
- Quotes your pricethe service and price you set for that size
- Mentions your rulesvaccines, matted coats, behaviour: your wording
- Finds a timea column per groomer or table
- Books itspells the owner’s name back and emails you the booking
Listen to the sample call: a recorded, scripted ceramic-coating call in the live voice. Your own business is one click away, below.
What’s particular to this trade
- Size decides the price and the time. Add a service for each size band (small, medium, large) with its own price and length. It quotes the one that fits the dog described.
- Your rules, in your words. Vaccine proof, matted coats, nervous dogs, late drop-offs: it repeats what you wrote, and takes a message for what you didn’t.
- It doesn’t judge the coat. It can’t see the dog, so condition-based extras are yours to confirm. Write that into your answer about matted coats and it says so.
- Mobile groomers. “Do you come to me?” and “how far do you travel?” get the answers you wrote in setup.
Set up in about ten minutes, and the price
Paste your website and it suggests your hours, services and prices. You choose a voice, call your new GotItDesk number to hear it answer, and only then dial one code to forward the calls you miss. It says it’s a virtual assistant in its first sentence.
The free trial is your first 10 bookings, up to 14 days or 59 minutes, no card. Then $99 a month with 1,000 minutes ($79 for our first 100 customers). No overage bills. See pricing.
What it doesn’t do yet
Connections to grooming software are not live, and neither are text reminders, deposits or waitlist backfill: texts are waiting on carrier approval. It books into GotItDesk’s own calendar or your Google Calendar or Outlook, and emails you every booking. We’d rather you know now.