Who should answer the phone while you're grooming?

The phone rings with a dog on the table, scissors near an eye and one hand on the collar. Answer it and you've stepped away from the dog in front of you. Leave it and the client calling may book somewhere else. The real decision is who owns the phone during each part of the day, so that nobody has to make that choice mid-groom.

Should you answer the phone while you're grooming?

No, not during hands-on work. Scissoring, nails, a dog on the table with no second person holding it: those are the moments when an interruption costs the most, and a phone call is never urgent enough to justify it. Plenty of calls are bookings, reschedules and "is she ready yet?", and those can wait twenty minutes if the caller knows when they'll hear back.

Where it gets harder is the in-between time. A dog in the bath, a dog under the dryer, a crate break. Some groomers answer then. That works if the call is short and you can hang up without leaving a job half-done. It fails when a two-minute booking turns into a ten-minute conversation about coat condition while the dryer runs hot.

The better answer is to decide in advance which blocks are for grooming and which are for the phone, and to tell callers the rule rather than making it up each time.

If you work alone

A solo groomer can't staff the phone. So the job is to make an unanswered call useful instead of lost.

• A voicemail that promises a time: "I'm with a dog right now. I return calls at 11 and 2." A caller who knows when you'll ring back is far less likely to try the next shop on the list.
• Callback blocks you actually keep: ten minutes between dogs, twice a day. Break the promise once and the voicemail stops working.
• Somewhere for simple requests to go: online booking or a text reply for the "can I get Tuesday?" calls, so your callback block goes on the calls that need you.
• A short urgent list: a same-day health concern about a dog you have, or a pickup that has to change. Tell regulars to text "URGENT" for those, and check your phone between each dog.

Groom from a van? Same rule, different blocks. Return calls parked between houses, never while you're driving to the next one.

When someone else can answer

With a receptionist, a partner or a bather who can step away, one person should own the phone for a set block of time. Not everyone at once, and not whoever is nearest.

The rule that decides whether this works is simple. The person answering has to be able to finish the call. If they can only take a message, the groomer still has to ring back and rebuild the conversation, and you've paid for two calls instead of one. They need the diary, the services and prices, each client's history and their dog's notes, and a clear list of what they're allowed to decide without asking.

Interrupt the groomer only for the escalation list: a welfare concern, an unhappy client, a question about a dog's coat that only the person who groomed it can answer.

What to ask a new client on the first call

A new client's first call is the one worth answering well, because it decides the booking length and the price. Whoever takes it should come away with enough to book the right slot without the groomer ringing back:

• The dog's name, breed or mix, and rough size
• Coat condition now, and when it was last groomed
• The service they want, and what "short" means to them
• Anything about temperament, age or health you'd want before the dog is on the table
• Days and times that work, and the best number for a reply

Prices are the tricky part. If the answer depends on the coat, say so and give the range from your price list rather than a number you'll have to walk back at drop-off.

After hours and on weekends

When the shop is closed, the voicemail should say so, give your hours and say when you'll call back. Something like: "You've reached the shop. We're grooming until 5 and back on the phones at 8 tomorrow. Leave your name, your dog's name and what you need, and we'll ring you back in the morning."

Cover	Fits when
Voicemail with a callback time	Most callers are regulars who'll wait for you.
A text reply or online booking	Most calls are simple booking requests.
A teammate on phone duty	You have someone who can step away from the table.
An answering service or AI receptionist	The calls you miss are mostly new clients who won't leave a message. Check a month of missed calls before you pay for one.

What should a callback note say?

A note that says "Sarah called" makes the next person start again. Write it so whoever returns the call can pick it up cold.

• Caller and dog
• What they want, in their words
• How urgent it is
• Anything already promised ("said we'd confirm by 3")
• Who owns the callback, and by when

Keep the note with the client's record rather than on a sticky note by the till. The next time they call, whoever answers can see the last conversation without asking them to repeat it.

Fewer calls in the first place

A good share of grooming calls are clients asking something you could have told them earlier. Is Bella ready? What time was the appointment? Did you get my message? A confirmation that states the drop-off and pickup times, and a text when the dog is ready, answer those before the phone rings. The calls left over are the ones that deserve a person: a new client with questions, a nervous owner, a problem. That's the phone you want to be answering.

Your phone plan on one page

Write it down and put it where everyone can see it.

• Grooming blocks: no live answering. Calls go to voicemail with a callback time.
• Phone blocks: who answers, and at what times.
• What they can decide: new bookings, moving a booking, prices on the list.
• What goes to the groomer: the escalation list, and nothing else.
• Where notes live: on the client's record, using the callback note above.

Keep reading

• What should you text a grooming client, and when?
• Can a grooming business keep its number when it changes phone systems?
• Choose who rings on Seglo Phone
• Manage messages
• See Seglo for pet grooming