60-Second Industry Check-in ⏱️

Happy Good Friday Daily Groomers!

‍

Most grooming content is opinions… and if you haven’t noticed, I’m a lot more interested in data and real insights.

‍

So I’m running a little experiment.

‍

My goal is to show what’s actually happening across real shops.

‍

I’m curious what things look like right now — pricing, hiring, no-shows, all of it.

‍

I put together a quick 60-second check-in below and would love your input.

‍

Everything is anonymous.

‍

I’ll share back what I find and turn it into something useful — should be interesting to see where everyone’s at coming out of Q1 2026.

‍

‍

1. What’s your biggest challenge right now?

(If you could only pick one)

‍

Getting new clients

‍

Retaining clients

‍

No-shows / cancellations

‍

Hiring groomers

‍

Pricing correctly

‍

Time / burnout

‍

Managing schedule efficiently

‍

Dealing with difficult clients

‍

2. How booked out are you currently?

Not fully booked

‍

1–3 days out

‍

4–7 days out

‍

1–2 weeks out

‍

3+ weeks out

‍

3. What’s your current no-show / late cancellation rate?

(Your best guess is fine)

‍

Under 5%

‍

5–10%

‍

10–20%

‍

20%+

‍

No idea (no tracking)

‍

4. Are you actively trying to hire right now?

Yes — urgently

‍

Yes — casually looking

‍

No — fully staffed

‍

No — not growing right now

‍

5. When was the last time you raised your prices?

Within the last 3 months

‍

3–6 months ago

‍

6–12 months ago

‍

Over a year ago

‍

Never

‍

6. What would move your business forward the MOST right now?

More clients

‍

Better clients (higher quality / higher ticket)

‍

More staff

‍

Better systems / software

‍

More time (less chaos

‍

Higher pricing confidence

‍

Other

‍

7. How many dogs are you grooming per day (on average)?

1–3

‍

4–6

‍

7–9

‍

10+

‍

8. Do you feel underpaid for the work you’re doing?

Yes — significantly

‍

Yes — slightly

‍

No — fairly compensated

‍

No — I feel well paid

‍

9. What’s your biggest operational bottleneck?

Scheduling / calendar management

‍

Client communication (calls, texts, reminders)

‍

Grooming time per dog

‍

Staff performance

‍

Admin / paperwork

‍

Payments / invoicing

‍

10. Are you tracking your business metrics regularly?

Yes — weekly

‍

Yes — monthly

‍

Rarely

‍

Not at all

‍

One last thing (this is the most important one)

‍

If you could fix one thing in your grooming business overnight…

What would it be?

‍

(Reply directly by clicking here to add your response)

‍

Appreciate you taking a minute to fill this out… every response helps, whether you’re big or small, just starting out or 20 years in.

‍

I think this will end up being really useful to the community once we see everything together.

‍

Enjoy your Easter weekend with your family!

‍

Alex

‍

🛠️ Behind The Scenes Building Teddy

At Teddy, we’re seeing a lot of new folks switching over from DaySmart.

‍

Most say it feels outdated, slow, and just plain frustrating.

‍

If you use DaySmart / 123Pet, create a free account on Teddy and I’ll reach out directly to see if we can help!