Be honest… when was the last time you looked at your Terms and Conditions?

For many pet groomers, T&Cs are one of those “I’ll sort it later” jobs. But avoiding them can lead to serious problems in your business.

In this episode, Bill explains why solid, well-written Terms and Conditions are not just paperwork; they are protection.

Without clear policies in place, you can end up with:

1. Inconsistent rules for different clients
2. Disputes over matting, late collections or no-shows
3. Refund arguments
4. Complaints that become personal and emotional
5. Stress that could have been avoided

Your Terms and Conditions set the standard for how your business operates. They remove grey areas. They give you confidence. And they make you look professional.

Bill also talks through how to create T&Cs that actually reflect your grooming business, not just something copied from another salon. Your policies should match your values, your services and how you want to run your diary.

If you’ve ever felt anxious about client complaints or unsure how to handle tricky situations, this episode will help you tighten up your systems and protect your business properly.

You can access the Pet Passion to Profit Terms & Conditions Builder here:

https://www.petgroomertandcbuilder.com/

As always, I'd like to thank the podcast sponsor, Lopay, the low-cost payment platform that helps you keep more of the money you earn.

You can find out more and sign up for Lopay here:

https://merchant.lopay.app/ref/PETPASSION2500

Listeners of this podcast get £2500 of fee-free transactions.

And if you’d like support building a stronger, more professional grooming business, visit:

https://petpassiontoprofit.com/

If this episode gave you a nudge to finally sort your T&Cs, make today the day you do it – and don’t forget to subscribe and share it with another groomer who needs to hear it. 🐾

Welcome to the Pet Grooming Business Podcast.

With me, Bill Betts, where we give.

Practical business advice to help you grow your pet grooming business.

This podcast is sponsored by Low Pay, the low rate payment app that gives you more.

So without further ado, let's get going.

Okay.

Welcome back to the podcast.

Hope you're well.

Today we are talking about something that almost every pet groomer avoids delays or has sitting on their to do list for many, many years.

And it's certainly something that I, I always ask my clients when they sign up to my program just to make sure that the foundations are there.

And quite often it's something that they've neglected or haven't done.

And today we're going to be talking about terms and conditions.

I know it's not exciting, not glamorous, but it's not as fun as a new champagne rate.

Champagne?

Well, yeah, it's definitely not as fun as a new champagne range or shampoo range or a salad rebrand.

But, you know, the truth is it can really help you.

So let's, let's dive in because I've, I've done something you might have noticed already, but I have done something to really help you with this, and this is what we're going to be talking about.

So.

Right, let's dig into it.

You know, your business can feel quite stressful at times, and it can also feel really inconsistent from one customer to another, or you're constantly dealing with, like, really awkward situations and having to sort of, you know, turn to Facebook groups for advice and, and ask other groomers what they would do in this situation and stuff like that.

And it makes it very hard to deal with those customers in.

It makes it hard to react to what they're saying or if they made a complaint or if you need to enforce something.

So terms and conditions are really important.

So what I want to talk about today is like, why Groovers are avoiding writing them, what it's actually costing you by not having terms and conditions, or not having comprehensive terms and conditions, and finally, how to get them done properly without overthinking it.

So, so let's dig into that and let's have a look.

Be honest with us then.

Who's got terms and conditions?

Where did you go for them?

Did you just copy them from someone else's website?

Have you actually thought about them when you copied them?

Did you put some thought into, you know, putting them, putting yourself in your, your customer shoes, but also thinking about, you know, the consequences of your terms and conditions and also the contingency planning.

Because, you know, I always say this when, when people talk about working with other people and it all goes well until it doesn't, and then that's when we're found lacking.

It's very similar with, with employees and handbooks and contracts.

Yeah, we don't need a handbook.

We don't legally need a, a HR handbook.

But again, you don't know you need it until you need it.

And by then it's far too late.

And exactly the same with terms and conditions.

Okay, so it's.

A lot of groomers don't have them in place because, you know they don't care or you don't care.

But it's avoided because it's very hard to determine what's normal.

Sometimes we feel as though we're being a bit fussy or a bit harsh.

You're worried about what clients might think, you're not sure what to include in them.

You keep meaning to get round to it, you know, it's a gutty job.

It's not something that we enjoy.

Sometimes you just don't really understand what to put in them.

And also, like, how do we turn this into a proper document and then print them in a PDF?

Sometimes that can really sort of stump people because, like, use of technology and computers.

So they just sit there on that to do list, like constant to do list in your brain.

I know I should have them.

And you look at the Facebook groups, like, what's your T's and C's say?

And you're like, I haven't got them yet.

And I was like, the same with employee handbooks.

Exactly the same.

We were having issues with employees and returned to a HR consultant.

And the first thing they'd say, what does your handbook say?

And I was like, I haven't got a handbook.

Well, I was trying to write one.

It took me months, but I still never wrote it.

It's very similar with, with team terms and conditions in it.

I constantly see, like, with the coaching business, like, brilliant, fantastic, dedicated, passionate groomers, you know, fully booked out, really talented, really hard working.

But they have no written cancellation policy, no matting clauses, no flea policy, no late collection fees or complaints process, Just living on a hope or a wing and a prayer.

And that really does let them down.

And a lot of the advice that we sort of help with within the coaching program is like, how to deal with this situation, how would we talk to that client, you know, and it's lessons learned all the time.

And that's where we're tweaking and Tightening the T's and C's as well.

So.

But you also got to start thinking about what is, what's it costing you not having these terms and conditions, not just financially, but potentially mentally as well.

No one talks about this.

So when we don't have clear policies, you probably tend to hesitate, second guess yourself, you know, have to go and turn to Facebook group again, think feeling awkward about charging or enforcing something.

You feel like maybe you're letting the side down.

You know, your T's and C's also form a bit of your boundaries as well.

So when your boundaries get trodden all over by your clients, you start to feel a little bit resentful for it, you know, but is it their fault?

And then you get these clients in your diary that you starting to really dread that they're bookings because they might be turning up late, they might be picking up late or turning up early or not showing up or canceling at the last minute or constantly rescheduling, but you don't know how to deal with it because you've never had that conversation with them and you've never actually laid down the rules to your business, the rules that you want your business to run by.

And this is so important.

And it's something that you might hear me say time and time again in the, in the Facebook groups.

It's your business, it's your rules.

Okay?

There's no standardization to this.

Obviously we've got to keep within the laws of our countries, but it's your business, it's your, it's how you want to run it.

But policies and terms and conditions at the very beginning of that signing up, that new, that new customer and stuff sets the tone for your business, makes them understand and as people, people, we want to be led.

We want to know where we stand.

We want to know, you know, what's expected of us.

And it's okay if someone doesn't really agree with that.

There's plenty of groomers elsewhere, they can go elsewhere because if they're not agreeing with how you want to run your business, then they're a little bit of a red flag and you may not want to consider whether you want to take them on or not.

So policies really remove that emotion.

They create consistency with your customers, confidence to, to go out there, professionalism and boundaries, and they're really, really important.

So when a client cancels last minute and you have no written policy, what do you do?

Do you lose that income or do you feel really uncomfortable enforcing something that you never really told them about or never really clearly communicated with them.

And let's think like, if you give them an inch, they'll take a mile.

You know, I don't know if that's the right, if that's the same, but they will take the mickey, they'll take the piss.

So even if you warn them the first time and stuff like that, they do it time and time again.

It just doesn't feel good, doesn't it?

But, you know, if you're taking a client on and you've got written clear policies, T's and C's boundaries, you're saying to them, this is what I expect of you.

This is what my boundaries are.

This is the line that I can't have you crossing or I don't want you crossing.

So it's really powerful.

It's not policy, it's not personal.

Sorry, it's your policy, isn't it?

And it's your business's policy.

So it's not personal, it's how you want your business to be run.

Okay.

And I know many of you are solo groomers and it feels like the business is you and, and you're very close, but again, we need to put some sort of professional boundaries between us and the clients.

And we can be nice, but there's always those professional boundaries between us and them.

We're running a professional business.

Makes it very powerful for you, puts you in a very powerful position.

This podcast is sponsored by Low Pay.

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So the big mistakes that we see, some of the big mistakes, groomers Googling, you know, pet grooming terms and conditions, templates, and then copying something generic.

It's great having something in writing and I'm sure it helps you to feel reassured.

But have you actually read it?

Have you actually gone through it line by line and understood what the consequences are and what you're asking of the client?

And have you run it through like scenario testing it, like what if scenarios and stuff like that, do they actually fit?

Because one size T's and C's doesn't fit all.

And you know, having worked with pet groomers now for five years, you all have your own values, you all have your own missions, you all have your own ideas about how your business should be run.

So does a generic template fit around your business and how you want to run it?

That's what I'm asking.

You know, are you salon based?

Are you mobile based, maybe you work from home, do you charge deposits, booking fees or do you call them reservation fees?

You know, are they refundable or transferable or maybe non refundable?

Most templates just don't reflect how your business is going to operate or how you want your business to operate.

And then you end up with conflicted wording and maybe you feel a bit, you're not in line with your T's and C's, so then you just don't, although you have them, you're not actually in line with them, so then you just don't enforce them.

And that's, that's pointless, isn't it?

You end up with conflicting wording.

So you might tell the customer one thing, but because you've used a template off the Internet, the actual T's and C's when you come to refer to them tell the customer something completely different.

And that's when you really piss customers off because that is when they're really confused.

You're telling them one thing, signing up to something else and then that's when the Google reviews start flowing in and starts, start to upset, start to upset people.

So it gives gray areas, doesn't it?

Policies that just don't match how you work or something that sounds like it's been written by a solicitor that actually you don't know the wording, you don't quite understand what it says, how your customer is going to understand it themselves.

So we need to start weeding this out and we need to be practical, we need to be clear, we need to be business specific and we need it to be built for you and your business.

So you've got to be running your business like a business.

And this is a mindset shift, isn't it?

And if you've been around my work, whether through Pet Passion to Profit and coaching or some of my seminars or in person workshops, you know that this matters because we talk about mindset so much.

You're not just a groomer, you know, and I'm really trying hard to get people to start shifting that belief, shifting that identity.

Okay, you're not just a groomer, and I hate that word, just a groomer and hopefully you hate that word as well.

Your business owner, okay?

A business owner that is a pet groomer or business owner that happens to be a pet groomer.

I remember having a B and I, B and I meeting where the guy was telling me how much it was to join.

He was like, you know, I'm not sure, it might be quite expensive as as you're just a groomer, you know, just running a dog grooming business.

I'm like, yeah, okay.

You know, I thought it might be helpful.

We run a, we run a six figure business.

We've got 120 grand turnover.

And his eyes lit up and he was like, oh, okay.

And he became all friendly and I was like, no, screw you.

You know, you've just made these assumptions that we're just dog groomers and we don't earn any money.

It's rubbish.

It's rubbish.

So I want you to start thinking differently.

You know, you're not just a groomer, you're a business owner that runs a pet grooming business.

You're running a business.

And businesses have terms and conditions.

They have policies, they have processes, they have protection, they have structure, you know, And I've got a fantastic podcast guest coming on soon who wrote a lovely book called Simple, Logical, Repeatable.

It's all about systems.

This is what, this is what businesses do.

They have systems in place.

You have properties and Cs in place.

Something that shifts you from feeling, making you feel more legit.

So you can lift your head up and be more professional, be more confident and be more grounded.

So we can stop operating from fear of upsetting people.

I just want to touch on that.

It is okay to upset people.

Not like go out there and call them names and like pop them on the nose and stuff like that and tell them they're their pet's really naughty and really matted and they should be ashamed of themselves.

I don't mean like going out there and causing real upset.

But it's okay not to get on with people, okay?

It's all right for them to not want to work with you and maybe they don't like something in your T's and C's.

That's fine.

You've got to push some of those people away so that you can find the real, the people that you want to work with.

But you can stop.

You, you, you can stop from that fear of upsetting people and start operating from a, a place of clarity.

And that's real leadership within your business.

So what I've done, I've kind of like I've been thinking about this for a while and it's something I take my clients through and it's something I see in the Facebook group.

So I thought, let's help this out, let's help you out.

So that's why I created the Pet Groomer Terms and Conditions Builder, because I got tired of watching, you know, the questions rolling in and repeating the same answers and, and stuff like that.

And people procrastinating on such an important job.

So I've built the pet groomer T's and C's builder and I'll drop the link in the comments or if you want to just drop me a message and I can send you a link through it.

In this, you build your T's and C's.

It asks you a series of questions about your business and what you want to do with your business and how you want to run your business.

Okay?

And then you can start setting your deposit or booking fee wording.

You can choose if it's refundable or non refundable or transferable.

You can define your cancellation rescheduling policies, talk about your no show policy, add in your matting and fleas and behavior and illness clauses.

Create a complaints process and that is a lifesaver.

When you have a complaints process and that complaint comes in.

And believe me, if you've been in business, you know, we've been, we were in business for 22 years as a pet groomer.

We had, you know, not loads of complaints, but we had to deal with complaints.

And when you have a process to go around, it's so much better to be able to slow things down and go, right, this is our process, we're going to take you through that and we're going to deal with your complaint professionally.

And it gives you a way of dealing with it without getting all upset and worried because you've got a template, a framework to go down there.

You can then generate your terms and conditions, generate your consent forms, download them, they're all branded up and then you can put them on your websites, hang them on your, hang them in your living, in your waiting room, not in your living room, but in your waiting room, and then refer to them and tell your clients about them.

It looks professional and what I love the most.

You know, every question that is on that questionnaire, I've put a little bit of coaching notes around it as well.

So if you're not very sure out whether to choose one option or another, you can open up the coaching notes and then read through why you might want to consider one option or the other.

So if you're unsure what to choose, you can just click on the notes and I'll guide you through with some like a little one to one coaching session.

There, there and then.

This isn't about copying and pasting legal jargon.

It's about building policies that reflect how you actually run your business.

And that's so important.

So, yeah, have a look at that.

I'll drop the link in the show notes or just drop me a message and I can ping the link over to you.

If your T's and C's are still on your to do list, or if you're five years into your business and you're still using your original terms and conditions, I really, really encourage you to go and check this out and let me help you with this.

If you've been meaning to sort it for months or even years, or if you're just setting up, get it ticked off, get it off your plate and then you can move on to do more enjoyable stuff like marketing and talking to your customers and stuff like that.

Avoiding this does not protect you, but clarity really does protect you.

And boundaries is what you need for a successful business.

All right, Written agreements are fantastic and the relief you feel when it's done is worth it every time.

Okay, so go and check out the link.

Go and sign up to the to the pet Groomer T's and C's builder if you've got any questions about it, drop me a message.

If you get stuck anywhere, drop me a message.

Make sure you check out the the coaching notes on it.

And once you sign up, you've got lifetime access.

You can go in, you can, you can jiggle your T's and C's around, you can update them, you can change them.

Have a play with it, have a play with it.

Go and get it done.

Get it clear, tick it off your list and then step into running your grooming business like a professional that you really are.

Hope that's helpful and I'll see you in the next episode.

Take care.

I hope you have enjoyed this podcast.

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Like or a review to help people find it.

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