People are Jerks
Okay, I've been going through a difficult time with my parents. My father has been diagnosed with partially blocked arteries and had to go through a procedure Wednesday. Not only was Wednesday my anniversary, but it was also a day I had to work. I asked for, and received a light day. I only had one dog haircut to do. She was a small poodle with a fairly easy cut. No real difficult pattern-work, no mats. She is owned by two older people who have been unpleasant to everyone at the shop but me. I like the little dog. She is very pretty and easy to work on. (If you're unfamiliar with grooming, it is basically cutting away all the hair that doesn't look like what the dog should, while weilding razor sharp scissors and clippers that vibrate at about 3500 beats per minute. It is hot, sweaty, stinky, and dirty, but I love working with animals so I do it.)
Okay, so I met these old people out at their car because it was beginning to rain. (We had the remnants of hurricane Hermine go through Oklahoma.) I didn't want them to get wet, and I really wanted to get the dog without having them come in, because as stated before, they have been pretty unpleasant to people up at my job.
So, while I fetched the dog, I explained to these two church-people assholes (yes, they have a Jesus sign on their car that I'm assuming isn't thier Mexican son-in-law's name,) I start explaining to them that they can pick up their dog early becaue I had made a special trip to my job to work on their dog, she was the only one I had to do that day, and I had to pick up my dad (who lives in BFE, by the way) so that he could have his procedure done. I also stated that I was the chauffeur for the entire family because my sister was ill. They were fine with this, and even said that they didn't think that they could get back so soon. I told them that I just wanted to let them know the situation.
Now, if at any point they had objected, there was another groomer who could have done their dog. She was standing in the foyer, speaking to the manager, in the same uniform that I had. They never said a word about any concerns, and even wished my father well.
One thing about grooming poodles that you should know to understand the ridiculousness of the events that followed is that poodles MUST be completely dry before they are groomed. Not only that, they MUST be dried in such a way as to make their hair completely straight. This process takes about ten to fifteen minutes for an experienced groomer, longer for a novice. I am NOT a novice. I have groomed dogs for twelve years now.
So, I left, thinking how nice those people had been to me about my dad. I even mentioned their best wishes to him when I picked him up.
When I returned to work today, I was hit with the news that the people complained that a) the dog was damp (see the above about what you should know about dog grooming) b) they were angry that I hadn't used the right shampoo on the dog (which they never mentioned and we did have quite a long conversation) c) that the felt I had gypped them, and that NO dog could be groomed in an hour. (Not true, miniature schnauzers take about 20 minuites, poodles with a lamb clip (which is what this dog has) take about half an hour.)
So, the end of the conversation with my manager was that they would not be back and that they would be writing the main office about me. Fortunately, my manager watched the entire time that I was picking up the dog from these people, and she also asked me what I said to them. All this was noted in the client's record in case some company bigwig wants us to deal with it. Oh, one other thing... When my manager asked them to point out where the dog was damp, they jerked the dog away from her and said they didn't have to do that. So, you tell me, was the dog damp?
If i hadn't run into this type of attitude before with fine, Xtian folks, I might not blame it on their religion. But it seems to me that most Xtians seem to have this air of entitlement that is supposed to let us non-believin' blasphemers know that we are supposed to kow-tow to them.
I am pissed. Really pissed that they said nice things to my face and then turned around and behaved as if I had left my job completely undone. I am also pissed that these fine Christian folks weren't concerned enough, at least after I left, to behave in a reasonable manner and accept that I had done their dog, got it to them in record time, and had come in to work just to do their dog. What hypcritical assholes they are. I have half a mind to call every groomer in OKC and warn them about these jerks, but I like their dog too much to do that to her.
Even though this rant is over, I dont' feel any better. I still feel slightly hurt by what they did, and will miss their little dog. She was the only reason I even dealt with them after they pulled their incredibly rude stunts.