OK, I know, we all think that they do, and the judges do, yada, yada, yada.
What I am referring to this time is Reserved Grooming. Many Professional Handlers generally know months ahead of time what shows they will be attending, or at least have it narrowed down and have a few on their radar. They go to certain shows year in and year out no matter who the judges are or what dogs they are showing. These people will be sending in their reserved grooming reservations as soon as they 'open.' Many of us, however, have to juggle funds, work schedules, etc., and don't know until the day of closing whether or not we will be attending a show on a specific weekend. So what's with this trend of closing the reserved grooming reservations a week or two before the show closes? It's not like they have 4,000 entries to worry about. The clubs know how many spaces they have available, they should have a list with a corresponding chart. It's not rocket science. It's fill-in-the-blanks. Give it to someone in 1st grade and tell them to put a name from this pile of papers into each square and let you know when it is full. Why do they need 3 or 4 weeks to do this? The show generally closes 17 days prior to a 2 day show. Why not give at least until the end of the week of closing. This gives exhibitors until the Wednesday of closing to make their decision, make their entries, and get the reservation in the mail to you in time to arrive 2 weeks prior to the show. Can't do it, don't have a person willing to do it? Call me? I volunteer! You pay for the PO Box and my expenses to get to the show site and I will organize it for you.
I loved being able to pay using paypal a few weeks ago to pay on the last day for reserved grooming.
Clubs you need to remember where most of your entries come from: The owner/handler who has a real job, and a real life (most of the time). We can't always work things out that much in advance, nor can we afford to send the money in for grooming (no refunds, of course) and then not be able to attend the show. We don't want to see that we will automatically be stuck outside grooming just because we didn't get the reservation form in the mail yesterday. With the threat of that, I won't be entering my dogs in your show. The easier you make it for people, the more people will come, and the more money you will make.
What I am referring to this time is Reserved Grooming. Many Professional Handlers generally know months ahead of time what shows they will be attending, or at least have it narrowed down and have a few on their radar. They go to certain shows year in and year out no matter who the judges are or what dogs they are showing. These people will be sending in their reserved grooming reservations as soon as they 'open.' Many of us, however, have to juggle funds, work schedules, etc., and don't know until the day of closing whether or not we will be attending a show on a specific weekend. So what's with this trend of closing the reserved grooming reservations a week or two before the show closes? It's not like they have 4,000 entries to worry about. The clubs know how many spaces they have available, they should have a list with a corresponding chart. It's not rocket science. It's fill-in-the-blanks. Give it to someone in 1st grade and tell them to put a name from this pile of papers into each square and let you know when it is full. Why do they need 3 or 4 weeks to do this? The show generally closes 17 days prior to a 2 day show. Why not give at least until the end of the week of closing. This gives exhibitors until the Wednesday of closing to make their decision, make their entries, and get the reservation in the mail to you in time to arrive 2 weeks prior to the show. Can't do it, don't have a person willing to do it? Call me? I volunteer! You pay for the PO Box and my expenses to get to the show site and I will organize it for you.
I loved being able to pay using paypal a few weeks ago to pay on the last day for reserved grooming.
Clubs you need to remember where most of your entries come from: The owner/handler who has a real job, and a real life (most of the time). We can't always work things out that much in advance, nor can we afford to send the money in for grooming (no refunds, of course) and then not be able to attend the show. We don't want to see that we will automatically be stuck outside grooming just because we didn't get the reservation form in the mail yesterday. With the threat of that, I won't be entering my dogs in your show. The easier you make it for people, the more people will come, and the more money you will make.
