Why do I continue to be surprised?

I guess part of me still believes in the inherent goodness of people.  

I still find it amazing that we are the bad guys yet again.  

But I guess I should not be surprised. 

What is the saying?  "No good deed goes unpunished."

Story of our life.

Maybe we just shouldn't help people out when they need it, only after they hire us.  At almost every show we help people out, free of charge, with grooming, handling advice, etc. with no expectation that they will hire us.  They are owner-handlers and seem to enjoy it.  Good for them.  That's how we started. 

But then they decide to hire us. 

OK, great.  They sign a handling contract, receive and sign a fee schedule.  They come to the show, but not when they are scheduled to arrive.  They show up 4 1/2 hours later, still need to check into a hotel, and the dogs have not yet been bathed.  Dave had a dozen dogs to get ready for the next day.  They had an appointment - not a suggested date of arrival.  They want to bathe their own Bichons.  Fine, but they had better be dried properly, or the grooming will not be as perfect as it could be.  This means no mats, dry to the skin AND the ability to get a fine toothed comb through them from the skin out.  Did this happen?  NOPE!  Not even after Dave gave them detailed instruction, multiple times, on how it should properly be done.  Did they leave the dogs with Dave so he could keep them clean for the weekend, and tweak the grooming on them every evening?  NOPE!  Did they walk them all over the building, the parking lot, the hotel, and wherever else they went?  YEP!  Did the dogs need multiple baths?  YEP!  Dave even had to re-bathe after they came in with the dogs improperly dried. 

All was well and Dave was FABULOUS, according to their facebook posts.  One of the owners even contracted with Dave to show at shows the following month.  When I sent out the billing, and charged them for the extra work (show grooming does NOT mean dematting!) they had a fit.  As we explained to them, had they left the dogs with Dave, there would not have been a boarding fee or any extra grooming charges.  

Then a few days before the next set of shows, we get an email that she has hired another handler.  Well, that's all good and fine, but you contracted with us.  We turned down another dog for that spot, and by the contract that you signed, you must notify us considerably earlier than that if you don't want to pay us.  Hotels have a cancellation policy, and handlers do to.

Both owners sent us emails stating an amount that they 'should' pay.  The one who went on to hire another handler, showed up with TWO CHECKS, one for the amount she wanted  to pay, and one for the amount of her revised bill.  She presented them to Dave, handed him the smaller of the two, and said "If you know what's good for you, you'll take this one."  Again, WTF ?!?!?!  I told Dave that if he really knew what was good for him he would take the other one, and he did.  Smart Husband. 

Then all the facebook posts went to how great the new handler was.  Although he didn't put any points on the dog, and Dave did. 

When we called the breeder, who we considered a friend, just to keep her up to speed with what was going on, the response was "Well, there are two sides to every story."  We even tried to contact the lady who usually helps one of them groom, since that owner spent all weekend, dropping the f-bomb and complaining about how long it took her friend to groom and what a bad job she does.  That 'friend' didn't care either.  Yes, there are two sides to every story, but neither gave us the courtesy to listen to our side.  Then Dave's efficiency at grooming went from an asset to a liability, because she couldn't believe he only spent 'X' number of minutes grooming her dog, and still charged her! 

So, if you go to the dentist and they take 15 minutes to clean your teeth one time, and 60 minutes the next, to achieve the same result, does is mean that one job was better than the other?  Or does it mean that one person has top of the line equipment and many more years experience?  Or did you take less care with your teeth before one than the other?  Or was it a combination?  In any case, trying paying them less for one job than the other, and see what result you get from their billing department.

All anyone had to do to confirm our statements was check out the facebook pages of the other people, to see all of the places the dogs had been besides the show site.  And yet, all of those posts were full of praise for Dave. 

We had given both owners a break on things, and still we are getting the short end of the stick.  The only reason I was a flexible as I was with them, was because of our previous relationship with this breeder.  But I guess that loyalty doesn't go both ways, as she recently came up to Dave and told him how disappointed she was at "the way we treated them."  She also threw in som digs at Nurple - My Group Winning Bichon.  (While there is no perfect dog, and she is entitled to her opinion - Them thars fightin words, little missy!)  Oh, yeah, did I say that Nurple has beaten her dog?  Hmmm...

But I digress...

The way we treated them?!?!?!  WTF !?!?!

Handling, for David, is a business.  This is how he makes his living. 

David Scheiris does many favors for people on a regular basis, not expecting anything in return.  Sometimes to my dismay.  Dave enjoys seeing people whom he has helped do well and come out of the ring proud of themselves.  I must admit, I do too!  Then when someone he has helped chooses to hire us and signs a contract, they still expect everything for free. 

FINE!!!  You want someone to de-mat and show groom your dog for free?  There are hundreds of handlers out there.  Let me know if you find one that will do it for you.  Oh yeah, and since they spent hours grooming, they might as well show it for free too, right? 

Good Luck with that.

Makes you wonder if these people call the doctor for something, get a prescription or advice over the phone, then refuse to pay when they go in for their next office visit.  I kinda think not.