Greetings from all of us at Dog Day Afternoon! First let us just say how much we miss your friendly faces and all your wonderful fur babies! We cannot express our gratitude for you and your outpouring of support, encouragement, kind words and thoughtful gestures as we continue stumbling along this new and uncharted path that the COVID-19 pandemic has laid at our feet. It has been quite an adventure with lots of emotional ups and down; fun, exhausting, exciting, and sometimes even scary. But with you by our side, we continue to trudge onward, eyes on the horizon, looking forward to new possibilities.
Fortunately, we are able to embrace some of the restrictions forced upon us as opportunities for some progressive changes in how we operate as a business. We have learned that we are capable of implementing deliveries and curbside pickup services. We have learned how to build and operate an online ordering system. We have learned that the support from our community is passionate and unwavering. Our biggest changes, the ones we are most excited about, revolve around our grooming services.
Over the next few weeks, we will be slowly re-opening our grooming department. In keeping up with social distancing protocols, in our efforts to keep foot traffic in our building at an absolute minimum, we will be starting off with only a few groomers. While this does limit the number of appointments we are able to make, it has also given us a chance to reflect and improve upon our grooming procedures. We are very eager to try something new--something that we hope the dogs and their families are going to love. Here we will be highlighting these changes.
Scheduling and Appointments:
Due to the unpredictability of COVID-19 regulations and the availability of our groomers, and due to our new and improved scheduling procedures, all appointments made through the rest of 2020 are canceled. To clarify, with the exception of the appointments made within the last week, all future appointments are null and void. We are starting from scratch with a brand new appointment book!
Groomers are no longer making appointments in morning and afternoon clusters. From here on out, we will be scheduling one dog at a time per groomer. Right now, this is essential for safe social distancing and for proper sanitization efforts between grooms. We are happy to announce, however, that we will be maintaining this schedule indefinitely, as we hope it will be more conducive to a happier, more stress-free grooming experience for your dogs (and for our staff, too)! Grooming in this manner means uninterrupted one-on-one attention for your pooch, no kenneling, a quieter, more peaceful environment with less noise and commotion, and a speedier groom! Families with multiple dogs would be an exception to this new policy.
We will no longer be accepting walk-in nail trims.
In our efforts to accommodate the needs of our current clientele, we are not accepting any new clients at this time.
Prices will change to reflect the individualized time and attention each dog will receive.
Please give a 24 hour notice for an appointment cancellation. Failure to do so may result in requiring to pay the full groom price for your dog before rescheduling a new appointment.
Currently, we are keeping your safety and the safety of our staff a top priority by continuing to minimize foot traffic and crowding inside our building. Please review our drop off and pick up procedures before your next visit! Cathy also did a fun demonstration video on Facebook that you can watch here!
Drop off procedures:
When you arrive for your appointment, please give us a call. We will notify your groomer and she will meet you outside in our designated pick up/drop off location. Simply walk your dog through the fence on the left side of our building and close the gate. Inside, you will see a pen where your groomer will be happily waiting for you! Once you’re inside the pen with the gate secured, please remove any personal articles from your dog, including all collars, leashes, flea collars, harnesses, etc. Your groomer will have their own leash to walk your dog directly into our salon. This will allow us to maintain six feet of space between people. You will keep your dog’s belongings with you and bring them back for pick up time. For the safety of your pets, please remember to close each gate behind you when you come in and when you leave!
Grooming time slots are expected to last approximately 1 to 2 hours depending on the individual needs of each dog. You must be on time for your appointment and you will be notified of a designated time to fetch your fido. Please be prompt for pick up, in respect for the appointment following yours. No dogs may remain past their given pick up time.
If you see someone already inside the gate, please wait until they have exited and all gates are closed and sanitized by a staff member before you come in.
Pick up procedures:
When you arrive to pick up your pupper, please call again to let us know of your arrival, to inquire about future appointments, and to make your payment by credit card over the phone. When you are ready, your groomer will be waiting for you outside in the same area in which you dropped off. Remember to close both gates behind you and your groomer will release your dog to you, at which time you can replace all necessary leashes and collars before leaving the safety of the pen.
Safety Protocols:
In continuation of our sanitation efforts, all handles, doorknobs, table tops, gate latches, etc. are being cleaned regularly with appropriate pet safe effective cleaners.
Grooming tables, equipment, bathtubs, kennel spaces, and all surfaces where a pet has been will be cleaned and sanitized between appointments.
The State of Illinois requires masks to be worn at all times when in public places. Our staff will be wearing masks and we ask that you do the same.
We are more than ready for things to go back to normal, but in the meantime we are doing everything that we can to provide you and your pets the great products and thorough, quality services you have come to expect from Dog Day Afternoon. We apologize if we are unable to answer right away when you call, please keep trying! We are short staffed and experiencing an extremely high call volume! We are hoping to add an additional phone line very soon. You can also reach us via email or Facebook with any questions you may have pertaining to your appointment or our new procedures. If you are trying to make an order, please remember that you can also order online here! We will continue to implement deliver and curbside pickup only at this time. Please remember that credit card payments over the phone are a highly preferred payment method as it keeps us from having to exchange anything back and forth! Again, we are so thankful to have come this far on this journey with you. Stay safe, stay well, and hugs those puppies and kitties for us!