pet groomer

tax preparer

owner

grooming technician

stylist

liberty tax service

I would like to share my experience working with a Zoomin Groomin franchise. I was employed for under a year, and while the first couple of months were promising, the job quickly became unsustainable.

The workload became excessive, and the drive times scheduled between appointments were often unrealistic. The grooming van frequently required maintenance, which regularly interrupted appointments and caused delays. Unfortunately, there was minimal support from management, and the overall operation felt disorganized.

In my observation, many franchise owners lacked direct experience in dog grooming, which contributed to a disconnect between management and staff. It appeared to me that some viewed the business more as a quick-profit opportunity than a serious commitment to the pet grooming industry or the well-being of their employees.

What was particularly disheartening was learning that, after my termination, I was being wrongly blamed for appointment cancellations—despite having no system access to do so. This lack of accountability and professionalism is concerning and disturbing.

While the compensation can be attractive, the physical and mental toll, combined with the lack of organizational structure and support, makes it a difficult environment to thrive in long term. I would caution potential employees to carefully consider these factors before joining. Mutual respect and accountability should be a two-way street, but unfortunately, that was not my experience.

This job was presented as a high-paying opportunity with 50% commission, but in practice, it was full of red flags. I was expected to take on way more than what was outlined in the position — including managing the schedule, discussing pricing with clients, maintaining and deep-cleaning the van, and other responsibilities that felt more like a management role than a groomer.
Despite being commission-based, I was often spoken to and treated like an hourly employee, especially by the husband. Expectations were inconsistent between employers, and there was no clear structure or support. They regularly scheduled long, unpaid gaps between appointments, which made it nearly impossible to earn a fair day’s pay. I averaged about $46 per dog — which is low considering the physical demands, the time commitment, and the fact that I had to cover my own supplies and equipment upkeep on top of it.
I was told there’d be a $1,000 bonus after six months, but only got $500. The van itself wasn’t maintained properly — the grey water tank was never cleaned, and it constantly smelled.

My typical day started an hour before my first appointment.   I lived about 15 minutes from where the van was located.  They majority of the time I had a 40-minute drive to my first appointment.  My route was not tight.  I spent one day driving a total of 3 hours.  I was all over the place and in two different counties. You can't spend that much time on the road and make the money they claim you will make.   I learned that mobile is not worth it unless you do it on your own and set a reasonable radius.   The hardest part was lifting large dogs into a tub that is not groomer friendly.  I did raise that concern and was told "these are the vans we like".  Keep in mind the people making these decisions do not groom.  The most enjoyable was working alone as I was already used to that after owning my own salon.  

I loved this place,everyone cares about everyone! they are willing to help in any way if you need it, you can work as many days as you can handle and you can take off anydays you want as long as its planned in advance! i would usually start my day at 7 am and be done ( including cleaning the van i drove) by about 5-6 pm, how long your days are depends on how fast you groom, if you are pretty fast you can knock out 8-10 dogs a day, and if your more like me you can knock out 6-8 a day! i think the hardest part was probably the driving because sometimes we would be an hour or so away from home base and when your done for the day and wanna just clean and go home you cant yet lol because you still have to drive back before cleaning! i loved it though i did grooming for the most part of my adult life but i want to venture into new territory now since i cant drive, if i could i would still be at Zoomin Groomin!

Owners are not groomers and don’t understand the job at all.
Owners will ignore your limitations and overbook you repeatedly.
Owners attack you when you stand up for yourself or other employees.
Will make promises for advancement and keep pushing the timeline back.
Owners have no boundaries and will call/txt/email at all hours, especially on your days off.
Owners schedule specific times instead of window appts(which is an industry standard) and when clients don’t budge, you are stuck in the van for hours without compensation.
Owners pressure you to hang out with them outside of business hours.
Extremely toxic environment.
Owners only care about making the most amount of money off of  your hard work, they do not care about you.
Owners give other employees PTO long before they qualify and leave you with nothing when you leave sick. You’re suppose to be there 1yr before getting any PTO
Please go work anywhere else but here.

Most days were overbooked so it’d turn into a 12-14 hour day
I learned that working for owners that aren’t groomers is the worst decision on the planet
Management are unprofessional and don’t care about anything except money
I was being consistently harassed by another employee and they did nothing about it
They still expected you to make up days if you were sick so work life balance was non existent
They buy your stuff and then expect it back if you want to leave
Please don’t work here. 

Interview was quick and easy, was offered the job opportunity and scheduled my ride along. I was transparent and informed them during the interview that I have 1 year of grooming experience, so I don’t groom as quickly as a seasoned groomer quite yet. My grooming skills were assessed off of one dog; a dog that I didn’t even get to finish grooming. We were pressed on time due to a dog being added to our line up, and I guess I wasn’t grooming fast enough. 

I was told by the person I was riding along with that I would be paid $20 an hour for that day, but I ended up not being paid at all for the 11 hour shift. I got a text the following day from management saying they had someone else fill the position. I asked if there was something I had done wrong and if I was going to be paid for the hours I worked, but I never got a response. This was overall a very disappointing experience. 

Worked here for 6months was fired because of lack of communication. However, they tried communicating with me while I’m working on a dog or driving the van. Not the best opportune time to take a call or text. Management does not take into consideration about coat condition, dogs behavior, health concerns, or time management which is reflected in how long you have to finish the groom. If you put add-on for grooming appointments to compensate for time it will throw you off for the rest of that day’s schedule. The pay isn’t bad and independent work is fine. But appointment times are rushed and will cause staying late. If the other worker doesn’t clean or fill gas/plug in van that will be your problem for the day. 

Started work early and the hours would be long but the owner definitely knew they were long and could get strenuous and allowed breaks and times to have a minute if needed. The clients were great, working in the van was super easy and fun. I learned a lot more grooming tips from working side by side with another groomer as well. One of the best jobs and it’s a VERY rare occasion you work for a boss that will genuinely treat you like family.

The views are beautiful when you drive but the company is slow to grow, personally believe it’s because none of the franchise owners are groomers and do not fully understand the grooming industry or business demands and so often times outside influence is listened to more heavily than their own talent on the van and knowledge the people they hire who have been in the industry for a long while. All very good people owners and coworkers alike and very nice though.  

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Pet groomer 524 salaries reported	$389 per day
Tax preparer 46 salaries reported	$16.07 per hour
Owner 12 salaries reported	$198,333 per year
Grooming technician 8 salaries reported	$378 per day
Stylist 5 salaries reported	$380 per day

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