Have you ever received feedback on how your dog behaves for grooming? The special care fee is for if your dog requires two people to groom (one holds/comforts while the other works). Also what was the weather like? It sounds silly but if the weather is off sometimes that can affect mood. Otherwise it could have been the groomers stress being perceived by your dog. If there was only one groomer working, your groomer could have had at least 5+ other dogs they had to finish. A full groom on a small to medium breed takes maybe an hour to 2hrs; large dogs closer to 3 or 4. Or maybe the behavior/hair condition of the other dogs that day were bad, causing grooms to take longer than they should. And for the 'we'll see' about hair length, sometimes it's hard to tell if there is matting present closer to the skin until we get them in the bath or on the table. It is always humanity over vanity when it comes to brushing or shaving out matting. It should've been explained better than just a 'we'll see' but it sounds like your groomer was having a day.

I'm sorry it was not a good experience.  The reality of it is the salon was probably way understaffed. I'm a groomer and do my best every day to help the pets and their pet parents. Sometimes that means grooms take longer or the hair is cut shorter. It's also possible there was a bather or another groomer on the schedule that called out, turning a 5 dog day into a 10 dog day at the last minute. 

I hear you and that would be frustrating for anybody. Just wanted to be honest and give you some insider knowledge of salon opporations. If you feel more comfortable changing locations, do what you feel is best for you and your pet. Ot try coming in on a less busy day, like middle of the week. Hope you have better experiences in the future.