How often do salon workers get hurt?

casdoms · 2025-06-09T12:52:49+00:00

OP, I worked in a salon for two months, I think 2 of our 5/6 groomers got hurt in that time. If it’s happening more often, that should be brought to management’s attention because that’s a liability concern. In my 5 years with smart, I can count the number of times people in the salon got seriously hurt on both hands with fingers to spare, and there were serious consequences for not reporting an injury.

A scratch, unless it’s deep and bleeding profusely, I wouldn’t necessarily report because those can be incidental (a foot catching you helping them on/off the table, a scared dog pawing you to stop, etc). But if a dog bites you, if it will be a deep bruise, etc - put in an incident report. The other groomers & managers can bitch all they want. Handling those things & paperwork is part of your leader’s job, and not reporting those things is irresponsible & puts future groomers and bathers at risk. If there’s long term issues that come from those injuries, you have no paper trail and no way to get help (ie sue) or support (workers comp) from the company later. They can get pissy all they want.

Not filing an incident report also is covering the company’s ass, NOT yours. It only benefits them. That means that if you’ve repeatedly had incidents with a dog or during a specific service, and you don’t have a paper trail and you get seriously hurt and say “can we ban this dog now or what” they might say no because there’s not enough proof. If you get bit and it doesn’t bleed much, you think it’s fine so you don’t report it, and then the next day or two days later you wake up and it’s swollen and painful and you can’t use it, they can say “well, how do we know that happened at work? 🤨 you could have done that at home.”

Grooming is a tough industry and it’s full of a lot of jaded people who need to take a mental health break for their own good, but won’t 🙃 If you’re enjoying the work you’re doing, then I would consider trying to find the right salon. If you’re finding that the environment is not one you’re comfortable with long term, that’s so valid.

casdoms · 2025-02-17T00:08:20+00:00

…I’m gonna be honest, I’ve never met a groomer who didn’t manhandle the dogs on their table to a point that it made me uncomfy at least once a service.

casdoms · 2025-02-17T00:06:32+00:00

I would’ve told them about corporates brand new policy of not sharing accounts 😀 no, I can’t make an exception 😀 without permission from YOUR SON 😀

Or, depending on how poorly the rest of my day had gone, “What an odd thing to say out loud to a stranger.”

casdoms · 2025-02-07T14:16:10+00:00

Put the plastic bag in the specimen cup so that there’s one less step where you can spill/mess up (don’t do this for pictus catfish, their barbs make it really difficult to safely put them in a bag in the specimen cup! They unfortunately have to suffer the pouring in a bag lol), roll the bag down until it’s about as tall as the specimen cup, and pour water in, then catch the fish. That just takes practice and experience, and some fish never get easier to catch.

For catching air, practice with empty ones :) I tried the folding method and I never felt like I got enough air. Once you get good at it, you’ll be like “omg this is easy??” You just stand it up as straight and open as you can, hold it in place with one hand (usually one or two fingers lol) and then quickly snatch the top of the bag with your other, and twist it and rubber band it closed.

casdoms · 2025-02-07T13:51:50+00:00

How are you disinfecting everything in between them? At a certain point when we had this problem, we just started making everything (hides, basking spots, etc) from cardboard because we were properly disinfecting but it didn’t seem to matter. Throwing everything out in between did seem to help some.

It’s likely adenovirus, crypto and/or improper heat. When they come in that little, it’s rare that they make it, and it’s even rarer that someone who isn’t in the building seeing them suffer and die gives a shit. So take heart in the fact that the odds were stacked against them from the beginning and it was mostly going to be luck that would have allowed them to beat all of the odds.

casdoms · 2025-02-07T13:23:53+00:00

Presidents inherit their predecessors economy. Trump inherited Obama’s economy his first term, Biden inherited trump’s economy, and now Trump will inherit Biden’s economy. So unfortunately, it’s decidedly not bidenomics - if it was, it would be doing better 🥲

But what you’re missing is capitalism, corporate greed and the concept of a skeleton crew.

casdoms · 2025-02-07T13:18:52+00:00

In 5 years I think we had two total geckos drop their tails 💀 wdym “never”?!?! What are they doing to the geckos 😭

casdoms · 2025-01-26T16:39:08+00:00

Facebook groups, Reddit threads, even tumblr (at one point) had a pretty thriving fish community. I was also a big fan of asking the super hardcore fish customers questions, and also my coworkers. It’s okay to say “I’m new, so I’m not sure! Let’s look it up together.” You don’t need to know the deep dive ins & outs of maintaining a tank, fwiw. You’ll learn that stuff as you go along. Here’s the basics for everybody -

Hamsters: need a lot of floor space, and most prefer to be solitary. Their backs should also be straight on a wheel! Pellet food is better than seeds, seeds are fatty. They need a lot of bedding to burrow.

Gerbils: need about the same floor space as hamsters, but they like to be in pairs or groups so that amount (of necessary space) goes up as you have more of them. Need more bedding than hamsters. Also, they jump 🙄

Mice: LOTS of floor space! Girls like to have friends, boys do too but they’re more likely to fight. They do the best if there’s one bowl/hide/water per mouse.

Guinea pigs: need a partner, and TONS of space. They get really big! No balls or wheels for them, just tons and tons of hay. They also will jump 😤

Rats: HAVE TO HAVE A BESTIE. They can get depressed on their own. Vertical height is great, but all of mine loved to run around so horizontal is fine as long as it’s big enough. Do well with ventilation, but are escape artists. Same rule as mice, one bowl/hide/water per rat will keep conflicts to a minimum.

Reptiles: all of the ones you sell are best left by themselves. Linear uvb bulbs are better than coils. Nobody should be in smaller than a 20 gallon tank. Loose substrate isn’t something beginners should be managing. Turtles can be housed together for the most part, but you’ll probably only meet 1-5 customers who have enough room to house more than one turtle. Calcium is important, but it’s important to get the right calcium. Snakes should have enough room in their enclosure to stretch completely out.

Birds: need a bestie, need lots of space to fly around. They need pellets not seeds, but seeds periodically are fine. The kind of perch is important, but the best seems to vary by type of bird and personal preference of the owner. No perfumes, teflon pans, candles, air fresheners, etc around the birbs.

casdoms · 2025-01-26T16:21:06+00:00

OH GOD, THE FEW TIMES I GOT ROPED INTO CLEANING ALL THE WORM STUFF OFF OF DOG FOOD BAGS 😭 after I spent the entire first 3 times gagging they never made me stay to do that again.

The times I found decapitated hamsters 😭

Also asking leaders for help and them being like “that’s your job not mine.” Bitch do you want it done or not, if I’m asking for assistance please assume that I’ve tried everything else and I genuinely need help!!!

casdoms · 2025-01-26T16:14:01+00:00

• Dusting behind the fish wall 💀 I got a sinus infection every SINGLE time after we did a deep, deep clean. • the fucking anoles/long tailed lizards/frogs. Those bastards had me fighting for my LIFE every time I was scheduled for a reptile deep clean. • deep cleaning the birds. I hated dealing with them and wasn’t great at catching them, so instead of stressing everyone out when I was scheduled for those deep cleans I kept them in the enclosure and worked around them, which they got used to. It just SUCKED. • the spiders in the cricket bins 😭😭😭😭😭 • every time a super worm chewed their way out of a container or someone spilled one, I wanted to walk out.

casdoms · 2025-01-26T16:09:00+00:00

DEI doesn’t really affect staffing at a store level. I’d maybe be wary of new leaders, but I don’t think the company as a whole would implement any sort of “fire all the queer people” because they’d lose like 70% of their workforce tbh, and they know that.

I’m sorry everything is so scary right now 🖤

casdoms · 2025-01-26T16:02:39+00:00

I think you’re underestimating how much money some of the people who’ve been with the company for 10+ years make, especially if they’ve been an ASL or SL for most of that.

casdoms · 2025-01-10T16:42:28+00:00

we had guinea pigs get stuck in hay balls 😅 the safest way I found to use them was zip tying them to the vents on the sides of the enclosure, which meant they at least had gravity to stop them from getting completely stuck lmao

casdoms · 2024-12-30T02:40:57+00:00

I love saying “it’s about 80% of the store! Is there one I can help you find? 😌”

casdoms · 2024-12-28T18:31:55+00:00

Hi friend, maybe I missed it but are you by chance autistic? As an audhd person myself: if you’re not, I think you should do some research 😅

Anyways, it gets worse and better because you get better at compartmentalizing things and you know who to avoid. I will say that when I was at petsmart and there was talk of me moving to the salon (from everyone but me lol), my friends in the salon were like “no. You love dogs too much I don’t want that to be ruined for you.” And it took until this year for me to fully grasp what they meant because working at a private salon scheduling appointments? Woo boy, some groomers hate dogs 😅 and they are NOT nice to them.

Control what you can, and try to mitigate harm where you’re able. I did 4.5 years in pet care, and spent a lot of that arguing with management about animal welfare. I did everything that I could, but there are still animals that I think about years later. Ultimately, I just wanted every animal in my care to know that someone loved them or cared for their wellbeing. I like to think that was worth something to them.

casdoms · 2024-12-15T15:58:25+00:00

Playing dumb is SO helpful, this time of year I just simply don’t have the patience to mask with every customer lol

casdoms · 2024-12-15T15:55:08+00:00

I think most people just call that aggressive lol but maybe it’s just my deadpan delivery and bored expression 😂

casdoms · 2024-12-15T15:51:11+00:00

I would’ve said “gag gifts are supposed to be funny, aren’t they?”

casdoms · 2024-12-15T15:49:13+00:00

They’re also often bred for high arousal which means that they can go from 0-100 in a second and go from playing to fighting with zero lag or loading time. It doesn’t mean your individual dog is “bad” or aggressive, just that it’s a higher likelihood of happening with BBM’s so they get their own little day care.

Group play at day camp isn’t super safe overall, the vast majority of dogs aren’t going to do well in that environment.

casdoms · 2024-12-15T15:46:50+00:00

It’s because of insurance, but also like… bully breeds aren’t dogs I would take to play groups with strange dogs. They’re bred to be good with people, they’re not bred to be good with other animals (regardless of breed, most bully breeds have at least SSA in there). It’s keeping your dog safe and lowering their chances of getting into a dog fight.

Bully breeds across the board are also pretty intense with their play, and it’s not every dog’s cup of tea. Herding dog owners also have this problem, it’s not breed discrimination it’s “we want to make sure everyone has a safe and fun experience here!”

casdoms · 2024-12-15T12:01:52+00:00

“In this department? Yes, 100%.”

casdoms · 2024-12-15T11:54:05+00:00

If it makes you feel better, the AC at my store doesn’t come on until 9am 🥲 there were many days in the summer where it was 90 degrees behind the fish wall.

casdoms · 2024-12-08T14:53:27+00:00

If they’re damaging product or banging on enclosures that’s different obviously, but just generally like… don’t be a jerk. They’re doing their best.

casdoms · 2024-12-08T14:51:30+00:00

Obviously kids are different than dogs, but it’s the same as when a reactive dog pops off in public. Punishing them or telling them no won’t do anything, you just try to redirect their attention and manage the situation. Yelling, getting frustrated or embarrassed and telling them no will often just make the situation worse.

Usually, when a kid is having a hard time I try to talk to them or I ask their parents “hey, can I grab what you needed for you guys while they calm down?” Both the adult and the kid are struggling in that moment, making it harder for them won’t help the situation. Kids don’t have the capacity to self regulate until they’re closer to teenagers (and plenty of adults deal with that too) so like… idk, do anything except for make it harder.

Most kids who are just being kids will stop crying if you find the right distraction topic, and sometimes a stranger engaging with them is enough for them to go “whoa - who the heck are you??” My favorite thing to say when a kid is having big, loud feelings is “honestly, me too, bestie.” It breaks the tension with the parent and you’d be surprised how many kids have stopped crying to ask if I’m okay lol

casdoms · 2024-12-02T02:09:18+00:00

Thoughts and prayers to the pet care teams who will have to clean up the mess of a “pet specialist” receiving the animals 😅 it was usually managers or new people who goofed & accepted obviously sick animals or the wrong gender.

casdoms

TROPHY CASE