Important Service Changes
Blue Collar Doghouse will be undergoing a revamping of our daycare and boarding services but don't worry, we still have the ownership and management you know and love! After a year of analyzing behavior trends and a heavy focus on ways to improve flow for the dogs we care for, we are implementing a few changes to the services you use regularly.
The changes starting February 3rd will be:
Daycare Service Changes
Boarding & Walk-in Service Changes
Any appointment scheduled prior to todays notice will stay with original pricing and not be impacted. More information is to come about how you will be able to book these services. Please continue reading for more information on these changes:
Daycare:
As the need for daycare grows within our community, we will be moving to reservation based daycare to maintain a healthy staff to dog ratio. We do not suspect this to impact our clients who utilize daycare on a consistent basis, and will allow us the ability to adjust for changes when needed. To minimize overstimulation and improve separation anxiety we will be moving the time of drop off up to no later than 12pm, and breaking out into smaller groups daily from 12pm-2pm. This 12pm-2pm period will be when we do activities listed on the monthly calendar. Please understand that if it is an activity that requires an add on charge, please only request if you plan to have your dog there during the 12-2 window. During this time we will focus on building good behavior, more intimate play sessions with the best matched dogs, and more 1:1 time with staff to build relationships and send individualized feedback to pet parents! Pick up's will be allowed as normal, anytime between 7am and 6pm. Dropping boarding dogs off by 12pm also ensures that they get enough play time to settle in for a restful evening. If you have a need for a later drop off for boarding, please reach out and we can discuss on a case by case basis! Your trust in us means so much and we hope everyone understands the restructuring is for our packs best interest.
While we will be going reservation 'based', we still plan to keep our capacity levels relatively high as we have a very large space and high staff numbers. With this said, I do not expect our regular clients, would run into a scenario where there is not room for you to book a day of reservation. Commonly, on good weather days, we tend to become outnumbered due to the fair-weather only attendees, and these days can take a toll on our ability to maintain a positive and reliable team. Unfortunately, reservation systems are the simplest way to remedy this as creating a walk-in capacity would lead to some very grumpy customers, and none of us want Haley or Mike taking the brunt of this.
We love all your dogs as if they are our own, and our intention is not to make daycare a difficult process. There will be hiccups and things will be adjusted as we go, as the likelihood that our initial role out will go perfectly, is low. Please understand we are still fine tuning details and will be sending instructions on how to make these reservations in the coming week.
I want you all to know that a lot of thought and research has been put into this decision. We are currently the only daycare in the greater Seattle area that is walk-in without reservation. Most facilities also have a much more narrow drop off and pick up window, which we are trying to stay on the broader side of.
Booking Daycare & Boarding:
Thank you for your continued trust in us to provide the best care for your furry friends.
With love,
Jess
The changes starting February 3rd will be:
Daycare Service Changes
- Daycare will become reservation based.
- Drop-off cut off will be moved to 12pm for both daycare and boarding.
- We are no longer offering mini visits. Half and full days remain as previously determined.
- Price increase of $1.50. Full Day = $51.50 Half Day =$41.50
- Please remember there is a 3% processing fee that can be avoided by paying with cash or check.
Boarding & Walk-in Service Changes
- Boarding pricing will be as follows:
- Stays 1-3 nights will be priced at $80/night
- Stays 4+ nights will be priced at $75/night
- Stays 14+ nights will be priced at $70/night
- We are adding the extended stay discount, but removing the complementary bath. Departure baths, short coats are $45 and long coats are $55.
- Walk-in services such as nail trims and self-wash will also now be reservation based.
Any appointment scheduled prior to todays notice will stay with original pricing and not be impacted. More information is to come about how you will be able to book these services. Please continue reading for more information on these changes:
Daycare:
As the need for daycare grows within our community, we will be moving to reservation based daycare to maintain a healthy staff to dog ratio. We do not suspect this to impact our clients who utilize daycare on a consistent basis, and will allow us the ability to adjust for changes when needed. To minimize overstimulation and improve separation anxiety we will be moving the time of drop off up to no later than 12pm, and breaking out into smaller groups daily from 12pm-2pm. This 12pm-2pm period will be when we do activities listed on the monthly calendar. Please understand that if it is an activity that requires an add on charge, please only request if you plan to have your dog there during the 12-2 window. During this time we will focus on building good behavior, more intimate play sessions with the best matched dogs, and more 1:1 time with staff to build relationships and send individualized feedback to pet parents! Pick up's will be allowed as normal, anytime between 7am and 6pm. Dropping boarding dogs off by 12pm also ensures that they get enough play time to settle in for a restful evening. If you have a need for a later drop off for boarding, please reach out and we can discuss on a case by case basis! Your trust in us means so much and we hope everyone understands the restructuring is for our packs best interest.
While we will be going reservation 'based', we still plan to keep our capacity levels relatively high as we have a very large space and high staff numbers. With this said, I do not expect our regular clients, would run into a scenario where there is not room for you to book a day of reservation. Commonly, on good weather days, we tend to become outnumbered due to the fair-weather only attendees, and these days can take a toll on our ability to maintain a positive and reliable team. Unfortunately, reservation systems are the simplest way to remedy this as creating a walk-in capacity would lead to some very grumpy customers, and none of us want Haley or Mike taking the brunt of this.
We love all your dogs as if they are our own, and our intention is not to make daycare a difficult process. There will be hiccups and things will be adjusted as we go, as the likelihood that our initial role out will go perfectly, is low. Please understand we are still fine tuning details and will be sending instructions on how to make these reservations in the coming week.
I want you all to know that a lot of thought and research has been put into this decision. We are currently the only daycare in the greater Seattle area that is walk-in without reservation. Most facilities also have a much more narrow drop off and pick up window, which we are trying to stay on the broader side of.
Booking Daycare & Boarding:
- You will be able to book anytime up to drop off if there is space open. You may also continue to drop in and we can check you in upon arrival assuming there is still space or accommodations can be made. Our goal is to provide self check-in and check-out tablets to streamline the check in process. These may not be available immediately but are in our final plan.
- We have not yet determined how far out bookings will be opened for daycare but are considering opening quarter periods (3 months) similar to what we do for grooming. Our new system should allow you to book individual, or recurring spots. Again, we do not anticipate these changes making issues for scheduling 'same day' reservations but cannot make any guarantees.
- Eventually a cancellation policy will be put into place, but we will be giving a grace period until doing so. Cancellation will likely require something around a 2-4 hour notice to ensure the space is open for someone else in need. Our goal is never to price gouge, and we would not charge a late cancellation if bookings were not full for the day <3
- Our goal is to have two booking windows for drop offs, pick up will remain flexible and not be required at booking
- 7am-9am drop off window
- 9am-12pm drop off window
- Because we are open 7am-6pm, we need to keep adequate staffing for all 11 hours of this time period. We have two staff members from 7am-9am, then have more filtering in throughout the day. A third comes on at 9am, a fourth at 10am, and fifth at 10:30 and sixth at 1pm. Hopefully this helps you understand why we may limit the maximum drop off prior to 9am and then open a secondary window extending our limit.
Thank you for your continued trust in us to provide the best care for your furry friends.
With love,
Jess