Stopping the wrong service being booked

A customer looking at your price list cannot always tell which service suits their dog. Two checks stop the wrong one being booked, and both live on the service itself under Bookings → Services.

1. Size range

Grooming is nearly always priced by size, and booking the small-dog price for a big dog is the commonest mistake there is — wrong price, wrong length of slot, and you only find out when the dog arrives.

Open a service and set Size this service is for: a from and an up to in kilos. Leave either blank for no limit at that end. A typical grooming list looks like this:

• Small dog groom — up to 10kg
• Medium dog groom — from 10kg up to 25kg
• Large dog groom — from 25kg

Bands may overlap; the first one that fits is suggested. Set only the ends you care about — “up to 10kg” on its own is perfectly valid.

2. Breed rule

On the same screen, Breed rule either allows only the breeds you list, or excludes them. Use exclude for breeds you are not insured for or cannot handle; use allow only for a service aimed at one type of dog, such as a puppy course. Two buttons fill in the UK banned breeds or the large and giant breeds so you are not typing them out.

What each does

A customer booking through the portal is stopped, told why in plain terms, and told which of your services to book instead where one fits — “Bella is 38kg and this service is for dogs up to 15kg. Try Large dog groom instead.” If nothing fits, they are asked to get in touch.

You are treated differently. A size mismatch is a warning with a Book it anyway button, because you can see the dog and a recorded weight is often years out of date. A breed rule still blocks outright, since that is usually about what you are insured for rather than convenience.

Worth knowing

A pet with no weight recorded is never blocked. Most will not have one, and refusing those bookings would cost far more than the rule saves. If you want the check to bite, record weights on the pets — it is on the pet record under General.

Nothing changes until you actually set the bands. Existing services have none, so all of this is inert until you fill them in.

Example

A groomer sets three bands and stops taking Sunday phone calls that begin “I booked the £30 one but he is quite big”.

FAQ

Where do I set this?
Bookings → Services, open a service, and look for Size this service is for and Breed rule. The size range also shows on the services list so you can check the whole price list at once.

What if a dog has no weight recorded?
The size check is skipped entirely for that pet. It never blocks a booking on missing information.

Can I still book a dog that falls outside the band?
Yes. You get a warning and a Book it anyway button. Only customers are actually stopped.

Why does a breed rule block me as well?
Breed rules usually reflect insurance or safety rather than pricing, so overriding one is a decision that should be deliberate rather than a button on a busy morning. Change the rule on the service if it needs to change.

Do the bands have to line up exactly?
No. They can overlap or leave gaps. When a customer picks the wrong one, the first service whose band fits their dog is suggested.

Does this work for walking and sitting too?
Yes — the fields are on every service. They matter most to groomers because grooming is priced by size, but a walk type limited to small dogs works the same way.