Unpopular opinion: appointment-only scheduling beats walk-ins for dog grooming

I used to take walk-ins at my shop in Portland for years. It felt friendly and flexible, but it wrecked my day every single time. Someone would show up at 3pm for a full groom that takes 2 hours, right when I had a 4pm pickup. I'd rush the job, the dog would get stressed, and the owner would complain about the trim. About 6 months ago I switched to strict appointment-only with a $20 deposit for new clients. Now I block 45 minutes between slots so I can clean brushes and rotate my table between animals. The pushback was real for the first few weeks, people would show up anyway and give me grief at the door. But my no-show rate dropped from like 30% to under 5%, and I finish by 6pm instead of 8:30. Has anyone else in this group cut walk-ins cold turkey, or do you still leave some room for drop-offs?

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