PetGroomBossPro Blog — Scheduling & Routes

Van GPS on the Office Map: Dispatching Mobile Groomers During the Day

Once the vans leave in the morning, the office used to be blind. Where is Van 2? Is she at the doodle or already on the way to the cat? Without a map, the only way to find out was to call a groomer whose hands were full of a wet dog. Van GPS on the office map answers the question without the call.

What the Office Map Shows

Customers already get automatic texts, as covered in On-the-Way and Arrived Texts From the Grooming Van. Van GPS is the office's version of the same information.

The PetGroomBossPro groomer app reports each van's location, and the office map shows every van in the field. Combine that with the day's list, where the office sees which visits have been started, completed or skipped, and you have the whole day in view: where each van is and where it is in its route.

Answering “When Will the Groomer Be Here?”

The most common office call on grooming day is a customer asking about timing. With the map and the day's list, the answer takes seconds: find the customer's stop on the Scheduled list filtered to their van, see how many stops are ahead, see where the van is now. “She's finishing up two stops before you, so probably about an hour.”

Customers can see much of this themselves on the live map in the customer app, which cuts down the calls in the first place. Van GPS is for the calls that still come in.

Placing Same-Day Requests

A customer texts at 10:00: “Any chance someone could do a quick nail trim today?” Without GPS, the office has to guess which van might be near. With it, look at the map, see that Van 1 is three streets away and has a light afternoon, and offer a time.

The groomer's phone shows the new stop in the day's list once the office adds it, with its time, the pet's details and any van notes. No group text, no call to explain where to go.

Running-Late Days

When a long groom runs over, every stop after it is at risk. The office can see a van sitting at one address longer than planned and act before customers start calling:

• Text the next customer or two with a realistic new time.
• Move a flexible later stop to another day to win back some time.
• If two vans are working nearby, move a stop from the late van to the one that is ahead.

Moving a stop between vans is simple when both are on the same schedule. The order and times show up on the receiving groomer's phone. Running two vans is covered in Two Vans, One Schedule: Dispatching Two Mobile Grooming Vans.

GPS and the Time Clock

The groomer app also has a time clock, so groomers and bathers clock in and out on the same phone they run the day from. Hours are recorded as they happen instead of written down on Friday from memory. Between the time clock, the jobs marked complete and the van on the map, the office has a clear picture of each day without asking anyone to report in.

Being Straight With Your Team About GPS

Location tracking is a tool for running the day, and it works best when everyone understands why it is there. Tell groomers up front that the office map shows each van so the office can answer customers, place same-day requests and help when the day runs late. Most groomers like it once they notice fewer calls interrupting their grooms.

It also helps the groomer: when something goes wrong — a breakdown, a flat tire, a road closure — the office can already see where the van is and start rearranging the rest of the day.

GPS also makes it easier to give honest answers. Instead of telling a customer “sometime this afternoon,” the office can look at where the van is, see how many stops are ahead and give a realistic time. A customer who gets a straight answer, even one that says the van is running a little behind, is far happier than one who is left guessing.

One Van or Many

For a one-van owner who is also the office, the office map matters less during the day; you know where you are. It still helps when a family member or part-time helper answers the phone and needs to tell a customer how far away the van is. With two or more vans, it becomes the center of the day. To see how van GPS fits with the Scheduled list, routing, Pending Jobs and texts, visit the mobile grooming scheduling software page.