EVER WONDER WHY OUR FRONT DOOR IS LOCKED?
Have you shown up to drop-off or pick-up your dog at Good Dog only to find that the front door is locked? While we would love to have an open door policy, we have found that it’s a more efficient way to manage the business. Let’s go back and look at how and why we came to the decision to lock the front door during business hours sometimes.
OUR FORMER LOCATION
As our long-term customers will remember, the door was never locked during business hours at the old location on California Avenue. The layout of the building allowed for that to not be necessary. When you would enter the front door you were met by the front desk and a half wall. On the other side of that half wall was the small dog room. Cute, right? Sadly, no. Every time someone walked into the building, all the dogs would bark. This made conversation nearly impossible - in fact, it was a regular occurance to see one of our staff in front of the building taking a call because they couldn’t hear the person on the phone over the barking of the dogs. While it was fun to see the dogs, this presented a challenge we knew we had to address when we moved.
OUR NEW LOCATION
When we found the new location on Delridge Way, we were excited because it has a lobby. What we didn’t consider was that for the majority of the day, our lobby has very little activity between 9:00 a.m. until about 4:00 p.m. As we began to realize this, we decided to lock the door and put our staff to better use taking care of the dogs. The alternative - and many other daycares do this - would be to limit the hours of drop-off and pick-up. We didn’t want to do that because our customers are used to being able to drop-off and pick-up their dogs whenever it is convenient for them and we like to be able to offer that option. To facilitate this, we have installed a doorbell and have posted a phone number to call to gain entry when the door is locked.
THE WEATHER
Seattle’s wet weather complicates this since there’s no awning over our front door and the idea of having a customer waiting out in the rain or cold is not something we like. Because of this we encourage all our customers to have Good Dog’s phone number, (206) 932-7833, saved in their phone. When you arrive, if the door is locked, there will be a sign hanging in it indicating that the door is locked. If that’s the case, call us! That’ll give our staff a chance to make their way to the lobby while you wait comfortably in your car instead of in the cold or rain. We just ask that when our staff arrives to open the door for you, you bring your dog inside.
So, please add Good Dog to your favorites list on your phone: (206) 932-7833!