Step intoย Dogfatherย & Co. on a Saturday or Sunday afternoonย and watch as the fur literally flies. Pampered pups frolic and bark underfoot, and othersย jump for joyย to be reunited with their owners after their grooming appointments are done. Curious customers browse for delicious dog chow and charming chew toys, not to mention the latest in hilarious pet T-shirts.ย ย
It can get a bit chaotic, says Kristina Rapson, but thatโs to be expected when you runย aย pet shop in town โ two of them, actually, now thatย Dogfatherย has grown to a pair of locations.ย
Rapson isย director of operations forย Dogfather, which she describes as โupscale pet boutiqueโ catering to the apparel, toyย and dietaryย needs of pampered pooches and cats in midtown Toronto.ย ย ย
Humans receive special care atย Dogfather, too.ย Rapson saysย Dogfatherโsย staff engage in a real, one-on-one conversation with customers from the minute they walk through the door until theyโre ready to leave with a purchase (and/orย freshly groomedย pet) under their arm.ย
โIt’s really important to have a conversation with the customer when they’re shopping, because a lot of people may not even know what they’re coming in for,โ Rapson says. โWe try to make that easier for them by asking them the right questions about theirย petโsย personality, and what they like and what they don’t like, and that way we can find them the right products.โย
Dogfatherย started with aย tiny shop in theย neighbourhoodย of Rosedaleย back in 2001.ย It became a hit withย local pet owners, largely by offering cheekier and more charming wares than the typical pet store.ย Eventually, like a fast-growing puppy, the business got too big for its original doghouse.ย
To keep up with demand,ย Dogfatherย openedย a second, larger store a few blocks away in the Yorkville areaย last year.ย โWe needed two locations,โ Rapson says, โbecause our first location started getting so busy that we physically couldn’t handle theย amountย of customers coming into the space.โย
Rapson saysย Dogfatherย was an early adopter ofย Interac Debit contactless payments, around the time of the productsโย debut in 2010.ย The businessย realized the benefits almost immediately.ย โWe’ve hadย Interac Debit contactless payments at the store for many years now โ actually, before a lot of other stores had it, to the point where our customers didn’t even know what it was.โย ย
Before long, it became clear thatย Interacย Debit contactless payments was helping Dogfatherย manage its growing clienteleย โย human and otherwiseย โย within the confined quarters of the original store. Itโs an effective crowd-control tool, Rapson says, especially on weekends.ย โInteracย Debit contactless payments really helps us check customers out faster when it’s crowded, because tapping their cardย or deviceย allows them to not have to put in their PIN.โย
Rapsonโsย favouriteย thing aboutย Interac Debit contactless payments? It helpsย Dogfatherย deliver on its commitment toย personalized customer service.ย Interac Debit contactless payments enables people to pay by debit without having to think about entering their PIN. That allows Dogfatherโsย staff to keep talking with customersย โย about pet nutrition orย favouriteย dog parks,ย or whatever the subject may be โ all the way through to the conclusion of the payment transaction. โInterac Debit contactless payments helps us keep the conversation going,โ Rapson says.ย
There are other benefits that anyone would appreciate if theyโve run a small business, especially in retail. Over the years,ย Interac Debit contactless payments has become so popular with customers, Rapson says, that โwe have days atย Dogfather where we do zero cash transactions.โ
โIt makes our life so much easier not to have cash transactions,โ she says, โbecause we don’t have to run to the bank as frequently and do deposits.โย
And as anyone who runs a small business knows, debit transactions areย โgood fundsโ: Managers and owners can look at their debit transaction balance at the end of the day and know that it wonโt be chipped away by chargebacks. โIt’s really great that we don’t have to deal with chargebacks withย Interac Debit contactless payments,โ Rapson says. โIt just makes everything less stressful. We don’t have to worry about having to deal with paperwork, and in the long run everything runs more smoothly.โย
Itโs impossible for things to go perfectly smoothlyย when youโre runningย a pet boutique.ย The critters may be cute, butย they can be rambunctiousย โย and messy.ย ย ย
โAtย Dogfather, we have puppy accidents daily,โ Rapson says. โBut at least usingย Interac Debit contactless payments has been hassle-free.โ
