From a Small Grooming Shop to a Thriving Family Business 

Nearly 18 years ago, Marcie Culver started a small pet grooming business in West Salem, Wisconsin. What began in her home grew into a tiny, rented storefront and eventually expanded into a full-service pet care operation spanning three locations.

Today, Marcie’s Pet Spa is a thriving family-owned business offering grooming, daycare and boarding services. The business now employs 90+ people across three locations. Its flagship West Salem facility spans 10,000 square feet, featuring 53 boarding suites, daycare capacity for 90 dogs, and a 10-groomer salon.

For General Manager Nolan Wahoske, building a successful pet care business means more than growing revenue. It means taking care of their people by creating a workplace where employees can build meaningful careers while delivering exceptional care to pets and their families.

But as the business grew, so did its operating expenses.

The Challenge: Finding Profit Without Compromising Care

With significant investments in employees, facilities and equipment, Nolan began looking for opportunities to improve profitability without sacrificing service quality or repeatedly increasing prices.

Credit card processing fees quickly stood out.

"We can't really cut a lot of costs. I realized, card fees is one of those things… how can we cut costs without affecting clients?"

— Nolan Wahoske, General Manager, Marcie's Pet Spa

Surcharging offered a more targeted alternative to raising prices for every customer.

Instead of absorbing every credit card processing expense or increasing service prices across the board, Marcie’s could recover eligible credit card costs while allowing customers to avoid the surcharge by using another accepted payment method.

"Instead of just throwing price raises all the time… we just needed to find money in the margins without affecting the clients."

The challenge was finding a way to manage surcharging efficiently, professionally, and within applicable requirements.

Why Gingr? Flexibility That Grows With the Business

Marcie’s Pet Spa had been using Gingr for years, but as Nolan became more involved in operations, he took a fresh look at the software supporting the business.

He explored alternative pet care management platforms, evaluating whether another system could better support its increasingly complex operation.

What he discovered reinforced the value of Gingr.

"I've looked up other platforms to use… and it's like it always comes back to like, well, Gingr does all this anyways."

For Nolan, one of Gingr’s greatest strengths is the flexibility it provides. With three facilities operating in slightly different ways, the business needs software that adapts to its processes rather than forcing every location into a rigid workflow.

"Gingr is really helpful in how much personalization there is for each client and keeping track of stuff."

He also appreciates that Gingr allows different locations to accomplish their tasks in ways that work best for them.

"It's super easy for me to navigate and I'm kind of new to it."

Beyond the software itself, Nolan points to Gingr's support and willingness to work with the business when its needs change, making surcharge the next obvious opportunity with Gingr.

Implementation Was Simple

When asked what launching surcharging was like, Nolan's answer was straightforward:

"I don't feel like I had to do anything… it was all done for us."

Beyond communicating the change to customers and posting signage, the transition required very little effort from his team.

"The day came around and it was just working. I just brought my credit card, the surcharge popped up, everything just went smooth."

Gingr automatically applies surcharges to eligible transactions and provides reporting that helps Nolan monitor the financial impact.

"I can see how much we save on Gingr every day. I pay attention to it… having it integrated makes it so easy to track. It's just so nice."

The Results: $2,700 Recovered in the First Month

During September 2026, Marcie’s Pet Spa reported collecting approximately $2,700 in surcharge fees across its three locations.

Factoring in peak revenue seasons, the business is positioned to recover more than $35,000 annually in surcharge fees.

For Nolan, that financial flexibility has a very practical impact.

"That's somebody's paycheck… new equipment I might need, money to upgrade facilities. Just having a little bit extra cushion or making an extra mortgage payment… it really helps that way."

Marcie's looked at how other businesses in the community were handling surcharging and decided the right move was to recover some of its processing costs.

Nolan's Advice to Other Pet Care Businesses: "Do It."

After launching Gingr's integrated surcharging program, Nolan has clear advice for other pet care operators considering the strategy.

"Do it."

"You may not even have to raise prices that year… so it's kind of a win for both sides if you do it."

His advice is to be transparent before launch: communicate the change, explain why the business is introducing the surcharge, and remind customers that they have alternative ways to pay.

What About Customer Pushback? Transparency Made the Difference.

The financial opportunity is clear. For many, the biggest hesitation is how customers might respond.

Nolan's approach was simple: be transparent, explain the rationale, and give customers options.

"I was just super open and super upfront with all of our clients."

Marcie's communicated the change through customer conversations, signage and advance notice. The team explained that the business wanted to avoid increasing service prices for everyone and that customers could continue using methods like debit cards, cash or checks without surcharge fee.

When asked directly whether Marcie's had lost customers because of surcharging, Nolan's answer was clear:

"No, we don't think we lost anybody."

Customers choose Marcie's because of the people, the quality of care and the relationships they've built with the business; one singe payment experience didn't change that.

More Than Cost Recovery: Building a Stronger Business.

As Marcie's Pet Spa looks ahead, its priorities include improving the Sparta location, continuing to invest in employees and exploring new opportunities such as grooming education and branded products.

With Gingr Surcharging, the business has introduced a new way to offset one of its ongoing operating expenses without added work for staff.

"If you're providing a service that the person running the business doesn't have to think about… chef's kiss."

And for Nolan, that's exactly what great software should do: make running a business easier.

Ready to See What Surcharging Could Mean for Your Business?

See how much your business could recover with Gingr Payments Surcharging.

*Actual results vary by transaction volume, card mix, program costs and applicable legal requirements. Merchants remain responsible for understanding applicable state and local surcharge laws.