PetSmart Grooming Experience

[elizabethann]

I just took Fenway to PetSmart to get groomed. I was an advocate for PetSmart until today. I asked them if they had the time to groom him and they said yes. After waiting over 1.5 hours (Fenway was getting dried out back), an employee came over and asked me about my grooming experience. I said I never would have gotten him groomed if I knew it was going to take so long (he was just going for a wash & dry - not a cut). The employee said the wait is 3 hours!! I said I was never told that. So of course, she went running into the groomers and squeeled about what I said and the groomer took Fenway from out back, quickly dried him, popped a damn bandana on him and charged me $32!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it. I just sent and email to PetSmart telling them of my horrible experience. I felt bad for Fenway. He was treated like a sack of potatoes. I just made him a special supper as a way of saying "I'm sorry". He got a cheese/egg/chicken omlet.

I'll be sticking to his regular groomer from now on.

[dab_20]

Many people have told me Petsmart and Petco are not good grooming places. (usually) I'm sorry that happened to you and Fenway, and I'm glad you emailed them. I Can't believe how much they charged you! I woulden't take him back there, either. It costs me 25 dollars to get a hair cut, bath, clipping nails... well the whole grooming process at the place I take Molli and Sam. Although the last time I was there, Molli's skin ripped and she had to get her skin glued to avoid stitches.

Give Fenway a big huggie for me!

[wolfsoul]

3 hours is actually a great deal. Our regular time is 4 hours, but if we are behind, we can take up to 8 (just one dog can set us behind on all of them). People don't realise that there is alot more than just bathing and drying a dog -- atleast, at most shops. I don't know how Petsmart works but I doubt they are a big shop like we are. That price is outrageous. For a bath and points at our shop a small dog would cost $14-22, depending on the dog.

[labmomma]

When I get my pets groomed I drop them off at 7:30 and can pick them up anytime after 3:00. The price is very reasonable and the head groom person is a sweetie and just dotes on my fur children. The price is in the $30's for a bath, clip and dry. My groomer is employed by my vet.
Labmomma

[Majestic]

I took KiKi to Petsmart twice - each time takes about 3 hours. I think it is not bad at all. It take a barber about 30 mintues to cut/trim my hair lolz. It would take a lot longer to do the same job with a dog. I am ok with Petsmart.

[caseysmom]

Sounds like they didn't communicate very well with you. I don't use petsmart because it sounds like they have a high turnover of groomers. I do use banfield their veterinary service and have been happy with it.

[Aspen and Misty]

I'm a little confused as to why you are upset?

You wanted a bath and a dry. Most likly they gave him a bath, placed him in the back under a kennel dryer. Which are NOT what you would think they are, the dog does not over heat, the cage does not even get a little bit hot, most dog's don't even pant when they have one on them. Also all Petsmarts kennel dryers (including the groomers) are on for 15 minutes, then off for 15 minutes to allow the dog time without one on them, it is a Petsmart rule. If you are worried about Kennel Dryers you can ask for them not to use one or you could ask to see one. You would be surprised as they really are not hot and the dog's don't mind them. I'm assuming the groomoers plan was probably to allow him to dry a little under the kennel dryer and then bring him out to Force Hair Dry him before you picked him up. And I'm sure when the employee went back she probably was asking how long it would be till he was done and to tell them you were waiting outside. It seems to me like the groomer then stopped what she was doing to finish up Fenway since you were there early. To me this sounds like good service, they finished up Fenway an hour and a half before he was scheduled for pick up to make it so you didn't have to wait.

And while there was a communication error as to when he would be done, we are all human, we all make mistakes.

Ashley

[elizabethann]

Ashley, do you really think charging someone $32 for a 1/2 a$$ job is okay? Is that human error? I think not. My dog was still wet when they gave him to me. I wasn't stomping my feet and rolling my eyes and making faces - no signs of impatience was coming from me when I spoke with the employee. I just simply stated that I didn't think it was going to take this long to do a simple grooming.

I clearly asked them if they had time to groom him. There were 2 employees (1 of which was standing around doing nothing when I walked in). She washed my dog (actually told me he would be under the dryer for 20-30 minutes) and left for the day.

If they told me the wait was 3 hours I would have been more than happy to not groom him. They should have communicated to me that they were swamped. I can't see how many dogs they have waiting out back.

Also, I was never told how much it was going to cost. I asked for the Pet-riotic Pup service which stated $15. If I had any balls, I would have refused to pay the $32. Clearly, I have none.

Fenway has a regular groomer. He gets groomed while he's at doggy day care. We'll be sticking to that from now on. They do excellent work and charge me $35.

[Aspen and Misty]

I missed the part where you said Fenway was still wet and you are right, that is unacceptable. Don't be afraid to speak up though, I'm sure they would have finished drying him for you (even though he should have been dry in the first place). Does Fenway have a white muzzel, they are very hard to get clean and depending on the amount of time spent and how often it is kept it clean in his daily life, some stains can become perminent.

Prices vary from place to place and town to town. I live in Atlanta. Now here in Lawrenceville you can get my sister's pom Bathed and Shaved for about what you spent on Fenway. However, if you would take my sisters Pom to the area where I work, which is only about a half hour from here, you would get charged 60 maybe 70 for the same work. I'm not saying the price was fair as I don't know the area in which you took him to or the services in which the specific grooming package you asked for contain. Also, If asked for a $15 service and were charged $32 that is wrong. You should have spoken up. You don't have to even be mean about it, a simple "Oh, I thought I asked for only a Pet-riotic Pup service. Which service did I ask for and what does it contain?" would have made the employee look to see what Fenway got and most likely you would have not been charged that ridiculous amount. It most likely was due to human error somewhere along the way. Was the groomer the one who checked you out? If not maybe the employee thought you got him clipped also. If it was the groomer, maybe the person who checked you in accidentally put you in the system for something else but you really only wanted the $15 service, which sounds like what you got. To be honest, it was most likly do to human error and the only way to correct that is by speaking up.


Also, the associates at Petsmart go through “ABC” training. Part of that training consist of D.O.G. Delight the customer, Operational Excellence and Grow Pet services. There are many other aspects to the ABC training but in the section of D.O.G, Delight the Customer, they are told specifically to go above and beyond for any customer. Even if you weren't acting impatient, rolling your eyes or complaining, the associate was trying to help you out by getting Fenway out as soon as possible. She probably saw that obviously there was a verbal mistake made and a misunderstanding in that you thought he would only be a little bit, while in reality the wait was 3 hours.

Also, if the standard wait is most likely 3 hours. So I assume when you asked if they had time to groom him, they said yes and they assumed you knew that they would not take him back, get him done and out right away but that you expected the normal 3 hour wait. If they said they had time to groom him, they most likely did. However, they probably expected the normal wait time of 3 hours to get him done in.

I also wanted to say, I'm sorry you had such a bad experince as both you and Fenway deserve the best care.

Ashley

[My Peanuts]

Sorry about your bad experience.

I just do all this myself for my dogs. I like doing it

[Friendy2004]

I used to work at PetSmart as a cashier and I just wanted to add something that may help clear up the price issue. The Patriotic Pup package you mentioned is $15 but it is an Add-On to a bath. Technically the bath was $17 plus the $15 add-on package.

Not saying that what happened was just, but hopefully that clears up the confusion about the cost.

[zoomer]

I hate Petco and Petsmart groomers. They treat the dogs there like crap. Before and even more after you made this thread, I will not take any of my dogs now or in the future to Petco or Petsmart!

[shais_mom]

I hate Petco and Petsmart groomers. They treat the dogs there like crap. Before and even more after you made this thread, I will not take any of my dogs now or in the future to Petco or Petsmart!

You may have had bad experiences with them but one of our own is employed there. That's where wolf_q works and she would never treat a dog that way. I had a great experience with Keegan while there.

[Jessika]

I hate Petco and Petsmart groomers. They treat the dogs there like crap. Before and even more after you made this thread, I will not take any of my dogs now or in the future to Petco or Petsmart!

I wouldn't generalize like that. The PetCo I worked at had AMAZING groomers who did an AMAZING job. Grant it, there are ALWAYS going to be a few bad apples in the bunch, but I don't think its fair to generalize that they all "treat their dogs like crap", because that just is not the case.

[Aspen and Misty]

I hate Petco and Petsmart groomers. They treat the dogs there like crap. Before and even more after you made this thread, I will not take any of my dogs now or in the future to Petco or Petsmart!

I agree with what others have said. You can't generalize like that as it isn't far. Not every Petsmart or Petco groomer is bad and most are great at what they do. I was always taught that until you know someone who can't judge the person's character and it's true. You simply can't judge a group of more then 100 people on just 1 person, and how can you say that you hate ALL petco and petsmart groomers? Do you know them personally? Have you seen every single groomer treat a dog "like crap".

Ashley