PetSmart Grooming Experience

**Aspen and Misty** · 06-27-2006, 11:00 AM

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** · 06-27-2006, 12:04 PM

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** · 06-27-2006, 02:55 PM

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** · 06-27-2006, 03:18 PM

Sorry about your bad experience.

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

**Friendy2004** · 06-27-2006, 03:48 PM

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.

**Husky_mom** · 06-27-2006, 04:01 PM

i´m not used to Petsmart grooming since we dont have one, but where i took my dogs if i asked do you have time to do "x " and they said yes i wouldnt expect to deliver right away as i consider "yes, we do still have open spots and are not full for the day yet" so i took that in consideration asn took my dogs in the morning and picked them up at the afternoon (obviosly thay take more time since they are bigger adn fluffier than Fenway) but 3 hours seems considerably, whats not its the price i assume hes a small doggie and besides he was not having a cut thats way too much for just a bath......... maybe what flatcoatlver said kinda makes more sense the bath being 17 and the add on (i wanna think bandana) another 15 but they SHOULD¨VE had warned you beforehand.......

for my dogs bath, brush, nail and flea tick prev thay charge around 50 but i found a place where they only charge me half for the exact same job, same products AND in half time done........and they are HUSKIES!!!

sorry about that experience but maybe stick to your groomer of find another small business that does that, as i find pet stores and vet clinics to overcharge.........

**Shelteez2** · 06-27-2006, 06:53 PM

The shop I work would have charged you approx $30-35 for a tidy up on a dog like Fenway. That is a bath, dry, nails clipped and face feet and sanitary trip. (Those are also Canadian prices btw)

We don't take walk ins (in fact we are booking for October right now) but this is how it works with us. We ask that people bring their dogs in between 7:30 and 10:00 in the morning. Then we work on a first come first serve basis. If a dog Fenways size came in right at 7:30 he would go home at about 9:00 - 9:30 am. A dog the size of a golden would go home around 11:00. We try not to keep dogs longer than 3 -4 hours (depending on size). The only reason we would ever keep dogs as long as 8 hours is if the owners had to work all day and couldn't pick the dogs up.

I'm sorry you and Fenway had a bad experience. I think with big companies like that it's just the luck of the draw. I'm glad you have a regular groomer who you are happy with.

**zoomer** · 06-27-2006, 09:15 PM