[adenicol]

So I am told to have patience with people today because of the Hurricane situation..that was all good and well until I went into PetSmart to have my dog groomed this afternoon. First they hit me with a "Express Fee" because I have a large dog who they can't kennel and that means they need to do their job and take care of him when he gets there at his appointment time instead of putting him off until they have time for him later on.

I dropped him off at 1:30 and was told it would be 1 1/2 to 2 hours before he was ready. I told the girl I would be picking my son up from the charter school at 3 as all after school activities were cancelled because of the Hurricane. At 3pm they called and said he was ready, I said I would be there within 30 minutes as I was getting my son and the girl on the other end had an attitude with me about it. When I did get there I was told that appointments are 1 1/2 hours and I had 10 minutes from the time they call me to get there to get my dog because he was too big for a kennel and had to sit there on the floor. When I got there he was laying down and not bothering anyone. I never had to be there within 10 minutes before and had at times been over an hour later and no one ever had a problem with it.

it seems that over the past year their services have just been getting worse and worse and now they are just downright rude. I won't be going back to PetSmart and I urge anyone reading this to consider taking your pets somewhere else.

[CFrance]

I always had a problem with groomers in FL leaving my dog sit in a kennel till it was convenient for them to groom him. One time I had an appointment at 10:00, and at five I went storming in there after being told all afternoon he wasn't ready. I was furious, as you could see all the owners of the little nervous dogs picking up their dogs. Mine had been made to wait because of his temperament. After that, I stopped at every mobile pet groomer truck in my neighborhood till one of them said sure, he would do a big hairy dog, no problem. Then we took in an old, arthritic big hairy dog who could never have been dropped off and made to wait. Our mobile groomer said sure, he would carry him out to the truck and let him lie on each side while being groomed.

What a blessing that man is. Each dog takes an hour, is slightly damp when done but is completely dry in another hour. You can bet I tip this groomer from heaven big time! His truck says Grooms to Go on it. He comes over from Ocala a couple days a week.

[kcrazorbackfan]

Originally Posted by adenicol

So I am told to have patience with people today because of the Hurricane situation..that was all good and well until I went into PetSmart to have my dog groomed this afternoon. First they hit me with a "Express Fee" because I have a large dog who they can't kennel and that means they need to do their job and take care of him when he gets there at his appointment time instead of putting him off until they have time for him later on.

I dropped him off at 1:30 and was told it would be 1 1/2 to 2 hours before he was ready. I told the girl I would be picking my son up from the charter school at 3 as all after school activities were cancelled because of the Hurricane. At 3pm they called and said he was ready, I said I would be there within 30 minutes as I was getting my son and the girl on the other end had an attitude with me about it. When I did get there I was told that appointments are 1 1/2 hours and I had 10 minutes from the time they call me to get there to get my dog because he was too big for a kennel and had to sit there on the floor. When I got there he was laying down and not bothering anyone. I never had to be there within 10 minutes before and had at times been over an hour later and no one ever had a problem with it.

it seems that over the past year their services have just been getting worse and worse and now they are just downright rude. I won't be going back to PetSmart and I urge anyone reading this to consider taking your pets somewhere else.

Sorry that this happened to you, but, anytime you rely on someone to do something for you, you run the risk of them not doing things to your satisfaction - eating out, lawn care, pet groomers - anything that you decide not to do. I take care of our yard, I service our Escape and both golf carts and my wife grooms our pets and keeps our home neat and tidy so we have no concerns there; any time we have to deal with anyone in a service related type of business, we've come to expect a less than satisfactory performance; but, on the flip side, we are pleasantly surprised when someone at a company really shines (Mike with Chuck Farrell A/C, Ryan O'Cull garage door repair, Jodi at Village Palms).

[virgind]

Dogs and Suds on 301 really nice people. Try them.

[Jenny1326]

Woof gang in Brownwood are AWESOME !!

[wendyquat]

I second WoofGang!

I have heard good things about Woofgang.

We take our dog to Dan at Buffalo Ridge (the one off of 466 near Walmart) and love Dan.
He's a nice man and treats the dogs kindly.
He does have some large cages but if a dog has a calm personality, you may find one in the room just sitting there or walking around free.

He lets you know when your dog is ready but doesn't put pressure on you to pick up your pet in ten minutes!
That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

Even though you will never take your pup there again, I do think you should let the manager at Petsmart know what happened.

[Rosie1950]

I don't Know what is going on at Petsmart I was the former salon manager and we never had any of these problems I would suggest you talk to the managers, Maybe the girls were on edge with the storms. Everyone seems to forget that the service people have family and homes also and since you do not know were they live or how far they drive or what they needed to do for the impending storm, I think some slack should be cut. I would go through this all the time in the both NE. This storm was a near miss for us but I do know some of the girls came from quite a distance, of course nothing excuses rudeness. I wasn't there so I cannot address that issue.

Customers also have to understand that the salon manager is responsible for all the pets in the salon, and we(THE GROOMERS) never liked having Pets just lying around finished waiting for mom to decide it was time to come pick up their pet. Probably should make appt. when she is more available to stay in the area since the salon is open from 7am-9pm. It is Petsmarts policy that pets are to be walked out of the grooming area to make sure they are not limping, sometimes hard to do with large dogs lying on the floor. Many pet owners with small pets do not want them paraded in front of large dogs. Sorry can not jump to conclusions on this one, been there done that, all too often. The difference with the Villagers is our pets are our BABIES the younger generation with children, have children and the pets are the pets! You Villagers paid the Express because you couldn't bare to be without your pet for 3 hours, in many cases it was not in the best interest of the pet to go without a break.

[doran]

We too had problems with Pet Smart the last couple of times we took Sugar and Spice there, one or both had uneven areas that were not cut right! we have been going there for three years ad since Rose Ann "The Manager" retired it has been a problem. e will try Woof Gang this next time--does any one know their prices--we have two small Multi Poos! thanks so much

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Rosie1950

I don't Know what is going on at Petsmart I was the former salon manager and we never had any of these problems I would suggest you talk to the managers, Maybe the girls were on edge with the storms. Everyone seems to forget that the service people have family and homes also and since you do not know were they live or how far they drive or what they needed to do for the impending storm, I think some slack should be cut. I would go through this all the time in the both NE. This storm was a near miss for us but I do know some of the girls came from quite a distance, of course nothing excuses rudeness. I wasn't there so I cannot address that issue.

Customers also have to understand that the salon manager is responsible for all the pets in the salon, and we(THE GROOMERS) never liked having Pets just lying around finished waiting for mom to decide it was time to come pick up their pet. Probably should make appt. when she is more available to stay in the area since the salon is open from 7am-9pm. It is Petsmarts policy that pets are to be walked out of the grooming area to make sure they are not limping, sometimes hard to do with large dogs lying on the floor. Many pet owners with small pets do not want them paraded in front of large dogs. Sorry can not jump to conclusions on this one, been there done that, all too often. The difference with the Villagers is our pets are our BABIES the younger generation with children, have children and the pets are the pets! You Villagers paid the Express because you couldn't bare to be without your pet for 3 hours, in many cases it was not in the best interest of the pet to go without a break.

I disagree with your statement that we Villagers can't stand to be without our babies for three hours or more. What I want for my dogs is not to have them sequestered for hours on end while groomers cannot manage a schedule to get them in and out in a timely fashion. And if you're not going to keep to a schedule, do not expect us to be at your beck and call. If weather is a problem, forget the bottom line and call it all off.

My groomer in MI had this all figured out. No reason Petsmart can't manage their time. Sounds like a case of over scheduling.

[Rosie1950]

Originally Posted by CFrance

I disagree with your statement that we Villagers can't stand to be without our babies for three hours or more. What I want for my dogs is not to have them sequestered for hours on end while groomers cannot manage a schedule to get them in and out in a timely fashion. And if you're not going to keep to a schedule, do not expect us to be at your beck and call. If weather is a problem, forget the bottom line and call it all off.

My groomer in MI had this all figured out. No reason Petsmart can't manage their time. Sounds like a case of over scheduling.

We worked on a 3 hour turn around not unreasonable. They are working on live animals not a person sitting still in a chair, as the pets are finished the calls are made to go home, if that doesn't work for you find elsewhere. When I ran the salon we were #1 in a company of 2800 stores for customer satisfaction. I've been a groomer for 28 years I know what I'm talking about. What I can do in several hours could take you all day. The job is NOT as easy as it look otherwise everyone could do it! I don't have a horse in this race I just KNOW how stressful the job is!

[Nucky]

PetSmart just took care of transferring our boy Barney's paperwork from Joisey. They handled us like family and our boy loves them just like the people at the NJ store. I wait behind the store in the car and just come around and pick up the old boy when they are done. There is $20 dollars that can go as a tip or $9 tip $11 dollar work thru charge the choice is theirs. I don't care as long as Barney comes back in one piece and things are happy for him. I guess that would be a happy....oh forget it! I understand the OP's point and have felt like that myself when things don't happen in the timing I planned on. I only take him on days when nothing else is happening.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Rosie1950

I've been a groomer for 28 years I know what I'm talking about. What I can do in several hours could take you all day. The job is NOT as easy as it look otherwise everyone could do it!

Every now and then, I decide that grooming salons are too much for my 16 year-old poodle to tolerate.
I buy expensive clippers and try to groom him myself. Rosie, you are right, it's not easy at all!
I end up going back to the dog groomers. But I wait outside for my little boy to be groomed.

[Rosie1950]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

Every now and then, I decide that grooming salons are too much for my 16 year-old poodle to tolerate.
I buy expensive clippers and try to groom him myself. Rosie, you are right, it's not easy at all!
I end up going back to the dog groomers. But I wait outside for my little boy to be groomed.

Thank you, like I said I didn't have a horse in the race but I know what I'm talking about. The best part of our days was working with the pets. The most stressful part of the day was dealing with pet parents. They are live breathing creatures anything can happen, they pee, they poop and all this has to be cleaned up sometimes started over, we don't care we love animals. This time it might not be your pet holding up the works, but next time it might, all I'm saying is cut them some slack, or learn how to do it yourself.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Rosie1950

Thank you, like I said I didn't have a horse in the race but I know what I'm talking about. The best part of our days was working with the pets. The most stressful part of the day was dealing with pet parents. They are live breathing creatures anything can happen, they pee, they poop and all this has to be cleaned up sometimes started over, we don't care we love animals. This time it might not be your pet holding up the works, but next time it might, all I'm saying is cut them some slack, or learn how to do it yourself.

I don't consider taking five to seven hours to groom a golden cut-slack-worthy! Three at the most. I once asked a groomer near me how to have my dog done in three hours or less, and they said make sure you are the first appointment. That was 7:30 in the morning, the normal time my golden gets up. This says to me that they know right off the bat they'd would get backed up, which suggests overbooking. At any rate, we did do the 7:30, but I was not satisfied with the job they did on this big dog.

If my mobile groomer can show up on time, get the job done in an hour, and they're completely, bone dry in two hours start to finish, why can't the grooming parlors? I have to think it's a scheduling problem.

I'm so glad I found this gentleman. Big problem solved for me.