Petsmart :(

[Mer]

I took Jake to Petsmart a few weeks ago mainly just to trim his face. First of all when he came back his ears were all uneven. They charged me full price for what? I liked that they took appointments but when I dropped him off I asked when he would be ready and they told me 3-4 hours. I questioned that and they said it's because it's so traumatic for the dogs that they have to work on them....let them rest...work on them...etc. Geez...how about it being traumatic for them BEING AT THE GROOMER FOR 4 HOURS!! We came back after 3 hours and didn't see him being worked on so I went to ask if he was ready. They told me no...he was freaking out because of the blow dry and they had to let him air dry...riiiiiight. At 3 1/2 hours we saw them bring him out. They worked on hm for maybe 5-10 minutes and then called us that he was ready.

I will never take him back there. I've found a groomer near me that come highly recommended PLUS they do make appointments AND they are ready in 1-2 hours. MUCH more reasonable.

[capt_noonie]

When I was in school, I girl I knew was a groomer at Petsmart. I was looking for a job and she recommended me. They just offered me a job! I had ZERO experience grooming! That is probably who is grooming at Petsmarts, inexperienced kids for about a buck over min wage. No thanks!

[teasell]

Hi I am new to the forum and just have to comment. So far Petsmart has been the best of all the greooming places I have taken my Yorkie Teasell to. Groomer at her vets office was lousy her cut uneven. Groomer at pet shop awful came home not even looking or smelling clean, didn't even look like she had been groomed and I don't think she did anything. This lady was let go from the shop. Same shop different groomer she at least came home clean but the clipping she got is so uneven and cut and choppy up sanitary passage area hair left to long. At this point I have started to wash her myself and will be doing the clipping when she needs it. I can't see paying $40 to $60 for a bad job. The only reason I won't go back to PetSmart is that it's so far away. I live in a rural area of North Carolina Lynn

[kionini]

Originally Posted by megansmomma

Hate the groomer at Petsmart. I use a home groomer and love her. My friend had a dog that died while at the Petsmart near her house. Took him in for a grooming and they called an hour later and he was dead. Just horrible!

I would have gone nuts.

I never leave my babies, I've seen what goes on in the back room where they 'dry' them and leave them until they are READY to groom them

If you hang out for a while and watch other pups being groomed, your heart would skip a beat every now and then. It's beyond me how lucky those groomers are, considering the many chances they take with the furbutts

I've seen them walk away from a pup who's getting ready to jump in order to take in the next victim or have a conversation with another groomer---hahaha, laughing and joking---with scissors in hand and close to the baby's face.

Last time, I took Nicky because hb begged me to let a nice lady who trims his nails once in a while, trim his hair a bit. I agreed, but with the condition that she would only trim off about 2" because Nicky gets very cold and hates wearing a sweater at home. I noticed that his hair helped keep him warmer, so I didn't want it too short.

I made myself very clear of what I wanted and the reasons why. Well, she almost shaved him bold and I hit the roof. She said "you could always make him wear a sweater." I took him out looking like he had been through a grinder (chopped up), but I let the situation go because I had no one else to blame but myself. I had been this road before, I should have known better

I wish I had an internal camera so that I could play for you what I saw the first and last time I took Nini there for a full groom.

I thought that my being there, watching, would help....it does, but very little. Hb even goes inside to help hold our babies to get their nails cut and ears cleaned. That's about as far as will ever trust them with again

[kionini]

Originally Posted by Mer

I took Jake to Petsmart a few weeks ago mainly just to trim his face. First of all when he came back his ears were all uneven. They charged me full price for what? I liked that they took appointments but when I dropped him off I asked when he would be ready and they told me 3-4 hours. I questioned that and they said it's because it's so traumatic for the dogs that they have to work on them....let them rest...work on them...etc. Geez...how about it being traumatic for them BEING AT THE GROOMER FOR 4 HOURS!! We came back after 3 hours and didn't see him being worked on so I went to ask if he was ready. They told me no...he was freaking out because of the blow dry and they had to let him air dry...riiiiiight. At 3 1/2 hours we saw them bring him out. They worked on hm for maybe 5-10 minutes and then called us that he was ready.

I will never take him back there. I've found a groomer near me that come highly recommended PLUS they do make appointments AND they are ready in 1-2 hours. MUCH more reasonable.

I can tell you what those 4 hours were all about I'm a pain in the neck parent. I don't leave my babies, I stick around. Here's why: The groomers, at least in my experience in the last 2 years I've been a mommy, take only about 1/2 hr. bathing and grooming. Longer if matting, tick pulling and such, but in general grooming, they don't take long.

Now, I take my baby in and drop her off, right? There are already 5-6 + other pups 'on ice' in the drying rooms. (I say 'on ice' because that's how it felt when I was allowed back there so that I could see that my baby was okay) They don't work on commission, so why hurry? They get to my pup whenever they get to him/her, no pressure, I'm not there All the while other customers are dropping off their pooches, who need bathing....

Mean time, my baby is in a dark, metal cage in the back, soaking wet, shaking, in a darken and wet room, with COLD air hitting her at full force in the face. She won't be ready until she has dried, but soaking wet and all the way in the back of the cage making herself as small as she can, it could take a loooong time for her to 'be ready'.

I stood around many times timing the whole process. What takes the grooming long is not the actual grooming, it's the trying to expand the clientele, which expands the tips. My solution was, I bathe them and dry them and all they have to do is the rest IN MY PRESENCE, that's the deal.

And if I make an appointment for 9:00 A.M. and I'm there punctually, I expect my pooches to be serviced at 9:00 A.M. Their time is money? So is mine, I keep my end of the bargain, so will they. I expect it and demand it I'm no picnic, I realize that, so I tip well. So far this has worked as far as my pups being taken care of as soon as get there and no putting my pups on ice. Doing the hair cut I want...that hasn't worked

You're sooo lucky you found a groomer that you like, I haven't met ONE