PetSmart
reviews and complaints

AMEN! I used to work at Petsmart for a number of years... Quit due to a new manager harassment issue. I loved working there ONLY because of the care for the animals/fish and the customer interaction. Petsmart is corrupted, and it is like any other big greedy corporation, which is sad. They could be making a lot more money if they paid more attention to what needed to be fixed and fixed them, not to mention actually hiring competent employees that want to work. When I first started the job, I knew little to none about aquatics (I have cats). Every day I would learn and know more pet care knowledge (including fish) not by the help of the store, but because (1) I love animals and (2) I love helping people. My extensive knowledge got me loyal customers, which management and my coworkers couldn't handle and got jealous (there was always petty high school drama going on during store hours... I just kept my nose out of it and cleaned!). I got angry that my coworkers would tell/convince the customers wrong advice about any pet, so I would make sure to note it in my mind and help that person later that day or next time. I hated the idea of my loyal customers trusting my coworkers, who would tell them wrong information intentionally or because they were too lazy to look it up themselves, so by default, lump me in with them for bad service.

My main objective at Petsmart was to give the pets in-store (and out) the best care I could possibly provide without getting into legal trouble, and to educate/learn/grow with customers with best possible pet care info I can give them thus far in my reading and research. Unfortunately, my objective didn't align with Petsmart Co., and I couldn't take it anymore. My heart does break a little, knowing that I left all of the innocent animals and customers in the care of those coworkers. Sigh. Such is life.

Without a doubt, this is absolutely true about many Petsmart employees who work in the petcare department: they are absolutely useless. I worked at Petsmart for a little over a year. I applied and was hired on as a cashier. Then, I show up for my second day of work, and they shove me into the petcare department. I received only enough training so that I knew how to open and close the store. They left me completely on my own when it came to people's inquiries about the animals they wanted to buy. I was always so frustrated, because I just did not know enough - but the department was understaffed, and I was almost always left on my own in the department. I wanted to answer people's questions throughly, I wanted to be helpful; I read extensively on the animals we housed, but, at the end of the day, I never knew enough to really help people. I'm sure that their are Petsmart employees who really do know a lot about certain animals. Hell, I'm the proud owner of four cats, and it was easy for me to answer those questions. But about the small animals, reptiles, and fish? Forget it, I was almost completely useless.
That being said, it's ridiculous that she would not catch the fish you wanted. It's easy to tell when a fish is sickly, and it's absolutely RIDICULOUS that she would even try to sell you less than what you wanted. I always tried my best to catch the fish the customer wanted, just like I always tried my best to answer the questions that were given to me (even though most of the time it just ended in my saying "I'm sorry, I really just don't know. You're better off going ANYPLACE ELSE.") The thing is, this company, these employees, the managers, all of them - they don't care about the animals. They really don't. They are only in it for the money. Which would be fine, that's why most people are get jobs. However, it's not okay when little lives are at stake.
Let me just take this opportunity to explain why you just shouldn't waste your money on Petsmart. As aforementioned, most of the employees know absolutely nothing about the animals that are being sold. Furthermore, I'm sure some of you have seen the controversy PETA brought to light about various Petsmart animal suppliers - the way they treat their "stock", their products - they don't care that they're little lives. And maybe most people don't like to think of a rat as a little life, and that's fine. That's your opinion. However, you're buying from a company that would have you think they do. It's the most disgustingly backward place.
The fish come in stressed to the max. They're handled horribly. Petsmart would like you to believe that it's "higher class" than it's big competitor Walmart - whatajoke, they're both as corrupt and there fish are handled exactly the same way. Some bags of fish would come in where 6 of the 7 fish would be dead. And what did they do? They didn't isolate the one fish that was living, guys - they threw it in the tank with the other fish. And that was sold to someone, if it didn't die within the hour. And what might that fish do to your fish? If you don't care about the "little life" argument, imagine taking home a new fish to your highly developed aquarium, the one that's taken many months and many dollars to sustain. Now imagine that fish completely messes up the aquarium you have - screwing with the water and killing many of your other fish. How much money are you out now? If you're not a big animal rights person, which I can't say that I am, at least you can care about your money. Those fish come in costing the company at max a dollar, maybe two, most of them come in as cents - they charge so much more than that, for fish that, in all honestly, will be lucky if they last.
And, finally, let's just talk about the treatment of sick animals. Take them back to Banfield, who could care less about your animals, your pets - you know, the kind of pet that's more likely to be a larger investment, another member of the family, your dogs or cars. They look over the poor sick thing, then put it back in a room where it's prescribed medicine is left in the hands of who? You guessed it! Me, the hired cashier. And lemme tell you, trying to get a Robo hamster to drink from a hypodermic needle is a feat of strength. These animals that are sick, they get sick because of lack of care, or they came in that way - because the suppliers are deplorable. It's ridiculous. Petsmart may have good deals on other items; however, as long as they sell these small animals, they're in the wrong. I would encourage you to not waste your time in a Petsmart. If you're really deadset on adding a pet into your family, I would encourage you to go to a breeder. And if you really don't want to seek out a guinea pig breeder, then I would encourage you to just jump for it and get a dog or a cat.
That being said, I can't speak for the cats or dogs housed in different Petsmarts. They are handled by adoption/rescue groups from your area. Look into the adoption group if you're concerned, but I would say that, for the most part, they should be a little more caring than the employees at any Petsmart. However, that may not be true. In short, if you're thinking of adding a pet to your family, really really research it on your own. Try to go to a speciality shop that'll know more about the animals. You can't rely on the hired cashier who's getting her B.A. in English to answer the questions you'll have. Just take charge of that decision, and don't let these people swindle you out of your hard earned dollar. Overall, use Petsmart for what you think is a good deal (I would argue that everything they sell is extremely overpriced - and thebrands special to Petsmart [Grreat Choice, ToyShoppe, Whisker City, etc.] usually sell such cheaply made, shoddy merchandise that it's not even worth the lower price. The food is unhealthy, and the toys/other items will break within days.
All in all, I just cannot stress it enough. Don't waste your time with this company. Look for better options - I promise they are out there. And with how bad the Petsmart option is, it shouldn't be difficult to find one.

Not just that but they have so called trainers that offer to sell the AKC CGC and Star Puppy certification for a fee and you do not have to attend any classes or evaluations. I saw one person buy it and they did not even have a dog with them. Not just that but if you do not pay the trainer you end up attending the classes and then after being told your dog passed you are told that your dog is not old enough for the certification and that you lose your money and will have to come back when the dog is old enough. When I threatened to report her she said she would fix me. Two days later I am accused of my dog causing a 2 inch deep wound on another dog that was treated two days later because it had just started bleeding.
What the heck? Anyone with 1/2 a brain knows that if there is a puncture of 2 inched in depth made to a dog it is going to be favoring that area, bleeding heavily, yelping and showing all sorts of signs within seconds not two days later. And the thing is there was no report of any dogs attacking or getting attacked at the store or to animal control. Watch out when you deal with Petsmart in Naples Florida as they are as crooked as they come and are very fraudulent!

dont take yoru dog here

i have seen

my poor little 6lb maltese got four stitches, a cut on the ear and razor burn/rash as a result of an unexperienced petsmart groomer...that was the worst call i have ever received to tell me that the blade got cought in my dogs skin and that he has to be sedated and get stitches. :( it was a huge cut/whole, 2cm (which is about an ich) and very deep...my poor little guy is on meds for weeks anibacterial and pain meds.. i will always make sure a very experiened groomer is going to take care of my little baby from now on...wish there was lawyers for these kinds of things, it breaks my heart that this happened (never had any cuts like this in the past 4 yrs, other than an ear infection) my dog will be terrified next time he needs a cut and i am so stressed out over this, i cant eat or sleep i just want to make sure my baby will be ok...i would attatch a photo but its too groosome

Your dog is probably a wiggle worm. Dog groomers don't become groomers because we like to hurt dogs. If your dog was accidentally cut, that's terrible, but it's nearly impossible for a groomer to go through their whole career without cutting a single dog. Petsmart has windows so you can see what we do with your dog the entire time, privately owned grooming salons do not. They can hit your dog all they want to and you would never know. When a dog is acting up on a table at petsmart, we have to be patient and do the best we can.

SP- there is several powder products that pet groomers keep on hand that will stop bleeding on even some deep wounds for several hours, its supposed to be an aid to the animal until they can be seen by a vet. Just letting you know.

PetsMart groomers all around suck. Why? Well I worked at an animal hospital for many years and we shared our space with a professional groomer. She explained to me that PetsMart and other chain pet stores employ groomers with little to no experience and simple basic training because any highly trained and certified groomer knows they can make way more money working on their own. PetsMart pays their groomers on average less then $10 an hour and a professional groomer working for themselves can make several hundred dollars a day. Its worth the extra $20-$30 extra to take your pet to a professional groomer who can provide you with references.

There are plenty of other grooming facilities you can groom at there are numerous vet offices, grooming facilities, pet stores, that offer grooming. If you are unhappy with the transfer start looking for another job elsewhere. You now have experience under your belt, look for another local grooming facility closer to home. Good luck! I live in Orange County, and enjoy working with animals too. Hopefully I will be able to come up with the funds to go to grooming school too. Good luck girl, that sucks. My boyfriend and I also share a car, buluckily, he works locally. Did you check out the bus schedules, or the train? Hope it all turns out well for you.

When I see a little, precious, perfect, can do no wrong, angel, designer dog come in and its' "Mommy" keeps coddling it and telling it "Oh Precious, it will be ok! I will be back soon! My POOR BABY!", I immediately know what I am in for. And it ain't good! LOL Some owners are very neurotic and pass that right on to the dog. I wouldn't be a groom mgr or in animal work my entire life if I didn't love them. (The dogs, not the owners!) The OP needs to get that dog in training asap and make everyone's life better- including the dog!

Weird. It posted comment to another complaint. Anywaaay,

I was a dog groomer for six years. "Designer" dog breeds (like your.. chi-poo..) along with the breeds they're made up of, are notorious for having a TERRIBLE attitude towards grooming. I actually have nerve damage in my hand from a chi-poo. It doesn't matter how SWEET AND DARLING AND WONDERFUL they are at home. If they're out of their element, and you haven't trained them how to handle scary situations, they could very well bite and it wouldn't be the dog's fault, it wouldn't be the groomer's fault.. it would be YOUR fault for not training your dog appropriately, which is your civic duty as a pet owner.

Also, we can't properly groom your dog if we can't dry it. The hair has to lay in a specific manner for us to be able to cut it accurately, ESPECIALLY for any kind of coarse-haired breed like a poodle or a poodle mix. And this is only the dog's second grooming? You know what? Until you become a groomer and spend ALL DAY trying to train a misbehaved puppy to calm down long enough to make them look perfect and precious and not bite your fingers off, maybe you should cut the groomer a break. Think about how hard it would be for YOU to try to hold down a feisty dog, make them look immaculate, keep your hands safe, but still be able to scissor around their eyes because their "mommy" just "looooves to keep it curly around the face."

I've had an adorable little poodle pup that I spent six hours on, giving constant breaks, treating it like it was my own puppy, and the little booger FLIPPED around as I was finishing trimming up around its back paws, ripped my finger open (needing eight stitches) and managed to stab itself in the eye. Those things just happen sometimes, no matter how careful and attentive the groomer is.

I've known dozens of owners like you and it's sad everytime. It's also frustrating because you're dooming your dog to a life of not dealing with groomers well. Not only that, you're also dooming yourself and every groomer to an unpleasant experience with you and your animal. If you can't train it, give it to someone who can.

That's just silly. You're confused. Yes, they're trying to make money. That's their whole thing. The fact is, yes, models and actresses do have to pay money to get farther. It's an investment. A set of headshots and a set of bodyshots does not a portfolio make. And no one, NO ONE, is going to pick you off the street and say, "Oh, you're just PERFECT for being a supermodel!" Supermodels bust their ### to get where they are.

If the dog was roughly handled I would demand that Petsmart compensate you for the vet bill. If your dog is snippy, there are easy ways to restrain the dog without injuring him. Threaten to take them to small claims court, and I am sure the manager will change his tune real fast. The only thing you can do is warn your fellow dog lovers about the treatment your dog received at this Petsmart. If the manager isn't taking your concerns seriously than it is obvious he doesn't care.
What I don't understand is why you would want food for your dog, or anything else from this Petsmart if they injured your dog. Find another place to get your dog groomed at that will treat your dog with the gentleness he deserves.

Are you over it yet? Did you spend more in gas to return the dead fish to the store where you bought them then you did on the fish Or, Did you just give them the Old Royal Flush?

Are you over it yet? Hang in there Sunshine You will find in the Game of Life that you will have many more things in life to be dissatisfied & disappointed about & They will All be alot bigger than 3 dead fish.If you can ever figure out where you bought the fish from maybe you can take them back-Unless you already gave them a Royal Funeral down the old Porcelain Throne?Gee, did you ever wonder where that hand was before it went into the fish tank? & Why did you go back & buy fish there after seeing that?

I took my 10 month old female pitbull to get a bath and nails grind down and i was charged $36.99 and they didnt even provide a fragrance free shampoo...I had to purchase my shampoo and they used it on my dog and i thought it was rediculous to still be charged that price...plus for some reason my dog was very sad when we picked her up and she never has been like that at other times that we have taken her there...I got the feeling that they hurt her in some way and this was in, Ventura, Ca petsmart. This was the last time i will EVER take my puppy there!

I went to return a dog coat on January 24, 2009 that was purchased on December 24th 2008, it was within the 60 day return policy. The cashier, an older lady, glared at me, studied the receipt like it was fake, asked in a rude manner why I wanted to return it. I told her i got the wrong size, I needed a large. She studied the coat and in a loud, demeaning voice said "It IS a large!". I pointed to the tag which indicated it was an extra large. She tried to convince me to get a different coat, but the store did not carry that coat in a smaller size. I told her twice that I just wanted a refund. She frowned and scanned the coat. I saw it ring up as 20.97 (which is what i paid). She punched in something on the register and told me "I can only give you back $14.97, since its on sale now". She glared at me as if challanging me to say something. I would have but there was a line behind me. I took the money and left. NO WHERE on the receipt did it say that even with a receipt, items will be refunded ONLY for CURRENT SALE PRICE. I even checked the website. I understand that they will give you current selling price if you did not have the receipt, but I did! They ripped me off for $6. Is it everyone? OR is because I happen to be hispanic? After asking a couple of hispanic families in the area I got the same response...PetsMart has a icy attitude towards hispanics. Way to go PetsMart of Edmond, Oklahoma.

I've worked in 3 Petsmarts over the course of 10 years, and we do not have the option to sell cans as either a "case price" or separate. The cashier does have to ring in the cans per each upc. They do have the option of entering a quantity on the computer screen instead of scanning the same flavor a bunch of times, but honestly who cares as long as you are being charged correctly?

You prolly bought it cheaper at walmart and trying to return it to Petsmart where its more expensive... easiest trick in the book :P

You should have kept your effing receipt in the first place if you thought you'd have to return it. I'd have to correct you, most places WILL NOT do a return for you PERIOD without a receipt. If you wanna get technical, okay, maybe they might give you store credit. We are only ENTITLED to give you store credit if you bring no receipt. No receipt, NO CASH/DEBIT CARD REFUND. Rules are in place for a reason. Mainly because people try and take advantage of companies, which is the reason behind this policy.

You should've gotten the price you paid unless the policy is different at that store. I work at PetSmart and we have to check the reciept for fakes since it happens a lot, but no usually since you just needed a smaller size. I was originally going to agree with your complaint until you brought up the race card.

Oh quit it! It is not because you are Hispanic. If you had asked to speak to a manager it would have been solved. A lot of times it can only be returned for the current price, but that is usually with out a reciept. If the manager would not help you then you move up the chain of command. You don't accept the money because there is a line if you are not satisfied. You wait and ask for a manager.

yeah, sorry to tell you this isn't unusual in a store where there's nobody of senior status, like 2nd or 3rd, watching the manager. You may want to consider reporting him to corporate though it may not be feasible if the corp office are dicks.
Is there a district manager you could report to? Before you do anything, ask yourself if you're a great employee in general. Are you late or missing frequently? Any write ups? If so, you could be giving them the final reason to ax you. The better you are, the more you will be listened to.

Human Resources is supposed to nip these things in the bud because even though he's a manager, he's costing the company for hiring over and over again, also opening the company up to hostile workplace or other violations by the labor board if you filed a complaint.

If others feel the same way, consider asking them to join your complaint to HR. If you are worried about losing your job, there are laws that vary state to state that protect you from retaliation when standing up for your workplace environment or stopping abuse. Check out your employee handbook if they give you one, or call corp anonymously and ask about policies, also check out your state dept of labor online for info and options.

Hang in there and don't give in if you like the job. It sucks to work in a hostile environment and in fact, could lead to stress that could make you ill. In that case, you'd file a workers compensation case which is another reason that manager needs to be checked.

Think of this situation as a test of your strength and character. Like you're supposed to learn something going through it. What is it that keeps you in a place silently suffering? Maybe this test is offered to help you grow and gain confidence.

Good Luck to you.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I came close to loosing my own dog as well. In Feb.2010 I took both my dogs in for grooming. I picked them up and everything seemed fine, about 3 days later my small dog looked as if his hair was matting together in places. My husband held the flash light as I raised the hair to look at what was under. It was yellow blisters with infection seeping out. I had never seen anything like this. I took him straight to the vet. hospital and the Dr. there said that it appeared that he had been burned, asked if he had been recently groomed, I told him at PetSmart in Hickory, NC. He said "this looks consistant with a burn". It took me untill around the middle of June 2010 to clear the infection and a lot of money in vet. bills. I took out a law suit against PetSmart and they offered $260. My dog is permanantly scared and has suffered. I think PetSmart customers should be more aware of the abuse (of animals in general) that is occuring at the companys. Word of mouth is the best defence so we all need to speak up about the mulit-million dollar company that comes across as 'professional'. No business is the best defense. http://www.petsmartcruelty.com/investigation_manchester.asp

this is most disturbing. i can not believe the incompetence. but it is everywhere. half these groomers dont care and the other half is stuck between more sit downs with management, complaining about their co-workers handling of the animals and facing losing their own job. i have seen too many bad things and complained so many times i have been labeled a troublemaker. i do not know what to do. i love and need my job, but to hell if i am going to sit around and watch while all this goes down. even if i get fired before i quit...buyer beware.

Yikes. I'm so sorry this happened.
As someone else stated, an open viewing area is quite dangerous. Imagine kids passing and seeing the cute doggy, they then bang on the glass and jerky motion later and Fido is nicked. I just recently had my dog's pictures taken and we did a couple shots out in a public area (Picture People, they have a screen set up out in the lobby type area) and all the kids that passed would bang on the glass screaming for the dog to look at them. One girl went as far as to come in and wave her arms around trying to get my dog to come to her (who happened to be in my arms, had she jumped down to go over she would have broken her leg/s and possibly died), her mom meanwhile standing there smirking thinking it was great fun distracting and bothering my dog. Imagine that happening when a groomer has shears clipping the fur around the eyes, trimming their claws.

It doesn't matter what this websites function is for, everyone understands the simplicity of it - to post complaints. What is relevant here is that YOU choose to object to nearly every complaint posted with the same response in different words: "Disgruntled employee, disgruntled employee, 2 year old kid, disgruntled employee."

The sad thing about it is you KNOW what you're doing, you KNOW you have nothing to back up your claims because you know what the biggest word is that you use?

"Probably."

You should "probably" try doing something productive and even try the human emotion sympathy. Empathy is "probably" way out of your grasp so one step at a time.

I get it though, you're 17. You're 17, bored, with no real-life experience. Your parents need to restrict your internet usage though. One day you'll look back in the old archives of this board and see the way you were and you'll laugh, maybe, but I guarantee you'll be a little embarrassed yourself when some little ### that acts like you used to trolls YOUR complaints 24/7.

We've established you are of working age, if you don't have a job, get one. Your idiotic approach to peoples complaints will change drastically.

Probably? You mean you're making a completely uneducated assumption? Just leave people be. This could be 100% legitimate and probably is. Focus on the real ### posts, like the lady that went to Burger King and refused to turn her car off. You were on the right track with that one.

You're such a [censored] Irish. You think all complaints are from disgruntled employees.

being bit and treated unfairly sucks, but dont you think your daughter should have brightened up and got another job to begin with. the salon managers make the schedule, not the store managers. and your daughter was wrestling an AKITA ... for god sake brighten up a bit!

that still doesn't mean that she cannot find out by the labor department if she can get a raise even with less hours. Either way she is injured and she really needs time to rest, from what the father stated from the manager "there is no light labor" in Petsmart, thus they really don't care about her condition less hours does not mean she is not doing light labor, she is putting strain in her body and at night she can be suffering from it. There are laws that even Petsmart can't go against. Just like there is a higher power in the United States, there is a higher power than Petsmart.

Also, she should, like I said before, try getting some government help with rent, and if she needs food she can apply for foodstamps. She is considered low income and does in fact qualify for public assistance and due to her back injury she can have either get full or temporary SSI assistance. It should ease her mind and body in not worrying about a very low paycheck.

that is in fact distateful and has no justice to your hard working daughter. Though, I must say, if this business is treating her like so and she has been working there for 3 yrs, why is it that they have not given her a raise? Why did she not file a complaint? and why does she not apply for any kind of government help that help assist her in rent? She gets paid $8.70 per hour so she qualifies for government help, and due to her back she can try to apply for SSI assistance. Hell, I'm surprised she didn't go for workmans com since she was injured at the job site, they are supposed to compensate her for that. That company is supposed to take responsibility of whatever is happening there. Granted, the dogs paw was stuck and he felt pain and retaliated, that doesn't mean she can not be compensated for the injuries. She needs to know her employee rights and the laws that the Department of Labor has for cases like that. The DoL has a section specifically for employees who need assistance in fighting for their rights and hourly wages. They can file a complaint against the company if they are Supposed to pay her more for working those years.

She should take the time to do those things, it doesn't hurt to try, AND if she files a complaint, and the company fires her, she can sue the comapny for "Discrimination" and "Emotional and Physical Stress" especially when she has a written letter from a medical doctor and also bring X-rays that show proof and medical records, medications and such. That business is a multimillion dollar franchise, I'm sure they can fork up the millions for your daughter, and when she gets it...tell her to open up her own business and put Petsmart to shame. ^_~

I know this is old and I wish I saw this prior but I bought grooming services from Petsmart a week ago the groomer couldn't finish so we came back to complete it a week later with no additional charge in the end groomer never got to my pet so I demanded a full refund of the services I pre-paid for and has already immediately cleared my bank because I used a debit card. When I demanded refund I got the manager to finally do it with his keys...I gave him my original receipt and used same card. He told me to enter my card with chip in the machine for a full refund. I did...but then I thought afterwards why didn't he give me the cash as I paid via debit... here it is two days later still no money credited back to my account on the card... and after reading your experience now I'm wondering if it will be a month before I even see that money... I will give them the basic retail policy of 10 business days for money to hit my account if it is not I will immediately contact my bank file for fraud and scam of refund towards Petsmart. Here it is 2019 your story was 2010 NINE YEARS AGO! They still are doing the same BS! I'm not happy!