*sigh* Look, I don't want to leave this review, & I waited to do so until I tried another groomer to make sure the issue wasn't me. Now that I know I'm not some sort of common denominator causing problems, I feel like I need to write this.
I made a Saturday appointment mid-June to bring my dog in for a full groom. When I made the appointment I was told to drop her off at 10 AM & it should take a couple of hours. When I came in I briefly discussed with the man working the front desk (I believe one of the owners?) what it was I was looking for. I showed him a picture of what we had done for my dog in the past: take her down to a 3/8" cut on her body, and I wasn't sure what the cut around her face was called, but it was clearly shown in the photo & I mentioned we like to keep her face a little on the scruffy side. "Oh, that's a teddy bear cut!" he told me. Great! Let's do that! Sounds great to me! He gave me a quote with a range for how much it would cost. It was a little pricey, but with how easy my dog is to handle & a coat that was in decent shape, I figured the final price would wind up falling somewhere toward the lower end of the range I was quoted (I'll gladly take responsibility for this line of thinking).
Fast forward to nearly 4.5 hours later (!!!! I thought this was only supposed to be a couple of hours), & I finally receive a call that my dog will be ready in about 15 minutes. By this time I had headed home to wait it out until I was called to pick her up because I can only run so many errands nearby in that time before I wind up having to just sit in my car the rest of the time. "Ok, I'm on my way & should be there shortly after she's done!" To this, the woman on the phone replied, "Well, we close at 3:00, but I think I'll be here for a few minutes after if you're going to be longer than that." Seriously? I'm aware of what time you close. I get that it's a Saturday & you'd like to go home, but I can only get to you so quickly. Why was I not given more of a warning of when she would be done if it was going to be so close to when you're closing (which is apparently far later than when she should have been finished)? I don't live super close to Clean Critters - I'm pretty far west, but this was the first time my dog was going to be groomed by someone she didn't already know so I wanted to make sure she was going somewhere that clearly had happy clients & I was more than happy to drive a little out of my way to ensure that would happen. She is a super sweet, chill girl & I would feel horrible if she wound up somewhere where she was treated harshly. This is the one thing that seemed not to be an issue with Clean Critters.
After rushing to get there before 3:00, I walk in, am tallied up, & asked to pay before even seeing my dog. At this point it's clear that everyone there would like to go home, so I don't push it & say that's fine (again, I'll take responsibility for this - I should have asked to see her cut first). I was charged $90 for a basic cut on a dog that weighs just under 45 pounds. With tax & tip it came out to over $100. Again, for a dog that weighs just under 45 pounds & who I was told by the staff was really well-behaved for them. Man, sure hope this was a good cut!
They bring her out, & of course she's super excited & a wiggle worm so I'm unable to take a really good look at her cut, but it's shorter than when she came in which means she's not going to suffocate in the Texas heat, so it works for me! On our way home I'm stopped at a stoplight, so I turn around to look at my dog, & realize the cut she was given was absolutely nothing close to what had been discussed. Maybe half of the length of her fur had been taken off & nowhere near short enough to be a 3/8" cut. The fur around her face hadn't been trimmed at all other than around her eyes so she could see. I hadn't been on the road for very long, so I turned around & went back to see if there was a way I could bring her in again to correct all of these issues considering the amount of cash I just laid down. Nobody was there from what I could tell, which isn't that shocking since it was technically after closing time. At this point I'm so done that I leave & decide this isn't worth the argument. I don't have time during the work week to come in or to even call to try & sort this out. We stop at a pet store on the way home & I pick up grooming scissors so I can at least trim this poor girl's face myself. It didn't look that pretty, but she clearly felt WAY better than she did with her face having not been trimmed at all!
I'm not sure if there's a new groomer on staff or this was just an off day for Clean Critters or what, but an exorbitantly priced cut that met only maybe half of what was discussed is a bit much for me. I had an appointment at a different groomer yesterday that charged FAR less & they were able to do exactly what I was looking for. Needless to say, I won't be returning.
TL;DR: over-priced & under-whelmed read more