As you can see from my previous review, i've been getting my dog groomed at this place for quite some time. Since the very beginning, i've always requested that she be groomed by Claudia who is AMAZING, as I reviewed earlier. I've always requested Claudia because on one occasion I dropped off my dog and she was groomed by the owner instead (against my explicit wishes) who did a HORRENDOUS job. From then on I always made it clear that if Claudia wasn't available, I didn't want my dog groomed, at all.
Unfortunately, Claudia only comes in on Saturdays now which was fine, until yesterday. My dog was chosen as a semi-finalist to be the spokesdog for Brickell Animal Hospital's marketing campaign and she had a photoshoot today. So, I called Dog Charm yesterday to ask if Claudia could possibly make an exception and come in to groom my dog today before the shoot since it was such a momentous occasion. I would have brought her in on Saturday, but found out about the photoshoot too late. If i'd been told Claudia could NOT come in, I would have taken my dog to the shoot as-is because she was groomed not too long ago (by Claudia), and she only needed a touch up as she still looked good. I was pleasantly surprised when we were told by the lovely receptionist that Claudia said she'd come in yesterday. We exchanged several phone calls and it was determined Lychee would be dropped off by noon so CLAUDIA could groom her at her convenience. My dog was dropped off and we were told she'd be ready by 4PM. When we showed up to pick her up we were dismayed to find the owner and a new male groomer slumped over my dog on the grooming table. The receptionist bowed her head in embarassment because she knew from past experience that i'd be livid to find that my dog was being groomed by someone other than Claudia, especially when i'd made it clear she needed to look as cute as she could for the photoshoot and the appointment was painstaikingly arranged according to Claudia's availability.
We were immediately told by the owner that Claudia never showed up. So, basically they took it upon themselves to groom my dog without ever asking for permission. I later found out they knew Claudia was running late and unilaterally chose to groom her themselves before she came in. Needless to say, if they'd done a good job there'd be no need for this review. My adorable dog looks HORRIBLE. As a matter of fact, I don't think she's ever looked worse. I feel taken advantage of. Knowing my preferences, they should have called and told me Claudia was unavailable before taking it upon themselves to mangle my poor dog's appearance. Between the know-nothing owner who has no business owning a dog grooming business when she's the worst groomer ever, and her new employee who has personal conversations on his cell phone as he grooms defenseless animals, they ruined my dog's chances of winning the photo contest. It may not seem like a big deal, but I ended up paying my hard-earned money to have my dog turn out ugly. To make matters worse, when I called to complain they didn't even take my call. I was forced to call Claudia's cell directly and even after I expressed my extreme displeasure, management made absolutely NO effort to correct the situation or even contact me. I'm sorry my dog won't get to see Claudia anymore, but there is NO WAY I will EVER be bringing my dog back to this place. If there were any other venue I could turn to to vent my outrage aside from Yelp, I wouldn't hesitate to do so.
I'm enraged at the fact that I was robbed of the ability to make a decision regarding my own pet and think this incident was extremely inappropriate. To make matters worse, I recently referred another shih tzu to this place, but my friend made the mistake of not asking for Claudia. Her allergy-prone dog was given a flea bath and my friend was never even notified. She too was very upset that she wasn't called for permission or even given notice. When she showed up to pick up her dog she was simply charged extra for the flea bath. She then incurred several vet bills to treat the poor dog's allergies.
If you care at all about your pets, steer clear of this horrible place and its atrocious management! read more