The Dogtopia franchise around Omaha seems to have pretty good reviews overall. Although I have a doggie daycare/groomer only 5 minutes from my house that I'm happy with, I thought I would give Dogtopia (Millard), 4 minutes away and less than 1 mile from my current daycare/groomer, a try. To say that make it challenging is an understatement.
I called this morning to schedule - an entire week in advance - 1-2 hours of play time for my dog, followed by a good grooming.
-First the person on the phone said I have to fill out paperwork and provide proof of vaccinations; no problem.
-Then she said I would have to schedule a meet & greet (see below) to figure out what area to put my dog in. And she said they would have to email me the paperwork. Their website has a link to fill out a meet & greet request (https://www.dogtopia.com/dashboard/meet-and-greet/268), so I asked why I couldn't just do that...she said they would have to email the paperwork to me.
--It's a whole lot easier and faster to fill out a request online (website) than to deal with getting it emailed, filling it out, and returning.
--I don't have a problem doing a meet & greet to see what area my dog would do best in, but why schedule that separately? Why not just take 5-10 minutes to do the exact.same.thing when I drop her off? And if Fido isn't up to their standards and I can't leave here there...so be it. (BTW, she's 40 pounds, 0 aggressiveness, and enjoys playing with dogs of all types and sizes. Dogtopia doesn't know that, but why schedule a separate 20-30 minute event to figure it out???)
-THEN she said I'd have to schedule a separate meeting with the groomer. And that's when I decided I'll just take el doggo to her normal place less than a mile away for some good play time and grooming. Adios, Dogtopia! Sit! Stay!
This whole process is too complicated, too involved, and too much of an inconvenience to the customer. I should be able to:
--schedule some play time and grooming immediately on the phone or online
--either fill out the forms online or at the time of drop off
--show proof of shots at drop off
--spend a few minutes at drop off figuring out which group of dogs to let mine play with
--and then leave until she's ready for pickup.
I should NOT have to jump through hoops and multiple visits & consultations to get my freaking dog in for some play and grooming. If this is Dogtopia's business model then they may want to rethink it. And if the information I was given was wrong, then they may want to ensure people who answer the phone know what they're talking about. Either way, thanks but no thanks.
* Dogtopia (of Millard) meet & greet explanation:
https://www.dogtopia.com/dashboard/meet-and-greet/268
While we love all breeds and personalities, not every dog is suited for an off-leash, open-play environment. We take our doggie guests' safety very seriously, so each Meet & Greet consists of 20-30 minutes with our trained evaluator to ensure that your pup is a good fit for daycare. It will include a health history overview, a nose-to-tail assessment, and an evaluation of their comfort level with other dogs in a controlled mini-play area. read more