On March 18, 2021, I arrived at the Dogtopia Oro Valley location to pick up my dog Lucy. As I usually do, I called the location several minutes ahead of time prior to arriving at the location, to let them know that I am ready to pick up my dog at curbside. This has been my preference, and on most days, my dog has been brought out to me at my car without any problem. I have been avoiding entering the lobby area, especially during busy times of the day when there are several people waiting and standing around in the lobby. I am following social distancing guidance from the CDC, and although I am vaccinated, I come into contact with a lot of people who are COVID positive, and who are already sick and vulnerable. I try to avoid this close contact in the lobby because I don't want to spread the virus to others, and I don't want to get sick with it and spread it to people at my workplace.
However, there have been occasions where when I call in advance, the phones were not being answered. I would get the voicemail recording, then I would hang up and call back. I would usually attempt to call back 2-3 times, thinking that they were busy helping someone else at the moment that I called.
This would continue to happen on occasion. On March 18, 2021, it happened again. I called Dogtopia at 5:41pm to let them know that I am arriving in the parking area to pick up my dog. I believe the cell phone connection on the initial phone call may have been poor, so I recall someone answering the call, but it got disconnected and I could not hear them. So I parked, and attempted to call again, not sure if the staff member heard me on the first phone call. The subsequent 2 phone calls that I made were not answered. I then exited my car and walked into the lobby. The manager Rachel was sitting at the front desk, and did not make any eye contact with me even though she could clearly see me entering the door. Her headset was on, and it was difficult for me to determine whether she was on a phone call as she was not speaking and her eyes were focused on the computer in front of her. I tried to get her attention by waving to her, and then I thought I heard her mutter under her breath, "**** you." I was shocked, and initially thought I misheard her, and I said "excuse me?" She then said louder, and this time, looked up at me and said louder this time, "**** YOU." I was in shock and said it right back to her, and stated that I would like to speak to the manager, not knowing that she was the manager. She apparently was on the phone the entire time with another person, who probably could overhear everything that was going on. She then finished her phone call, threw her headset on the desk, pushed open the swinging door aggressively while leaving the desk area, and stormed off angrily to retrieve my dog. She brought out my dog from the back room as I waited in the hallway. I perceived that she was being rough with my dog, aggressively swinging the door open as she was exiting the door from the back room with my dog, who was visibly frightened with her tail between her legs. She then told me that I am no longer welcome there, and to get out.
Later on that evening, I received a call from the owner Henry Jennings, asking for my version of the events which I explained to him as noted above. Rachel the manager apparently contacted him after I left the location. He stated that he would investigate and contact me later, which he did on March 19, 2021 on 6:31pm. He stated that he completed the investigation, reviewing cameras and phone recordings. He stated that Rachel was remorseful about the altercation, and gave me a few reasons why she was having a bad day, including being understaffed which is irrelevant to me as a customer. He stated that she would like to apologize, but she has not reached out to me. Not sure if he was apologizing for her, or if he meant that she would like to apologize to me directly. I stated that she is the professional here, she is the manager. No matter how upset or frustrated a customer is, her response and the way that she handled the situation was WRONG.
Someone who acts this erratically with a volatile temper should not be taking care of your dog! Look elsewhere for your daycare needs! read more