I've been going to this pet store for years, and the last two visits have been absolutely unacceptable. The decline in cleanliness, professionalism, and basic customer care has become impossible to ignore.
During my previous visit, there were no customers in the store and four employees total. NONE of the three tubs were clean -- all of them were dirty and piled with wet towels. Meanwhile, the employees were all standing at the front register chatting. Not one of them was cleaning or preparing the wash area.
Only after I started washing my dog did an employee decide to clean the tub directly behind me. The chemical smell was extremely strong, and he drenched the entire floor and surrounding tubs with chemicals. The area filled with steam and both me and my dog were forced to inhale the chemical fumes while I was actively washing my dog. It was unsafe and completely unnecessary.
Fast forward to today. I couldn't even get through the front door because a customer had a dog well over 100 lbs being held by a child who could not have been older than seven. Once inside, they weren't accepting card payments, and they had absolutely no towels available. I went to the back to wash my dogs, and even though I paid, the woman and her two children back there with their one dog had taken ALL the aprons and two of the three available scrubbers. Again, there were no towels and no conditioner. Nothing available.
The tubs don't latch, and the gate that's supposed to prevent dogs from getting out was left open -- by customers AND employees. The children were running around the wet area while their dad shopped, and at one point they fell in the cramped space and hit my dog in the tub. Neither the woman nor any employee did anything about it.
While the dog wash area was already full and chaotic, the manager still allowed another customer with two large dogs to come back and wait, bringing the total to six dogs -- four of them big -- all stressed and reacting to each other. It was an absolute mess, and on top of that, the employees were trying to get me to give up my other tub to these people. It's first come, first serve, and that was not going to happen. The manager should never have continued letting customers in to pile up in the back during unsafe conditions.
The entire time I was washing my dogs, I had the water turned all the way to hot and it was ICE cold.
When I finished, I went to the front to ask who the manager was. I was met with attitude immediately. The older Black woman working snapped "I'm the manager every day." When I asked who her manager was, she said the owner, since they're a small business. Again -- nothing but attitude.
I was doing everything I could to stay calm since I work in customer service myself and understand how uncomfortable complaints can be. I even told her that. But instead of listening, she cut me off, talked over me, and immediately started making excuses -- "It was the holidays," "We were shorted on towels," "We had a break-in." She didn't even hear the issue before jumping to excuses.
There was no "shortage" of towels -- there was a huge pile of mildew-covered towels sitting in the back, unwashed. And while I sympathize with the fact they were broken into, that has NOTHING to do with the employees failing to maintain the wash area, failing to close gates, or creating unsafe conditions for customers and pets. Their break-in was at the registers only, and had no effect on business practices.
She offered no solutions, no accountability, nothing. And apparently this is the only manager they have.
I've been coming here for years, but recently it has become dirty, unprofessional, unsafe, and a hazard to customers and their pets. They've never cared for the animals in the store, and they charge more for products than other retailers. I'm all for supporting local businesses, but I'm not supporting unsafe, unsanitary conditions and nasty customer service.
She eventually gave me a card with an 800 number for "the owner," and even that she couldn't find without going to the back. I had to ask her to connect my $45 purchase to my account.
So if you're the ONLY manager, maybe they need to get a new one because youre doing a TERRIBLE job.
They're the closest to my house, but from now on I'll be driving to Folsom to Sbarkles. Not only are they friendly, but their products aren't watered down, their wash stations actually work, and everything is clean.
Such a shame. Absolutely ridiculous. read more