I have been to several groomers over the years and this one was the worst ever.
I recently moved to Troy from Northville, found myself needing a new groomer and saw a Groupon for half off. I normally don't trust services like this that offer Groupons, and should have stuck with my instincts. However, the reviews here were wonderful. I now realize they must be from employees/employers, or friends/family of employees (some reviewers names even match the employees names and all have ironically only ever left one review... for this company).
I also called before purchasing the Groupon and spoke to Lauren. I explained I have a three-year-old long-haired Chihuahua who hates grooming. She said she loves Chihuahuas, understands them and could handle her no problem. She also said I was booking on a slow day/time (weekday morning). I really felt at ease about this place and Lauren, and was excited to find a local groomer.
I showed up and everything was the opposite... and for some reason I left my dog, hoping it would all go okay. Lauren wasn't there, there were tons of dogs and only two workers. A nice young lady with red hair (sorry, I wasn't told her name) took my dog and said she would groom her. She said it would take about three hours because they were extremely busy. Mind you, I had an appointment and was on time, and grooming my dog doesn't take but an hour.
I explained my dog doesn't like the blow dryer and and she said she would go really light and slow. I left a container of treats for her to use if needed... which she said she would use, but didn't end up used or returned to me! When I arrived for pick up, I could see my dog in a cage and she could see me. I had paid in advance and no other customers were there. For whatever reason, another worker (a third lady, I think her name was Kiley and she seems to be the owner) had me wait five minutes before she would give me my dog, as she did paper work and other things that could have waited. I am normally extremely patient, but she was just being rude. She didn't carry my dog to me, or put her collar and leash on to walk her to me, as every other place I have been to does. She simply let my dog loose in the salon. Thank goodness there were no other dogs around and my dog came right to me. What bad business though.
I then found out it was her who groomed my dog (after being told it would be someone else two times). She told me my dog didn't like the blow dryer- I told her that I told the other lady who was supposed to groom her. She also said my dog didn't like the kennel she was groomed in. I know some places groom in a kennel, but my dog weighs six pounds, has minimal hair and doesn't get a full body hair cut. There's no reason they should kennel groom all dogs and they should let you know if they are, especially since I told them my dog has some issues with grooming. She told me next time I can pay an extra $10 and they won't do this. Their normal price for a small dog needing a bath and minimal cutting is $40 plus tip- that is more than most places to begin with!
The location is awful too- no grass for the dogs to go to the bathroom and since they are there so long, I feel that is necessary. I will never return.
I would prefer to support small local businesses, and am even willing to pay more for them. However, even Petsmart is better. I don't even care to go there for grooming, but they charge me $25, take one hour, don't kennel my dog during grooming, and let me know for certain who will be grooming my dog, let me know if they are busy or not, and don't make me wait to get my dog when I arrive if they can help it. They treat my dog and I as if we are a true pleasure and have grass for the dogs to potty on as well. read more