We have two small dogs who have been groomed a few times at the Brevard Rd. PetCo with no issues, and no complaints or concerns from the groomers. Quite to the contrary, the groomers have remarked that our pups are so very sweet. This review in no way reflects the service we have received at that location, with which we have been very pleased. We have both had many lovely and helpful conversations with employees in every capacity at the Brevard store. Today my wife went online to schedule appointments for our two dogs to get a simple bath and nail trim, no other grooming necessary. Gracie is about 22 lbs, 15 years old, nervous but sweet and cooperative; Gabe is about 16 lbs, 8 years old, also engaging and cooperative. She made the appointments at the Merrimon store because the Brevard store did not have earlier availability. Shortly after making the online appointments a confirmation email arrived. About 10 minutes later, she received a cancellation of one appointment with no explanation. We did get a voice mail from an employee, perhaps a manager, saying that they, because of Gracie's age, "will not and cannot do her here". My wife, Ronna, called the Merrimon store first, and the person who answered said they didn't know anything about it and would not allow Ronna to speak to a groomer. He said someone would call back. Ronna called the Brevard store an agroomer told her that a manager from Merrimon had essentially blackballed Gracie, our older dog, saying that she could no longer get grooming services at any Petco. We are now prevented from taking her to the Brevard store for grooming. Ronna called the Merrimon store back, and the first person she talked to again knew nothing about the situation. My wife was transferred to a second employee, who was in some supervisory position and who, after hearing Ronna's complaint, said that she would make note in the chart that we didn't care about Gracie's well-being as much as the store did, and wanted them to break the rules about age. Ronna was understandably upset, and called her on a condescending and nasty (passive aggressive, really) response. The employee talked about our dog being "nervous" and having arthritis, said that she was quoting Ronna, and repeated that they were unwilling to care for her, and that they were only concerned for Gracie's well-being, suggesting again that we were not. When Ronna told her that the groomers at Brevard Rd, after speaking with us before the first grooming, had never expressed a concern, the employee said that it was because they were "ignorant and inexperienced" (direct quote), and that they didn't care about Gracie's well-being either. Keep in mind that no one from the Merrimon store had ever made an effort to speak to us about our dog, or meet our dog. Our complaint is not that they have rules preventing their groomers from working on elderly or compromised dogs. Such rules are understandable, but should be based on the individual dog, not a blanket age limitation. A 15 year old Great Dane can't be compared to a 15 year old Pomeranian mix. Should they have chosen to speak with us respectfully and discuss their corporation's policies before cancelling the appointment and putting that note into Gracie's chart, we might very well have understood their position and been able to make other arrangements. The real problem was the lack of meaningful communication, and that Ronna was spoken to in such a rude, insulting and condescending manner. The employee's repeated comments about how we must not care about Gracie's well-being were particularly and intentionally hurtful and hostile. Talking about it has brought Ronna to tears. We know that the employee was likely choosing to be manipulative and doesn't know us, and that her nasty comments shouldn't matter. The comments were still remarkably hurtful as they would have been to anyone who cares deeply for their pets, and who has always made the effort to seek out the highest quality of care. We were offended, as well, by the insults that the employee threw at the Brevard store groomers, who in our experience have always been nothing but professional, gracious, helpful and skilled. The second employee ended the call saying that there was nothing she could do to remedy the situation. Other than cancelling the appointment for Gabe, finding a new groomer, and writing this review, we are out of options. We are never going to the Merrimon PetCo again. It isn't enough for a business to be local and convenient - we expect professional behavior and good communication as a baseline. We have one grace note. Ronna bathed both Gracie and Gabe this morning after taking them both for a walk. Gracie may be 15 years old, but she loves to run in the open, loves the water, and loves walking through our neighborhood. read more

horrible grooming staff, or mob might be a better reference than staff. The half bald, half green blue haired woman who looks like she just broke out of the local insane asylum acts just like she looks, absolutely crazy and troubled. I took my dog to get groomed and a lady's poodle in front of me wanted to say hi to my dog and we both allowed it since they were both very sweet and friendly. Just about that time as we're smiling and letting the pups say hi, the half bald psycho behind the desk jumped up and SCREAMED at us "do NOT let those dogs touch noses", I, taken aback, said "excuse me no, you do not speak to us that way, there is no reason to be that rude", she goes on to scream over me "then you no longer have an appointment", and the manager comes running over to see what the screaming is about. Turns out there WAS a store policy(not even a corporate policy) months ago to not let the dogs touch noses but it was gone now, I guess she was just still enforcing it to get some sense of authority in her life(we all know those types). This supposed old store policy was not on the grooming app checkin when I made the appointment, not the door walking in, nor the grooming station as you arrive. So how is anyone supposed to know? And if she wanted to try to enforce an outdated policy, she could have asked like a normal sane person, not screamed at strangers checking in. Then the manager made me a new appointment next day with their grooming "manager" Laura, who was just as unprofessional and rude. I call on my way to confirm I'm about to arrive, and as soon as she heard it was me, she didn't even respond on the phone call, just stayed silent....I had to say hello are you there? and she said in an annoyed tone "uhm yes I said that's fine"(even though she hadn't said a word) so I said ok bye(thinking what's with these ladies, why SO rude?!) When I get there I tried to be polite to Laura and she clearly wanted nothing to do with me(I assume she talked to the half bald psycho girl and decided they would just gang up and not service me), so she tried to tell me it would be FOUR HOURS and my dog would be crated a lot BETWEEN other appointments, which is wild because the other petco I always go to is done within an hour. So as I continue to question this she just folds her arms and stares at me and basically insinuates I should go elsewhere(which was obviously her goal all along), by that point I wasn't about to leave my dog with these completely unhinged unprofessional dirt bags anyway because they're obviously the type of freaks who would take and abuse your dog in the back just to spite you. I wouldn't trust them with your pets and they definitely don't deserve to even rub the dirt of my dogs paws. read more

We drove over an hour to pick up some dwarf frogs. Before traveling, my husband called to confirm their stock. He asked the lady to clarify twice before we left and she assured us they had them for sale. When we arrived 5 employees were staffing near the front of the store talking and no one came to help us for over 15 minutes. When I walked to them at the front and inquired about the phone call and frogs for sale, the big guy snapped at me, without looking up from a paper he was holding and said they didn't have any for sale. I told them about the phone call and he said he didn't know who I talked to but they didn't have any for sale. He didn't say 'oh I'm sorry for the miscommunication' or anything professional or helpful. He was extremely rude, not allowing any other worker to speak and then I asked him if someone could help us with some fish to buy anyway and he said, looking at his paper again, 'we will be over there in a few minutes'. No one ever came after 10 minutes. So, we left. Such an unnecessary interaction and terrible customer service. Disappointing and unexpected. read more

I usually go to the petco on Brevard road but they can't keep groomers so I decided to go to someone else called the waggers depot. I got lost and eneded up at the petco on merrimon where I met Kim. She took good care of my Samson, he's a Yorkie, and his nails looked good. There was some sharp edges on the bottom I felt should have been smoothed but over all she did a great job and I was happy with the service. Thank you Petco and Kim. read more

Sage, my 10 month old, 68 lb goldendoodle, loves her monthly grooming appointments. She always comes back looking (& smelling!) soooo nice. All the groomers are fabulous, and so knowledgeable and kind. In fact, the entire staff is terrific! And now they have committed to better and best quality foods it makes it even nicer. Parking is always easy, too. read more

Took my dog, Abby, for a bath and nail trim. The technician was absolutely incredible, very personable and professional and they did a great job. Very pleased with the staff and will certainly be using them when Abby is due for any additional services. Greg C. read more

Laura always does such a great job with our Molly. In addition to being a wonderful groomer, she is always so gentle and kind with her.