I recently had a bad experience with the Store Manager, Dave, after I complained about my 2 dogs being shaved almost to their skin in the grooming department. They'd each been there several times before with no problems. I called when I got home (because I'd had to go to the front to pay for the dogs before I got to see them) and complained about the dogs being shaved and asked for a call back. The next afternoon a very nice lady (that said she was the grooming department manager) called and asked me to bring the dogs in on Saturday at 12:30. She explained that she was very sorry, and she'd like to use this as a teaching moment because the same 2 groomers and herself would be in. I told her I'd just bring my Scottie in, because the other had been completely shaved, and nothing could be put back. That Saturday when I went in with my scared little dog, Dave was there and said he'd be helping me. He proceeded to scold me, shout at me and say loudly that the girl who used to groom my dogs perfectly in the past was "fired because she never marked down who the BAD DOGS were, she was too nice and typed in the notes that all dogs were good, when they obviously aren't" He had the girls take my dog to the back and asked me to watch as they "would attempt" to shave her ears and the side of her face (they had cut off her beard and skirt, but not her ears or tail). We watched as she stood there like an angel while they trimmed her. I commented on what a good dog she was being, and I asked if any of the groomers knew what a Scottie cut was and he stepped forward and shouted "That's HIGHLY OFFENSIVE!! My people have to trim every type of dog there is before they can become groomers at Petco! Of COURSE they know a Scottie Cut! How OFFENSIVE!" I then asked him to stop yelling at me, and I asked for the store manager. He had no tag that had his title on it, only a Petco name tag with "Dave" on it. He laughed and said he was the manager, and he'd managed several other pet stores before Petco, blah blah blah. I told him that I'd never seen a store manager yell at a customer like that before. He then said in a scary tone "Lady, I'm not yelling at you, if I were to yell at you I'D SHATTER YOU!" I replied that was the worst thing I'd ever heard a manager say to a customer. I told him that I used to manage a large grocery store, and I would NEVER raise my voice to a customer like that. I then called him a word that explained how he was asking, and ask that he have someone else talk to me, before I lost what was left of my composure. My dog heard me yelling, and at that time she started barking and trying to get away from the groomers as they tried to do her nails. Dave went into the back, and came out with the groomer and my dog and said in a calm tone "I'd like to give you a full refund for one of your dogs. Can you agree not to bring them back?" I replied that I would not be bringing them back or shopping there anymore. He asked me to follow him to the front and told me to go to the empty register #3, where 2 employees were loudly arguing and yelling at each other. After a minute, he told them to go argue somewhere else. My little dog was getting really stressed and she started panting. Dave got confused when he scanned the receipt because it wasn't in my name. I'd already explained that my mom had made the appointment for 2 of my 3 dogs, and that she'd brought all 3 in before and brought her dog in often. I offered my phone number/Pals number but he ran it through anyway and did refund both of my dogs. He couldn't return the 20% tip, but I was fine with that. The groomers had made mistakes, but were very nice and weren't given a chance to talk to me. I won't be back to this Petco as long as Dave is still manager. His mood shifts were frightening, the way he said he'd "shatter" me was extremely misogynistic and was an obvious attempt to upset me. Frankly, I feel sorry for his employees, especially his female employees. They had been kind and considerate, and I went back in to make things right, not to be verbally abused and certainly not to frighten my dog further, which is what happened. read more

We had the most amazing experience today at petco!. We purchase a chameleon and just about everything we needed to get him all set up. Winter was so amazing helping us understand everything that would be needed now and in the future. She gave him soooo much information on chameleons and let us know that we can always call or go back with any questions. Super impressed by how professional and knowledgeable Winter was. Thanks to her this was an easy and happy experience!! read more

Petco - Pet Stores Near Me - Vista, California

Garbage customer service, I called all morning to receive the voice mail. Which I left my details, and still in the afternoon no phone call back. I called again and picked customer service from the options instead of the groomer option. The gentleman said their groomer was at lunch....at almost 2pm. Ok, still at 3:30 in the afternoon still no phone call. I called customer service once AGAIN and the mans response was, "She STILL hasn't called you?". With me saying no she hasn't, he put me on hold immediately and walked to the back. A young lady finally answered telling me that there's no more available times for Saturday morning. Had they answered in the morning, returned my phone call the both times I left a voicemail and a note, I wouldn't be so mad right now. Yet, no concern on either employees. I'm still pretty mad and trying to calm down. Let them snip or abuse my dog when I bring him in. I have a pretty good family attorney. read more

Tara from the aquarium section is super kind and informative. Tara went out of the way to help me understand how to introduce my new pets into my aquarium. read more

I would not go here they are understaffed and do not Have a great selection. I found a better deal and better buy at PetSmart. I returned some unopened dry dog food the same and they charge me a restocking. I will never set foot in a Petco again read more

We took the dogs here for shots Saturday morning and arrived at about 10:30. There was a very long line that I estimate to have been about 12 dogs ahead of us. The line moved rather quickly as several staff were weighing in the animals and initiating paperwork (PED input). They asked us to wait down an isle for about 10 minutes and the dogs names were called. We were outta there at 11:15. Not a bad Saturday morning. Staff was super dog friendly and swift. Good job! Read my other reviews. Dicks read more

Went to this Petco for the first time and although it's nothing fancy it did have what I needed! Could use a little cleaning though. The public restrooms were a hot mess and there was no toilet paper which was inconvenient. Some items seemed a bit over priced when comparing them to online shops such as Amazon. The customer service was great! We talked to Vanessa at the Banfield Hospital and she was helpful and kind. She gave us some good recommendations for our new puppy and also some treats which he loved. We bought a new puppy discount book which include a free exam at their hospital, free 1 hour training and some coupons on their pet supplies. Was really worth it and we saved a good amount of money. Highly recommend purchasing it! read more

I take my 2 Australian shepherds to this petco for grooming and I love them! They always come out so nice! I will continue coming in!

This is the worst Petco I've been to. There customer service was horrible! My brother wanted to buy fish for his birthday but the saleswoman denied him fish and tried to talk us out of betas read more

My wife and I went in to buy a bearded dragon, we went back to the reptile section to make sure they had them. Once we saw that they did we asked 4 different people for help. All referring us to someone else or saying "someone will be with you shortly" my wife asked one female employee for help, was ignored and the employee proceeded to walk off, clock out and left. All without saying anything to us after we had asked for help. We didn't was to leave because they had what we were looking for but we were actively calling different places to find other bearded dragons so we could just leave. After 45 minutes of waiting we were finally assisted. From the time the employee came to help to the time we walked out the door only 5 minutes had elapsed. In the end we got what we came for, but the process to get there and the lack of customer service left something to be desired. read more

My kiddo has been asking for a kitty for a while now. Today, I wanted to surprise him, so I called a Petco which was hosting a couple humane society kittens, and they had one left. So, in the car I got and I drove about thirty minutes up to Vista. Got there, the kitten was still there so I said I wanted to adopt him. This employee said "my manager is on a conference call, come back in an hour." Cool. Ok. I came back in 45 MINUTES and she was standing with someone talking about cat treats with the person she just adopted the kitten to!!! Raaaaah!!!! To make it even worse, she started laughing about it when I walked away. GARBAGE!! I was close enough to the Oceanside humane society that I tried there, too. Who'd guess that kittens sell faster than Manhattan apartments. I picked my son up after, and he asked me for a kitten again. If only he knew about my fruitless afternoon adventure. Attached are pictures of the kitten party he drew in school today. One star for TERRIBLE customer service. read more

Petco - Pet Stores Near Me - Vista, California

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I needed a new ID tag for my cat so I went here as I was in the area. I purchased my tag and a few items for my cat. The cashier never said hello, just do you have a Petco card. Rude. I won't be coming back. Poorly managed. read more

Their employees have been price matching crickets for almost a year - and now I get to drive further down the freeway just to get the same item somewhere else. Crickets are 5 cents a piece at LLL, so you should look them up and go there instead of paying 14 cents a piece here. Sucks they wanna be that way- they're losing a regular. read more

Petco - Note from management - Pet Stores Near Me - Vista, California

Had to buy a bunch of stuff for my furry kiddos so I went to the Petco by my work instead of the one by my house. Maybe it was because I arrived shortly after they opened and they had not other customers but they service was excellent. I had 4 different people ask if they could help me. All 4 were cheery and keep in mind that they was first thing in the morning so that was impressive to me. Other than that, this Petco is like all the others, they have all they stuff you need for your pets. I like the treat bar and that Petco has a good selection of dog foods. read more

Petco is close by, has lots of items in stock, service is usually nice and friendly, prices are a little bit higher than the competition, but sometimes they have manufacturers reps in the store handing out samples or coupons. read more

I like Petco. They have all the basics that you will need for your pets. But it isn't my usual stop because they don't carry the litter that my cats like. Ironically, enough the only place I can get that is Target. This store is a pretty good size. They will probably fill the needs that you have and in a pinch or if I am in the area I will go there, but I do not go regularly. This location has plenty of selection and if your pets are less particular than mine you will probably find what you need and leave happy. read more

I frequent this store regularly & never a problem. I recently purchased a Beta fish that died within 30 days. I had misplaced my receipt. I returned without a hassle & was offered either new fish or money back. read more

I've been visiting this Petco since I was a child - it's close by and convenient, close to the Melrose and Vista Village exits on the 78. it's not that great of a petco but it does its job. Spent half an hour walking around looking for an associate that I could ask for help with a carrier. They don't seem very concerned with greeting customers or walking the floor asking if anyone needed help. (Note, it's a small floor, so they probably don't do that) but I had to look for someone I could bother since they all seemed in their own little world. Only Vistan loyalty keeps me coming back to this place, that's about it. read more

the goofs at our usual PETCO (in OCEANSIDE on W VISTA WAY) can't seem to figure out how to get the filter on their feeder fish tanks fixed. the damn thing's been broken for six or eight weeks now and our AFRICAN SIDENECK was seriously craving turtle sushi. called late afternoon and talked with TRACY and let her know we would be by after dinner a little before closing time. she faithfully saved us the last twenty feeders, shooing off another buyer so she'd still have 'em for us when we finally showed up. gave us a bit of backstory on the care and maintenance she goes thru to assure folks they're getting healthy fish which was both fascinating (i entertain easily) and informative. can't say "yay, i'm a fan" of this PETCO" but i am a fan of one of their employees. i was really, really impressed with TRACY. that girl cares about "her" fish and "her" customers. as an employer, you can't ask or expect more than that. ps: being a turtle, SMILEY doesn't have the most evocative body language or facial expressions but i'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest he thought his new tankmates (four down, sixteen to go) are delicious. read more

Today I went to petco to do a return. I rarely do returns but when I do I sometimes walk around the store to see if there's something I'd want to exchange my return before going to the register. But today I didn't find much so I went to make the return. When I get there this 5'ish girl with bangs helped me and I gave her the receipt and said I wanted to make the return (I bought these nighttime light bulbs for reptiles). She didn't even look at the receipt and just blatantly asked me "you didn't just take them off the shelf right?" Girl what?! Accusing me of stealing when I handed her my receipt to her in the first place! And I told her I obviously didn't and I had the bulbs in my purse since I left my house. She then asked me the reason of the return and I said to her that I didn't like the bulbs and wasn't a fan bc they were dim and not the best. She then later says "well obviously these are night time light bulbs". I was over her shit at this point I've never felt so disrespected and upset until she was making her comments. But I put up with it and kept being nice to her and just get over it. read more

We experienced the best puppy training in southern San Diego. Paulo is amazing! We called him the dog whisperer. He was so living with Arlo. We would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a knowledgeable dog trainer. Thank you Paulo. Arlo loves you! Bob and Cathy read more

I have been coming to this Petco for many years. I have noticed a significant change since the new manager winter started working there. It's always been great service that's never been the issue but now I feel like I get that extra special attention and it makes me keep coming back and sending other people here too. Ray and Christie are amazing Associates and you can tell that they both care very much about the animals. Winter has gone above and beyond when there was something that I needed that was out of stock she made sure to get it in for me and she got it in very fast. Because of the excellent customer service and friendly demeanor of the staff I will always be a client here read more

Grooming service is awesome here! Very reasonable priced and our dog comes back smelling great and softer than ever. Store is great too. They offer training classes for your dog. There is a great selection of toys and items for dogs - I can't speak to other pet items because we only have a dog. They also have a great policy allowing us to return items if our dog didn't like it. For example, we had a huge jar of treats we bought when we first got our dog and he HATED them. He only ate one, maybe two, so we attempted to return it. They didn't even hesitate to help by refunding us. Of course, we just ended up buying a different type of treat but it was a simple gesture from PetCo that went a long way. We always try different pet stores to find something different but always end up back at this PetCo location. read more

Garbage groomer service. Go somewhere else. The 2 ladies, 1 of which was the manager, had the collective IQ of a gold fish. Keep reaching for the stars you two, the world turns slower with you in it. read more

AWESOME AWESOME group here! So helpful always and patient. Thanks to: Whitney! Ashley! Alex! Ian! Jesse! and so Many others at this location! read more

I have to take a moment and mention the grooming dept. Amber is amazing at her job, she handles my baby better than anyone I've found in 3 years of searching. If you've been looking stop here. UPDATE: Amber is no longer there. The last time I took Ginger to PetCo she came back traumatized, that's the only way I can describe it. She hid under the beds for two days. I'm afraid I can no longer recommend this groomer. read more

My cock-a-poo receives a wonderful "makeover" every time we visit Petco on Hacienda in Vista. Celia is her groomer and a very good one.

This review is mainly for customer service. We went there to get my kitten some kitten cans and ran into employee Elisabeth. She was very helpful above and beyond. Helped us get some good deals on clearence can and dry food as well as kitten toys. More employees should be like her very helpful and she actually was the only register open to a long line but she managed to help us ! read more

One star is one too many. I came to this location of Petco to pick up some cat food. I just went to the front counter to the cashier that had the light on but no cashier there. There were two cashiers at the next spot over without the light on. I waited about 15 minutes and then asked if I should come over there. She said yes so I brought my cans of cat food over to her location. She was ringing up a sale for an employee with blue hair. The actual lady who is cashiering was approximately 50 years old and had curly short hair. Once they finally figured out how to ring up the sale, the original cashier whose line I stood in for 15 minutes showed up and took a different customer. I was pissed. They finally ring up the sale and it was like $.40 then the girl with the blue hair said she had to go get her card because she wanted to get $20 over. So they have that register tied up so I go over to the original spot. I told the cashier what happened and that I didn't appreciate it. She said well I wasn't here so I don't know what really happened and as I left I went over to the two cashiers who were still taking care of that sale and told them what I thought. As I left I saw the three of them yukking it up thinking it was a big game. Winter if you don't want to lose sales don't let these three run the store. They should not have the key to the store. Now you know what goes on when you're not there. read more

Poor service. I researched cat carriers online and went to this Petco because it was close and offered a 15% discount coupon. I asked the cashier where they were and she told me. They were too high to reach and I requested help. She said the floor person was busy and would come when through. After 10 minutes, I requested help again and she paged for help but no one ever came. After 15 minutes I left and went to Petsmart where I got excellent service from friendly people. (The carrier cost less at Petsmart without the coupon) read more

Apparently this petco doesn't know it's own hours. Then while standing out front and calling the guy hung up on me. Bad service. 6 people waiting 10 min after opening. read more

I come in here from time to time to get my kitty's Science Diet food and have not been offended by the cleanliness or staff at this store, so I think the previous review to mine may have been an isolated incident. In fact, every time I've gone, the employees are rather friendly and the only odor that hits me when I walk in is just what you expect at a Petco--doggy treats and cedar shavings. read more

Bridget assisted us twice now the couple of times we have been here. She is always so helpful, happy and friendly as she helps us around the store and gives us her suggestions and opinions on products. I think more customers should be as helpful as her, please give her recognition! read more

I have been shopping at this Petco for over 10 years. And these past 6 months have gone down hill as far as management and courtesy is concerned. The manager now is very rude and disrespectful not only to other employees but customers. Last week when I went in the sheriff's were their cause of issue with customer and the manager. Today the manager treated me very poorly as well. I have been in customer service business for years and to think this lady is not only an employee representing Petco stores but at management level as well is disturbing. I plan on finding another Petco or maybe even a Petsmart to shop and take my dog for grooming and shopping in general as this location needs some serious changes. read more

You couldn't find anybody to help you in there even if you tried no one at the cashier and no one on the floor could've walked off with all their merchandise and I'm sure nobody would've came out so I can't say they have bad customer service because there were no customer service representatives even on the floor read more

They were so helpful! I just got a kitten and the cashier was giving me advice & even gave me a pamphlet that serves as a car guide. I was there for about 20 mins and 3 employees asked if I needed any help. It was nice! 10/10 read more

Never been a petco fan but I was Impressed here. Very kind staff and good selection. Petco prices are always a little higher but they do price match and staff seemed well informed. I give this place 4 stars and a wag of the tail read more

I have been to multiple Petcos and buy my dogs food here monthly. This particular location though leaves something to be desired. Its dirty and doesn't look like anyone cares about it. The employees are mad that you are there and that they actually have to help you. I would avoid this location and try another one thats cleaner with a more professional staff. read more

I have always been very wary of grooming my pets at big chain locations like to, but my dogs needed their nails trimmed and their usual lady kept saying they didn't need it no mater how long we went between visits. So I stopped by petco and asked if they would grind the nails down with a dremmel tool. I'm not sure if they still do this, but I much preferred it to clipping and their nails came out great! A little busy, but the staff is friendly and they were very gentle with out neurotic dogs! read more

I went here to get my dog's teeth brushed and nail trimmed and buffed because she has vital care. I understand I didn't have an appointment, but I was told at a different location that walk in will be okay. So the groomer here took my pup, but not even 5 minutes later after she took my dog in, I heard in the intercom that my dog is ready for pick up. I got my dog back and went to the cashier because I have a few purchases. When I got back to my car I checked my pups nails and it looked like nothings changed. Overall, it didn't seem like she did anything at all. She should've just told me no when I asked if it's okay to get those things done without an appointment. I would've understand that. I wasn't even expecting them to take her in. I just tried and see. She just made my dog anxious when she took her to the back and she didn't even do anything. There's just no way that it takes less than 5 minutes to brush my dogs teeth, trim & buff her nails. read more