I was on the fence about whether to keep going to Petworks for my 45 lb. black lab/Australian shepherd's grooming needs, and after my last visit, I've decided to look elsewhere.
After deciding I was tired of paying $60 (not including tip) at Petco for inconsistent results, I decided to give Petworks a shot. At $40, the price seemed right, at least. I have now brought my pup there 4 or 5 times, and I'm still not thrilled with the results. The first few times, the gentleman who worked the front desk was always cheerful and helpful. He would always ask me what I was looking for and then he would relay the information to the groomer. I wasn't crazy about not being able to talk to the groomer face-to-face, especially after my dog didn't come out quite how I wanted the first time. Another down side to this place is they don't do teeth cleaning. I kept going back for convenience and cost reasons, since my dog still came out looking decent enough and I wasn't concerned enough to change groomers again.
The last time I visited, there was a woman behind the desk who seemed like she was possibly new because she didn't seem to know quite what she was doing yet. She was pleasant and cheerful, though! The groomer was also behind the desk with her, and so I was pleased that I would be able to tell her what I wanted directly so that nothing would be lost in translation. I told her "I'd really like to get his legs, feet, stomach, tail, and ears trimmed shorter than usual for the spring/summer," and she responded somewhat sharply with "Well, I don't know how short we usually cut it because our system crashed and I don't have any of his history on file." Um... okay.... how about you just ask me for more detail on how short I want it? I kind of shrugged it off and just said "Okay, that's fine, just cut him short in those places." She took him from me, brought him in the back (which always breaks my heart because he hates being groomed so much), and told me to come back in 5 hours, which was a lot longer than the previous time.
I returned that afternoon to pick him up, and wasn't pleased at all with the results. Only his feet and tail had been trimmed and she had left everything else long. He barely looked any different than when I brought him in! I didn't say anything because after leaving him there for 5 hours, he was stressed out enough, and I really didn't want to leave him there any longer to have them fix it. On top of not getting the results I was looking for yet again, I've also decided that I wasn't crazy about the attitude of the groomer, and so I find myself in the market for a new dog groomer yet again. (Sigh) read more