NEW UPDATE PER KARLY'S REPLY:…read more
To clarify a few things: the meet and greet fee was not communicated to me at booking, and the fact that it was waived due to "confusion at pickup" speaks for itself. Transparency means the total cost is clear upfront, not discovered at checkout.
Regarding outreach, one person called and one person emailed. The email from Karly was not an attempt to resolve the situation but rather an argument defending your pricing practices. That is not the same as making things right.
No actual remedy was ever offered. Asking what would make it right without putting anything on the table is not a resolution. A gesture like a partial or full refund or a complimentary future stay would have gone a long way.
Most concerning was the bath being performed after I explicitly declined it. That is not a communication issue, that is a matter of respecting a customer's wishes regarding their pet.
I see from other reviews that pricing surprises are a recurring concern. I hope this feedback is taken seriously rather than attributed to customers not reading thoroughly enough.
I also want to note that reading through their response, the pattern is clear: every concern I raised was met with an explanation of why I was wrong or hadn't read carefully enough. That is not accountability. The only thing they genuinely owned was the bath, and even that was buried at the end after multiple paragraphs defending themselves. A business that truly takes responsibility doesn't spend most of its response telling the customer they should have known better.
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I want to share my experience so other pet owners know what to expect before booking.
When I called to make a Memorial Weekend reservation for my puppy, I was given a total price and told the first night would be free. At no point was I informed about a mandatory daily insurance fee ($5-$6/day). I only discovered it while signing paperwork at drop-off.
When I called to raise this concern, Michael told me it is not their job to disclose additional charges over the phone - that it is meant to be mentioned at drop-off. So by their own admission, they intentionally withhold fee information until you are already there signing paperwork with your dog in tow. When I followed up via email, Karly shifted the explanation, saying the fee is listed on their website under "add-ons", a label that implies optional, not mandatory.
At pickup, they also attempted to charge an undisclosed meet-and-greet fee. They waived it, but it was yet another surprise charge.
Most frustratingly, I explicitly declined a bath since my puppy had just been groomed. They bathed her anyway, and I had to take her home wet.
California's SB 478 Honest Pricing Law exists for exactly this reason. Required fees must be disclosed upfront, not revealed at drop-off when you are least likely to walk away.
The facility seemed fine, but the pattern of hidden fees, contradictory explanations, and disregarded instructions means I will not be returning.
To Paw Commons management: before attempting to negate this review, please know I have email receipts documenting everything stated here. A good business responds to legitimate feedback with accountability and an apology, not by attacking the reviewer.
UPDATE: After posting my review, I was contacted by Ben (manager/owner). He did apologize, which I appreciated, but the call was otherwise unproductive -- no real remedy was offered, just justifications for how they run their business.
He defended burying mandatory fees under the
"Add Ons" section by saying they "assume" customers read through the entire site, and that having two insurance coverage options makes it too complicated to list fees upfront. That's not a valid excuse. There are plenty of ways to present two options clearly while still showing customers what they'll actually owe per night.
Additionally, a meet and greet fee was charged that is nowhere on their website and was never
mentioned at check-in. Surprise fees should not be how customers find out what they owe. An apology without a willingness to fix these issues doesn't change my experience.
