pet groomer

technico-commercial

store manager

responsable de magasin

cashier

PetSmart

I completely regret working here. Disappointing and Discouraging and Disheartening. I found training at PetSmart did not prepare me to work at other grooming salons. Training at this particular location did not even prepare me to work at PetSmart. Applying here was difficult and time consuming, 3+ months including the background check. For some reason I wasn’t getting the all the emails, even though my email address was confirmed by me and accurate. Finally getting through hiring process the computer troubles continued and it was difficult for me to sign in and get started, taking even more time. Getting through that and on to the first day working, tools were not available for me to complete my computer training completely, ie a completely working computer, on the days I was scheduled to do my computer training, the completely working computer was double booked and I was pressured to rush through it anyway, using a computer that had no sound and not being able to listen or watch all the safety and training videos. Starting in the salon, tools were not available for me to do my job, ie a grooming table to work on, so poorly prepared they were for another groomer to work there. Even though they knew over 3 months ahead a new groomer was coming. I felt my own personal grooming tools were not safe as the drawers in my stand did not lock and I was never given a key. The work environment there is anything but calm. Completely chaotic. Toxic. As a new employee the on the job safety training is non existent and if you make any mistakes as a brand new employee they come down on you super hard. The salon manager didn’t seem to think it was her job to teach me any salon safety and when questioned about this just shrugged her shoulders at the Store Manager. Completely Unpredictable. My pay amount was not kept safe and confidential by the salon manager as it was supposed to, she left on the printer and went home and another coworker found it, we had already been talked to when I started as an experienced groomer I was being paid substantially more that the other groomers and wages were not to be discussed, or there would be write ups. The SM has a lot of personal problems and brings her life problems to work with her, she encourages other staff members to do the same. Daily drama. The schedule is supposed to be done 6 weeks ahead but changes constantly and completely without notice, often a day or just a few days or maybe week ahead. Morale is very low and coworkers are always late and often calling in sick. Dogs grooming appointments are often cancelled because of the constantly changing schedule etc, I have never seen so many cancelled appointments and the customers complain about it constantly. One week is booked solid the next it’s completed dead so it’s very hard to make any money here. I took a demotion and a large pay cut to work at PetSmart and was promised 40 hrs but never worked a full 40, despite completely open avail and being on the on call list, instead I would be told to stay home as it wasn’t busy or go home early because it’s dead. Often I’d miss my lunch break because it was busy or because of poor scheduling and I was pressured to write it down anyway that I took it, now I’m barely making min wage. I never got any 15 min breaks. Head office seemed to have a lot of trouble keeping track of online information and the online tests I had done and I had to retake them several times and even complete the online safety test over 4 times and then finally print it out of the computer to show I had completed it. As a new employee I was under supported and even scheduled to work busy days, ie Saturdays, alone with another new employee, who struggled to do her job. Stressful. I found safety policies were broken by SM and coworkers of a reg daily basis. In my experience the SM and Managers don’t even know all the policies.  And on top of that the policies can change based on customer complaints too, as a result of the policies not being followed, ie proper check in by other staff, and there will be new policies without proper communication or training. All adding to the stress. 
The SM and staff seem think it is productive and/or funny to get the dogs really excited to the point where it is hard to work on them, using high squeaky voices etc, while I’m  trying to check in a dog or do a walk-in nail trim, but it makes it hard to do your job safely and well. There were a lot of customer complaints and a lot of unhappy customers. It is very unnecessarily stressful here. There was very little training or support to do my job and it was very hard to get help if working on a challenging dog. Huge lack of teamwork. Bulling from the SM and Managers exists and favouritism is certainly present as well. Communication is very poor,  I found instructions would not be clear.  I definitely would not recommend working here, there is better training and better work environments, I think one star is generous, but mandatory, I guess it is a job. I absolutely love working with customers and dogs and grooming, it is a completely rewarding job, I have worked at bigger busy salons and smaller busy salons and been very happy. I found that working at PetSmart was very disappointing and discouraging and I didn’t feel set up to succeed at all, far too many problems there.

this may be a lengthy review but please read if you’re considering working here. i feel like 2 stars is generous, but because i was so happy when i first started this job, it deserves at least some recognition. 

 I’ve been working at Petsmart for almost 3 years now, a bather for 1, and a groomer for almost 2. i used to be in love with my job, i would be excited to come to work. the people, the environment and the job itself made me SO happy. then i started grooming. management for the most part is horrible, almost petty like high school. once i started grooming, the environment changed completely. Petsmart has a great academy program to START grooming but once you have the training, get out of there as fast as you can. they only care about numbers and money, and are very inconsistent with rules and policies. 6 groomers have quit since i started working at this location, 4 of which were still on “contract” when they quit, which is another issue. they scare you into signing a 2 year contract, worth 5000-6000$, (including a tool kit which is nice) but won’t act apon it if you quit. as per inconsistency, all of my co workers and i have had different prices on our “contracts” which goes to show the professionalism of the company. a girl i went to the academy with didn’t even have to sign a contract. if you like the corporate structure, this might be the job for you, but i personally HATE grooming like an assembly line. i can comfortably groom 5-6 dogs in a 8 hour shift, but would get in trouble if i didn’t reach company standard of at least 8 a day. they say each dogs appointment is 2-3 hours, yet i’m expected to fully bathe, brush and completely groom 8 dogs, take two fifteen minute breaks, and an unpaid half an hour lunch all within 8 hours, and i rarely get my 15s anyways. they say safety is their top priority and to take as long as you need to finish a groom. i take pride in my grooms and would like a haircut to look nice if it’s representing my work and my name. yet, i am also expected to rush to be able to fit more dogs in my schedule. dealing with rude customers is inevitable no matter where you work but dealing with dog people might not be my thing. management is my biggest issue with this job so i don’t mean to put down the entire company, it may have just been my location that was problematic. money is another issue too. i know home groomers that make money beyond their wildest dreams yet i am making barely over minimum wage, unless i commission out, which is rare. the benefits are okay and it’s nice to have paid sick/vacation/discretionary days, but it is definitely not worth what i’ve been through.

I really wanted to like this job. There were dogs and cats involved. But honestly, the dogs and cats were the best part. No complaints about the animals. Some of my former co-workers were wonderful too. Glad to have met them.

Management, on the other hand? They made the experience unbearable. And it wasn't just pets hotel management, it was the store leaders too. Almost all leadership parties were weird. It was like I was hired just to be emotionally abused. Watched constantly so they could have something to complain about, and they did complain. Would tell me I'm under-trained, which was a given seeing as this was my first time in a dog daycamp setting, but no efforts were made to correct the "many mistakes I would make." They'd just whine about my performance, throw me back to the wolves (quite literally), then look for the next thing to complain about later after a period of calm. Would accuse me of not doing things that were done and could be proven done - despite the fact they made it known they were always watching, they seemed to have no idea what was going on.

Most of my co-workers were miserable right with me. Overworked and understaffed, and it wasn't a surprise we were understaffed. From what I'd gathered, there'd been a previous mass exodus as soon as a certain someone rose to power. There were never enough people on critical shifts and it led to plenty of cutting corners, I.e. animal neglect. I was left in early morning group walk for over an hour most times because there was no one to let me out and put the dogs away - and I was still expected to finish walking individual dogs and clean the cat room then take my 15 somewhere between that, all within less than three hours. All by myself. It was often a lot. Funny how I was given so much responsibility yet made to feel like the worst employee in the universe.

As expected, high staff turnover and general dissatisfaction continued. The place was a mess by management's own actions and overall incompetence and laziness, but they didn't want anyone to figure that out, so they had to pin it all on particular staff members of their careful selection. I'm happy I escaped, but truly did not need this experience for my mental health, which wasn't that good when I applied.

First day? Yea they don’t care. Just get in there and learn on the job. Oh and you only have your 4-5 hour shift to learn it. And don’t mess up because there are things around that could hurt the animals! Next day? They give you a big speech about making sure you follow policy and procedure. Except, some of the procedures are set up for older stores, and don’t work in newer ones. What takes 10 minutes in an old store takes an hour in the new one. But don’t worry! After a while you’ll figure it out! 

Management doesn’t care. They play favourites, you come to them saying you have a problem, and they just tell you that they will fix it, and then nothing. You ask again, and they keep telling you that they will get to it later. Speaking of management, you want to get into it? Working hard doesn’t get you there. And if you are a pet trainer, you’re stuck. You can’t move to management, because you can’t be both. They can’t keep a secret either. Someone mentioned that they would be leaving the store to the managers, and by the next day, everyone knew, and the person didn’t want everyone knowing until they were ready. 

And your hours? Ridiculous. Mostly 4-5 hours long, and maybe 20 hours a week. Never more than 30 unless someone is out and you end up covering a ton of shifts. They will call you last minute any day to ask you to cover. One day off? Called! But the managers? Always 40 hours a week. And then they complain about how much work doesn’t get done, but it’s hard when there is 1 person in each department at a time. So you have to clean, feed the animals, and help the customers all in your 4-5 hour shift before the next person gets in and has to complete their tasks! 

Everything is about who you know. Low wages, bad coworkers, stressful work environment, no advancement, bad hours, no shadowing or learning how to do your job, especially in pet care, a department you would think would need way more training because animal lives are in your hands, bad management, and in a single store, we have had 4 people leave and 3 more anxiously about to hand in their notices once they secure a job at other places. If 7 people are willing to leave a single store all within the span of a month, you think that is a place you want to work? I urge you to go somewhere else.

Head office has unrealistic expectations in regard to employee quoatas in the grooming salon, they also require all groomer trainees to sign an non-competition contract before they will train you as a groomer. Now, before I get into everything else if you want to become a Pet Groomer DO NOT GO TO PETSMART! The training PetSmart offers is extremely mediocre, and does not touch on nearly enough. If you want to learn to be a groomer nothing beats an apprenticeship at a quality salon! 
Basic salon equipment is subpar, they buy cheaper equipment to save on expenses so quite often the salon in which I groomed at did not have working equipment. Having equipment serviced and replaced by head office is nearly impossible, often resulting in dangerous situations due to broken equipment (I once saw a stand dryer burst into flames while a colleague was using it due to the heating element malfunctioning from lack of maintenance done on the dryer). 
Salon environment was incredibly toxic, employees were bullied by the salon manager and a few of the managers preferred employees. Head office policy and procedures in regards to grooming made it difficult to groom dogs in a quick and efficient manner. We could only book appointments according to company policy which would create a backlog of clients waiting to have their pet checked in due to 4-8 dogs being booked for the same time slot. The check in process for a groom was incredibly lengthy which cut into precious groom time, and since head office expected grooms to be finished within a few hours of being dropped off this check-in process was massively time consuming. Employees were formally written up for any customer complaint, even if it wasn't an "official" complaint. (One time a client popped back in the following day to have her dogs ears tidied up a bit more, and that was considered a complaint which resulted in a write up.)
All in all my time at PetSmart was absolutely awful, and I go out of my way to share my experiences with anyone who is new to the Pet Industry.

I was a cashier at PetSmart and I loved my job! All of my colleagues were passionate about animals, friendly and reliable. Everyone - including management , sales associates and the dog trainer all have huge hearts! The kindest people and everyone is ready to help each other. It was the most positive experience I’ve had in a workplace. Being a cashier is not hard. The job itself was fairly easy! 

Mainly scan items, tell customers their points, do refunds and greet everyone who comes in! It’s a highly sociable job. So if you love people and animals this is an amazing opportunity! A day at PetSmart as a cashier was : morning shift - put bags out where they go by both cash registers. Make sure you have your ear piece in so you can talk to your colleagues in case someone needs a price check. Then you greet customers happily. Sometimes a customer has a brand new puppy or they just adopted a kitten / dog. It’s exciting because every day is different. You get to answer questions, sell products from the cash register- for a new dog parent you can explain they may want to purchase a new harness, collar leash, dog bed, treats, toys , shampoo , conditioner, food etc. it’s good to know which isles all the items are in. Then you’ll cash people out as well. It’s beautiful. Some people will come in and share stories with you about their pets as well! You make friends with your colleagues and the customers. 

Management is extremely supportive! Any questions and they’ll help right away. Anyone who works there is knowledgeable and willing to answer a question. You get to pet the dogs/ kittens too! Afternoon shift is similar to opening but you’re in charge of garbage as well. Both shifts do require facing as well. Highly recommend this job!

Where do I start… let’s start with some positives. If you are looking for a temporary job, where you can pick up some retail experience and super basic pet knowledge then it’s not bad. Now the cons, the company doesn’t care about you or the pets they sell. Your experience will depend on management. I worked in the petcare department mostly. You would think as someone who is responsible for the care of animals we sell ( fish, reptiles, birds and small animals). You would get some training… nope they will hire anyone even if you have no knowledge. Your expected to sell pets and help customers get what they need but how can you help them if you don’t know. They throw you on the floor and expect their poor overworked part time staff to teach them with no little staff or time. You could read their care guides to learn but the information is so outdated and some is down right dangerous. You will see animals go without due to staffing shortages which leads to sick or dead pets. You will come home both physically and mental drained every day for minimum pay. I was lucky to have a good team but high turnover rates, because most people that join won’t stay once they see how awful things are. The company has all these high standards but won’t give enough staff so your set up for failure. Unless your a groomer or management there is no room to move up. Your supposed to get yearly evaluation and raises but good luck if they even do them. Unless you dedicate your life and get yourself into managements clique you won’t go anywhere. Once COVID hit things got even worse more work and no increase in hours, pay or staff. I used to care so much and asked my leads to teach me more and showed interest in wanting to grow a long time ago and got nowhere. Just got burnt out and stressed everyday. Even came home crying a few times about my petcare department and other things. Also don’t expect to get your 15 min breaks. In  my opinion just don’t there are better jobs out there. 

Worked as a Pet Products and Presentation manager, mainly handling inventory, deliveries, restocking and h&s briefings/evaluations. Whilst also handling general manager duties i.e animal care, hourly checks, personnel and shift management. 

Days start relatively early 5/6am, (depending on location earlier or later, night shift permitting). Usually understaffed for the quantity of product delivered, the process is fairly straightforward and easily carried out assuming the manpower on duty is motivated and fit otherwise you will fall behind. This is common whichever store you work in.

Company is filled with guidelines and rules to ensure accurate stock taking and animal care. The majority of management see these as 'suggestions' and will cut corners or outright ignore to avoid or cut down on their work. In the case of H&S, the role had outright been disregarded with various meeting briefs faked & several violations clearly present throughout the store.

The turnover is without doubt the worst I've ever encountered in any company across several countries. Both associates and managers rotate on a nearly monthly basis; in a two year period only 5 personnel remained from a working compliment of 40, with multiple changes in staff during that time. Little is done to rectify or understand the issue, if any attempt is made at all (I was met with a quizzical "why do we need to know that" when first raising this issue). Again this problem was persistent for all stores in the local and greater areas.

As an associate you can earn a decent wage if you keep your head down and accept the companies shortcomings. Avoid management, it's not worth it.

Might be fine if you’re just part-time because I didn’t mind the job as a bather, although you are getting paid min. wage for a job that deserves WAY MORE than that. Academy was a nice experience. But working as a full time groomer, again at min. wage until you’re done your 200 dogs (which is so little for how hard this job is), was stressful to the point where it affected me outside of the workplace and nobody in management had any solution for me after trying to go on a short leave and asking to transfer stores. I did not feel like I received enough training and supervision when I was working as a brand new groomer. I worked a couple months without a salon manager to guide me during my 200 dogs and had to teach many things to myself. When a manager finally did start working in the salon, I felt too pressured to know the things I couldn’t teach myself, and I was behind where I should have been at my point in the transition (from groomer trainee to SIT I think?), so it was time to go up in # of dogs per day but I honestly wasn’t ready. Speed or skill wise. I really didn’t know what the solution was, however I wanted to extend my options. However, when I requested the store transfer,  I was told the job would be stressful at any location. Didn’t want to break my contract but couldn’t bare to go to work anymore. I have never experienced major anxiety before this job and I went to counselling to try to get over the anxiety, because it was definitely situational. After two sessions with two different counsellors, they basically told me they had heard the same things being said about working at Petsmart grooming from multiple other people and the best option might be to just quit. So, I did, and I am so much happier at my new job, I can’t believe I worked there as long as I did now that I get to experience a less stressful environment where your colleagues in management actually support you and you get paid what you deserve.

A typical day at work would be coming in, doing opening duties: turning on the computers, turning on phones, washing water bowls, letting the shampoos run for a bit, setting up grates for the bath tubs and drains. Checking to see how many dogs you have for the day, to check any availability the appointment book has and answering phone calls. Greeting customers as they walk in and also greeting the dogs that you are about to groom, checking the condition of the coat the dog is in and to see what cut the parent wants. I would open up their previous files to check if vaccinations are up to date and if not, to fill them in or call the vet. Reviewing what the parents wants done and printing out the service card and to make them sign the card on agreeing the length, type of cut, information is correct and the time that the dog will be done. While grooming the dog, customers would come in for walk-in services, phones would be ringing, checking in and our your other dogs all at the same time, also making sure the first dog gets out at the time the parent signed for. For closing duties: filing the service cards in the proper order, cleaning the salon, using disinfectant to clean the kennels, tables and tools, shutting down computers, cleaning the bathtubs and drains and sweeping/ vacuum hair from the floor and plugging in the phones to charge. I have learnt to deal with complains and issues, also how to deal with stressful situations. For a few months we were on and off with managers, until recently we got a permanent manager. She dealt with complaints and handled scheduling well. Overall management they were friendly and made the work space comfortable. My co-workers were fun and comfortable to work with. The hardest part of the job would be trying to handle biting and aggressive dogs. The most enjoyable part of the job was having a bond with the dogs and getting kisses and love from them.

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