pet counselor

department manager

associate manager

store manager

assistant manager

Petland

A lot of In-store teams are hardworking, supportive, and genuinely care about the animals and customers and each other. Store-level staff take pride in their work and do their best despite difficult conditions created by the company and external leaders. Working with the animals, I am learned a lot and enjoy visiting them when I had time. I loved my store manager, they were very supportive and worked very hard along side of us. Not all stores are the same though, if you get a good leader then you can make it through it. 

The daily experience of the possibility of having external leaders show up created dread for me to go to work. I had been there several years and  felt sick about the possibility of what they are going to do next.  We lost so many great people due to low wages and  unnecessary stress. ITs great at the start and then you learn quickly that its horrible.

Head office people, District Managers, and Visual Managers frequently show up unannounced  and at random and disrupt daily operations.  Including giving conflicting direction from each other and my store leader making it hard to know how to do your job. They are often rude, extreme in micromanaging, take pictures, use the cameras to watch you, demand you work on what they want, all talk to each other, and give you corrective action with out going through my store manager.  Leaving store staff responsible for correcting demands and managing the fallout, and explaining to the store manager why they did something different then they asked. 

It is very hard when you are brand new and learning as you can not make any mistakes, even if it was previously instructed to you.  It will be a coaching log and then a pip and then bullying you to push you out. They think because they have told you and you have signed a piece of paper that you are now trained so you should know. They will move you to a store that doesn't follow company standards with a leader who isn't getting paid extra to train you and doesn't have time  for training nor want to.  And then send you back to your store to relearn everything. Its a waist of everyone's time and expensive for the company.

Workload is extremely high while staffing hours continue to be reduced. Time lines for the work load and constant demands in changes are unreasonable and will lead to corrective action. Targets largely continue to increasing forcing employees to handle multiple roles at once, for alarming low wages. If you are in high school you will be paid under minimum wage. Don't ask for a wage increase. I was told by the district manager  that she is the HR department and once I was given a wage increase I was told I was NEVER allowed to ask again. 

The training department and other departments randomly and frequently put out changes in information but the external leaders have favorites and don't ensure its the same with all stores. Creating a lack of consistency between stores along with confusion, frustration, cost to the company and operational inefficiency.

The District Manager openly takes great joy while she pins other store leaders against each other,  publicly shames and humiliates staff via email, pictures and in person. Openly has favorites and spends the majority of their time policing you.  The District manager and the District Visual Merchandiser will flip flop being in your store to tag team and watch everything you are doing, including hiding product and creating issues to catch you not finding it, even when you have a store manager. 

External management practices create a high-stress work environment and contribute to turnover and are affecting the sales at store level. This level of stress should be reported to the WCB and should be shared.  But  I decided that my sanity in the companies sinking ship was far more important then to fight a large company. Considering they are all friend outside of the store, its not worth it. Do you yourself a favor and do no not allow your friend, family or children to work there. 

At this store, you're basically hired as a janitor when you start out. Cleaning toilets, entire stores floors day and night (mop & sweep), lobby, outside sweeping, shovelling and salting during winter. Don't forget you're hired at min wage. 
 
Management is set in it's ways... the only problem is that there's probably 8 different ways they're set in, and bickering between them isn't uncommon. It puts you as a bottom feeder in an awkward place. 
 
Again, you're hired at min wage, but you're required to do paperwork which is basically a commission style weekly sales sheet, where you need to make certain requirements. If you don't or if the sheet isn't filled out, you don't get your staff discount and you are reprimanded. Oh, did I mention this paperwork is to be done on your ONLY UNPAID HALF HOUR BREAK, or before/after your shift. Again... it's mandatory. 
 
So now you'll also get the idea that you get no coffee breaks, and very little patience for water or bathroom breaks is given... you only get a half hour unpaid break, usually just whenever they tell you to go. It's never smack dab in the middle of your shift. So be prepared to starve if you didn't eat before your shift, and to be sneaking water from the taps in the bathroom, because you're not allowed water bottles downstairs. (Managers can though, in their offices.) So plan quick meals if you want to eat, drink and do your mandatory unpaid-for paper work. 
 
Oh and I forgot, managers are the base staff of the store, they've all worked there 10+ years, and anyone else is just a pet counsellor or a "keyholder". So don't hold your breath to become a manager any time soon. Unless someone retires or quits, you're just a peon. 
 
Raises go by your work ethic and paper work/sales etc. You start at minimum wage and the managers will do reviews on you every so often and then the owner up in her office will look at all that and if you're lucky you'll get a raise. 
 
Most of the tasks are tedious and fear based. You don't do something the exact way they tell you to, you'll hear about it. Probably in a condescending way that doesn't help you learn at all. 
 
When a customer comes in the store, you are required to yell "HELLO", from wherever you are in the store. If you don't you will most likely be spoken to. If a customer comes in the store and walks down an aisle, you need to chase them down and help them with every single thing they need, or a manager will alert you that there is a customer you need to chase down. So keep alert. 
 
Oh and don't ever say customer. They're guests. You'll be spoken to about that as well if you trip up. 
 
The live animal care is pretty good, so that's a plus. Working there though, I definitely formed the opinion that animals should not be sold as they are. Anyone can just walk in and fill out the proper paper work and they're off with the new pet. The fish dept is awful and nobody wants to go there, so you'll be thrown in there a lot too. 
 
Staff overall was mostly nice and fun to work with. 
 
If you do closing shift, you have to drive to the bank with the closing manager, usually on your free time as well. So if you don't live towards the bank, you have to drive out of your way, and again... minimum wage + the cost of gas, not really sure how that's fair. 
 
Uniform is awful. You need to wear everything they list, down to black socks? (Not sure what customer is going to lift your pant leg and look.) Otherwise you're sent home or reprimanded. 
 
The store is definitely an acquired taste, so if it fits you, all the power to you. Personally I couldn't deal with working for free or the fact that I would have to report all this money I was supposedly making the store, but they hadn't even given me more than a $ raise above the min. I wasn't a lazy worker either, I tried very hard to meet the above standards with a smile on my face, but in the end, it was very abusive feeling, not just to me but all the other new hires.(They have a huge turnover rate by the way.) I honestly don't think some of it is even legal.

To be honest, working with the pets was the best part at PetLand. Most co-workers were helpful, collaborative, supportive, and encouraging. There was good teamwork as well. I made a mistake once with a customer who brought animals but I think that was a misunderstanding between me and him when he said no one could help me? I said I was busy but I can get someone to help you and then that worker came and helped him right away. It was just me and my other co-worker working that day since everyone else was sick, including managers. He complained about me, but I know that managers saw how I helped and worked hard assisting not only animals, children, adults, but my exceptional guest service, and when one customer said "thanks for all your help." No one would applaud, no one, they kept quiet and they did not say good job many times. I even kept an eye on filling most of the time I was there for washing machine dust which no one cleaned up at all but me, and I told others co-workers to be mindful of that. I even filled out the bedding which was pretty heavy and everyone else used it, but when I had to use it, I had to be the one to replace it. I even had engaging conversations with several guests and customers. Pet adoption was a bit of a weakness in my part. But just remember that when I had weaknesses I also had strengths just like any of you even strengths no one had or would do at all like refilling bedding and litter, or reporting a product was running out. I wonder how you are handling that one. I left to finish my studies and to also have a break because I suffered from anxiety and I did not trust anyone to tell or talk about thinking you would fire me. No matter what I pushed through, I attempted to complete most or all my daily tasks. Then, as years passed I ask for a reference and it was given. Then, I remember I ask for it again and you did not provide it again. I was just simply confused, devastated, and angry. Also, in my culture we tend to provide as a sense of gratitude, appreciation, and thankfulness when someone gives a good or more or less good reference or mentioning both strengths and weaknesses. I come from somewhere where love, affection, appreciation, gratitude is given and it is sad that in this culture, Canada everyone is so cold and everyone is sensitive about stuff like that, and that is what makes you all boring in general. I learned my mistake, but you should learn your mistakes too, to support and encourage others to feel safe, to feel free, and feel welcomed in their place of work whether suffering from anything. I remember that good managers speak out loud about other co-workers good actions and strengths and keep quiet about their flaws and weaknesses. Well, not all of you did that, except for one who won't provide a reference anymore. I am sorry to you if I offended you. I won't ask anymore references, but it was very rude to hang up the call the way you did and also I will buy one single pet after the ones I have have will have an end unfortunately. Also, as boycotting you for your lack of respect, understanding of cultural biases, and not providing references I will never come to buy from Petland. I am not your customer or to any of your other locations but I will buy to other locations where I never worked with at all. You might know who I am, which I di not have to mention. Thank you for your time, for the experience, and thank you for all you taught me, and thank you for the opportunity given and the references. Unfortunately, things came at an end. Goodbye PetLand! Enjoy customers and other co-workers that are better than me I suppose according to your perspective. Adios!

There is a reason the staff turnover rate at this store is insane. Pitiful wage, generally pitiful hours. Unless you are management or work another job concurrently, you will not make enough to live. Most of the store managers and seasoned staff quit en masse a few weeks after I started, and it seems like one or two people will quit every week in order to seek something better. Much of the new staff is thrown onto the floor with very little to no training and we are expected to know things we were not taught - unless you want to complete hours of online training on your own time with no compensation that will ultimately be all but useless in practice. It felt to me like the animal enthusiast courses taught me less about the animals and how to care for them, and more about what to try and sell people. 

The seasoned employees that have stuck around are pretty knowledgeable, and will usually take the time to help you out and answer your questions. However, communication is abysmal. New staff will be reprimanded and blamed for things that they are either not taught or that is out of their control. There is very little sense of solidarity and teamwork, and I feel the environment is only growing more toxic with a lack of reliable management. Every shift feels like a mad scramble where you are pulled in every direction - it often takes hours to complete one task. We are constantly understaffed, yet nobody seems to get enough hours. 

Customers are generally pretty friendly and chill to deal with, but you will often have to face the backlash for the company’s shady practices like hiking up prices, deliberately printing the ClubPet price larger on tags than the regular price, and their dog food reward program. I have been yelled many times by people expecting their free bag of dog food because they either do not understand how the program works or because the system has not accurately tracked their purchases. A lot of people in town treat the store as a petting zoo, and a good portion of your shift if you’re on the floor will be dealing with unsupervised or poorly supervised kids who harass the animals, ignore the signage, throw garbage into the pens, and sometimes try to climb inside them. At least one child is bitten by something every day. Some animals, like the kittens, aren’t directly accessible to the public unless they are legitimately considering adoption, so expect to deal with a lot of whining and rude behaviour when turning down entitled kids and parents.

The company may try and entice you with the promise of increasing hours and a pay raise based on your work performance, but do not expect this to come to fruition. I think this could be a fine enough job for young students/teens looking to make some pocket money, or people looking for an entry level job in animal care, but it is not a position for anyone trying to afford rent. The biggest plus about working here is interacting with the animals, but though much of the staff is dedicated to their welfare, it feels like they are disregarded in favour of the company’s bottom line in the grand scheme of things. The corporation does not care about its employees and they do not care about the animals. This store specifically feels like it is rapidly deteriorating. 

If you have ever thought about applying here because it seems so fun and exciting as a customer, please think again.
This place is anarchy. I read the review titled, "Worst job experience I have ever had" and this person nailed it on the hammer. The turn-over rate for people quitting is astronomical because of how bad it is. I just hope at least a few people have seen that review and hopefully mine too before making the decision of applying there.

Let's start with the training. It seems like no one can agree on a strict training guideline once you are on the floor. Somehow, information gets lost or confused which ultimately leads to someone getting angry or in trouble. Certain management will insist they "went over it in training" when they very clearly didn't. After working there longer than anyone I originally started with, I was STILL getting in trouble for things I had been doing the same way from day one. It was as if a random rule or policy would pop up out of nowhere. I am a very good listener at work too so it wasn't me just being ignorant. So be prepared to get in trouble A LOT.

The management is absolutely dreadful. The owners are extremely picky as to how they want things done and if they aren't done how they expect, the managers get in so much trouble. Then the managers take it out on the staff out of their own anger.  I heard that in one instance, the dog food cans weren't restocked which made the owner so angry she started throwing cans of food around and made one of the managers cry. Oh, and managers crying is not uncommon either. 

There are so many inappropriate rules implemented as well. One employee liked to sneak upstairs for a "water break" several times during a shift to text so when they got caught, management pretty much took away water breaks. They posted up a sign saying that during a 5 hour shift, you are only allowed to go upstairs and get water ONCE and on an 8 hour shift you can get water twice.  Meanwhile, the managers are allowed to keep their water in the office and drink whenever they want. SMH. 
Oh, no yawning either! If you get caught yawning, it seems like the world is ending. One employee actually got sent home and written up for yawning.  They also said they weren't going to pay this employee for the 2 hours they worked that day. That same day, the employee came in and quit. Rightfully so.

These are just a few of the many terrible things that happen here. You ever wonder why everyone greets you when you come in? And why the staff follow you around? It's not because they think you're going to steal, it is because if the staff doesn't do this, they get in trouble.  If the employees don't obnoxiously yell, "HELLO!" when someone walks in, the owner loses her mind. I would refuse to say hello to customers walking in if 3 or more other people already said hello but I would still get in trouble. It is rude and intimidating to have 5 different workers yell hello at you when you walk into a store. So no, the staff isn't just unusually happy all the time; it's that if they aren't, they are talked to and even made to cry sometimes. It is unacceptable.  Someone needs to expose this place for what it is.

I worked at Petland for over a year back in 2018. In that time the supervisor that was grooming me to be a small animals manager was moved to another store and replaced with the worst piece of faeces in the whole world. And I am not exaggerating. The store had a good environment and most of the employees actually enjoyed coming to work because everyone vibbed well. But then the whole supervisor switch happened and everything just went into the garbage. She was like a sleeping volcano and was not to be trusted. She talked behind backs, lied to your face, belittled you and was just all around a huge defecation storm. And in turn, the willingness and working energy of the store also went down hill because she's a relic that maybe had been marinated in fecal matter a few to many times and really did not know how to manage. She was a walking cloud of toxic fumes. 

Don't apply to work for petland. It's an entry level job full of excrement (Both literally and figuratively). The company really doesn't understand animal care or even the five freedoms. If you aren't 15 and still living with your parents, don't do it. The amount you make and the hours they give you is not life sustaining. They hire you on as part time but give you full time hours and expect you to live by a chaotic schedule of never knowing when you work without taking pictures of the paper print out three weeks in advance.And sometimes they switch up your days without telling you and if you don't look at the schedule every day just incase someone changed your hours- you're basically screwed and get written up or "Coached". Coaching is a lot of fun and if the assistant manager is bored, they will come after you for the most ridiculous reasons, just because they have a god complex and can. If management deems you to be someone not worth it, or if they just don’t like you. They will give you poor hours for weeks, laugh at you for asking for more than eventually they will fire you for ludicrous reasons. 

Honestly. HR and a lot of the higher ups that work for  the company just don't care about their employees and they will dangle a carrot in front of you for months to get you to do the work they don't want and then fire you if you aren't up to their standards - which are not worth the effort for a minimum wage job. They do not pay you enough for the amount of work that they expect of you. 

The company as a whole is stuck in the 50's. It's not willing to grow and change to fit modern days. Can't have exposed jewelry of any kind, no coloured hair, no cool haircuts or styles and no tattoos. etc, no individuality. They expect you to conform to their disgusting standards of Khaki. 

Animals are not well cared for any many die in the care of undertrained employees.

Stop while you are ahead and save yourself the pain.
It's been over two years and I am still traumatized by my experience at PETLAND WESTHILLS. It’s just not an experience I would wish on anyone.

The hours I was given at Petland were horribly erratic - there was absolutely no dependability of schedule, which meant that despite my best efforts, I was often highly confused, resulting in several times where I was either late or had no idea that I was supposed to be working - or not working. Despite having a recorded schedule for every month, I swear that hours were occasionally changed without my knowledge, for that is how it seemed. The hours were also given inconsiderately - a coworker of mine with a young son who needed weekends off was often given weekend hours to work anyway and I personally often found it difficult to manage errands because of my hours conflicting with the time my ride had available to take me place. I often felt very rushed working here, told to do tasks which were impossible to accomplish in the amount of time that the management wanted us to accomplish them in. I worked very hard at Petland and got little credit for it. Once or twice, I was accused for something which I did not do.

I have worked in the pet industry three times now and this was the worst place. With so many animals to keep track of and clean as well as take care of customers, having to know about all of the said animals in order to help them, this was a much bigger job than the money it offered. You do double duty here - you're half retail salesperson and half animal caretaker/janitor and often the retail side takes over, resulting in less time for the animals who need it. Maintenance in the fish area alone could take all day and it was the heavy duty work which is not easily interrupted, yet it was so constantly. I never felt valued or trusted and it was easily to feel disloyal. Whereas at other pet stores I felt strongly driven to only shop at my store, I was happy to shop elsewhere and since leaving, I have rarely shopped there since. The store has very aggressive sales tactics, making you 'attack dog' customers right at the door and getting in their faces rather than simply greeting them and leaving them alone for a while before returning to them a few minutes later to see if they need any help. There was also an employee who was very religious and I would have liked it if the management would have asked her to keep her beliefs at home as they seemed highly inappropriate in the workplace. There also were not really many opportunities given to the employees so that we could freshen our knowledge about products as very few reps came in and we never went to product seminars. With the nature of this job, what with daily teaching customers, more proactive education of the employees would be very helpful.

On the plus side, the coworkers were pretty great and everyone is quite nice. The pizza rocked!

For an eight hour shift you didn't receive 15 minute breaks because it was "unproductive" only one half hour break for your entire shift.

You had to arrive early (without pay) to iron your outfit, the managers said "were the Disneyland of petstores, would Cinderella have a wrinkle in her dress?"

You have to calculate (on your own time of course, before or after work or during your half hour) how much money you brought into the company, what your average ticket was, etc. And if you didn't meet their expectation then you will hear about it. You feel like you're always on the chopping block.

Because they track how much each associate puts through the till there is unnecessary tension over which customer 'belongs' to who. For example if associate A talks to Customer B for 10 minutes, then associate C also helps customer B and proceeds to ring them through under their number, well associate A is not happy. Everyone who worked there at my level was just mean and bitter, but I can't hold anything against them because the environment was so awful that I can't blame them.

This also makes fish catching the most avoided task, because it takes the longest with little payout. And the tanks are so cluttered with decorations and plants that catching anything is a nightmear. At least it looks pretty to the customer though!

You had to stay late without pay if customers took their time leaving at the end of the night (ex. You are scheduled until 8, but a customer stays until 8:10 there's no recourse, because the schedule is set in stone/no punch in/punch out system)

The managers will come up and give you pop quizzes about products in the store. They are also extremely condescending.

You might think working with animals is a plus but There was hardly any contact with the animals due to micromanaging, if they see you without a customer they will find something else for you to do.

The animal food and chews were reused (chew sticks washed for each new animal, old hamster food given to the mice to eat instead of mouse food)

I can't even count how many times I went home crying from the stress. Everytime I drove to work I wished I'd be in a car accident just so I didn't have to go in.

When I gave them my two weeks notice (a month after working there) they told me to just go, and the manager followed me around the store and back to the staff room like I was a criminal, then walked me outside. I was nearly in tears on the phone waiting for my sister to pick me up as the manager interrogated me about my new job (another Petstore in the area)

I was originally really excited to work for Petland. From the outside in, it seems like an fantastic company to work for. I thought the skills I would aquire would better prepare me for advanced positions in animal care, which I won't completely take away that I learned a lot in my time with petland but a lot of it was independent learning, meaning if you didn't take the time to learn about it outside of work, you didn't know about it. They offer training courses periodically, but its really only specifies to what petland wants you to know, so you can better sell their product. But if you really want to be able to meet all guest needs and support the animals in your care, you're gonna have to do a lot of your own training. That really sucks, because theirs lots of employees who just don't really care about animal care, and you're left picking up others slack, and a lot of it comes from management. I can't entirety blame management as they are treated like garbage from higher up and have such unrealistic expectations on them and the store Management barely get time off even though their are sales associates practically begging for hours. And finally the pay is terrible, with little to no advancement as your position advances. Head office doesn't take any recommendations on how to better your store or the animal care in your store. They are very set it their own ways. And are very only about money. You get written up if you don't get enough sales, and you have to put your name on every sale you do. But your ssales can be taken away from you, simply by someone saying it was them before you. I've had managers who have watched me work with customers all day, and come up to me that same day and question my work ethic because no sales were being put under my name. It can be very highschool like at times. Lots of gossip, drama and unnecessary pettiness. 
Head office does not care about the animals at all. If one falls sick, their favorite solution is just put it down. Because it's the "easiest" option. 
I enjoyed the friends I made at petland. But overall the company was draining, and could use many improvements on how staff are treated and trained. Including managers. I can't explain how frustrating it is dealing with a guest even as a new employee and have a manager not be able to support you because they have zero knowledge or experience in animal care. I have had a manager just say look it up when I needed help rather then actually support us.
Overall petland was an expierience, but not one I would recommend. 


It started out as an amazing job. I loved it and wanted to work all the time. I learned quickly that I was missing tasks throughout the days, which didn’t make sense because I was constantly busy already. Once I started doing everything I was supposed to do in a day, I became INSANELY overwhelmed. There was hardly any time for animal care. I stopped taking the animals out for guests because I would then be put so far behind on my tasks, even if it was just 5 minutes. 
My coworkers were amazing. We all became so close and were great friends in and outside of work. My department managers were told they shouldn’t talk or hang out with any of us outside of work as being friends with your employees won’t get you anywhere in life, and that it is “too feminine” of a management  style. 
Head office doesn’t care about any of us or the animals. They care about the money they make from them and that’s it. When animals are sick, they blame it on the Pet Councillors. If the animals do get taken to the vet, they usually just get put down because it’s easier that way. 15 and 16 year olds are expected to give animals medications through syringes, but if you’re under 18 you can’t take home a fish or hamster. They don’t recognize all your hard work and how much you stress yourself out getting everything done. Then we talk about how much they pay you. it’s NOTHING. After begging for a raise for 7 months it wasn’t even considered because it’s “not in the budget”. Department managers and supervisors make $16/h and are almost never able to get a raise without completely quitting and only willing to come back for more money. And only gets offered $17/h. 
They track your sales but you don’t make commission. You have an hourly sales goal you’re supposed to reach but if you don’t you get talked to about it and told you need to be on the floor more despite the tasks that need to get done. The hourly goal is a ridiculous amount too, $200/h for floor and fish PC’s. It’s so inaccurate too, many times guests will tell the cashiers that nobody helped them even if an employee was with them for 30 minutes. Sometimes 2 people will help one person at different times, and only one of them gets the sale. It would make more sense if there was a better way of tracking it, but there’s not. 
All in all, I could write a novel about how awful the mistreatment at this place is. There is so much more I could write and I’ve already written almost 3000 characters. It’s not worth it. Again, the coworkers are amazing. That’s about it. You never have time to hang out with the animals like you’d think. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Pet counselor 17 salaries reported	$16.26 per hour
Department manager 5 salaries reported	$17.07 per hour
Associate manager 2 salaries reported	$17.00 per hour
Store manager 1 salary reported	$47,000 per year
Assistant manager 3 salaries reported	$16.50 per hour

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