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 Grooming disaster
Posted Sun December 19, 2010 4:44 pm, by Judith M. written to PetsMART
Write a Letter to this Company
I brought our Airedale Lucy for a full grooming to the Petsmart at Clearwater Mall in Clearwater, FL yesterday, 12/18/10. The price quoted in advance and agreed to was $70.00. I spoke at great length with the woman at the reception desk at the grooming salon about the trimming we wanted. I read off my hand=printed list and we discussed it as she wrote it all into her notes for the groomer. I then gave my list to her to hand to the groomer. Our requestes were not complicated: Do not cut her beard or her face at all. Make sure ears are well-cleaned and hair is plucked from inside her ears. grind toenails and trim hair from between toes. I pointed out that the last time Lucy was there, her ears and toes were not done, although we had paid for that service. The clerk agreed to all requests. When Lucy was ready, the groomer=Josh called my husband Ralph to say she was all done. Ralph went over those points that were on the note and Jopsh assured him they were all perfectly completed. When I came to pick Lucy up, here is what I found: Ears were un-touched, so they were still dirty and not pucked. Hair between toes was not touched and still very long. The following areas were not clipped at all: her tail, the back of her ears, top of head, her chest, back of her rear legs and her rump area. Worst of all, her face was clipped where we had specifically requested it not be! There was also a red bald spot the size of a quarter on her back = after some time examining it, we think it might have been that way before the grooming but only revealed when her back was shaved(and thus not the fault of Petsmart) but the dog was handed to me without a word of what that spot was. She was also handed to me without, apparently, really being washed. Her beard and her rear area not even combed. She looked awful and the staff and management all agreed, although the groomer Josh had already gone home. The two young women who responded tomy reuqest for a manager were polite and I insisted that the ears and toe pads be done. The staff did those two tasks while I waited, but the pads still were not done completely when we left. I waited a half hour for this to be accomplished. My dog did not get groomed for Christmas and we cannot get her picture with Santa this year either. Sounds like a minor issue, and it is, of course, taken in the conttext of world events. But Petsmart makes money on their grooming and on pet photos with Santa, so it these are valid issues in this context. After much negotiation, the management team refunded $30 to me and said that was all they could offer.
I would like Petsmart to refund the $40 I paid and to give me $50 in credit for store merchandise. I want the store to re-train the groomer Josh.
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To: Petsmart Corporate and Nicole Gardner, Store Manager, Clearwater
Mall, Clearwter, FL: I want to thank you for the response to my letter
and for the terrific service we received as a follow up to my
complaint of 12/19/2010. It took a little time, but once the grooming
manager of your Clearwter Mall location, Nancy, contacted us,
everything was resolved professionally. The outcome was that Lucy was
grommed beautifully by your new grommer Kielly. Nancy took ownership
of the issue with the intial grooming problem and did everything she
could to make it right. She is a great example of what a manager can
be and my husband and I are pleased that Petsmart responded in such a
positive manner.
Yours truly, Ralph and Judith
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by olie Posted Mon December 20, 2010 @ 10:04 PM
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Why did you pre-pay? Last week we didn't pre-pay for the VET visit
for all 4 dogs at once.
I have never pre-paid for our dogs' grooming. Or any of our own
personal haircuts.
I've observed the grooming area at our local PetSmart. I wouldn't
leave any of our dogs there for a basic wash.
Look around at people walking their dogs in your neighborhood. Go to
the dog park and look at great cuts on dogs there--all the better if
they're an Airedale or a dog should be groomed in a similar manner.
Look for dogs wearing the "I've-just-been groomed" bandanna.
Talk to their owners. I've had these conversations at the dog park:
"Oh, looks like somebody just got a haircut! How cute! What a pretty
girl/handsome boy you are!" and then "Where do you go?"
"Oh, is that the one on XYZ Street?" Or, if it happens to be
PetSmart, ask "Which groomer did you use?" Because PetSmart probably
*does* have good groomers.
It's even acceptable to ask how much a grooming cost, and what that
includes. For example, our Miniature Schnauzers are $28 each; that
includes bath, clipping, ear plucking, nail trimming and anal glands.
(Those are the two big important words: Anal glands.) We don't get
the fancy Schnauzer cut, because we don't show the dogs.
Ask around at work. My employer allows us to use the e-mail server to
sell things and to ask for recommendations(on break or lunch, or
during prep, or before/after hours). Just last week someone asked
about dog groomers, good or bad. I replied with a recommendation for
our groomer.
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by Mnemosyne Posted Mon December 20, 2010 @ 10:44 AM
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I no longer use PetSmart for grooming, they are really lazy! They try
whenever possible not to take on work.
Example, I took my new puppy for training class, she needed her shot
record before the class started so the instructor saw it and noted it.
At the third class we received a coupon for a free nail trim...when I
went to get her nails trimmed they said they needed a copy of her
records, I explained I didn't have them on me but the instructor just
saw them two weeks ago and could vouch for the fact she had all her
shots plus. They adamantly refused, I saw those women, I should be
asking about their health before allowing them to touch my baby!
Ask someone with a really well trimmed dog who they use, sort of like
how you'd find a good stylist for your hair.
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