Pros

Interactions with pets makes for a never boring job. Discounts, because most people that work at Petsmart have pets! It can be fun making for a unique experience if inclined to work in a retail industry. Fun 'jobs' from Trainer to Groomer to Animal Care.

Cons

Making sure both the pet parents are pets are accomodated. You are just not recommeding solutions for the pet parent but to help the overall well being for the pet, as well. The tricky part is when people think of their pets as 'kids' and think you are 'telling' them how to raise them...As with many retail environments, the stress, from so many personality interactions, rarely getting 'good time' off (weekends, holidays, etc) and also, not all pets are pleasant, either! You can see these effects in management, too because they are not always consistant. Currently our store has a 'two minute punch restriction' before and after your scheduled shift, so you cannot punch in or out beyong a two window mark without getting management approval.

Chance of getting bit or scratched, even when being 'cautious' and following safety guidelines. Those who work in grooming recoil from 'toenail trim' walk-ins!! Many of these dogs have behavior problems and the intense stress of wrestling with an unruly dog just to clip his nails is unnerving. This process usually ends up getting the groomer/bather behind schedule on their booked clients and can make a bad day worse.

Having to greet every customer when walking through the store. This is very unsettling. I LOVE helping customers, I do not want to shun them. But, with my work in the Salon, I rarely have the 'time' One customer could set me back 20 minutes. I do not want to not help customers but I don't want to get behind in my work and make my pet parents upset or have to wait to get their dogs finished. i feel like one of the customers will 'lose out' by dividing my time.

Advice to Senior Management

At least for the grooming department REALLY LISTEN to what the employees are saying. I know it is difficult to turn a client away or charge more for a service because of the condition of a pet's coat but we need your support. Most of us are working in the department because we LOVE our job and would recommend things unless we thought it was necessary.

The other day a dog was in the salon and it lunged at the groomer, at least once, for every process, Even when it was just being rinsed! Plus this dog had bitten someone on its first visit, according to notes. Management was told and the parent was called to pick up the dog. The parent was insistant that hs dog was well behaved. Management then tried to see if the groomer could 'do anything else' before the uncompleted dog was sent home. NO! This dog was dangerous.