PETCO Reviews

Pros

it does keep it exciting working with animals and the customers are very nice at petco great people who care about there pets

Cons

It is terrible work embarising to say you work ther the pay sucks but wat really ruins ut are the bosses.

Advice to Senior Management

Go fire all the management and start over a 5 year old can do better running a store people quit all the time because of them

Pros

Great benefits, Freedom of self scheduling, 40 hours expected unless major resets or visits arise

Cons

Corperate overloads the stores while continues to cut back hours and tools to get things done. Pay does not reflect the amount of work expected. Favoritism is a HUGE issue with this company!

Pros

good experience for a first job, discount.

Cons

crap pay, crap hours, inconsistent hours, management is a joke, they ask all sorts of godly tasks to be performed that just can not be done.

Pros

Room for advancement
Company attracts some great people who are passionate about pets
Associate discount is good, occasionally get 50% certain brands of food
Good management teams provide learning opportunities by setting of vendor seminars (with free lunch)
Some stores run really fun events
Company supports adoptions and adoptions groups
Opportunity to transfer to another store if you move
Plenty of opportunity to stay busy--there is always something to do!
You are able to build good relationships with customers
The company has a good vision and good ideas

Cons

I have worked in two different districts and the difference between them was like night and day. My previous district had a great DM. He was annoying at times but he cared about store input and built a relationship with all members of store management. I enjoyed my job at that time. My current DM is terrible. He hardly visits stores and maintains poor communication. He is terribly frustrating to work for because he is practically non existent. We have another regional partner who is responsible for animal care and pet services. He micromanages the stores, yells at you if you don't complete things his way, and knows nothing about proper animal care.

The company is tightening payroll and is placing more tasks on the shoulders of their smaller teams. They have no concept of how much is truly too much.

The company has good ideas and good vision as mentioned above but THE EXECUTION on these is terrible. We receive a memo and they say, "do this."

It is impossible to fire bad managers and good managers are not rewarded or recognized. My only motivation to succeed is so I have the opportunity to celebrate with my team. It also gives my DM one less thing to bug me about when he decides to contact me or hold a conference call.

Advice to Senior Management

Caught in the Act is not a strong recognition and rewards program. I am one of the only managers in the whole company who even uses the program. People choose our competitor because they are cheaper and they have more associates to help. You need to understand the limitations of our employees--expecting us to physically move gondolas, install large displays, paint the walls, etc is not appropriate (especially when stores don't have the tools and aren't allowed to spend money).

Pros

Can bring pets to work
Same level co-workers sympathize with each other
Opportunity to learn because they company stays short staffed

Cons

Not flexible with schedules
Buildings not cleaned often
Bad communication from management
No recognition for performance
Management doesn't care about retaining good employees
Promotions for employees who are lazy and unknowledgable, but none for deserving employees
Must "kiss-ass" to get advancement
When employees leave, work gets passed on to those who are left, instead of re-hiring

Advice to Senior Management

Company success should begin with your employees. You have a lot of great, unhappy employees looking to leave. Changes need to be made - you have a loved member of the Senior Leadership team that left to a competitor. That should be a HUGE sign. At least great 6 marketing/ecommerce employees have left in the last 2 months - another sign. Your best employees are the ones that are capable of getting jobs elsewhere - they need to be taken care of and appreciated.

Pros

Great team and great environment to work in if you love pets

Cons

Dealing with customers about the high prices.

Advice to Senior Management

More coupons

Pros

Experience with animals and those good customers.
Decent benefits. Healthcare is offered to part timers, which some places do not offer (Prescription plan is pretty bad if you have to take name brand meds like I do).
If you get a job at the right store, co-workers can become great friends
Good company wide mandatory training-something Petsmart does not offer.

Cons

Company each year decreases the maximum raise and discount allowed.
No real recognition for hard work.
Management gets away with A LOT.
Company more concerned with "numbers" than what is sometimes best for the customers.
Hours constantly being cut.

Advice to Senior Management

I have worked for Petco for 4 years, 3 of which have been in a team lead/department management position. I graduated from college with a BA in after I had been working there for 1 year. Like many others, I could not find a full-time job in the industry for which I went to school. I was promoted to a management position when I asked to go full-time. Not my dream job by a long shot, but it is a job none the less. Most of this will sound bitter, but I have seen 4 years of change within this company, and unfortunately it's not for the better.

I always put everything I have into my job because of my strong work ethic but never receive any thanks or recognition for my hard work. The fact that the company cut down the raise bracket to a maximum of 35 cents (which is nearly impossible to get btw) is somewhat of an insult to those who truly work hard. It was 50 cents a few years ago. I cannot afford to live on my own even though I have a full-time management position and can just pay my bills and student loans each month with a little left over to manage. I have other friends who have similar retail jobs or less responsibility related positions who make more than I do. And they have worked fewer years at their jobs. There is no real regulation as to what people are necessarily paid - there is another dept manager at my store who has worked for the company one 1 year longer than I have who gets paid almost $4 more an hour than I do, and another who has worked a half year longer than I have and makes $2 less than I do.

Depending on the store, upper management takes a very "casual" approach to their position and take advantage of the fact that they do not have to clock in or adhere to the company's attendance policy. It is ridiculous that a manager can get away with coming in 25 minutes late to their shift but if I or another associate came in 15 minutes late, we would receive attendance points. They tend to not care about things until they become a full-blown issue and then the District Manager gets involved, something no one wants. Also most do not actually contribute to the work being done but reap all the benefits. They are salaried - no matter what they get the same check every 2 weeks. Our hours constantly get cut so we are under payroll percentage so upper management can receive their bonus for the year.

Petsmart is literally right down the road and is sometimes as much as $10 cheaper than we are. I always get customer complaints and unfortunately when you explain to them Petco's theory of "our prices are higher because you're paying for our knowledge" they literally laugh. Many don't care whether we price match or they want us to price match places we cannot (including online and grocery stores). It's the convenience of going to Petsmart to buy items and the opportunity to come to us with questions that sometimes brings people in or turns them away.

I seriously used to enjoy my job but the more time I spend within this company, the more I realize exactly how greedy and somewhat down-grading they actually are. I read a comment from someone affiliated with the company's headquarters tell an associate that they decreased our raise allowance and took away our 30% discount on Petco products because the company also offers us benefits - including health insurance and PTO time. I was appalled at this comment. We still pay into health insurance and work to get those PTO hours. Just because they're offered does not mean we should not be entitled to more than a 35 cent raise, especially for those who deserve it.

Don't get me wrong, it's not all bad working here. I enjoy the company of most of my co-workers and work well as a team as long as upper management doesn't interfere or ruffle feathers that day. I have had experience with so many animals that I normally would never have seen or had the opportunity to interact with. Some customers are delightful and get to know you by name and even bring their animals in just so you can see them. These are the things that keep me here currently, even as I have seen countless co-workers quit and move on for various frustration related reasons. It's a shame that economic times and the pursuit of larger profits has turned a once great, employee-appreciative company into one that does not show the people that matter (and get sales) any gratitude.

Pros

The employees are easy to get along with.

Cons

Salaries and benefits are terrible compared to other retailers.

Advice to Senior Management

Offer competitive salaries and bonuses.

Pros

Working with animals. Good vacation time given for amount of time on the job. Discount program is not bad either. Met some really good people.

Cons

Work typical retail hours (nights, weekends, holidays) which can really get in the way of spending time with family. Constrained by vast amounts of policies and procedures that are not always clear and forthcoming. Extreme lack of associates due to very constrictive payroll policy. Impossible to comply with deadlines associated with doing your job because of lack of associates in the store. Company is not trusting of anyone or anyone's opinion. No flexibility in being able to complete tasks per procedures. Antiquated equipment and fixtures.

Advice to Senior Management

Please give your subordinates the ability to have an opinion in operating the store, we are not all imbeciles. Need to take more time to explain the rules of certain jobs before someone screws up and gets written warning. three warnings and you're out, I know that for a fact.

Pros

Promoting high quality, natural and organic foods for pets and making a difference in pet health. Educating people on the importance of feeding their pets natural, whole foods.

Cons

Management is awful because people get promoted before they are ready. Associates are unhappy, unmotivated and count the seconds till their 10 minute break or when they will be off work.

Advice to Senior Management

Empower your associates to succeed. Allow them to make decisions and analyze situations. Lead by example and actually show associates that you care about what you do.