PetSmart Reviews

Pros

the different animals and the different people make it fun and interesting

Cons

you often have to deal with stubborn coworkers and customers on how to "properly" care for an animal while there is no one way to do so

Advice to Senior Management

i enjoyed the management at my store they were nice and helpful but stayed out of our way so we could do our job

Pros

Discount of 15%
Fun to work with animals
Coworkers are very nice
Management is very good
Adoptions of animals are possible if needed in the store

Cons

Not enough people scheduled to get tasks done regularly.
Been there almost two years never received a review of my work.

Advice to Senior Management

Schedule more employees during the week to complete cleaning tasks in Petcare.
Promote from within company to salon or other positions.

Pros

Pay is average, bonuses are good. Nothing positive to say about PetSmart management. Understaffed due to head count limitations. PetSmart associates are friendly. How PetSmart was voted among Phoenix Best Places to Work is misleading.

Cons

A short week at PetSmart is 50 hours / week. A routine week is longer. PetSmart Operations calls anytime day or night. Working for PetSmart is a 7x24 ordeal. Failure to join a teleconference is career ending. Health Insurance is expensive and provides limited coverage. Training and promotions are limited to the chosen few. If you're considering a JOB at the pet store, American Express is several blocks away.

Advice to Senior Management

Talk empowerment while micro-managing. IS is management top heavy. The term leadership is used too frequently. Not a single leader in the place. Too many managers, directors, project managers, and program managers.

Pros

15% discount (can only use in your own store)
Very nice co workers
Get to share my love for animals
Helping people expand their family with a new pet

Cons

Never get enough hours
Pay isn't worth the amount of work you do
Managers aren't understanding of time off or being sick
Managers aren't very professional and frequently badmouth other employees to you and cuss from time to time
Favoritism
Pet Care is extremely cliquey

Advice to Senior Management

Please be more professional and keep your promises. Stop picking favorites and try to do some team building exercises to break up the cliques. Also put more than one person on at a time; it is impossible to be in 500 places at once; and have realistic goals for the employees.

Pros

good benefits
ok pay
employee discount 15%
get to work with pets

Cons

No outside work life, more so than other retail industries
a lot of gossip between some DMs and other managers. There is little confidentiality, everyone knows your business or spread rumors, very high-school-ish
not enough payroll hours to complete projects and properly take care of animals
District Managers have their favorites- usually unskilled managers who kiss up every chance they get.
Little opportunity for promotions past the Store Manager level
Some of the customers are insane, cat collectors!!!

Advice to Senior Management

Investigate issues to the fullest. I have witnessed a lot of injustices being done to managers and associates. There are managers who are doing illegal things including not paying their associates for time worked but regional and district manager look the other way so they dont have to deal with the issue. Some associates live in fear of losing their jobs if speaking up. Be more people oriented and care about the business not just the profits. Have you noticed a lot of people from Jo Anns fabrics have been hired at Petsmart? Yes their regional used to work for Jo Anns and brought a lot of her people over. People who do not know anything about pets or care for the pets. Pets are not merchandise that you shove on a shelf and dont have to tend to it. I have seen atrocities done to pets because of neglect and store managers are not disciplined.

Pros

You can upgrade to a groomer after a certain amount a time, and the pay is decent. Petsmart has good benefits, especially during the recession, and at times feels like a family.

Cons

While you can upgrade to a groomer, the amount of work put in versus the pay doesn't add up. Petsmart will use it's bathers to their utmost potential, often times beyond it, just to save some money.

Advice to Senior Management

To management: Listen to your employees, and balance out all the bonuses and perks. While work is work, try making it a bit more fun. Sometimes I have to drag my self to work, because I know I won't really be appreciated.

Pros

Benefits, established company (not going anywhere soon), giving advice or sharing stories with owners. Ability to make what you sell.

Cons

Pressure x 10. Customer always right, quickness thrown under bus. If sales low, job is on line. Overall retail enviroment.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen, create reasonable goals, positive feedback (I've experienced management that instill fear (threat) into employees to get job done). Do not take customer coupons out of employee pay, I understand if the company isn't being paid, neither should workers, however we aren't working for free and Petsmart sure can take advantage of this. Hourly paid bathers leave, groomer's stay scheduled only making 50% of what they sell, which means more work less pay if the customer doesn't "like" the groom (most not understanding they need to shave tangled dogs, or their pet is fidgety or causes unexpected to be expected. If groomers complete bath dogs, they are associates giving credit to "salon manager", so schedule properly, no matter whose working accredit to whom which it belongs!

Pros

This company does offer very good pay compared to most retail/sales places. They are continually changing policies and procedures in order to help speed up processes.

Cons

This company does not recognize a hard working person when need be. They claim they want to promote from within, but always hire outside the company. The higher ranking managers, specifically the DM and SM, are hypocrites and will give some people as many chances to correct something but others not. They also show favoritism and some managers can get away with anything whereas others cannot. The higher up in the company you get, the less gratitude you receive.

Advice to Senior Management

Great way to gain experience, but definitely don't recommend moving up in the company. I don't regret having worked here, just wish all the time I had invested was worthwhile.

Pros

fun smart work staff cute animals fluffy animals small animals big animals i loved them all nice friendly customers and managers

Cons

hours mean animals bad customers bad sales staff wages were low and no commission or tips to be made tiring

Advice to Senior Management

pay more money to sales and staff members more scheduling possibilities and times more time off when asked as well

Pros

Benefits, Employment, and Hourly Income.

Cons

Horrible management.
No respect towards associates.
It seems the majority of these stores have a high school feel to them.

(Source: 2 people who worked at different PetsMarts in state, 1 who works out of state, and 2 who have previously worked at my old PetsMart who were under different management)

Little to no leniency.
Very unprofessional.
Hours are cut to DEVASTATING amounts around holidays and big promotions.
You can climb the corporate ladder through UNPROFESSIONAL ways, instead of hard-work.
Once again, it's not what you do, but who you know.

Advice to Senior Management

Come into a store unannounced and in casual clothes, and you will see how the store truly operates, not how the store SHOULD operate.