PetSmart
Reviews and Complaints

The worst. I have been shopping at this PetSmart for years and this was the end.

A very ill-tempered clerk named Vanessa had been rude to me several times over the past few weekend visits. Seemed almost like it was a personal thing. This was the last time. My (leashed) Lab puppy started to bark at a parrot in a glass cage. The parrot didn't seem to mind, and was even pecking the glass at eye-level with the dog. The kids surrounding her were enjoying at the scene and petting her. Overall nothing special, until Vanessa yelled at me from 30 feet away in front of about 20 customers to have the dog stop barking.

Flat out rude and embarrassing. I went home and looked up PetSmart to complain. I was surprised to find HUNDREDS of complaints leveled at PetSmart. Wow…what a customer service record. I won't bother pursuing it…. I will just take the $1, 200/yr I spend at that store and go elsewhere.

… and somebody ought to train Vanessa ASAP that barking at customers really doesn't work.

I went to buy 4 dwarf African frogs on sept 5. The girl that help me was so rough trying to net them, my previous experience has been that they are gently caught by hand but she used the net to trap them and I'm sure in doing so injured the frogs. Once she put them in the bag it started to leak so she transferred them to another bag by dumping them all at once and they both hit the counter and each other. I said watch out and the other girl watching her told me she's new here. Well what I ended up bringing home is 2 dead frogs and one that has a limb injury. I called and talk to the girl (Christina) that watched the new trainee damage these frogs and she admitted it was wrong but the girl was nervous and has to learn. She had no concern about the rough treatment of the frogs and the death or injury but said bring them in for a refund. I asked her why she didn't talk to me or check the frogs for injury after and she said she was busy and there were too my customers to look after. I have to sign a record and customer release form to buy these animals and I'm disgusted on how they were treated and the customer service I received at the time of purchase and when I called the next day.

On july 23, 2015 I purchased online from petsmart the sentry pro xft for both my dogs two different weights. I spent $43.38. When I got home I bathed both my dogs with flea shampoo and then waited 24 hours as instructed by a customer service rep. That I called from the number on the back of the box to put on the medicine. By the same day I put on the medicine both of my dogs were itching and biting, when I checked them I found fleas on both of them, I figured it would take a couple of days. Three days later both of my dogs were just miserable the medicine didn't work at all and the vet said to wait at least one week after putting on the medicine to do anything except rinse them repeatedly. Upon trying to get a refund for the remaining medicine the manager at the pet store said they were not responsible for the product not working and there was nothing he could do. So basically I am out almost $45.00 and stuck with disposing of the remaining medicine all because this company seems to think it is alright to sell a product that doesn't work. A suggestion to the makers of this medicine, read the reviews and see what your product is doing to all these poor animals.

Beware of the groomers at the Bell Road Petsmart in Glendale Arizona. I took my mini Aussie to get her groomed and two hours later I returned to find a lame, injured dog. No explanation from groomer Kayie, other then she said my dog was hard to handle and mean. The dog is only barely a year old. Aussies are not know for having a bad temperament. I had to take my dog to an emergency vet center since it was a Sunday and it cost me several hundred dollars to find out the dog had a strained left shoulder. I contacted both the manager of this store and corporate office, and one month later nothing. I plan to never use Petsmart again.

We brought our 2 1/2 year old toy poodle/maltese mix "Holiday" (who weighs 8 pounds) to Pet Smart Grooming in Cape Coral, FL on Saturday, August 15th. Holiday was found homeless less than a year ago and we adopted her on Christmas Eve. She is a special needs baby. When she was homeless she got hit by a car and broke her leg. Because it was never set properly, we had to have it amputated about a month after we adopted her. We gave specific instructions to the groomer - Brittany - about her background and about how we wanted her groomed. My husband went back to check up on her about a 1/2 hour after we dropped her off and we were told by the groomer that Holiday wasn't behaving properly and they had to put her back in the cage to settle down. They tried again after awhile and they had 2 groomers trying to cut her hair. One holding her and the other trying to give her a haircut. They went back and forth between trying and putting her back in the cage. She was there for 4 hours and the only thing they did was to shave her which we asked them not to do. She was completely traumatized by their behavior and treatment of her and frankly so were we. If they cannot follow directions and/or manage to keep an 8 pound 3 legged dog still while they are grooming her I don't see how they can groom any size animal. We were completely appalled by their treatment of this helpless little animal and would NEVER take another pet there again. We do not believe that any animal should be treated in this way. We will tell anyone who asks about a groomer to NEVER take an animal to Pet Smart to be groomed. They do not treat the animals in their care properly.

We were told multiple times that adoption on Sunday starts at 11:00. We came at 10:30 to wait because we had our hearts set on a female Flame-point Siamese the same age as our male Lynx-point Siamese, only to find that they were adopting her out to another family! We had already named her and our four kids were already making toys and beds for her, yet because of the early adoption, we are now without her. She was the perfect cat. I know we can't get her back now because it is too late, but I would very much like to see these practices turned around. If adoption times are at 11:00, then don't adopt a half an hour early, especially if you know that another family wants that cat.

Hi, I wanted to file a complaint actually but am not sure where just yet. But I will start here. I often shop at the PetSmart located in Lancaster, Ca. off of J st. I have several fish tanks with fish and a bearded dragon that I got from there. I also by snails if they happen to have any and this is where my main complaint is. This and the guppy fish. I have bought several nerite snails from this store and they have all died except one. Two weeks ago I bought two that were given to me dead. I don't live in town so it is bit of a hardship for me to keep going back. I went back to get two new ones which was no problem but one of those two died also. I am crossing my finger with the other because he seems to be sick. Nothing else in my tank is affected except the guppies and the nerite snails that I both but from PetSmart. When I do get a chance to buy from other stores they are healthy and are still alive in my tanks. I notice when I am there that there are a lot of dead snails in the tanks so you don't really get to choose from many. Only a few are ever alive just to later die in the customer tanks. This is EVERY time I am there. Why is this? Are they getting fed while they are in these tanks since the tanks I notice don't have any algae in them for the snails to eat. Or are they just sick when they come in? And then there are the fish. I am only referring to the guppy's right now because that is what I usually buy and what I am having all the problems with. Just like the snails they die. I also have had many come into my tank with diseases and then get my other healthy fish that I bought else where and had for a long time sick. I have bought a fortune in fish and snails and only received a refund for a few of them which is partly my fault for living out of town and not being able to save their carcass which is what you need to get a refund. This can be very gross and just not worth it at times but it still upsets me. Other than Walmart next door which is very limited there really isn't a whole lot of stores I can choose from. I live in California City, Ca. I do want to add however that although the employees have been very friendly and fast in helping me they seem to only have their own personal opinions about the the fish or reptiles. I have only dealt with these two areas of the store. I say this because as often I am there I basically have talked to all of them in these departments and their care tips are always different from each other which leaves me confused. I notice also their care tips are different from their own care pamplets they give out as well. They are very good about giving information out before you buy any animals which is great but like I said I sometimes when I read or ask others in these stores the same questions, they are usually different. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I do hope that some extra care is taken for the snails at the very least. Although I would like to see many changes for the sake of all the fish and others in the aquatic area. I'm not sure what is going on exactly but I know there is a problem that needs to be addressed. Maybe a new supplier?
Sincerely, A Pet Lover and friend of PetSmart

I went to petsmart to rent a bissel carpet cleaner, I had called about before driving there, the manager wasn't familiar with the machine, had to get advice over the phone and didn't know what the additional tools were for and got angery when I asked if he could make another phone call and ask because I didn't want to rent tools I wouldn't be using.. he slamed the cabinet door houseing the carpet cleaners, walked off and didn't know any more when he came back.. he didn't even know how to fill out the paper work.. now if the store is going to rent capet cleaners, the manager should at least know how to fill out the papper work and know what the extra tools are for and why be rude to me?. I just asked what they were used for? if I worked at a store renting a product, I would certainly know my product and how do fill out the papper work for it.. I left the store with out the carpet cleaner...

The people at Lake Wales Florida. Are lies about the training classes being full. When I was in the store I was told the classes were full. I took their word the first time. Same thing happened again. So I had a friend less then 15min. later call and they were not full. I call a few day later and asked if their were any classes and I was told yes. So I want to the store and signed up for a class. The 2nd week of class I was told that class was full.

I was hired February 2013 to clean Bismarck Petsmart by David Fischer from Capital Contractors. The job and paycheck went well until Capital hired different people around October 2013. My agreement with David Fischer was $1000 @ month and Capital would furnish a scrubber and a buffer. Weeks later, the (refurbished) scrubber arrived. Both front wheel bearings were totally worn which made the scrubber almost impossible to push, and there were many other issues with the machine. Capital hired a repairman 200 miles from Bismarck to work on the machine every time it needed it. Approximately 6 weeks later, the buffer arrived. Damaged in transit, but the repairman decided to replace the batteries and call it good. After the new employees at Capital saw what their machines were costing, they decided to change my contract saying I was responsible for the labor and repairs on their machines. I refused to sign, so they refused to pay me my wages. I talked to the store managers, and Anne from Phoenix, (head of Bismarck store), all of who said there was nothing they could do. The previous cleaner also did not get her last months pay. That's why the store sat unclean for many weeks until I started working there. We cleaned January, February, and March of 2014 but never got any money. I agreed to clean till the end of April, but with no pay I decided to stop March 31st. Capital Contractors owes me for all four months. Petsmart paid Capital for my cleaning, but they decided just to keep the money. I did everything I was supposed to do and did a good job.

Petsmart is notorious for having displays with a large banner on top that states a price while the merchandise in the display is a different (higher) price. I have had this happen a few times at this location and each time they refuse to sell at the price marked, even after talking to management and calling their customer service line.

I took my pet to get the touch-up service which includes hair trimming, ear cleaning, teeth freshener... Everything seems fine until I took him home and realized that one of his nails was cut too deep and got blood stain on it. Seriously, I feel so disappointed. I always want to cut his nails at home but I'm afraid to hurt him, yet you did what? You cut on his quick and you DID NOT even dare to tell me about it. Also, after the trimming, you should at least look at him and see if it's okay or not. The hair looks like a mess, it's not even at all; the left side has longer hair and it's definitely noticeable. Moreover, around his mouth has a residue of toothpaste or whatever you used to clean the teeth. So you mean you can only do what the service included and cannot spend little more time to clean up the mess? I don't understand why I have to pay money for this unprofessional service. Yea good luck ruining the company!

We adopted small kitten on 6/7/14 kitten from Paw Placement (Scottsdale Pet Smart) he became very sick took him into our vet on 6/11/14 was told in all likelihood he had Feline Herpes and that every cat in our household now has been exposed to this incurable disease, we called Paw Placement on 6/11/14 and no answer we left a message. They never call us back, I guess they got the money we got a household of infective cats and a very sick kitten that might not make it. Thank You

I found. Dog harness at petsmart and took it to the register to purchase. They said it had been marked down to a penny and that was to low so they could not sell it. I offered to buy it at the previous marked down price and they said no they could not sell it. I called their customer service line twice and never received a response back. I wasted time trying to find a harness at their store and contacting their customer service line as they do not seem to care about customer satisfaction.

The Pet Hotel is all about the money and is run by a Pet Hotel Manager and Asst Pet Hotel Manager that does not even walk the back rooms and stand around all day and they do not care that the dogs do not get to play all day because they are usually short workers and then they just pick the dogs that will get to play in day camp and leave the others in their rooms but yet charge the pet parents for a full day of day camp. Especially over the Holidays when they double load their capacity and still charge the dogs their day camp and they actually are just sitting in their rooms all day all week.
Worked there for roughly 8 months and I could not even look the pet parents in the eye anymore knowing all well that they were being charged for the full day or for the week and knowing that they were getting taken. Then the manager and assistant manager allowed the dogs to sit with poop in their rooms all day until the next shift came in and sometimes when I would come on the dogs would not even have water in their rooms. It is heart breaking to see people who really don't care about the dogs well being and that they are only there for the money and job TITLE. The dogs would end up with diarrhea from being stressed from not getting out of their rooms. The dogs that would come in and be tagged as individual walks would only get one walk a day because the day camps were full and there was no place to walk them and play with them. So they only would get out once a day if at all again because we were always short on staff so that the hotel would meet there quota's and the managers would get their bonus. It was sickening to me and I called corporate and nothing ever happened or changed. Please be aware that since I have left there have been 2 dogs that have died since then.

I know someone who had access to Petsmart confidential employee files describing incidents of animal abuse, cruelty, and neglect. Most of this happened with dogs. The incidents included: beating, choking, throwing animals into their cage, slapping, kicking, picking up dog by its hair, pulling dog’s ears, verbal abuse of dog, neglecting to feed and water animals, errors in administering medication by non-veterinary staff, and injuring dogs while grooming.

In addition, customers have reported that their dogs were emotionally traumatized, trembling, withdrawn, and almost in shock after being serviced at Petsmart. They knew their dog must have been abused, but could not prove anything. Some of this shocking abuse was inflicted on puppies too.

It’s not hard to understand why this abuse occurs when you know something of the oppressive work environment in Petsmart stores. There is a lot of anger in those stores. Every little aspect of the employees’ work lives is micromanaged. They even intrude into their personal lives. They are tested for every little mundane task including scooping up crickets. One employee said it’s like being in the Army.

There are so many rules; the employees can’t keep track of them all. The stores also have developed an employee informant system to report every transgression. Employees are often bitten by dogs, and sometimes blame is implied against the injured employee. The vast majority of employees including the talented ones, have these ‘action plans’ or ‘performance improvement plans’ in their folders. These are really euphemisms for written disciplinary actions.

This creates a lot of employee anger, resentment, and frustration that is vented on the dogs and other pets. It is not uncommon to have people with emotional problems and anger management issues to be tending the dogs. There have even been instances of threats, intimidation, harassment, and assaults against other employees.

Petsmart should not be in the business of live animal sales and service. They should be relegated to the selling of pet food and supplies only. You can’t sell and service live pets under a high pressure sales model. It just doesn’t work for the animals or the employees. If Petsmart corporate tries to talk this off as a rare occurrence, don’t listen to their c*. This is not an isolated thing and happens more often than you think. My contact was reading about these abuse incidents on a weekly basis. Trust me, this is true. If you don't believe this, do some online research. I would never bring my dog into Petsmart for anything.

I have a Yorkshire Terrier Pity and I took it to Petsmart Pet Grooming for grooming. I explained what
grooming I want and woman told that the understood. When I came for my dog after two hours it
looked terrible. I wanted to get money back but they refused. Bait and switch…