pet care facility associate

kennel technician

customer service representative

dog daycare attendant

pet bather

PETSUITES

Let me start by saying that there was a time I enjoyed my job. That time didn’t last long. I think PetSuites has the right idea when it comes to what a luxury pet boarding and daycare facility should be like, but they have the wrong people trying to spearhead it and a corporate office who is more worried about the dollars than the animals. I worked for Petsuites for over a year, and in that time period we NEVER had consistent management or a consistent staff. Hourly workers would quit within their first week. Ive had coworkers be demoted or fired for first offenses yet I also have coworkers who have 4 and 5 write ups for the same thing. I have seen both favoritism and racism in my workplace. Our first general manager was let go for harassing us. It went on for months. We were expected to deal with it until they got around to it after multiple whistleblowers came forward. They took our first resort manager to corporate for a promotion within our first few weeks of being an open resort. They hired us a new RM who was by herself and doing the collective work of 2 people for months. NVA, the company that owns PetSuites, did not want to allow us the extra staffing hours to properly staff the workplace. This resulted in the animals not receiving the proper care. There were times where we would have over 200 dogs in the facility with 4 or 5 staff members trying to care for them.  There were times when staff members were left in a yard with upwards of 30 dogs by themselves. There were times where staff members had to be in the yards with no break for the entire 7 or 8 hour shift. More recently, management would sit in the office while the employees and animals suffered trying to get everything done and everyone taken care of. Dogs would not get their playtimes. Cats would only be checked on once a day. There was one time where a member of management stopped me from going around cleaning up rooms and making sure the dogs weren’t sitting in their own feces to give out frozen peanut butter treats. Dogs miss medications frequently. Dogs check in without required vaccinations frequently. There is little to no oversight on the IMPORTANT things because they are too busy making sure that the storage rooms and back offices are organized. I have had upper management and members of corporate come into my resort that do not know how their resorts are run. I have had to pull out the employee manual twice to show them that we were doing what it said. I do not understand why NVA and PS are intent on hiring from the outside and putting people without relevant animal experience in charge of running their resorts. I’ve met members of corporate that don’t have the first shred of knowledge on dog behavior. Ive had members of management at my resort who don’t know the first thing about a dog in general. We have had dogs that needed to go to the vet and our GM would not take them. We have had a GM knowingly accept a dog into the resort with no rabies vaccination.  We accept dogs that only 1 or 2 people can handle. So if those people aren’t there, the dog isn’t taken out. There are roaches and ants in the building and wasps in the outdoor play yards. It’s not fair to the staff or the animals. Even during COVID, my coworkers were working with LESS than a skeleton crew. I left because I couldn’t take the mistreatment of the humans and animals anymore. I was tired of myself and my coworkers speaking up and not being heard. They preach an open door policy but slam it in your face when you try to talk. I am still owed a bonus check from March. It is now July. I do not recommend working here. I will not return here. This company was by FAR the worst company I have ever worked for and I recommend that you run away from here. Fast. 

This is very long, but I promise everything I say here is true. I strongly urge you to seek other animal care companies if you are interested in this field. On a fundamental level, this company is not operating for the dogs in the slightest. I quickly learned after only a few short weeks that, at the end of the day, they only cared about how much profit they could gain from their unsuspecting clients. I don’t want this company to be confused with the people who worked at this facility, as I know most of them truly poured their hearts out for those dogs and deserve so much more than the company has given them. To give you an idea of what I mean, imagine a building consisting of 150+ kennels with bars for doors and only 14 outside potty runs. This meant that on our peak days, it would take us 4+ hours to take out every single dog at the beginning of the day, long after most of them have lost their ability to hold in their waste. Imagine only having one outside yard available to run a daycare group, yet having to manage 35+ dogs all by yourself with only a spray bottle and an air horn at your disposal (both are aversive techniques and don’t always work for the record). Imagine these scenarios, and then remember you are only working with 3 to 4 other staff members. This doesn’t even include the individual playtimes, which more often than not don’t get enough time or any time at all. On top of all this, you are expected to learn all of the procedures in two to three days. No orientation, and absolutely no training protocols. It breaks my heart just thinking about how anyone working in a corporate setting could honestly say they care about dogs and then subject them to this kind of treatment. I certainly will never board my own dog there and again very strongly urge you to avoid them at all costs, be it for services or employment. Building faults aside, the environment I worked in has left me with lasting emotional hardship, compassion fatigue, and burnout that I now have to spend who knows how long recovering from. I saw so many people give this job their all, and then get discouraged by management for “not working hard enough.” I have watched some of the hardest working people I’ve ever seen fall apart emotionally because they were pushed to the breaking point. There was no respect or even the slightest bit of appreciation for the efforts they put in, and in the end they were forced to either keep spiraling until they quit or speak out and get fired. I do believe that corporate had a huge hand to play in this environment because to them we were nothing but replaceable pieces in their puzzle. To them, our job could always easily be filled by someone else. I could say more, but this is long enough. If you are serious about wanting to work for animals and want to love this kind of career field, please seek out a different type of facility that isn’t ran by a corporate agency. I promise you it will save you so much heartache to be at a place that actually cares about the animals. 

Honestly, I love the job as a receptionist (host). It is not just playing with dogs and having fun. There is a ton of details that you have to pay attention to and if you don't things can go very wrong. 
However, it is so rewarding building relationships with customers and seeing dogs turn into the best versions of themselves. It sounds weird but seeing an extremely shy or even slightly aggressive dog (only because of nervousness) become a loving companion and snuggle bug is an amazing feeling knowing you helped that dog come out of their shell. 
I learned a lot about dogs' behaviors working here that I would have never learned from google. 
while working here you do also get tips divided up between all employees based on your hours.
you're answering phones a lot. At check in you must write parent instructions down verbatim. after all pets are checked in you make "packets with all of the dog's information and if we are lacking anything you contact the parent to obtain that info. then you answer a lot of phone calls as well as making them. then you will do check outs in the evening. DO NOT APPLY IF YOU ARE AFRAID OF LARGE DOGS. there are tons of them. There are a lot of Pitbull's but 9.5 out of 10 of them are the sweetest dogs ever.
However, there are some drawbacks.
I loved the job itself, but management was not very good, and corporate is Horrible! Both are very bad at communication. We recently had a price increase, and we were not told about it until about 2 days before it was enacted, so we had almost no time to prepare or let customers know. Corporate literally sent us posters that said, "ask us what's new!" with a happy girl and her dog on it referring them to ask us about our price changes. As if customers are supposed to be happy about that. Needless to say, regular customers were not happy about that which created more negative interactions between customers and employees. 
We were told prices were raised to account for "competitive wages", but they didn't give many people raises after we were forced to fully book the facility even though we were severely understaffed due to covid. Corporate told us we had to and that they were trying to hire more people. 
We were without a manager for a month and a half. My coworker and I had to pretend to be managers when anything big came up. The next higher up person was supposed to be the one taking care of those situations, but he was useless. He would say he would take care of it, then we would get a very angry call from a customer saying no one contacted them about the situation, so things got worse.
I will say though it is fairly easy to get promoted... because people keep leaving due to corporate demands and their lack of understanding how things work on the lower level.

I worked here for nearly four years and it is just the same pattern over and over again. Favoritism has always been EXTREME, people get promoted for a good attitude but have no idea how to do the actual job and none of the supervision team is actually trained to lead. Management is HORRIBLE. It has always been horrible for the entire time I worked there but current management is one of the worst. God forbid you have a single personal issue and need to call out; you'll be greeted with a very passive and or aggressive response about how 'you're letting the team down' or 'you need to try harder'. You may just get hung up on if you're lucky if you try to call out sick. New hires are treated like royalty but it's all fake. After becoming a senior employee you'll start to loose your value unless you're an avid butt kisser. That's the only way to get a promotion anymore, not with any showmanship of hard work or passion. It's promoted as 'were all a family here' but its the FARTHEST things from. I don't need my work to be a family, work is to be a professional environment where you come to do a job you are paid for. The staff is sneaky, very high-school mannered, constantly spreads gossip and if you're best friends with management your write up's will be overturned. Also, management has hardly any confidentiality. If theirs's a death in your family or you need a surgery, expect everyone to know despite that never being given permission to be discussed with all staff. This is common sense. The people causing the biggest issues never get in trouble, no one is ever fired unless it's basically a criminal issue. The environment is super toxic. The employee's are lazy and the animals are mostly not taken care of. The turn over rate has always been incredibly high, people are constantly calling in or being called in because no one wants to work. CDC guidelines are not being followed there, common area workplaces are NEVER cleaned and when it comes to regular cleaning it's never done correctly cause staff is just there to play with the animals. Management and the employees are a toxic joke and the pay you get for your responsibilities are LAUGHABLE! Breaks aren't important and you usually get one only when it's convenient for upper staff. If you seem 'too ditsy' by leadership you will not be able to do everything that other staff can do such as Group Play. No one's actual concerns are ever taken seriously and theirs no room for decent employee's to grow. The whole experience was very frustrating and it kept getting worse. DON"T WASTE YOUR TIME FOR 10$ an HOUR TO DO 8-10 HOURS OF PHYSICAL LABOUR A DAY!! Your days off aren't even guaranteed because theirs's never enough staff  to work a shift and people always call off cause that never goes punished so people continually call off. Go work somewhere else. 

I was a part time worker at pet suites for about a month and a half. A typical day at work consisted of clocking in and reporting to my shift lead for further instructions. I would then either potty walk dogs, clean the dog’s rooms, and or go to outside yard depending on what time of the day I was getting there and who all was already doing things. I would then be shuffled back and forth between activities until the end of my 7 hour shift was done. Whether it be cleaning or letting dogs play the day is pretty busy as long as there are a good amount of dogs. 

The shifts were fine, the activities were fine, and everything related to doing the actual work was fine. When it came down to communicating on what I was supposed to do, it was a chore to get an answer sometimes or to get help with something I hadn’t been trained to do yet. 

On the topic of training- on my first day I had to come in for a few hours to do training, I figured I would work a full shift and shadow people learning as I went. Instead, they gave me a 45 page long packet and told me to take notes and that it would be the one time I had the packet and to absorb as much knowledge as I can. After taking notes for 3 hours I was ushered to the office to watch videos for an hour repeating the same things in the packet. The only problem with this packet and the videos, was that they were outdated to an extent and none of the people working there actually follow everything to a tee so what is the point of making someone stress about teaching themselves everything. 

On the topic of stress- one of the managers in the Perkins location is amazing and super helpful, but the other one is the stress creator of all time, she admits to constantly watching for things to fire people for and is like a hawk. You simply cannot get away with doing anything incorrectly when you are first starting because she will find out and or will see you doing it. She can not communicate effectively besides being rude. Her tone is never kind and she never seems to have time to answer questions. All in all it seems like she has no respect for her workers and only seems to care about herself. None of the workers seem to like her and there have been many people that worked there with me that told me people rotate out super fast every few months. It seems like she has a history of driving people away and she does not seem like an effective manager for the job because she creates a toxic work environment. 


As a groomer at Petsuites you can expect to be overworked!! They constantly overbook 1 groomer. Sometimes you can have 25+ dogs in a day + the two hours of cleaning afterwards( which you should be splitting between two groomers but bc you are short staffed 1 person gets stuck doing it all) They also have the worst business hours possible. Boarding animals are asked to pick up before noon on their departure date otherwise they are charged another day. What does this mean for a groomer? Hope you like waking up at 2am to come work at a facility with 0 other staff present..Luckily no pet/groomer has been injured at my resort bc I wouldn't expect a manager or vet to be answer at 2-8am. Then if you're scheduled walk in that same day they're allowed to drop off between 7-9am. most wait until 9am- meaning if you have to come in at 3am to get boarding dogs finished before noon check out- wait till 9am to start walk in appointments you could potentially be working a 12 hour day with no incentives except making more of the 50 percent you regularly gain.  SICK DAYS are another questionable thing at this resort- If a groomer calls of sick they get 0 sick days from this resort- clients are then told they can get 20 percent off their next service for their inconvenience(if they had other staff they could call in this wouldn't be an issue) so not only do you miss out of pay for being sick you also get docked in pay when those clients come back their next visit. Although Petsuites does offer their groomers paid vacation the management team will hold it above your head. Only use vacay hours during the slow winter season or Jump at the chance to take it away for not covering other groomers shifts on short notice. Petsuites also offers a variation of coupons which come off the groomers pay and tips that should be split between the resort and groomers constantly get mixed up!! We do make 50 percent commission which Is nice, but during slow times you're expected to come in for 2-3 dogs and then stay at 7-8 hour shift with no other expected tasks besides cleaning duties- Management and staffing is a wreck- since ive been with the company in my 5 years we have had 8 managers come and go- csr and kennel staff is even worse. Gets to the point where you stop asking co- workers names bc staff retention is so low- I don't blame them. they're over-worked and underpaid-

Summary:
Work environment has caused me nothing more than a great deal of stress and anxiety every time I walked into the facility. This wasn't always the case back when I had started in 2020. PetSuites used to be more enjoyable and lax. Overtime they have set more rules and restrictions to a point where all that matters to them is making money and not the well-being of their groomers. 
It's apparent that they don't show any appreciation towards their groomers, but instead keep on employees who continually screw up and show unprofessionalism, yet provide them with raises and a higher position. It's all about being fair and equal here, which is fine and dandy until you realize you're being taken for granted while contributing thousands of dollars towards this company. 
The hardest part of this job is not being taken seriously or heard about your problems. There's always an excuse to cover up for someone else's mistakes and God forbid you speak up about an issue. They can't even provide you with corporates contact information which goes to show how little they care about any problems you have. There's no support whatsoever from management. I found it difficult to even approach my manager due to the passive-aggressive undertones they displayed and not establishing a trusted relationship at all. 

Hostesses:
Majority of the hostesses consistently screwing up groom schedule and failing to communicate with the groomers. There are a select few that I very much appreciated because they knew how to do their jobs correctly. 

Pro Team:
Difficult to establish a respectful relationship with due to unprofessional attitudes and behaviors. A lot of underlying tension. No support gained from them at all.

Conclusion:
It's a decent place to work at temporarily if you're looking to gain experience and improve your skills as a groomer. Benefits and PTO are a great plus. You aren't guaranteed 100% of your tips from providing spa services towards dogs who are boarding which is a load of bull. They split tips and you receive 8% between everyone at the facility, so after tax you basically get nothing back. If I've learned anything from working at PetSuites in Greensboro it's that there are better places to work. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
I really liked working with a variety of different dog breeds and if you have the right staff the day goes by quick and easy. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part for me was the high employee turnover rate.  Within my first two years as a seasonal worker I had worked with about 4 entirely new staffs.  Another stressful part was drama between staff members, I usually stayed neutral in these situations but people would tend to tell me what was going on and it would sometimes.es affect the performance of other staff members.  Another stressful part would be when people would board their highly dog aggressive or fear aggressive dogs because it made it difficult for pros to handle them when we had to take them outside to use the bathroom.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
For the most part the work environment is good.  Everyone there likes dogs to about the same extent so there was hardly anytime where someone hated their job because they didn't want to work with animals.  There does tend to be a but of drama but it dies out pretty quickly and doesn't tend to affect employee performance.  If you find the right people and stay out of the drama you will enjoy the job a lot.  

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
If I am working in the back a typically day is pretty busy and keeps me on my feet as there is always something to do whether it be routine stuff like.taking dogs out to the bathroom or to play, or maintenance like laundry and picking up any accidents dog have in their rooms, there is hardly any time where I can sit and relax, unless im on break.  If Im working upfront as a host then there is more down time in comparison to working in the back, because customers tend to come in waves at certain times during the day so I enjoy having some peace and tranquility during my shifts before the chaos, but even when it seemed like customers keep appearing all at once as long as you got good people on your team the shift goes by pretty quick and easy.  The same goes for my pro shifts.

The resort management is wonderful: they're hard working, caring, and listen to the needs of the staff. They worked with my schedule, made me feel supported, and listened to my ideas and concerns. They'd even jump in to help if we had a super busy day and were falling behind. The rest of the staff are amazing as well: they're supportive, friendly, and easy to get comfortable around. The coworkers and management are by far the best part about working at the Murphy Pet Suites.

The job of a kennel technician, or "pet pro," is fast-paced and stressful, but not hard. Most of the stress  / difficulty comes from trying to get the play group of big dogs to get along and not get into mischief or fights. You're given tools to help control them, your team will help manage dogs if needed, and dogs that don't play well get removed, but the hour you're supervising the big dog group is by far the most stressful, hardest, and worst part of being a pet pro. As someone with both anxiety and a mediocre command of dogs, this part of the day was especially hard for me.

Aside from that, it's normal to feel like you're barely keeping up with the schedule, there can occasionally be more individual play sessions than your team can do, and there will ALWAYS be a mess somewhere, somehow. But it's not bad once you get used to it.

There are several great things about the job.
1) You're playing with a ton of doggos.
2) You get to play with kitties.
3) You get to play with and train puppies.
4) Small dog play group is awesome.
5) You'll stay active.
6) You'll get recognition for doing well and will advance.
7) They'll happily cross-train you to be a receptionist, or "host."
8) The culture and work environment is relaxed and friendly.
9) Your team always has your back and makes work fun.
10) Pet Suites has some of the best, most transparent practices in the industry.
11) Few feelings are better than walking in to work and realizing your favorite dogs are there that day.

A typical day in the life of PetSuites employee is a crazy hectic day. Lets start with the job itself is not bad whatsoever, if managed correctly it would be a dream job. As a csr (customer service representative) you will be in charge of checking in dogs with their stuff into the computer and bringing them back to either their rooms or in for day play. There is more to the job but that is the main concept. For a kennel technician you will be cleaning ALOT. The cleaning is the least of our worries personally I love all the cleaning we do because there is no smell and it looks very well maintained. Also will be in yard with all the dogs for dayplay watching them keeping them moving and in a safe place. You learn alot of dogs behavior here also how to really control a yard. Again, not a bad job whatsoever.. its management and how things are ran. While working here never get use to anything because it will change in a heartbeat whenever the manager feels like it. Cooperate as well changes things so if you are a csr be prepared to tell clients alot of bad news throughout your job. Even though petsuites policies breaks say you have 2 breaks you only have one either your 15 or your 30 you have to clock out for. If you are a lead in the back be ready to be over stressed and over worked. They are always short staffed and under scheduled almost always, so leads will have to do everything themselves such as potty breaks, individual playtimes, cleaning, feeding, medicine, breaks, and so much more the list goes on. leads rarely ever get breaks in the back so if that is what you are looking for don't expect an easy slow job. Hardest part of the job is having to deal with the high stressed work involved. Usually if certain managers are not there you have an easy on going day with no problems and get out early, because your not on edge. But again if your an animal lover and can put up with a lot of stress this is the job for you.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Pet care facility associate 105 salaries reported	$13.08 per hour
Kennel technician 146 salaries reported	$12.86 per hour
Customer service representative 116 salaries reported	$12.87 per hour
Dog daycare attendant 67 salaries reported	$14.67 per hour
Pet bather 65 salaries reported	$12.55 per hour

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