pet groomer

pet bather

veterinary technician

associate

store manager

Petsmart

Grooming:

Short answer: PetSmart is a good place to start grooming and learn basic skills and pet safety while grooming, but chances are you will be happier elsewhere as soon as you have developed enough grooming skill to move on. Don't expect to learn a lot from the academy, you will learn mostly from books and your manager when they have time. The full time benefits and PTO are just okay, but PTO increases after being there so many years. 

If you get hired as a bather to become a stylist through their "academy", don't expect much actual grooming training, and beware, multiple people may also be hired for the same position around the same time or there may already be someone in the salon who gets to go before you. The managers may play favorites over who gets to go first or stall in moving you forward to academy over something like attendance or any negative feedback about your performance in the salon. 

The academy is a group thing and one trainer cannot possibly teach everyone so much important information and skill in 2 weeks, so they focus on book studying, the safety of grooming and some tips far more than how to groom and do it well. I was fortunate in that I already had years of experience grooming and just did the academy to brush up on things, I was really surprised and disappointed about how little new stylists are taught. 

Your manager in the salon is probably the one who will do most of your training, so look at the manager's grooming and consider whether you want to learn from them -- if and when they are available around all their other duties, and they may or may not have much experience and quality grooming skills themselves.

 If you can find a grooming salon that will train you, which isn't corporate, that's usually best unless you care more about benefits corporations can offer. PetSmart also likes to micromanage the stylists and how they do everything with each dog and customer to mitigate liability. They are quick to point the finger at employees whenever there is a problem--including when an employee gets hurt even from something like protecting a pet from it's own behavior. Customers neglecting their pets, or being dishonest, or unknowing about a health condition or their pet's behavior that can put both the pet and groomer in danger. 

FYI: Any grooming salon that is willing to train is going to hope someone they put the time and effort in to teach will stay with them long term and make the effort worth it. You may get lucky and find a manager like that at a PetSmart, but managers have more freedom and decision power in private salons. Because a lot of new groomers change salons soon after learning to groom without supervision, a lot of private salons won't invest their time and effort into training groomers. 

Pets often would rather be at home or running around, not mostly in a kennel around so much noise and excitement. That stress level will be higher in high volume salons because there are more animals, people, and there is more pressure on the groomers to get all their work done in time. The pets are also sensitive to the stress of the people around them and are more likely to be scared or aggressive. PetSmart likes to cram as many groomers into the small salons as possible, so groomers may be bumping into one another while holding or leading dogs every step of the way. They want each groomer to get as many dogs into their schedules as possible, and you have limited time to groom each pet. The environment makes it hard to take the time to soothe and cheer up the pets you work with when they are stressed. This can have a big impact on stress levels for the groomers and how the pet acts when it is picked up no matter how well  you did on the haircut. 

Take a look at the salon you want to work in on a weekend to see how the atmosphere is, what kind of grooming quality the pets leave with, and if it's crowded with groomers. When I worked there the drama in the salon and management was so toxic I dreaded going into work every day to the point of making myself sick and anxious, but I pushed through that for a long time and tried to stay neutral. At PetSmart, if it's not crowded in the salon, that could indicate a lower stress environment. Less people in the salon could also mean a better chance of being sent to the academy sooner and being more appreciated too.

There is a great community of pet groomers out there who offer each other moral support and talk shop and about the pets we all love, even if it's not like that in whatever salon you choose you can find them in social media. If you work at PetSmart you have to make sure everything in any photo you post in a public social media page or group from work follows all their policies.

PetSmart corporate is also inclined to throw their employees to the wolves for any injuries or mistakes even if it is the pet (behavior like a sudden move or biting at a bad time), or even pet parent's fault (owner's not being aware of their pet's health issues, forgetting or even or withholding that information deliberately)--it will probably become a mark against you in your file. Some customers are drawn to corporate salons to try and work the system and will get mean and even violently confrontational to try and get their way at your expense. Some pets will come in sick, infested, really neglected and in need of a vet with wounds or emaciated. It can be really hard to see the animals suffering, especially when their owners are dismissive of the pet's health and how they brought it in and care more about how the pet will look for their guests. Policy does allow you to turn away pets in certain conditions, but you'll need a strong stomach and self-restraint because you will see a lot of those. 

Corporate will tell you they care more about the safety of the pet and quality of the grooming, but what they really prioritize is numbers first, then the safety of the pet (likely because of liability). They would rather you groom many dogs with mediocre quality--as long as it isn't low enough for a lot of refund requests--than do a great job on the groom and take the time to bond with the pets and please the customers. However, the salon manager can have a great influence on the priorities in the salon and set high quality standards as well. Corporate and management makes a big deal about mistakes or sick days and and can make you feel like trash regardless of your skill and quality output. I've seen groomers with a higher quantity get favoritism and different treatment like having their sick days and behavior overlooked while others are in danger of losing their job over less. 

It's hard, dirty, very physical work--but if you're a pet lover and enjoy a physical, skill based challenge and have an attention to detail you will probably find it's worth grooming. Just know that if a corporate salon is your choice it's not a bad place to start, but you may be better off looking for a private salon as soon as you feel confident in your skills. There pets tend to be more relaxed and you are more likely to be able to take the time to get to know the pets and their people.

PetSmart grooming does offer potential promotions but only when those positions are open, and the higher the position, the more it is about numbers;  likely to result in being overworked rather than being about the grooming, happy pets, and happy people. I saw the managers at various levels are stressed out in multiple locations. Pet stylists can make more than salon managers because of commission vs. salary. (I don't know the details of management pay but I have heard that much from a salon manager). An experienced groomer wanting to ease out of the physical part of the job may find that kind of advancement appealing if they don't mind the focus shifting away from the grooming and the burden of numbers and micromanaging numerous policies.  After seeing how stressed a few different levels of management were most of the time I personally felt advancement wouldn't be worth it.

I went back to working for a local salon and wished I had done so sooner because the atmosphere was so much better.

An average day: prepare the store for opening by counting the tills and setting up the registers. Remove the fish that died overnight (you will have some each day), feed the adoptable cats and fish, clean out the cat's cages. Once the store is open: check in dogs at the salon, run the cash register, stock shelves, customer service, answer phones, schedule grooming appointments, assist groomers with dogs, handle complaints, catch and bag fish, and always sell, sell, sell. At the end of the day clean the fish tanks, scrub the fish's filtration socks, count the tills, prepare the deposit, face the store, and clean the bathrooms.

Part time/full time:
As with many companies today, Petsmart (the LaVale store) has more part-time employees than full-time employees. While this is economical for the company, it is one of many ways the company shows it's employees they don't matter. The big difference between part-time and full time: vacation days, paid holidays, and health benefits. For Petsmart, part-time is considered 28 hours a week or less. 

Work life balance:
This may have changed since I left but previously to obtain a job at the LaVale Petsmart you had to have open availability. This in and of itself is not unusual, but it's taken advantage of here. For example, it was normal to have 1-2 clopens a week. (A clopen is when you close the store at night, then reopen it the following morning.) In that same week, you could work a morning shift, afternoon shift, and an evening shift. And on special occasions, typically around the holidays, management will schedule a split shift where you come in early for a few hours then go home and have to return 4-6 hours later to finish your shift. An average shift is 4-6 hours. Because of the wildly fluctuating schedule it is next to impossible to work a second part time job.

Time keeping:
The time keeping system is done on the computer. You may punch in up to 5 minutes early when arriving and up to 10 minutes late when leaving. Anything outside of those time frames will not allow you to track your time. For those occasions a paper log is kept, then the store manager or assistant manager has to enter the punches into the computer. The flaw with this: generally multiple times a week employees are asked to work outside of their scheduled shift either to come in early, work for a sick coworker, or stay late to help when it's busy, the only evidence of the extra work hours are the paper log. Sometimes the log is lost after its filled out, sometimes management keys the numbers into the computer incorrectly, and sometimes the log is missing so it can't be completed. The result - you work for free. Helpful hint: if you end up working there - use your phone to take a picture of the log and your computer punches. Then cross reference them for each pay period. You WILL find mistakes and you need the documented proof of the photos to back you up. This happened many times to multiple people while I worked there.  

Doesn't care about animals:
Naturally companies are in business to make money, but I expect more from a place whose motto is "Where pets are family". The LaVale store is considered a micro store, it's much smaller than a typical Petsmart. The only pets on hand are the fish. While I was there, every shipment of fish that I processed included several dead angel fish. When I brought this up to management, I was told it's due to "shipping stress".  After repeated shipments of dead fish and my repeatedly reporting it to management I was told "if it wasn't profitable we wouldn't carry them." As for the babies; it is common to receive pregnant fish. Sometimes they deliver during shipment and the bag includes adults and newborn fish. When employees were seen trying to separate the babies from the adults (the adult fish will eat them if left together) the employees were yelled at for wasting time. This happened on numerous occasions and included several employees. Management said "they are not included in the inventory, they are to be thrown out or let nature take it's course" (aka, let them be eaten). Management refused to allow the employees to set up a separate nursery tank. 

Sweets instead of pay:
If you are doing a good job, meeting quota or trying to upsell you will be rewarded with a star sticker (the kind they give kindergartners) or a sweet (usually chocolate). If the district manager stops by, she will reward your hard efforts with a plastic gum machine style jewel to thank you for your hard work. No kidding! The program put into place after I gave my notice was to have managers wear treat bags (the ones used to train your dog) on your belt full of candy so management could reward employees when they witnessed them trying to upsell. 

Quota:
Regardless of your job title in the store, everything is about meeting quota. No matter what title you have, you are essentially a sales person first and foremost. You must sell, sell, sell. The more you sell, the higher the quota is next month. If a customer comes in to buy dog food, you must try to convert them to buy a store brand of food. If they are coming into the salon for a haircut, you must try to upsell them to a more expensive package. 

Conversion:
This is along the same lines as quota. Every person, regardless of age (toddlers count) is expected to buy something once they walk through the doors. If they don't it's counted against you. This means if a family of 5 walks in and only one person pays at the register, it counts against you. If an employee carries out a heavy item to help a customer, it counts against you. If an employee walks out to get carts, it counts against you. Basically anytime a person walks through the door, regardless of whether it's during hours or after, employee or customer, if they don't purchase a product, it counts against you.  

Bites:
Chances are high that at some point you will be bitten. As a Lead, one of your duties is to hold uncooperative dogs for the groomers. In general, these dogs are all very nice but they are scared and do not like to get there nails trimmed. It is your job to hold them, sometimes while they are flailing about crazily. In the process your arms will be scratched and occasionally the dog will bite you. 
 
Raises:
New employees are eligible for a raise after 90 days, 6 months, and 1 year. After the first year, it's annually. This sounds great, but the average raise is .10 cents. Do the math: .10 x 28 hours = an extra $2.80 per week. Not even enough to pay for a lunch. While this is sad, it's not a given - not everyone gets a raise. Combined, all three raises will likely be $1 or less in total). 

Pay:
As with many companies, discussing wages is frowned upon. As far as I can tell, wage is decided by the lowest amount they think you will take. Again, that sounds like good company economics but when employees of the same title have completely different wages for doing an identical job - there's going to be hard feelings. To underscore this, you will notice that the starting salary or salary range is not mentioned in the job postings. 

Bathrooms:
As previously stated, this is a micro store. There is no cleaning crew so cleaning the bathrooms, scrubbing the floor, sweeping, etc. is supposed to be part of everyones duties. 

Body fluids and hygiene:
In theory the people who bring their pets into the store are responsible for cleaning up any mess they make. In reality plan on spending a portion of each day cleaning up dog urine, feces, and occasionally vomit. Also, keeping the fish tanks clean and catching and bagging fish is a messy event. To clean the tanks you submerge your arm in the tank to scrub the inside of the glass from algae buildup. When a customer wants to buy a fish from one of the upper tanks it is common for the dirty fish water to drip down your arm to your body. The result: you will smell.

Summary:
You can do better, this place is not worth it.

Some stores are apparently better, but the district I worked in drilled it home to me that my words didn't matter, I was spending every day fighting against the company, and customers didn't know who to trust.

They want you to hand out "care guides" that give INCREDIBLY inaccurate information (such as hamsters loving to live with a friend, birds only needing a tiny cage, bettas needing only .5 gallons, etc) and while the company policy says you can refuse a sale, you will almost never be allowed to regardless of the conditions.  I've had a customer yell at me that "it's not about the hamster, it's about me" when I suggested skipping on the hamster ball due to the injury risks they pose, or at least only using with close supervision in case of an emergency.  I've had people tell me to feed my pet bird to a snake because a snake is better.  I've had people tell me to flush my betta fish because they don't deserve a 10 gallon tank and I should get something more entertaining.  The customer base is rough and continues to decline as petsmart drifts farther from good animal care and other companies drift closer, leaving petsmart with the (typically) less caring people who don't care what their animal needs as long as they still own it and do whatever they want with it.

Management varies greatly store to store and you won't know for sure if you've got someone who knows how to do their job and will also care about you even as an employee until you've been stuck there for a year.

Pay increases vary greatly as well.  I scored above average on my recent yearly review, and got a 13 cent raise, whereas at my last store, I scored less and got over a 20 cent raise.

The discount is only 15% which doesn't help much when other companies offer significantly more or even warehouse prices to their employees.

You're pushed to sell puppy guides constantly, but it's a 20$ coupon book and nobody wants to *buy* their coupons.

You'll see animals you love and raised yourself be sent off in tiny cages with poor diet and uncaring adults who only want to entertain their children and there's nothing you can do about it.  You'll see animals you've been nursing back to health suddenly decline and get no help because management doesn't want to pay for the vet visit and insists they don't need it.  You'll see constantly broken equipment, frustrating *lack* of equipment (constantly having no bowls or water bottles to use and management not wanting to write them off or order more is an example) and an outdated set of standards to fight against on the daily.  We once failed our habitat evaluation because we included some cardboard tubes (from toilet paper rolls) for the small hamsters to play with. The hamsters had never been happier, and we failed our evaluation because we did something extra.

Once in a while someone will tell you thank you and you'll almost want to cry because it's the first nice thing someone has said to you in weeks.  Sometimes you'll encounter someone who actually cares or actually listens and you'll hope they come back, but they never do, because after you help them they realize petsmart doesn't care and they take their business to a company that does.  The coworkers are what keep everyone else still there - not wanting to leave the people you work with that do care understaffed and overworked, but hey, in some stores that's already the case.  We've had two people leave in the last 6 months and no one has been hired to replace them because we apparently don't have the hours.  Some of the stores are thriving, and some are falling apart and the multi million company doesn't want to bother trying to save them so they're going to let them fall to ruin while chewing them out for not making enough money - and in the process, driving all the employees mad and milking every last penny of profit they can until they inevitably decide to close your store.

If you have no work experience and you need a job for a year or so to make your resume less empty, then sure, give petsmart a shot, but ask the employees there what that store is like - not a manager, ask a basic low level pet care person or cashier or whatever department you're looking for.  Ask if it's high traffic, low traffic, if management is usually pushing for sales or not.  You'll find out if it's gonna be worth your energy - and if you'll be given more than 10 hours a week on the high end, which is not enough to pay the bills.

A typical day at work for the pet products manager, was arriving at the location at approximately 3:50am to let the rest of the team into the building to begin work. This would consist of a little bit of paperwork, while your team moves displays and pulls out the pallets, working, with the team to unload all pallets, stock shelves, move overstock into places, and correct wrong overstock placement from the previous evening. The next person comes in around 7:45.

I would like to state before you read the rest of this:  I LOVED my job. The reason I left so quickly was because of the upper management within the store.  The general manager and the operational manager became some of the most awful people I have ever met, but they weren't always that way.  

When I first accepted the job, I was very excited to be working there with them.  They were both very nice, even leaving me cute “welcome to the family” notes.  I was in heaven.  I felt like I had finally made it to a place where I belonged. But during my first few weeks all of my coworkers told me about the two upper managers and about how awful they were, a few of the girls even told me to run! I laughed them off and assured them that they were really nice to me and I would keep an eye out.  Then, about 3 weeks in they started being short with me, after that downright rude, even mean. 
The Operations Manager actually shut a door in my face while I asked her for help one day.  Another example, I had used a forklift at my previous job so I was well aware of the rules, precautions, and general operation.  The Operations Manager was in the stock room with me arguing with me about the height at which to have my forks raised.  She wanted them up about a foot off the ground.  I kept disagreeing with her and finally, I gave in.  As I was pulling pallets out of the truck, the General Manager then came back.  She started screaming at me asking me why on earth I would have my forks that high. During the shouting the Operations Manager slipped out while neither of us were looking. I replied that the Operations Manager had asked me to do it that way and that I was abiding.  When I turned to get her to agree she was gone.  She had not stuck around to have my back.

The General Manager on the other hand was not so much as rude, but downright mean.  She continually berated me in front of my team.  She cut my team down from four to two, and demanded that not only that I keep up the level of quality work we were doing but we do it in less time than the four of us took.  She would continually embarrass and emasculate one of the men on my team (i.e. the only member of my team I had left).

Finally, I had enough; I called the corporate hotline, which is a third party HR company, about what was going on there.  I mean really, not only did they leave me feeling awful, they were verbally brutalizing my team, and they continually left the pet care girls crying in their wake.  I felt like they had to be stopped. I called, left my message, even told them to look at the recent People Pulse review they had had.  After another week, I called back to see what they were going to do and I was told, “They haven’t left notes asking for any further material so it is under review.”  I then called the following week and was told the same message. In the mean time, I started to ask around as to why the person before me had left, the standard reply was that the man before me had gone through the same thing. I waited and called after a third week and was then told, “nothing has been posted” and with that I hung up.  I went in the next day and put in my two weeks notice.  After letting everyone know that I was leaving, a few of the girls told me they had called corporate in the last few weeks as well because they also felt mistreated. So, this third party company received not one but several complaints about two members of their management team and they did nothing about it. It’s sad really.  I looked though the HR email the store received once a month and found out that I was the 14th person to have left that year, only 1 of those were fired. For reference, I left during the first week of October.

I was extremely hesitant while interviewing for this job.  I was promised great management, full support, and inclusivity.

I have been out of training for about 2 months and have hardly spoke to anyone, I have only met with my manager once, I have frequently been ignored while trying to ask for guidance (due to being new). the training course was short messy and the trainers were collectively clueless. So many times we had to stop due to tech issues, time constraints or unpreparedness. My whole training class was about 80 at the start and eventually trickled down to about 45 at the end. Hardly anyone on the team was confident of the skills they learned in training after it was over. they practically threw us in to fend for ourselves. which is disappointing because there is even less guidance while not in training. 
I have had 4 different managers in the span of 2 months and have yet to have a meaningful conversation with any of my managers or team leads about all of my concerns. I have had my questions blatantly ignored, whether sent via instant message or email.
HR is a joke and if you need something important dealt with don't expect to be taken seriously unless you assert yourself and your situation. 
The goals they expect you to perform at are too unrealistic, again which is something I was told in the interview would be easy and attainable. over half of the last team I was on didn't meet the weekly goals set, and on my new team there are even more not within expectations. 
they really don't take you seriously unless you have moved to a higher position. everyone is so unwilling to help with the smallest tasks and in my opinion new hires are set up for failure. 
overall very dissatisfied and disappointed with this company and the actions of the higher employees. 

upon discussing with multiple other employees, some even from different departments, I find that the expectation is to mess up and self manage. I personally am able to do my job somewhat efficiently while still learning the ropes, however many of the previous employees in my depts training class as well as 2 other depts have attempted to overcome these challenges but were not able to stay with the company for above related reasons. 
procedures are inconsistent and confusing, management tends to focus on miniscule things and the standard expected out of everyone is almost always realistically unachievable. 
resources and systems provided/used are out of date and unnecessarily complicated.
when you do happen to screw up, as inevitable as it is, you get reamed for it without any further information being asked or provided. 
part time employees have little to no benefits.


Due to multiple factors I will have to stay with this job until I can obtain an alternative. 

I am more frustrated on the tactics used to hire new employees on the false promises the interviewers provide. If my interviewer had been transparent and honest I would be in a very different, possibly better situation. I think it is extremely unethical to misrepresent your company as having no consistent issues while discussing with potential new employees, knowing full well that the answer to those questions had a very different truthful answer. 

If this job position, details, and information (I asked specifically about) would have been properly and honestly presented and disclosed with me I would most likely be in a better situation. I had multiple different employment offers that might have worked out better had I not taken the interviewers misleading statements as fact. I felt so pressured to take the offer that before I had addressed the rest of my concerns and questions I was offered the job on the spot, which was also not expected. 

I am not disappointed with the job itself, I actually like my department and my day to day duties, however, all other things considered all of this was A HUGE SLAP IN THE FACE. 

This job requires memorizing a ton of strict policies and procedures, they expect perfectionism and the workload is stressful.

My training was a mess. Lasted 3 weeks, we were given outdated and misinformation. The training team didn't even know the correct policies and had to repeatedly consult with higher ups. After the first week of cramming info, we were put on live calls for the rest of training. After "graduating" almost half of the people I trained with quit, which tells you about their retention/turnover rate.

The call center is split into groups, having 1 supervisor and lead in them. Within the first year of me being there. I was switched 4 times into different groups due to supervisors/leads quitting. And some groups are definitely better than others due to leadership issues.

They score calls weekly (scoring is inconsistent, it depends on who scored you) and they're script/verbiage strict. Customers absolutely dislike it and will constantly get upset with you over it and try to bypass it. You have to stay on script and say verbiage to a tee or you'll get mark offs. Getting 0s on calls was very common, until they realized they had a problem with their scoring system and changed it, now it's harder to get a 0, but it's still possible. And Good luck trying to refute low scores for any reason, they'll just tell you no.

They also have weekly scorecards with metrics (adherence, call/revenue per hour, call scoring, etc.) Highest score is above, which I always had, yet they demanded more. They heavily pressure you to level up to take on more call queues (hotel, salon, dog training), even when you're not ready for it. I was originally hotel only then I was pressured into leveling up to hotel and salon calls. I was only given 6 hours of salon training...and of course was trained with misinformation.

Their adherence system is broken. You have to be above 90% everyday aka "ready mode" (taking live calls). They tell you to get into ready mode before you're actually scheduled to start or you'll start the day off at 0% instead of 100%. You can only be in "not ready" mode 2 minutes before breaks/lunch/meetings (which drops your score) and if you get caught on call (which happens a lot) that goes into those, it dramatically drops your score.

Their hotel software is seriously outdated and both software for hotel and salon are slow, bugs/crashes easily and often. I have a high-end gaming pc with multiple monitors, and even I experience tech issues. Which by the way, they will send you home if you can't fix it and you'll get a absence point (5 point system) unless you have PTO to cover it.
You will need a decent computer with multiple monitors and a noise cancelling headset.
You'll be running over 8 programs simultaneously with multiple tabs open. Their procedures are so inefficient, you'll be going back and forth between all those just to book. They need to streamline the process.

The customers and physicals stores don't like the call center. The physical stores don't like to cooperate with us most of the time and a lot of customers know we're a call center and want to speak to the store, which is why we can't disclose we're a call center unless we have to.

The call center occasionally holds sale contests and other competitions to get gift cards mainly. Rare, but sometimes they hold competitions to get an absence point removed or adjust a low score call. They've only done that once since I've been there. The employee discount is great, 15% off merch/services, 50% off certain brand cat/dog food, dog treats and litter, etc.

This work is not for everyone, it is super repetitive, stressful especially around the holidays, a lot of micromanaging and you have to be great at multitasking and memorizing. I'm only part-time and work our less busy days and times, and I still get over 60 calls a day. I definitely could not handle this job fulltime, I would literally go insane. This job is a decent way to get experience in call centers, which I'm using to seek other jobs.

The only reason I didn't quit sooner was because I enjoyed the company of my co-workers and my Salon Lead wasn't awful. The job is incredibly physically demanding. If you don't have a weight restriction then you're lifting several 20lbs-100lbs+ dogs throughout the day (minimum of six appointments if you're a bather that has been there a while, there were several groomers that did 8-12 dogs a day). Constantly moving from station to station, often carrying dogs with you. Constantly on your feet, the only time you sit is during your 15 or 30 minute breaks. They sometimes enforce the legally required 30 minute break but don't schedule you time for it in between appointments, so you either have to skip your break, or take it and fall behind for the day. They give you a fully packed appointment schedule with several dogs coming in at the same time as well as expect you to take every walk in service; these can take 5 minutes minimum, or 15+ with the help of another stylist if the dog is causing problems (they usually are). The companies "unwritten policy" is to get every dog out within an hour of their arrival; regardless of size, weight, fur type, how long check in takes, any other dogs you have at the same time, any walk in services you have to complete, any phones you have to answer, any customers at the front desk you have to assist, any co-workers you have to help, and the list goes on. If you don't get the large majority of your appointments out within that time frame, they dock your hours, lessen how many days you work and shorten the days you do.  You either work full days, nearly open to close, or they cut your hours and you're in once a week for 3 to 4 hours. There's noticeable pay inequalities as well, just starting out cashiers get payed more than bathers with twice the work load and responsibilities, working with live animals not owned by the company. My Store Lead attempted to not allow us to discuss wages (illegal in my state). Store Leads have say over how the grooming salon runs, trumping even the Salon Lead, whether or not they actually have experience working in the salon themselves. My Store Lead in particular valued pumping out appointments and answering the front desk phones more than the safety of the animals or the employees. When an incident happened (like a bite or dog fight) they were more concerned about having to report the incident to the regional manager than the health and well being of the employees under their care; as well as the dog(s) under the companies care. After being a bather for a minimum of 3 months and completing a certain amount of specific services you can choose to become a groomer. You attend their grooming academy and receive a "starter" grooming kit. In exchange for that they lock you in a 2 year contract where you are not allowed to work in grooming at any other companies other than PetSmart and you are not allowed to quit, if you do it is a breech of contract. They do not provide replacement tools if any break, they do not pay for sharpening of tools, and once that starter kit breaks you are responsible for getting the tools necessary to perform your job, even if you are still under contract. The only tools they provide are bathers tools and they are often low quality and break frequently. Supplies run out all the time and we often have to grab the for sale sizes off the shelves in the store. They do not provide us with updated equipment or systems at all and getting necessary equipment fixed takes a year+ or just doesn't happen. My store still did not have an updated bathing system when I left while other stores either had the old Hydrosurge systems, or the new ones they were implementing. Often the only time things get fixed is if someone in the salon can fix it themselves, or knows someone who can. I would not recommend this as a place to work for anyone who values their physical health and who wants a decent, functional work environment. 

Low wages, not having consistant hours, substandard conditions for the animals, and lazy leadership- do not bother working here if you actually care about animals.  
You will be constantly pushed to sell promotional items and trainings, and have the sales numbers pushed into your face, and guilted if you do not make a certain quota.  Even if your job is mainly supposed to be in the specialty pet care department, you will be asked to cover everyone's breaks and lunches on the cash register, forcing you to put the animals' care on the backseat for most of the day.  Animals are seldom cleaned and maintenanced, only because leadership has scheduled it this way.

Even per their official care training hadbook, it stated that betta fish should have their cups changed twice a week.  We were scheduled to change them out ONCE a week, and since management did not seem to care about allowing time for these essential tasks, I found myself having to make time at the cash register to change them (that's right) or keep running back and forth to do it, which was not efficient at all.  I was told at least twice that I was too 'task focused', when I was barely spending time doing my actual job, just being asked to help stock when I should have been cleaning cages in the morning, covering almost every cashiers break/lunch each day, and being distracted during customer interactions over the radio being asked to answer quiz-like questions about our sales acronyms every hour, and having to pause and explain to them that I was talking to a customer (but was still asked to answer the question afterwords) 
The medical treatment of the animals is where my biggest issue is.  This location does not have a Banfield clinic in it, and therefore needs to take sick/injured animals to an external vet, which is obviously pricey.  The management was very avoidant with providing medical care for animals, often ignoring our requests, or having us just 'figure it out' with some meds we had for the same issues.  This was usually the last task to do for the day,  and since it was absolutely forbidden to get OT, it was an extremely stressful affair, especially when leadership would call you away from it via the radio frequently.  At any point, we would have at least 4 or more animals that needed treatment, and with handling/medicating animals it can take a varying amount of time to do so.  The fish were all placed in a 'hospital tank' with a broad range of treatments in the water.  It did its job pretty well, but the sheer amount of sick fish we would get in each shipment was not sustainable in that tank- it was often very overstocked, with aggressive fish in the same tank with a divider that came undone sometimes.  Management asked me at least a few times to not mention if a fish was sick to make the sale, which morally I was absolutely not comfortable doing.  This could lead to a person's whole tank becoming infected; fish are fragile.  

I left on "good terms", but at around that ime i was being given only 16/18hrs a week with 4 hour shifts being common.  When I started I was getting 30+ hours a week. I was promised the same position at a Petsmart in Northridge because I was moving.  Turns out, when I moved and reached out I was told that I did NOT have a position available there, but I was told I could apply for the doggie daycare position.  I went through with the interview, but did not accept the position.  I am currently still at the job I went with over it.

This is really only the surface of what I experienced in the year I worked here.  My suggestion is to stay away from here and most pet chain retailers that sell animals, look for jobs at a vet clinic over this is you genuinely care about animals, because this will not be a fun experience for you.

I worked my way up from a part-time employee to a full-time leader position. I did what was required of me at all times, even went above and beyond to help cover extra shifts when associates call out or don’t show up to their scheduled shifts. Some days I worked 12+ hour shifts in order to help out “the pack.” You’re constantly told you’re doing a great job and that you’re an excellent addition to the team. Except when it’s inconvenient for the team. Constant drama and bickering amongst the employees. I have a degree but unfortunately petsmart pays me more than working in my actual field of study. I’ve tried to mention to management that I’d like to move up to a corporate level position, seeing that I feel that I’m ready for it. But I’m told I’m “too young” and that I’m perfectly fine where I’m at. No opportunities to move up within the company. I don’t want to be a leader for 25+ years before being considered for a corporate level position. Everything is great and you have an advantage, until you decide to have a family. Schedule is limited and management becomes upset if you can’t respond to emergency incidents or help cover a shift if somebody calls out. Management is always micro-managing what you do, they don’t let you run your department without some sort of negative input. You can’t hire employees without consulting with the district leader first. It’s an extremely stressful company to work for, if you’re at the retail level. Management also takes your words and twists them to better fit their stories, putting you at risk of losing your job. Also, if you try to call out due to feeling sick, they guilt you into coming in for your shift. Actually, you’re not allowed to call out sick. You’re required to come in regardless. I ended up in the emergency room and had to stay in the hospital overnight. I called out for one scheduled shift because I was in the hospital. I had my doctors note ready even though it wasn’t required because I hadn’t called out two days in a row. I brought in my doctors note and hospital discharge paperwork to give to my store leader. I still ended up being put on an action plan. (Which I’m pretty sure is against the law, a form of retaliation.) You’re not allowed to leave early, even when there’s enough coverage and it’s slow. The core leaders would rather have extra bodies standing around just so they can sit in the office and play on their phones. Don’t even get me started on family deaths. I had a grandmother pass away unexpectedly and had to attend funeral services. I told my immediate supervisor I would be gone a week, given the funeral was out of the country. Two days into me being gone, I kept getting text messages and phone calls asking when I’d be back to work. I had a family member pass away and I had to come back to work early for fear of losing my job. They also don’t give you an option to step down or become a part-time employee again. You’re either a leader or they force you out of the company. While already having somebody else ready to fill your position. Was a great company to work for at first, even when giving 110% to the company. But like I mentioned above, the dynamic completely changes once you decide to have a family. I was forced to look for another job because the store and district leader wouldn’t consider me for a corporate level position. Very unlikely to move up without their recommendations. 

I've worked for Petsmart for quite some time.  And management has always been a struggle. Particularly Salon managers. It's not an easy position to keep filled. Each salon has a team of people that grow close too eachother as they are essentially in a fish tank.  So as a manager it can be like going into a shark tank until said manager gets their barring. Even then managers and associates are not compensated as well as they should be for thier work load.  Most associates I know recieved 1 or more injuries most often bites, but hands can get tendionitis or carpal tunnel, your shoulder can get injured and your back.   You will meet really nice dogs and nice people, but you will also meet the far opposite. What I hate most about this job was that I am not allowed to demand abusive owners to leave not can I contact animal control on the owner.  Clients can be unreasonable and most managers hand them whatever they want like a skilled child having a tantrum.  Causing continuous mistreatment to emplyees and services. Getting discounts and things for free due to those tantrums. Often times the clients complaint was something untrue or due to thier own neglect to thier pet.  Clients pet is so matted that when shaved the fur comes off as one solid peice.  Client complains the dog is naked even though you warned them 7 times at check in and suddenly they get a discount or a free groom. Does it matter if you did everything right?  Made sure client was aware and why.  Had client sign all shave authorizations had notes stated at the top exposing those notes pointing them out showing them on a chart or another dog exactly how short you mean.  Still free groom. Why client complained.... it's disgusting any store allows thier associates to be mistreated by Clients.  If it gets to a point usually you will get some management back up.  But client's get away with a lot and as an associate it's disheartening to see clients who are cruel gain more for cheaper while kind regular clients fully each time. There are a lot of things petsmart could benefit to change about how they handle situations. Upper management have no clue what is like to work with dogs and make times and regulations that's don't make sense too caring about how they look instead of providing a good working inviroment and often times makes it worse by berating an associate or complaining about minor things that can't be easily controlled in the inviroment provided. Managers can treat you how they want and upper management will do little to nothing to support you.  Even when the manager pushes you to break policies you refuse to break and you demand that the above manager steps in little is done to support you although you are doing the right thing.  It can also often be difficult to move up as if you are good on your position or thier isn't enough coverage the management will make excuses to keep you on just enough to keep you there, but won't nessusarly let you grow.  Overall frustrating inviroment. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Pet groomer 53 salaries reported	$19.41 per hour
Pet bather 27 salaries reported	$14.54 per hour
Veterinary technician 3 salaries reported	$26.00 per hour
Associate 15 salaries reported	$15.15 per hour
Store manager 1 salary reported	$53,531 per year

Working at PetSmart: Company Overview and Reviews

PetSmart

PetSmart Ratings

Popular jobs at PetSmart

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected