Petco National Support Center
9125 Rehco Road
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 453-7845
Petco San Antonio Support Center
654 Richland Hills Drive
San Antonio, TX 78245
(858) 453-7845
I was a pet groomer for years at petco. In general, the people that I worked with in my own store are great, supportive, understanding, helpful, etc. Particularly, in my salon we were all close friends and there is a strong sense of team work. I always looked forward to coming into work to spend time with them. My store manager had a bad tendency to play favorites and develop unprofessional close friendships with some of their employees, which shaped the work environment. That being said, they were very hands on working with us at our level and helping us when we needed it. They always supported us when we were having an issue with disrespectful or troublesome customers. Having a regular clientele that you get to know on a personal level, and see regularly is very rewarding.
This, of course, will vary store to store. When I started at petco the management on a store level was very different. My salon manager was verbally and emotionally abusive, neglectful when it came to training us (pushing us through the program when we werent ready), and all of my coworkers were catty and pitted against eachother because of the biases that developed. If that had continued, I would have quit years ago. I'm sure some petco salons are like this still. I'm lucky that mine was so positive and enjoyable.
However, upper management at district and corporate level is completely disconnected from the reality of what our jobs entail and what is reasonable and possible for us. They expect ridiculo
ProsHours, Pay, Client Relationships, Benefits
ConsPoor Management, Unreasonable Expectations, Broken or Ineffective Equipment/Facilities
This is my second time being employed in the grooming salon at Petco. Enticed to return after some changes were made to improve pay from the horrible way they had it before.as well as new management. That rapidly changed. Retention of employees in both lower and upper management is awful. The policies are constantly changing to the point most managers won't be able to answer your questions or truly know what's happening. Since COVID-19 they've gotten exceptionally worse. They gave their groomers the choice of working the Sales floor for a base hourly wage that was on average $10 /hour which is nowhere near what is typically made or stay in the grooming salon. Either option risking you to exposure since they didn't have proper safety equipment or even hand sanitizer. If you didn't want this you were "free" to stay home but you wouldn't be eligible for unemployment since this is your choice. So it was either be at risk and get less money or stay at home and get no money. It didn't matter if you were high risk or not. They just kept claiming groomers were essential until they stopped making money and some salons closed. Then we became not necessary and they furloughed us and various other store employees.
I'd also like to mention during this they cut the groomers PTO rate due to them claiming our tip money was not supposed to be included. This coming months after our PTO rates got reestablished and conveniently around the time people wanted to start taking PTO to be safe.
Avoid this place if you want to become a dog groomer!
Ok so I was warned not to come here to train to be a groomer but I thought I would try it anyways.. I am not sure if it is this particular location or if its me or a combination of both but I would say my experience here overall as been pretty bad.
they start you off as a bather and you are SUPPOSED to bathe dogs for 3 months before you get passed along to grooming school. At this location my salon manager actually tried to fast track me and wanted me to go sooner. I knew I was not ready for that and when I told my coworkers I was not so sure about being sent that fast they told corporate what I had said and after that I think all chaos broke loose. seems like the salon manager got very upset with this decision because he started to treat me really mean after that.
second complaint. the training here is there is none! The salon manager is supposed to train you but the one here did not train me at all on the bathing aspect of the job. All he showed me how to do was shave down feet and do sanitary shaves which isn't even a part of the bathers job here. He had other groomers show me how to do things when they had the time to which is basically never because grooming salons are VERY busy and the groomers are on a time crunch to get their dogs done. The other groomers have no incentive to help me out and were very impatient with me and basically made me feel like a idiot. The fact that they do not train you properly here not only is dangerous to you but the animals as well!
Prosget to work with cute dogs, 40 minute lunch breaks, day goes by fast, never a dull moment
Consno training, gossiping coworkers, bully coworkers, very hard work for min wage pay
I would like to preface that personality and culture of the workplace is going to vary wildly due to the different personalities of management and coworkers . Also, I had the unique experience that my Pet Stylist training started right when the pandemic was starting to affect the US, so I am going to avoid talking about it in the review. I do want to say that it did give me a solid foundation to start dog grooming. PetCo was my first job as a dog groomer, so I am not sure how much of the experience there will be similar to other grooming companies.
The coworkers at my store were one of the best parts of the job. The groomers there were supportive and help me improve in so many different ways. We went through some changes in management, but the one who was there the longest when I was working did great at keeping communication open and keeping the store running.
For the salon, PetCo provides your tools, but you can bring/buy your own. The customers vary so much, as do the dogs. Working on dogs while answering the phone and checking people in was pretty annoying and stressful at times, but it's part of the job. PetCo does have policies in place to minimize injuries and risks, but even following them, there are still going to be issues. Towards the end of me leaving, PetCo was pushing hard for us to sell and promote things, so much so that I sometimes felt more like a salesman than a groomer. One of the things they are pushing hard is their subscription service, Vital Care. In
Prosgood coworkers (location specific), decent grooming training, company provides grooming tools, pushes inclusiveness and diversity
Consno work/life balance, pushes to sell products, low pay, high stress
This was the first job I loved and now I would never work there again.
I started working at PetCo (Grooming) in 2007 and was there for three and a half years. The day I went in for my interview, the grooming manager asked me a couple of questions then put me to work that day. I was officially hired on as part-time at minimum wage, but never worked less than 30 hours per week. Everyone was professional and friendly. I felt like my coworkers were my friends and the store had a family vibe. After working there six months, a new store opened up and half the management and workers were moved to the new store to get it running. I stayed because I lived just a fifteen minute walk away. Grooming went without a manager for about a month during which time I did the manager duties. My first problems with the company started when they finally hired a new salon manager. My coworker was originally up for the position, but declined. The new manager was rude and unprofessional to the point I had to have several meeting with store management. She had no respect for the current staff and proceeded to change everything to her liking. The new manager injured several dogs and was told she had to work in front of the security camera at all times, but did not. Regular clients were stolen from myself and others. She would force dogs she didn't like onto other people. Her behavior led my coworker, the one who was originally to take the manager position, to quit. When I was forced to move and would be taking the bus to work, I requested a schedule change. Although it was
Fun place to work, but beware of management styles.
I've been working with Petco for 3 years now. I've seen and experienced working at many different Petco locations in the DMV area, from Standard Petco stores with live animals, Vetco and prefessional grooming to their smaller boutique Unleashed by Petco stores with little to no animals, monthly Vetco clinics and self-serve washing stations. Each location has their specific pros and cons but I will sum it up and generalize. At the Full-on Petco locations, the animals were the high light of my experience. I enjoyed learning about and interacting with them (But that was a rare occasion for me). As a full time Guest Advisor LOD/ Key holder my tasks were not limited to my job description. In most Petco locations, you should expect to work in multiple different departments, doing anything and everything and you'll be expected to know a fair amount about every single service, department, and product that Petco offers. You'll even have to become familiar with local pet services outside of Petco. Don't worry, Petco provides extensive training per your department. I always joke around and say that they practically send us to pet nutrition/care college. Also, it is never frowned upon to step away and google search information you don't know for a customer. Petco is all about creating lasting impressions and really going out of our way to help our customer base. Larger Petco locations are faced paced working environments. They tend to stress animal care (Most stores don't do the best job
Managers are trash, entry level are over worked, and no equality in sight.
I loved the animals. Especially fish. Though management was always sub par. We went through 3 gms and multiple lead positions in my two year period there. In the district I work they only have 5-6 male managers in over 17 stores. Yet they claim to never discriminate and always be inclusive. No diversity at all though they have programs like the "Black partner network" which is racist in its self. Its hard to be one guy out of two on an all female crew. Never offering help in any of the heavier work loads, but always offering constant critique. I worked freight with one other guy every Monday night for over two years with no help. Anywhere between 10-15 pallets weekly. My boss also claimed to work 80 hours a week which was more like 40-45 hours a week if that. Though most of that time she is in the office "working". When they had issues to address with me it would always turned into an all day event. Instead of quick and to the point...it had to be dragged out for hours. Shaming me, threatening to post my job, making me feel bad about myself, hurling insults, and yelling at me. So much so that other employees could hear what they were saying to me. It was so embarrassing, and degrading. After their verbal lashing they'd send me to do some job that they weren't willing to perform themselves at any point in time. Not a job for equal opportunity. Not a friendly environment for men. Its great if you like to sell your soul for a paycheck. I wont even get into the mass amount of dea
Upon being hired, there was no proper training due to leaders being too busy, and I was given incorrect information by one leader and reprimanded for being wrong by another.
Never given full training due to being understaffed, put on register the first day, did online training courses for 1 or 2 hours twice much later than expected and was never capable of continuing. I did not know most of anything I had to do and was often either put on the spot by leaders or expected to wing it.
Taught incorrectly about how to feed and care for animals.
Was not taught how to correctly handle animals, which is not good if you don't already have experience with them. Despite this, I was still expected to give people small animals while the register isn't busy.
Management is imbalanced and the general leader is unprofessional, it isn't uncommon to be laughed at for not knowing everything off the bat despite improper training.
They are not prepared for the end of your shift and you are often asked to stay extra hours due to not setting up anyone to take your place.
You are told to call for extra cashiers whenever lines get long, but can repeatedly call for help due to having over 5 people in line without anybody coming, resulting in clients becoming restless.
The leaders never gave me a name tag, nor my own keys. For the first couple weeks I had to borrow keys from leaders to open small animals, then was given an extra set of keys near the end that weren't meant for me.
If you already
ProsGood hours, diverse animal selection to care for, good learning experience for those who know the basics about certain pets but not much else, easy to learn register, friendly coworkers, friendly area, mostly judgement-free, good customer experience, all items discounted
ConsImproper or no training, disrespectful leaders, no replacements set for when you have to leave, expected to do more than taught, often put on the spot for things you were not trained for, not prepared for new workers despite being understaffed, not recommended as a first job, no preparations for if you cannot come in a day that you are expected to, not given all your correct materials to work
Great job for those looking to get in to the animal field
A typical day at work was basically assigning tasks to associates and following up with them periodically to entail what needed to be done still. Stocking shelves, assisting customers, caring for animals, and promoting products and events.
I learned an incredibly vast amount of information about the company and more importantly about animals. I have always been an animal loving person, but the information and knowledge gained about them while working there was incredible. Also learned about managing store operations. I have been a manager in retail before but at lowes, I was in charge of a department, here I was entrusted with operations of the store entirely. It was a wonderful experience and probably the best job I have had to date experience wise.
My co-workers were great people. While I never felt I was the best that I could have been (until the store manager that hired me in 2010 was let go and we received a new manager who really helped mold me in to becoming a better manager) my co-workers worked with me as I improved. They are very knowledgeable workers, and incredibly friendly and hard working individuals who come to work excited and get caught up at times with customers due to excitement of talking about the animals and products. At times it was frustrating while busy, but I never intervened due to my belief that although we may be busy helping customers one associate with a person or group spending more time than needed, is building a relationship with that person
Prosnot a single bad thing to say about this company besides wage
Too many demands and unreasonable expectations of employees. Thankless job. District Manager is a conceited snot who does not even know enough to pretend to care about the employees who work very hard for the company every day at the, most important, store level. As long as his wallet is getting plump, he will push the GM to make even more unreasonable demands of employees. If you kiss up to him you will go far, even if you are not very professional, responsible, ethical, business savvy, or college educated. The DM's management style involves trying to humiliate people on the six or so days per year he breezes into the store like royalty. You are expected to basically bow at his feet. His lack of gratitude and high-and-mighty attitude is very infuriating. The DM is completely ungrateful and is in denial about the truth. You are told you cannot say your store does not get enough payroll hours. It is the forbidden truth. Basically, there is a gag order because he refuses to hear the truth because corporate refuses to address the problem. The reality is that you are not given enough people to keep up with the customers shopping in the store, yet you must WOW every customer. Most of the time there are just two employees in the store. One must man the register, and the other (the MOD) needs to handle everything else (helping customers, conference calls, chatting with customers about what food they are feeding their pets and encouraging them to buy a better food, taking phone calls
ProsFantastic, Hard-Working, Non-Management and Some Management, Employees Who Really Care about the Customers and the Critters
ConsNegative, Disrespectful, and Unappreciative District Manager with an Oversized Ego Much Bigger than his Heart
Questions And Answers about Petco
What is the best part of working at Petco?
Asked Dec 20, 2019
Helping people with new pets
Answered Jul 4, 2022
The animals and cool coworkers
Answered Jul 3, 2022
How often do you get a raise at Petco?
Asked Sep 26, 2020
Only once, a 30¢ raise to a $10 hourly rate that happened two months after starting the job. It has not moved and i have been here over a year.
Answered Aug 17, 2022
Once a year
Answered Aug 16, 2022
What is the promotion process like at Petco?
Asked Dec 23, 2020
Do a good job, receive good yearly review (exceeds expectations preferred), apply for position you want, interview.
Answered Aug 16, 2022
You can easily get up to a store manager position. Getting a corporate gig proves less promising
Answered Aug 10, 2022
What is a typical day like for you at Petco?
Asked Mar 15, 2020
Drama, uneducated children, they will over work you while they stand around and do absolutely nothing. If you want to be stressed devalued and blamed for things that are not your doing this is the miserable place to go.
Answered Aug 17, 2022
Busy
Answered Aug 15, 2022
How much do you get payed?
Asked Apr 25, 2016
$10 an hour as an aquatics specialist, with two years previous experience in both aquatics, and small animal/avian care, certified dog trainer; PLUS three years veterinary technician experience. No opportunities for full-time or benefits either.
Answered Aug 6, 2021
I got paid 10 an hour as a merchandise Ops Specialist in Alabama.
