Truth about working as a bather at Petsmart

[mike_l]

@genna so true!!! i’ve been in super disorganized salons and didn’t last a day there and then been to super organized salons where it’s a little authoritarian lol

 

[arielhuios]

@christiangirl30 That’s the same company that would push me to groom more dogs then I was comfortable with and inevitably when I cut a dog because I’m stressed and rushing they’d pull me into the office and ask me what I could do differently next time to avoid it. Hhmmmmm oh I dunno, stop forcing me to groom past my limit?! Happened every single time and I would tell them the exact same thing. Then a few months later they’re pushing paperwork in my face telling me how much I COULD make if I took even more dogs. I worked there 8 years. I promise you it will wear you down.

 

[mccra76]

@arielhuios It's wild because years ago they used to drop the concurrency of groomers who had an incident or were on an action plan. They don't do that anymore. They genuinely do not give a crap about the animals.

 

[esodam]

@mccra76 They don't! I once alerted a manager that a dog in the back was under distress. Panting and shaking. They didn't do anything until it was too late, and the dog died.

 

[mccra76]

@esodam Yup, I heard of something similar happening in Texas with a dog that had congestive heart failure. Dog was coughing, becoming less responsive, manager told the groomer to just crate the dog. Dog passed out in the crate and died.

 

[esodam]

@arielhuios I worked there for two years. The manager was an asshole. Took in more dogs than we could possibly handle. I cut more dogs there than any place I worked at. We had to constantly answer phones, check dog's in and out, and bathe every dog we groomed or try and persuade the bathers to do it. I don't know how I made it so long.

 

[christiangirl30]

@esodam The constant phone calls drive me nuts. We’re told to attend to the phones at all times. Put your stuff away and attend to them. So when I’m the only one in the front with the other staff in the back bathing, I’m doing the nails of a difficult dog I had to muzzle, and have 2 other dogs to complete with huge time crunch, how do they expect us to stop what we’re doing and answer the phone, why can’t some other staff do this? My petsmart also had a rule where the walk-in nails were first priority, it almost made some of the groomers quit their job because of the stress. Thankfully it’s not a thing anymore but couldn’t image

 

[arielhuios]

@christiangirl30 The first Petsmart I worked at (I moved and started at a new one. That was the one pushing for more and more dogs.) actually hired us a receptionist. He would just answer phones and vacuum in between dogs for us. I don’t know why all Petsmart can’t do that. It’s not like they can’t afford it. It’s just corporate greed at its finest.

 

[muzikgurl]

@christiangirl30 It's not a thing anymore?

 

[christiangirl30]

@muzikgurl Yeah we can decline walk in nails if we’re busy

 

[mutambo]

@christiangirl30 I have never worked at petsmart, but the owner of the salon I work at worked at petsmart for over a decade and was a salon lead. She explained that the salon leads are in a weird position because they take orders from higher-ups who aren't groomers. Even if the salon lead knows something isn't a good idea, they really don't have much say on how anything is run. For example, there was an apprentice there who wasn't ready to be groomer, but the higher-ups demanded to put clippers in her hands despite my boss heavily advocating against it. She was moved up and pushed to do a bunch of dogs right out the gate, and she injured dogs badly multiple times (like chopped an ear off bad). They also caught someone lying and stealing, but she quit before they could fire her. She came back wanting to work there, and the higher-ups were ready to rehire her despite my boss threatening to quit over it. She worked one day just to get her old clients' information and dipped. That's when my boss opened her own salon and stole all the good employees (groomers, a manager, and a dog trainer lol).

I guess I'm just saying the whole company is pretty messed up in that regard. Groomers are overworked, and salon leads really don't have much say on how anything is done. Big corporations want big profits, and there's always a higher-up pushing for more and more.

 

[christiangirl30]

@mutambo I went to complain about my salon lead yesterday to the store manager and she acted like it wasn’t a big deal. My salon lead basically told me I need to give more hours otherwise I won’t have a job anymore, completely unprofessional. Everytime I come in to work, I see the salon lead and it makes me upset because she will push you past your limit .

 

[mutambo]

@christiangirl30 It's not necessarily your salon leads fault, though. Your salon lead is being told to push more dogs on everyone. Idk if it's still this way, but when my boss was a salon lead, her yearly bonus was dependent on how many dogs were being done.

I would just look for a private salon to learn in at this point. This issue can not be fixed by talking to your managers. Your salon lead is taking orders from higher-ups. Telling the higher-ups she's doing what they asked won't get you anywhere. This issue goes all the way up the chain of commands. The only way to escape is by not working for corporations.

 

[amylw]

@christiangirl30 PetSmart corporate is filled with people who've never groomed before and only care about the numbers. Their demands are unreasonable and they can go to hell.

If they want me to groom more dogs they can:

1. Hire a receptionist
2. Hire bathers specifically to bathe my dogs
3. Make sure I'm not interrupted by walk-in nail trims

By their own numbers a full groom takes 90 minutes. That leaves me time to do 5 grooms a day. They want more. They want an hour per dog without accounting for other variables like size, matting, and whether the dog is cooperative or not. We're expected to clean, deal with customers, and do walk-in nail trims, and we are NOT allowed to have any overtime. We're advised to overbook ourselves in case of cancellations. What happens when they all show up? Still not allowed overtime.

They do not take into account the physical demands of the job. They continually make decisions that lead to injuries and burnout and drive away employees. This is not sustainable long term. I'd considered working my way up to a managerial position at some point when I'm not able to groom anymore but I can't see myself having a career with PetSmart. They'd ask me to do something I'm not comfortable with and I'd have to walk away. It would be inconvenient if they fired me but I have enough experience at this point I can find a job at another salon.

 

[christiangirl30]

@amylw So what do you recommend then? I see this exact same situation at my petsmart and I’m surprised the groomers are continuing to stay after working for decades

 

[amylw]

@christiangirl30 I stay because I work in one of the better run salons and I like my coworkers. It's a good area. We stay busy mostly year round and tips aren't bad. If that changes....see ya.

 

[christiangirl30]

@amylw Tips for me are like $20 in 4 days. Most don’t tip. Coworkers are good for me, but I just can’t with my salon leader. She terrifies me and treats me like I don’t know anything, constantly lecturing me and repeating herself. Everyday I come in just wishing she wasn’t here, otherwise I can already map out how bad my day is gonna be.

 

[ingramk]

@christiangirl30 UKversion is the same, except they "train" shop floor retail staff to wash and dry dogs so the stylists can do more cuts, which is a nightmare because the retail staff don't want to do it but are made to do it and they don't dry or brush the dogs correctly which leaves the groomers absolutely screwed.

 

[%E2%98%A6marius%E2%98%A6]

@ingramk When I worked at Smart, policy was that all managers were to be trained to bathe & dry dogs to fill in for breaks + high volume days. Only one manager ever helped us and only when absolutely necessary. The store leader was afraid of dogs and was absolutely useless in the salon. She was forced out of the position and the new store leader was TERRIFIED of animals. He was supposed to be trained but it kept getting pushed back because he was so "busy". It got to the point where we'd page him by name, and he either wouldn't show up, or would send another manager to see what we wanted.

Fuck PetSmart. Worst company I've ever worked for. Absolutely destroyed my mental health, I wish I'd known better, I absolutely could have gone after them for labour violations.

 

[christiangirl30]

@%E2%98%A6marius%E2%98%A6 My management is so bad. My salon leader gives me side eyes when I try to leave for my 15 min break. I often don’t take it at all because there’s always something to do, but even when I’m done all my dogs, she tells me to help around with other peoples, or sweep the floor. The other day I told her my schedule/availability will be changing because I’m starting a new semester of school, and she angrily asked me why I’m wasting her time and that she doesn’t have hours to just give out like that. I’m sorry what? You hired me fully knowing I attend classes so why is it a problem now just because it doesn’t work with the schedule of my store? I want to get her in trouble but not because I’m an asshole but because she always talks to all salon staff with attitude and we’re suppose to just ignore it cuz she’s an old woman? No, she should be more professional. Now do I actually report her anonymously to someone that will make her behaviour change?