Awful job when management sucks - Groomer PetSmart Employee Review

2.0
Oct 28, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-working with animals -fun immediate coworkers in the grooming salon

Cons

-micromanagement hell -managers who just boss you around for no reason -your job may be to groom animals but they will stick you on the floor because it may be slow for a moment -no recognition of a job well done -nothing is ever good enough -its all about the money and not the pet's well being -if corporate is coming in, management is even worse -store management is very fake, and superficial -the main store manager rarely left the office instead they would monitor employees on the surveillance cameras, and be as nit picky as taking a 16 minute break rather than a 15 minute break could get you written up -abuse of power from managers -random meetings at 5am in the morning on sundays -many crazy customers but thats seriously the least of your worries -get in trouble if the phone rings more than twice -random bs paperwork to do on every pet for NO reason -you have to force products on clients who don't want them, until they say yes -ridiculous sales goals so that the salon manager can get their bonus -corporate would rather u get bit than allow you to muzzle an aggressive dog -not allowed to turn away an aggressive dog even if you think you cant control it or will end up getting bit, unless you have a managers approval, THEY WONT APPROVE IT! -getting pooped on, getting peed on, finding poop in your pocket, getting bit -get written up for not wearing a name tag, even if it just fell off because you were in the middle of restraining a dog

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5.0
May 26, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good job and location nice

Cons

None that I can think of

1.0
Jun 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The company pushes for more and more from the bottom level employees without better pay. I worked there before the restructuring and; not much can make me cry, but working here sure did, even back then. I can’t imagine how anxiety inducing it must be to work there now. Animal welfare is a complete non-concern. The only thing that’s pushed is sell, sell, sell. It’s borderline dystopian. Bad management seems to be a common issue, not only from my experience, but many others’ as well. I worked until I was an exhausted sweaty mess to make sure everything in pet care or, when I groomed, the salon, was cleaned to perfection as expected of me (and I reiterate: “me,” because these standards were not expected of my co-workers, just me) and overall felt very unseen. The only times I did feel “seen,” was when mistakes were made. Work was treated like boot camp. A co-worker that was subtley targeting/bullying me, and even started rumors accusing me of racist remarks(!!!), was promoted and anything I reported was downplayed because they were friends with the assistant manager. Working here was an overall traumatizing experience.

Cons

Employees are expected to be work-robots

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PetSmart Response
3w
We’re disappointed to hear that your experience didn’t reflect what we aim to create for our associates, and we appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback. We invite you to contact the CareSmart line at 1-800-738-4693 so we can learn more and see how we can support you. Thank you.
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