Cool job in theory, but not in practice. - Pet Care Specialist-Petshotel PetSmart Employee Review

1.0
22 Oct 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Playing with dogs is fun. Pay starts above minimum wage. Free t-shirts. (Petty, but it's the only "pro" that isn't also a "con.")

Cons

Management is completely incompetent. No time management and no consideration for employee morale. They say they listen to employee ideas, but actions speak louder than words. Every time you shower, you will find a new bruise somewhere on your body, and you will not know how it happened. Regardless of how the PetsHotel is doing, hours will be cut. The hours that are available will be given to those who pretend working there is nothing but sunshine and rainbows. Anyone who voices any type of concern will face retaliation... ... Which leads me to favoritism: Management bases who they like on who is prettiest, funniest and any other irrelevant "-ist" description you can imagine. If you're one of the favorites, congratulations! Call in sick, be unproductive, don't even show up; it doesn't matter. But if you're not one of the favorites, find a new job. Now. You're extremely lucky if they don't just shove you into camp and refuse to train you on anything else. Lack of time management (see above) means they can't train you, and frankly, you were hired to be a glorified circus act.

Explore other reviews about PetSmart

5.0
12 Feb 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Chance to practice customer service skills -Opportunity to network and connect -Learn time management skills

Cons

-Might not be a good fit if your allergic to certain animals

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PetSmart Response
2mo
We're happy to hear you enjoy working at PetSmart and are happy you're part of our team! Thanks for taking the time to review.
1.0
2 Jun 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
2w
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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