My 10 hour employment at a chain pet store

My hours at the zoo got cut (which is fine because the alternative was to lose my job completely due to cutbacks), so I had to go looking for a second job. A few people that used to work at the zoo have since gone to Petsmart, so I thought I'd look into it too. For obvious reasons, when I'm in a pet store I usually use the condition of their reptiles as a sort of "test" as to what the store is actually like. In this particular store, the reptiles weren't too bad. Although they only had small lizards, the setups and animals looked to be in good shape. Because of my experience at the zoo, I got hired on the spot at the interview... the one manager said I was being hired to run register and as the "reptile expert" (her words, no joke...). That was 12 days ago.

That first day I sat through 3 hours of training videos, including one 20-30 minute long one about how they changed the name in order to capitalize the 'S' (i.e. PETsMART to PETSMART), so obviously it was well worth my time. My first real shift was two days later. I had one hour of training on the register, and then I had to do this sort of workbook which involved something about nutrition in dog food. The last exercise was clearing the damaged cans and bags of food off of the shelves... I sorta had to laugh because it was a very poor way to disguise a job originally titled "work that nobody else wants to do".

But anyway, I'm rambling so I'll get to the part that may interest some people here. You know how a lot of us seem to have the opinion that most people at chain pet stores have no idea what they're talking about when it comes to reptiles? I'm starting to see why, and it might not always be that person's fault. I was told by the managers that we're not allowed to give medical advice (which I can understand), OR basic husbandry advice beyond what the Petsmart-approved caresheets had on them (which was minimal at best).

I wasn't sure I was understanding this rule right, so I asked the manager to clarify. Seems I was understanding it perfectly. Basically what it boils down to is this: Let's say somebody comes to the register with a 10g aquarium, a leopard gecko, and a heat lamp large enough to heat a small house. I wouldn't be allowed to say "hey, that heat lamp is a little big, you could use a $20 UTH, save yourself some money, and it would be safer for the gecko." Basically, if they can make money off of somebody's ignorance, they'll sell whatever they can.

Or here's the specific question I asked...I like this one. Even though they don't sell snakes there, this was just the first example that came to mind. Let's say somebody who bought a corn snake at the store last week and it regurged its first meal. I find out that they have an unheated viv so the temps aren't getting warm enough. I wouldn't be allowed to say "don't feed the snake again for 10 days, bump up the temps and give a gradient in the viv, and try feeding a smaller meal next time to get them eating again." I WOULD, however, be allowed to refer them to the in-store vet so that they could pay $50 or so to get the same advice. So pretty much the role of the reptile person (at Petsmart anyway) is to unlock the cages in order to get the animal out and sell it to a customer regardless of what they know or don't know.

It's amazing what you're not told in the interview. I worked at the zoo all day today and I was scheduled to be at Petsmart (my 2nd real shift in 2 weeks) from 6 - 9:30 tonight. It's about 7:30 right now, and I'm obviously not there. I went over all of this information again and again today, bounced my thoughts off of some of the other people at the zoo, went to Petsmart at 6:00 and turned in my uniform. Whether it's giving bad advice, or not giving appropriate advice, I can't honestly make myself work in a place like that.

Sorry to hear it went that way.
Do you remember me saying I had worked there once upon a time...My now ex was the resident 'reptile expert' as well. And both of us had a lot of experience with different types of animals. But we were only allowed to tell people what was in those stupid workbooks-even if it was incorrect. We couldn't handle it either and shortly after they started their in house training of employees we were outta there.
I recently had to shut down my own business as a mobile groomer due to basically my van self destructing(whole other story) but since I needed a job I broke down and sent in an app to Petsmart. Their reply- even though I have over 13 yrs experience, they were looking for someone who more followed there goals. In other words anyone without enough experience to know better.

DISCLAIMER: This is in no way meant to offend anyone who works at a Petsmart. I am sure that there must be some decent stores out there somewhere with knowledgable people who have just slipped through the corporate cracks.

Good for you, Jeff!

ultimuttone said:

Sorry to hear it went that way.
Do you remember me saying I had worked there once upon a time...My now ex was the resident 'reptile expert' as well. And both of us had a lot of experience with different types of animals. But we were only allowed to tell people what was in those stupid workbooks-even if it was incorrect. We couldn't handle it either and shortly after they started their in house training of employees we were outta there.
I recently had to shut down my own business as a mobile groomer due to basically my van self destructing(whole other story) but since I needed a job I broke down and sent in an app to Petsmart. Their reply- even though I have over 13 yrs experience, they were looking for someone who more followed there goals. In other words anyone without enough experience to know better.

DISCLAIMER: This is in no way meant to offend anyone who works at a Petsmart. I am sure that there must be some decent stores out there somewhere with knowledgable people who have just slipped through the corporate cracks.

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I knew somebody on here had worked there at some point, but I couldn't remember who it was. I'm almost glad to hear your story about it too, because I see that I'm not the only one who feels this way about the way it's being run.

As far as my situation goes, I'm not all that worried. I don't think I could bring myself to refer to people as "pet parents" anyway :headbang:

TrpnBils said:

I knew somebody on here had worked there at some point, but I couldn't remember who it was. I'm almost glad to hear your story about it too, because I see that I'm not the only one who feels this way about the way it's being run.

As far as my situation goes, I'm not all that worried. I don't think I could bring myself to refer to people as "pet parents" anyway :headbang:

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I am glad to hear you made the decision to stick to ethics over income-it can be a hard one.

As for "pet parents", well I am a groomer so I get to say FiFis 'mommy' and 'daddy' on a regular basis :grin01:

My whole story is a bit longer, but let's just say that I've worked for 12+ years (not in a row) in a privately owned pet store, but was forced to work one summer at the local PetCo.

. . . Wow, what a joke. Across the board it's corporate run, and corporate this and corporate that. The only reason I lasted the summer was that I wasn't 'eagle-eyed' by management and told the customers what I needed to tell them, and not what the company needed me to tell them.

The eye opener I had was the day I asked the manager a 'what if' question. What if I happen to see somebody pocket something and leave the store? Managers response: "Let them go. It's not worth the hassle." So . . . I'm not sure if this was just the local store's 'policy', but it was pretty eye opening to say the least. Disclaimer: I'm not telling anyone to go out and rob the local warehouse pet stores! :eek1:

I think the only reason I lasted the entire summer was that I knew more than the manager about basic animal care, that he didn't want to upset me since I helped him out of a few jams.

D80

PS. I left on my terms as an opening came up at my old bosses store . . . The hiatus in between was due to school and becoming a teacher. That's the short version of the whole story!

Drizzt80 said:

My whole story is a bit longer, but let's just say that I've worked for 12+ years (not in a row) in a privately owned pet store, but was forced to work one summer at the local PetCo.

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That's one thing I've been thinking about... Local pet stores that are privately owned are generally under the control of one or just a few people, so there's a better chance of it being a "morally better" place than chain stores. Not in all cases, obviously, but there's certainly a lot more potential I think. I'm actually looking into maybe working at a privately owned pet store that specializes in herps. I hadn't been there before, so I never applied, but I went down last week and they've got some seriously cool reptiles/amphibians there, and they all seem to know what they're talking about.

The 'blast' that privately owned stores get a lot of times is that they aren't 'spotless' clean and shiny like those warehouse stores are . . . :eek1: Show me a pet owner's home or collection that's spotless clean 24/7. I can't stand walking into a pet store that smells of bleach/cleaner . . . what are they hiding?!

D80

This kinda nonsense makes me want to start my own place and make it really good...but I know the work level involved....so I won't!!!

PetsMart...my odd connection

Hello to all. I was reading all these previous employments at PetsMart. What are the connections? I too worked at a PetsMart in Northeast, OH. I lasted 2 years. I was hired, initially, because I worked as an equine anesthesiologist for 2+ years, and several years before that, I worked at a zoo for 2+ years. They figured "You must know your stuff." Problem was, I did. Customers began asking my advice on their pets and choices for them...so I answered them (unless they really needed a vet and not me) and gained their respect. If a given potential pet from the store was sick, I would say so. Petsmart does not care for employees with knowledge-with-intent-to-use. I was removed from the floor and placed on a register with strict orders to sell, sell, sell, and keep my mouth shut! (They really did this) My nature will not allow me to give in or quit. I answered customers, who continued to request me, from my register. The manager stood behind me as I answered another satisfied customer. An hour later, I was informed by the manager that my full time staus has been lowered to part-time with potential of "no longer needed"! I continued to show up for work all the way down to 8 hours a week of employment...nice lawsuit if they fired me without cause. I answered/assisted as always but for the last 2 weeks I let customers know what PetsMart was doing...sell regardless of the well-being of pets, even if it will harm them, so long as their $$ and numbers are favorable for inventory time at the end of the quarter. PetsMart refused to send my last paycheck. I received it nearly 3 years later via the state.

CornDazzle said:

Hello to all. I was reading all these previous employments at PetsMart. What are the connections? I too worked at a PetsMart in Northeast, OH. I lasted 2 years. I was hired, initially, because I worked as an equine anesthesiologist for 2+ years, and several years before that, I worked at a zoo for 2+ years. They figured "You must know your stuff." Problem was, I did. Customers began asking my advice on their pets and choices for them...so I answered them (unless they really needed a vet and not me) and gained their respect. If a given potential pet from the store was sick, I would say so. Petsmart does not care for employees with knowledge-with-intent-to-use. I was removed from the floor and placed on a register with strict orders to sell, sell, sell, and keep my mouth shut! (They really did this) My nature will not allow me to give in or quit. I answered customers, who continued to request me, from my register. The manager stood behind me as I answered another satisfied customer. An hour later, I was informed by the manager that my full time staus has been lowered to part-time with potential of "no longer needed"! I continued to show up for work all the way down to 8 hours a week of employment...nice lawsuit if they fired me without cause. I answered/assisted as always but for the last 2 weeks I let customers know what PetsMart was doing...sell regardless of the well-being of pets, even if it will harm them, so long as their $$ and numbers are favorable for inventory time at the end of the quarter. PetsMart refused to send my last paycheck. I received it nearly 3 years later via the state.

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:cheers:

Nice work, and welcome to the forums!

Nice job for having a conscience. Doing the right thing can be hard. But it's rewarding. I'm never going to petsmart again.

Its the same with petco that I used to work at.

I didn't trust buying anything from there, besides equipment, so I just talked them into going elsewhere, like to NERD or some other places that I had respected.

needless to say that I had got fired, but I did so with my dignity and honor than loosing it all for them so I'm

One of my professors heard me mentioning this to a friend of mine today and started telling me about a friend of hers that used to be a manager at Petsmart out West somewhere. She got fired because she refused to go along with what they were doing (although she obviously went along with it for long enough to become a manager there). Anyway, it seems that this is a common thing throughout the whole corporation instead of just at a few select stores...

Kind of sad considering they seem to try to be so concerned about the welfare of the animals, at least from the public's perspective. But in truth, they're more concerned with a profit.

I can see both sides of the coin, but I think they could be just as successful by walking the line between both profiteering and having experienced employees help people like they need to be helped.

Sending home a leopard gecko with a 400watt bulb doesn't really solve anything. Sure it may make the new pet owner come back for an overpriced replacement animal, but more than likely they're going to stumble onto places like this that are there to help and educate people, and ultimately see that Petsmart was at fault and go complain (not that it'd do any good).

Petsmart here doesn't seem to be as bad as most from what I've seen. The fish guy seems to be very knowledgeable. I've even had the rodent guy tell me not to use pine or cedar on my 'pet' mice, that it was bad for their respiratory tracts. He recommended aspen or care fresh. I knew all of this already, but when you go in to buy male breeder mice for your feeder colonies, you have to play the dumb part.

But its that extra step that I appreciate, whether its company policy or not. I just wish Petsmart would get their act together and start encouraging knowledgeable people to work there, and encourage them to help customers. I go back to a business because of the customer service, not for the prices.

Do you guys remember the movie "Miracle on 34th Street"? The old one, not the newer knock-off. In the movie Macy's did more business because Santa told the customers where they could find the items they were looking for, even if Macy's didn't have it. So they kept coming back for the friendly and knowledgable employees, not just the items.

However I personally think Walmart should be banned from selling fish. It sickens me to my core to go in and see multitudes of dead fish floating. And they had bettas in cups that had been dead long enough to start falling apart. uke01:

I complained to management and their excuse? The older lady who was in charge of the pet dept. had died and while they were waiting for a replacement, all of the other employees were having to help. You'd think that with more people paying attention, those fish would have been alive or either flushed when dead.

I've often thought about getting a job at Petsmart, because I love animals and feel I could truly help people keep a newly purchased pet alive and healthy by dispensing the information I've attained over the years of owning just about every pet I can imagine. But now...I don't know if that'd be the case or not especially when it means I'd have an hour's worth of driving to and from work. Probably not worth it.

Rambling!

Petsmart AND Petco veteran, here.

In a nutshell, one's experience working at a chain pet store will heavily depend on the individual middle management. I consider myself to have worked at two vastly different Petcos--one with awesome managers who cared about the animals and about ethics; one with profit-driven idiots running the store, telling me that pine and cedar are just fine and dandy for any animal, that ferrets can be housed in a 20 gallon aquarium, that goldfish grow to the size of their tanks, etc. I actually laughed in Cindy's face over that last part--Petco training literature specifically teaches the opposite, and we were only told it about 2435794875 times when we were trained to work in aquatics. I'd characterize Petco as being HIGHLY variable--you can go to a store two months after you first visit and find that literally everything has changed. There's no real way to generalize regarding that chain, IMO. I still don't like that they sell mass-bred animals, or WC herps, or live feeders, or rabbits, chinchillas, and ferrets, but I can't issue a blanket condemnation of their in-store practices.

Petsmart, on the other hand--I wasn't taught anything about the animals I was selling (not a problem, except with the hermit crabs), and was discouraged from telling people anything at all, ever. What I really liked about Petco was that my original managers loved that I had relationships with customers, who would come back to ask me advice, since we'd spent so much time talking and they trusted me. It was frustrating as heck not doing that at Petsmart--but then again, I'm not sure what I expected, considering that employees didn't have the authority to do ANYTHING in that store. And good luck finding someone who DID have the authority to do anything, because the managers just hung around in the office all day.

I always thought that forming bonds with people and instilling in them a love for their pet, and a dedication to proper care was the way to go--taking care of pets is generally pretty expensive and equipment/supply-heavy as it is, so making people want to take top-notch care of their pets IS a selling tactic.

rhinecat said:

I still don't like that they sell mass-bred animals, or WC herps, or live feeders, or rabbits, chinchillas, and ferrets

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They don't anymore...at least not the ones around here. The only thing they sell as "feeders" are crickets and fruit flies basically. I don't know how they can do that "because it's not ethical" and then turn around to feed their own animals f/t mice, but whatever. I don't shop there anymore either just for the simple fact that the people who work in our local ones are all rude.

Wow, that's wild that they're no longer selling live feeder rodents. I know the one here still is, since we had to buy one to get an adult ball python switched to f/t (long story). They do, thank god, have them separated by sex now! No more seeing babies half-eaten in the rodent cages. Ugh.

Somewhat related by slightly :-offtopic Here is my bad "big chain pet store" experience.

After I first got Sienna, when I was still buying live from the petstore where I got her, I got stuck in a pinky-less bind and had to stop at our local petco to try to procure something for her to eat. Well, the Petco had just opened and it was the first one I had ever been to, and I made the "mistake" of asking the manager if he sold feeder mice. He then launched into a tirade about how they certainly did not sell mice as FOOD, and how could I consciously feed a "higher level" organism to such a lowly animal as a snake. That according to his views and scientology it just was not ethical. Needless to say I have not been back since (and I have also found out they DO sell frozen pinks). Anyway, who's to say mice are such higher organisms anyway? If they are so superior why are they at the bottom of the food chain? (Disclaimer: I DO like mice, it just irked me that he was claiming they were so far superior due to their mammalian status). *sigh* Anyway, that was my only experience with Petco.

And Jeff, I'm proud you quit! It just doesn't seem right the way big corperations get so far off track like that. I'm glad you took the higher road. Good for you! I'm sure with your knowledge base you will quickly find employment elsewhere...someplace where it will actually be valued. Good luck in the job search!

My local PETCO seems to be fine ive bought 3 pets through them so far my painted turtle, our dog, and now my corn. Ive asked thousands of question and i have not been steered wrong from the people there. however i have noticed that the employees (all of them including the manager) do not follow the corperate BS and actully care how people care for their pets. One time i was there and this guy was trying to buy a boa, the Reptile guy talked him out of a more expensive snake down to a less expensive one that would be easier to care for. I research the hell out of corn snake care here and other places and the people there where the ones who told me about this site.!
Sorry for the long post just wanted to say that I have a good PETCO

TIM