Groomer Job: Petsmart or PetCo?

lvdgs24

definetely dont give up. if she hasnt made a decision yet, then your chances are probably good. and they susally want people with experiance so they dont have to teach how to handle dogs in general.

 

honestly, at all the salons i worked at we hoped and prayed for men. even now, i work at a dog kennel and we are always excited when guys apply (if your in the southern california area, i may have a job for you actually). like you said, it is mostly women, and for a lot of us, we hate it. we hate the cattyness, we hate the gossip. we hate all the things that comes along with women being cooped up in close quarters for too long. having a guy around really helps the environment, and keeps the girls in check. so dont give up. when i started working at petco, one of the people in training with me was a guy and he did really well.

Thanks, lv2dgs.  I'm glad in a way that she immediately interrupted me before I said anything but "How are you doing?".  Because I might have said "It looks like you probably already hired someone... and I just wanted to say that I am still interested."  Big mistake though in calling her today.  Or maybe not, maybe she'll just see it as being persistent. 

That's funny how you hoped and prayed for men.  I thought maybe it was the opposite.  That maybe having a guy there would break things up too much.  It's not like they are going to have a good looking Brad Pitt in there to die over.   

I like having a guy around. I know some groomers who prefer to work with all women, but I don't know why. Girls are mean! LOL One of the best groomers I know is a man.

Willow's spa is owned by a man.  And, most of the bathers are men. 

We take ours into to Petsmart to get groomed and we *always* ask for Will.  He's the best (personality, better w/ our dogs, and he does *great* work)....I really don't like most of the women in there, actually.

it really isnt for looks. i personally get along better with men than women. in the salons i have worked at, there were only about 6 of us max. most of us worked together all  the time. we would all be friends at first and then slowly everyone would get cliquey. and many other women groomers who spend a lot of time with their coworkers can vouch for me on all of us getting on the same schedule, and everyone just being a complete bitch. when guys would be around they would kind of make us act less like girls.

I don't think something is right.  I don't ever get called.  I've tried all the other shops now and no luck.  It's funny, both times I applied to Petsmart I never had trouble with getting called back.  This was back when I applied for Pet Instructor.  But I changed my mind both times.  I didn't want to sell.  And they kick you out if you don't sell enough.

 Then I got the idea to be a groomer.  They don't call.  Not Petco anyway.  I'm going to reapply yet once again to Petsmart and try there now. NONE of these Petco's are even calling me at all.  I've applied to all of them.  I call them up, and then they forget me.  Even the one that I was persistent with, the closest one, I had to call each week... and if I hadn't called I wouldn't have gotten the interview.  She just happened to be giving interviews that week and told me "Oh good week to call."  So I don't even think she wanted even before she interviewed me.  I wonder if there's something on the application they don't like.  Something doesn't add up. 

NO idea if all petcos are like this..but i know i applied like 3 times before i got hired there.. No lie.  At petsmart, I applied once, got hired, quit, went to some other jobs..came back..and they offered to hire me again..which i declined due to poor pay, and went to Petco.  and then they hired me at petco FINALLY..Not sure the case of this, although i know in my own store, they do keep it VERY short staffed..so knowing now how things run, i would assume my manager was just very very busy and never got around to doing interviews and such..he still does this..he doesnt hire until he absolutely has to, because he just doesnt have time.  I guess thats the downfall of working a job that pays good and gives you good hours...you run like crazy non stop!  Dont give up..you will find a grooming job somewhere!

 I know I'm kinda late but I work at petco and they have very good benefits for both part and full time associates!! i love it.. Also, I don't know how different each petco is but probably not too different when it comes to this..it is very hard to get hired based on their online applications...the way that they can look through them is they just have to go through each one piece by piece so it's really hard to see every application. Definitely call and keep bugging them!! that could very well be part of the issue. Also, our groomers are very good and we get compliments all the time about them so you can't generalize that "all petco's are bad". it's just not true.

I called her up today.  She said the person she hired "already had experience with grooming."  How often does Petco hire a bather with previous experience?  Does that happen often?  I told her I was still interested.  She said she'd keep me in mind.

Heathr6913

our groomers are very good and we get compliments all the time about them so you can't generalize that "all petco's are bad". it's just not true.

So to give an UPDATE on my local PETCO... the woman who had "destroyed" my dog's hair was fired after multiple complaints. The PETCO Manager was also replaced after a high amount of employees leaving & store complaints.

I really hope/wish the best for their business! Maybe their new employees & a new manager will turn the store around. Maybe not all PETCOs are bad, yes. It just happens to be that every PETCO I have been to in Massachusetts was filthy, smelled horrible, and the employees looked like they rolled out of bed and I was scared to even approach them. The good things I will say about that store is their better food selection (than PETSMART).

So I decided to do a lil experiment (so I can know from personal experience). For those that don't know, I am a Human Resource Administrator for an IT Retail Consultancy (our clients are Coach, Gucci, Ann Taylor... etc etc). All though a wonderful career thus far; current because of medical and cc debt I have been strapped for money. I've decided to apply to the local PETCOs and PETSMARTS for part-time employment to see what happens. Once I get interviewed I want to see the difference between both stores; and I'll let you know my decision.

Currently I think PETSMART is great for all of their Hotel/Daycare services. There is also no "small animal" purchasing section which I support. I had three ferrets once and after owning an animal you tend to learn a lot about them and I noticed how many ferret resuces & shelters there were. I don't support mass selling of ferrets any more. Also there is therefore less smell!

Currently I think PETCO has the best food selection. It's important to help improve canine health and that is something a person could deff do by working at PETCO verses PETSMART (who only carries horrible commercial dog foods). Also it would be like a fun "project" to work there since it's so downhill currently and they are in need of improvement.

Either way I'll keep you updated... let you know if I think it would be a fun/easy second job.

I haven't read the whol thread so I may be a little off topic but here goes.

I work at Petsmart in the hotel section part time and I love it!  It is really a lot of fun (and hard work). I know that to get hired takes a bit from you sometimes.  I filled out their online application and waited about 2 weeks.  When I didn't hear anything, I went into the hotel and asked for the manager, but she wasn't there.  I left my number and she called me.  We talked on the phone for a while, then I got my interview and was hired!  I don't know if she would have called me if I hadn't shown that extra interest.

I personally don't get the benefits, but I have heard that they aren't great.  Not sure in what ways that they aren't great, but I'm sure it all depends on how much you work, which plan, etc.  I do agree that Petco's food selection is much better as Pom <3 said, but I do use the discount in grooming and on toys and treats, and of course the hotel for the occasional daycamp.  So it is worth it.

But good luck with everything! 

a bit OT, but Pom..not sure what your getting at..you think by being empoyed by both petmart and petco is going to make up your mind on which is a better company?  As someone that HAS been employeed by BOTH companies, i can tell you you'd still be making a huge silly judgement just on your local stores as you have been all along.  I will tell you LOCALLY that our Petco's are far better than our one petsmart.  The people are friendlier, more organized, the store is cleaner, the benefits are better etc..but im definatly not going to be so naive as to say "oh my goodness all petsmarts are horrible sence our local one is!"..nope..sorry.  Everyone has their opinions, but i think your wasting your time.

 I think the benefits are awesome. I've been thrilled with my insurance, for what I've had to use it for, so far, and I love that they offer preventative care at no cost.

 

The discount isn't bad at all, either! 

Well I think you need to reread my post but if you'd like clarification: I'm getting a second job (evening & weekend) and it hit me one day psh hey i'll go apply to PETCO & PETSMART (discounts from there is all I need). When I pick which one I want, I was going to let everyone know, and then give my opinion on their employment.

Also I said LOCALLY all of our PETCOs are horrible. I'm happy that you have a nice PETCO (wish we did!) but the fact is all of our PETCOs smell like bum & the people scare me... so when I say "all" I'm saying Shrewsberry, Natick, Auborn, etc (MA towns). Milford just put in a brand new one so obviously its a little nicer but extremely small.

I'm happy that the one closest to me is going under new management, maybe things will turn around b/c I enjoy PETCOs food selection much better. But I enjoy PETSMART toys/services better. In the end I'm glad we have both.

My opinion on their grooming, WELL like I said the girl was fired at the PETCO after multiple complaints (so obviously I wasn't that far off about her); is that other lady any better? Well lets just say I went there today to pick up some canned food and I wouldn't trust her "handling" my dog (i didn't like her overall demeanor & "roughness";). So once again in conclusions the commercial retail grooming services around here locally aren't the best of the best service. I know my breed the best, I know my dog the best... So I taught myself how to groom! I love doing it and I'm saving tons of money/time/risk.

Those who work for PETCO or PETSMART and are good at what they do, well good, come teacher the people up north; haha.

So it's official, I now work at PETCO on the weekends ;o) and late evenings if someone doesn't show/calls out sick.

The new General Manager is so0o0o0o nice. I'll most likely be helping her out so I'm pretty much an assistant manager (considering I am in charge of my company's HR department it would just be really easy for me).

We plan on turning the place around ;o) Yay I'm excited... so happy I have two jobs now! The extra money will make life so much more comfortable while I have my school loans, car loan, cc & medical debt to pay off.

Georgie-grrrl thanks for the PM! I talked to PETSMART and their hours for the Pet Hotel didn't fit my schedule. Maybe one day? I'm glad to have the PETCO discount b/c that's where I buy Kayla's food but it deff would have been nice to have the PETSMART discount for all of their services/products.

jennie you are right about the benefits. I get paid vacations with them too! That's awesome... so it will be duel paid vacations now ;o)