It was good and bad - Bather PetSmart Employee Review

4.0
Jun 30, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Working at PetSmart was great in the aspect that it allowed me to be around pet lovers and people enthusiastic about animals such as myself. I felt like management listened as much as a large company could. I made friends there and didn't mind coming to work everyday.

Cons

The only cons were Most importantly, the hazards that accompany one working with animals, especially dogs. Unless one does this job they probably can't foresee all the physical problems. There was the daily leaving work with hairs in my eyes, nose, mouth, and hair splinters in my fingers/arms as well as feet being wet all day peeling a lot and having a nose stuffed from trying to block out smells. There's also dogs menstruating on your table and pooping and peeing around and on you. Getting dirty and smelly was fine to me and acceptable, but the common occurrence of leaving work with scratches and cuts and wounds from wrestling upset dogs all day was what led to my resignation. I was afraid of getting seriously wounded or spraining something. I just wrote the other parts to help someone who's considering being a bather to think about some perhaps unconsidered side effects. The only other con was the closed off nature of the salon. It was practically its own store and so segregated from the main store it developed a culture of its own which was inherently hierarchical and cliquey in nature. What I discovered there was that the Groomers were the ones in control there and Bathers were to do their jobs and help the groomers do their jobs. You have social situations at every job but just look out for this set up and don't do anything to make the groomers dislike you.

Explore other reviews about PetSmart

5.0
May 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Fun, welcoming, easy, flexible, growth

Cons

Weekends, slow, customers, busy, fast pace

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
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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