Would recommend applying at a different place - Guest Experience Specialist Petco Employee Review

2.0
Dec 12, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Good employee discount. (40% off store brand and partner brand, 20% off most other items) - Location dependent, you'll find some nice coworkers to trauma bond with

Cons

My store had a change in leadership after our (awesome) previous general manager found a better opportunity, and his replacement from Texas was simply put: awful. You can expect him to side with rude customers against you and hypocrisy like being written up for doing something that he does himself. He even blocked the internal transfer of an employee moving to another store. Also was denied a raise at $15 an hour when new hires were paid $16 to $17 an hour for the same position. To add, every position (at least once a week) is a glorified cashier position. Corporate doesn't provide enough scheduling hours to have a full store so the store will probably be understaffed despite having enough employees. (underscheduled?) For the cherry on top, at the peak of every hour you'll hear animal noises over the store speaker and after some of those it will say "At Petco, animals always come first." In practice, what comes first for them is driving numbers (sales, % of people you sign up for the rewards program, % of people you sign up for the app's perks, there are more and it's draining).

Explore other reviews about Petco

5.0
Feb 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good team and leadership at this location

Cons

Hours range from morning by to night

1.0
Jul 14, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Wonderful people under the Sr. Director level - Dogs in the office - Brand name carries weight on your resume

Cons

- Sr. Directors and above are largely nepotism hires rather than merit-based promotions - Leadership team is toxic and disrespectful, and that tone trickles down to other senior leaders - Gender favoritism shows up repeatedly, with women being asked to pick up the work of men without additional pay. Or men being promoted over women due to favoritism and not merit. - Nearly every employee I worked with was disengaged and functioning out of fear of layoffs rather than job satisfaction (layoffs happen multiple times a year) - The company's declining position also makes it harder to land your next role, since a recent Petco title now reads as coming from a struggling brand

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