Petco Employee Reviews

Petco was a great job. The pay was right for the work I was doing and the people were great. The only problem was the customers and hours. The days were long and it was very slow paced but that wasn’t a big issue.

Was this review helpful?

Too much stress

Pet Stylist (Former Employee) - Spanish Fork, UT - December 2, 2023

Expectations of me as a groomer were unrealistic! I was very overworked and underpaid considering all the extra things management expected of me as a groomer. I was lucky if I had time to use the bathroom on some days! I peed my pants while bathing a dog one day and I didn't have time to run home and change even though I lived less than 5 minutes away. Management even joked about getting diapers for groomers! Half the clients are just as bad to deal with, they do not see all the work that is thrown onto us and expect their dog to look perfect in under 2 hours.

Pros

employee discount, free grooming academy training

Cons

overworked, high stress job, no breaks, underpaid

Was this review helpful?

Jobs at Petco

Now Hiring! 1st and 2nd Shift Direct Hire Warehouse Positions!

Work like a dog, then pet some dogs.

Sales Experience Manager (Assistant General Manager) (Former Employee) - Aurora, CO - December 2, 2023

What is the best part of working at the company?The interaction with the animals. What is the most stressful part about working at the company?Lack of associates and management.

Was this review helpful?

Mentally exhausting and careless

Pet Stylist/Groomer (Former Employee) - Florissant, MO - December 2, 2023

What is the best part of working at the company?The co-workers and some of the clients and their dogsWhat is the most stressful part about working at the company?The company. Petco does not, i repeat does not, care about its employees only making them money What is the work environment and culture like at the company?Only the select few are like family. What is a typical day like for you at the company?Come in check in dogs and work and do me

Was this review helpful?

Pets and drama

Dog Trainer (Former Employee) - Englewood, OH - December 2, 2023

My location was like being back in highschool. The GM was insecure, uneducated, and unavailable. They pick favorites and cut everyone's hours. Usually fire you before you can earn PTO. All over dumpster fire.

Was this review helpful?

Petco insights

Based on 4,197 survey responses

What people like

Ability to meet personal goals
Feeling of personal appreciation
Ability to learn new things

Areas for improvement

Fair pay for job
Sense of belonging
Trust in colleagues

Nice management but hate corporate

Grooming Salon Manager (Current Employee) - Lawton, OK - December 1, 2023

Management and team are amazing always a big family but corporate is definitely where things can go good or bad. I feel like we’ve distanced ourselves from pet wellbeing to just money hungry

Was this review helpful?

Pay is extremely poor for the knowledge you must aquire

Aquatic Specialist (Former Employee) - Lees Summit, MO - December 1, 2023

I worked for petco for 5 years, advancing to aquatics specialist. In those 5 years, between 2 stores, I never made more than $2 total in raises. I was expected to take care of my family on less than $10 per hour, to run TWO departments, which takes a lot of training, especially for Saltwater/Coral! Work/home balance is the very last thing this company cares about, as I missed my daughter's first Easter, first Halloween and other important firsts I'll never get back. This company only cares about how much labor they can get out of you.

Pros

Meet people's Dogs, talk about pets

Cons

Shortstaffed constantly, poor pay, no work/home balance

Was this review helpful?

It was ok, not great but ok!

Dog Groomer (Former Employee) - Westbury, NY - November 30, 2023

What is the best part of working at the company?The best part of working at petco was the discount. What is the most stressful part about working at the company?The most stressful part about petco was the pressure the managers put on me, making me cry every day and making me feel horrible at my job!What is the work environment and culture like at the company?The environment and culture for petco was very busy. What is a typical day like for you at the company?A typical day for me at petco was a nice washing going day, but then again, the managers always put pressure on you if they can!

Was this review helpful?

Mostly Fun

Guest Experience Specialist (Former Employee) - Altamonte Springs, FL - November 29, 2023

I learned a lot about animal care and nutrition. One time I saw a woman with a pet monkey. My managers at the second store I worked at were lovely, but the first one was cruel and mean. I have some of the best friends I've ever made out of coworkers from Petco. I met lots of lovely pets and owners, and helped lots of people find new companions.

Pros

Ferrets

Cons

Keep you under full-time to not offer benefits

Was this review helpful?

Sets you up to fail or bail

Dog Trainer/Sales Associate (Former Employee) - Laveen, AZ - November 29, 2023

Positives first. I actually really loved my coworkers! Everyone was nice and we tried to have each others backs. You learn to bond over the madness. The regular customers were also, for the most part, amazing, and it was so nice to be remembered and have genuine conversation. The benefits/discounts are actually better than other stores i’ve worked at and very useful if you own multiple pets.Now… The cons. What you apply for is pretty much irrelevant- You should be prepared to do the job of literally everyone, for the pay of one. In my case, I never once even got to do what I was actually hired for. Hours were inconsistent/random but people called out often, so you could always pick up. Sometimes it’d be just you and one other person (who would be stuck in the back somewhere. so basically just you) trying to run the entire store ALONE for an entire shift… or longer! Upper management was all over the place and could never give me straight answers on anything but I continued waiting it out until I couldn’t. The job not only put strain on my chronic illnesses but intensified them to the point I was having frequent health episodes and had to just quit.

Was this review helpful?

Rate your recent company

Share your experience to help others

Only good thing are the certificates

Grooming Salon Manager (Former Employee) - North Myrtle Beach, SC - November 29, 2023

Worked as one of the groomers, be prepared for no breaks at all. Because of the way you are scheduled during the day you have no time to get a lunch and if you do, clients come in and complain that their dogs aren't done fast enough. Never gave proper management training either. They sent me to a sister store for manager training for four days, just to be told that I "knew" what to do. So back at my store when I would ask for help on the company websites to report problems in the salon, I wouldn't be shown how to do it. Other managers would just do it for me.8 hour work days and they wanted me to come in 30 minutes to an hour earlier to work on emails and more. I was told that as a manager I should slow down on dogs and the other groomers work harder but it became the other way around.Everything hit the fan when I got promoted to manager. Just be prepared to not have your other employees not talk to you and complain behind your back.Oh, you also get a point system if anything goes wrong or a problem happens, and it never gets talked about. There are no warnings, and there are no meetings to pull you into the office to say what had happened.Honestly the only good thing about it is the training to become a dog trainer or a dog groomer.

Pros

Clients, and the hours worked

Cons

No lunch breaks, rude employees, no helpful management training

Was this review helpful?

Not good

Animal Care Specialist (Current Employee) - Ramsey, NJ - November 28, 2023

Good for short term work or part time, but as full time employee i dont make enough to support myself living so i have to work side jobs . Also when you try to actually help the animals most times they stop you and tell you to try to push products onto people

Pros

You care for animals

Cons

Everything else, they care more about sales than saftey of the animals

Was this review helpful?

Not enough resources for tasking or engagement

General Manager (Former Employee) - Spring, TX - November 28, 2023

Company expects you to consistantly meet and exceed sales goals. This would be no problem but there are no hours to go around. Corporate comes up with last minute promotions that are not well communicated. This results in more panic and stress as you perfrom a chinese fire drill to appease the high-ups. Just overall a stressful mess of a company. Customers are more and more displeased with promotions that require a monthly fee. Benefits offered to loyal shoppers changes often, creating distrust and disappointment at the store level. The changed always result in more out of pocket for guest. I.E. charging .10cents per bag.

Was this review helpful?

It’s ok

Cashier (Former Employee) - Houston, TX - November 27, 2023

Not bad. I liked working there for awhile. I made friends and loved working for animals. The pay it’s great but not bad. Would work there again if needed a Job

Was this review helpful?

Toxic Management

Groomer (Former Employee) - Las Cruces, NM - November 26, 2023

Used to be a good place to work but has really gone downhill in the last couple of years. Wouldn’t recommend to anyone. No one actually cares about the wellbeing of the animals just the sales.

Was this review helpful?

Mismanaged company that cuts hours, floor care, and stock to save money for corp bonuses.

General Manager (Former Employee) - Holland, MI - November 26, 2023

What is the best part of working at the company?Working with animals and finding good caring homes for themWhat is the most stressful part about working at the company?Terribly mismanaged from the C-suite. Hours cut to below minimum necessary for adequate animal care, customer service and tasking. Big push and threats around selling monthly subscriptionsWhat is the work environment and culture like at the company?Understaffed and over worked leads to most stores working with high stress levelsWhat is a typical day like for you at the company?Run register and all positions from GM down, clean, zone, stock, clean animal habitats

Was this review helpful?

Fun job

Guest Service Associate (Former Employee) - East Longmeadow, MA - November 26, 2023

I liked my job , nice employees , only thing that sucked was my hours I barely had enough hours on my schedule for full time I don’t know why, hours seemed to pick up during the holidays though

Was this review helpful?

If I could give 0 stars I would 🤢

Employee (Former Employee) - Salem, OR - November 25, 2023

south petco is the worst store in salem. The only people left working there are the disgusting employees who have been there forever because they ran everyone out. don’t work here if you know what’s good for you. I worked there for a while and the amount of good people they ran out because the awful way everyone got treated there is crazy. The amount of times I saw people not get promotions they got promised, or get someones hours getting cut because a manager wants to throw a fit, and I’ve seen more customers complain about managers than any other employee there. Don’t work for petco.

Cons

management

Was this review helpful?

Fun place for pet-lovers to work

Guest Experience Specialist (Former Employee) - Edwardsville, IL - November 24, 2023

Managememt was really the only issue for me; I'd worked there for about half a year and had roughly 3 or 4 different GMs come and go.Aside from that, I really enjoyed working here! I personally love helping people and animals alike, and this job is a great way to combine the two in a retail setting. Customers will come to you for product recommendations, pet care advice, etc., so it's best to have a basic understanding for most animal care (or learn as you go like had).

Pros

Employer discounts, free dog training services, getting to learn more about animal care

Cons

Long shifts, can get fast-paced, hours/scheduling inconsistent

Was this review helpful?

Great place to work

Merchandise Operations Leader (Former Employee) - Alexandria, LA - November 24, 2023

It’s a great place to work for until you get told to only worry about truck and they will work on the POGs and end up not doing POGs while you fall behind more and more but ultimately it’s still your fault because you’re supposed to take hold of your position, but can’t when you’re being told not to do certain things.

Was this review helpful?

Stressful and disorganized

Guest Experience Specialist (Former Employee) - San Francisco, CA - November 24, 2023

They expect you to do work that is not part of the job description and the animals are treated insanely poorly. I’ve seen LIVE animals thrown in the dumpster because they weren’t completely healthy or weren’t “cute enough”

Was this review helpful?