Petco = negative

i have never really like PETCO but i could never put my finger on why. today i got reasons

today i am in line and the customer in front of me questioned the price of a bag of dog food and i am half listening. the customer said the tag said 'this'....... a manager type came over and blab,blab,blab. The customer said i see. the price was a rebate or something but the store labels at Petco are funny. the rebate price makes it seems like it is that store price today.

my turn at the register.

i have a $3 coupon for a bag of 11 pound BG cat food. the coupon was on the [empty] bag of the last BG bag of cat food i bought. the bag did not have a scan code so a manager was called. The manager said i have to send the coupon in. I dont think so, the coupon said the retailer gives the coupon to the distributor something,something. they said no, i left with no purchase.

i guess my original gut feeling was right about this place.

I don't know - I've never had any problems w/ our Petco. It's a newer store (built w/in the last 5 years). Our local humane society has two cages of kitties for adoption there & we get over 100 adoptions per year from there - IMO we would have a much higher euthanasia rate w/o having the option of adopting kitties from Petco.

That's odd. I've never seen a coupon that required the customer to mail it in. If the directive was printed on the coupon, I don't see why they can turn you away. That's not good customer service to lose a customer over $3.00.

Have you tried calling BG directly? If it happened to you, certainly Petco is denying other customers the same deal.

Between Petco and Petsmart, I prefer the latter. It's less expensive and they always have can food on sale.

My Petco is wonderful to me. I didn't have a receipt for a return and the lady said "I really shouldn't take this without the receipt" but gave me my money back anyways.

I think it more has to do with the individual you are working with rather than the company as a whole.

I sort of think your issue is with your store - maybe a little letter of complaint to the head office would help??

http://www.petco.com/petco_Page_PC_contactus.aspx

Oh, and then there's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PETCO

Originally Posted by GloriaJH

I sort of think your issue is with your store - maybe a little letter of complaint to the head office would help??

http://www.petco.com/petco_Page_PC_contactus.aspx

Oh, and then there's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PETCO

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I agree! Sounds like the individual working at the time was the problem, not the chain as a whole. I love my local Petco. It's big and well ventilated and cleaned often so the animals seem a lot happier when compared to another big chain pet store nearby.

Ditto on the adoptions mentioned by white cat lover. I think this program is very good for people who initially had bad perceptions of adopting "second-hand" or "damaged" animals. Then they realize a lot of these animals are not the ones at fault, nor do they hold a grudge! They just want a good home.

While the guys and gals at Petco have always been nice to me, and its within walking distance of my house, I never go there as their super-duper-ultra sales just end up being Petsmart's everyday price.

I asked if they would pricematch Petsmart, but they don't. Shame really, as I'd save on gas.

I've never really had any issues with my local Petco; the employees are all animal lovers (they tell me about their latest rescues when I stop in); I had 2 collars break in a row; both times they let me exchange them...

I would follow the previous suggestion and contact Petco's HQ, if they are acting that way to you; chances are you're not alone.

I worked for that company for 8 years and let me tell you the company only cares about the money they make and they treat their employees like s*** and I'm not just talking about me just having a "bad experience". I've seen so much in my time there with so many employees at several different stores, I am very happy that I don't work there anymore. PetSmart is definitely a step up and is also the #1 chain store in the US.

Originally Posted by Ducman69

While the guys and gals at Petco have always been nice to me, and its within walking distance of my house, I never go there as their super-duper-ultra sales just end up being Petsmart's everyday price.

I asked if they would pricematch Petsmart, but they don't. Shame really, as I'd save on gas.

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I agree that Petsmart is cheaper then Petco! I also had a coupon mix-up at Petco a few weeks back. It was a three dollar off coupon on a bag of Wellness Core. I always get the twelve pound bag so that is what I grabbed and was happy to be getting the three dollars off. I went to check-out and the girl at the register said that the coupon was for the five pound bags!!!! I was surprised that they would not take the coupon for the bigger bag and confused about that So I went back and got the smaller bag... I don't use Core anymore so I don't go to Petco anymore. Petsmart did not sell Wellness Core dry while I was using it.

Sounds like it was just that store and employees involved. It's the same here Petsmart is cheaper HOWEVER Petco takes internet coupons which can make them cheaper
Sorry this happened to you. I have found posting on FB helps get a response from a company.

For years I didn't like Petco (for reasons I can't remember now) and did all my business at Petsmart (which is a lot of business as I buy not only for my own 5 cats, but I purchase a LOT of stuff for the shelter). However, over the last year or so I have gotten smarter about using coupons, and I very much like the $5.00 off one that Petco sends via email for every $100.00 spent. I do not see that the prices at Petsmart are less than Petco. In fact, figuring in that $5.00 coupon, they end up being less at Petco. I use other coupons at Petco also (usually the Wellness ones that come via email from them each month), and have never had a problem. In fact, I think they have gone out of their way to help me, on occasion. But then, so have the people at Petsmart, and I still continue to go there for some things.

I'm about to go off to Petsmart to spend the 15% off friend and family coupon they sent via email. They have cat carriers that I like a lot, and I'm working on purchasing a carrier for every cat (in case of disaster). I hope to get one this morning. Each of these big box chain stores have different things that I sometimes want. I like some of the cat food brands that Petco has and Petsmart doesn't carry. Besides the carrier, Petsmart has cat brushes that I like best and I buy frequently for the shelter. I also like the Petsmart brand toys, though usually I buy toys cheaper on line. I buy about 160 toys a month for the shelter, and I usually get them from two suppliers on ebay. Both Petco and Petsmart recently started selling the Go Cat brand toys (Da Bird and Go Cat Dancer). Before that I usually bought them from Amazon, where they are still less, if you are smart about shipping charges. I occasionally buy things from Drs. Smith and Foster, however their prices are not great, and I can often find the product for less elsewhere (usually Amazon).

Neither Petco, nor Petsmart are warm fuzzy kind of businesses. They are big corporate entities. Often an individual with attitude will turn me off a whole corporation. But that doesn't make a lot of sense. I do encourage complaining to management, at the local or national level, if any service or product is not acceptable. I do so, on occasion (most recently about the menu offerings changing for vegetarians at a Claim Jumper restaurant), and the results are usually beneficial to me.

Both Petco and Petsmart stores in my area have cats from various shelters housed and available for adoption. They are great resources to help with this - an issue so very dear to my heart.

Robin

I'm not fully surprised that the petco near you (and some others) are horrid as their customer service skills. I've had so few good experiences with them, that I usually have stuck with Petsmart myself. Well... there are no Petsmarts that are within decent transit distance from me (no car). I refuse to go to PC around here because they have so little cat stuff in stock. Portland is very much a dog town... at least it feels that way from a cat-only person's perspective. Well, since JoJo needs wheat free/grain free now, I rarely even bother with the chains. Yes, the smaller shops tend to be expensive, but I've found my favorite for getting their food. When a friend and I went over there for more food for her cats, I needed to get more hairball treats for JoJo (SOMEone anihilated the zippy pouch they were in.... can't blame Jack anymore for this kind of stuff...). They were 5.25. I had a preferred customer store credit of $5. The replacement bag ended up costing me all of a quarter!! AS long as the item is over $5.15, they let you redeem the credit amount. I get discounts on packs of canned food... etc... I love them... and they're a 10 minute bus ride from my place. There are some that are closer, but not much in the way of discounts, etc... so my loyalty goes to Pets on Broadway (here in Portland). I swear half the store is for cats. Unlike so many other places, like Petco, where it's 50% dogs, and the other half is pard bird/cat/small critters/etc.

Our local Petcos don't do the adoption stuff... Petsmart around here does. They work with both the county shelter and the largest local private rescue (where I got Portia) in the area... I think it's hit-or-miss. Some are great (I had one Petco in Chicago that was awesome), and some... well... I wouldn't go near them.

Amanda

Originally Posted by RubSluts'Mommy

....... I refuse to go to PC around here because they have so little cat stuff in stock. Portland is very much a dog town...
Amanda

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Portland? the store i mentioned was 15 miles from Portland

Petsmart never have anything i need. I still have the 20% birthday coupon for my cat from 4 months ago that I could never use. On the upside, they have a nice room in the back for cat adoptions. You can go in and play with the cats.. during the day, the cats are free-roaming and not locked up in cages like Petco.

Petco is right around the block from me, and they carry the food my cat likes, so it's most convienent for me anyways. They take good care of their animals, and their fish tanks are very clean, compared to most chain stores that has dead fish and green water. Customer service was always good with me too.

Originally Posted by empirefalls

Portland? the store i mentioned was 15 miles from Portland

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Yup, Portland, Oregon.... I now just hit one of the local shops for everything. I don't have to travel insane distances on transit, and they have everything I need. In fact, I give the girls Prowl dehydrated raw for dinner. They have the best prices, even compared to online. When I had to go raw/grain free because of JoJo's allergies, I stopped going to the chain stores... they don't have what I need.

Amanda

hmm yeah that's odd having to mail a 3 dollar coupon in.

What i found out it was a technology 'thing'. Big retailer companies including Walmart,Pet retailers, do not take coupons without bar codes , mine did not have a barcode. The local 'mom and pop' pet store did take the coupon.

$3 is not that much money in and by itself, i just had the coupon for so long i felt self obligated to use it.

Originally Posted by RubSluts'Mommy

Yup, Portland, Oregon.... I now just hit one of the local shops for everything. I don't have to travel insane distances on transit, and they have everything I need. In fact, I give the girls Prowl dehydrated raw for dinner. They have the best prices, even compared to online. When I had to go raw/grain free because of JoJo's allergies, I stopped going to the chain stores... they don't have what I need.

Amanda

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WHERE do you shop at? I live in Vancouver and I'd like to find a nicer place to shop than Petsmart. I never was very good at mingling with the locals in Portland though....

>.> I do agree that it is very much so a dog town.