The Joys of PetSmart Customer Service - Lacking

[marc999]

More of a rant than anything else.  I've now requested 3 times, for information on the 'Calorie Content' of specific canned Grreat Choice cat foods.  I've spoken with a customer care rep. on the phone and conversed via email.  

The issue had been 'elevated' to management level.  I will speculate that apparently management has no interest, or is unable to obtain the information I requested. 

Each time, the 3-5 business days for a reply elapses.       I will update if/when I hear more information.  I'll keep pushing them, if not speak directly to management - as this is really shoddy cust.service in my opinion. 

 

[procat]

After some internet digging... it looks like Simmons Pet Food is the manufacturer of Grreat Choice. They have a web site, but it's pretty generic and there are no specific product listings.

Personally, I'd run to Walmart and spend the extra 5 cents a can on Friskies.  

 

[cocheezie]

I went in to our local Pet Smart a few weeks after it opened. I tried asking a couple of questions about some of the products, but the only people on the floor were teenagers working after-school jobs. They knew nothing. I haven't been back.

 

[smartyfoj]

Good luck getting through to Petsmart. I've never been to our petsmart it just seems so big but without carrying anything special, I order online for food that isn't sold in any stores near us.  

We have a petsmart fairly near us but I really like the Petco near us the people that work there are so friendly. It's also where we discovered the kitty rescue group where all of our adoptions have been through. At the Petco they have kittens on display that are up for adoption through the shelter.  Also the people that worked there were reasonably smart, it's actually what got me into grain free food. They recommended a mix of dry and wet food but still it helped me become a better cat owner. 

Has anyone else had good service at big chain pet stores?

 

[maniacmaddy]

I definitely prefer petco to pet smart. Much better variety of food and products, and they have the bulk kitty litter which is nice when you don't want a collection of large plastic buckets. Unfortunately they don't carry raw food -- though the employee knew what I was talking about when I asked!

 

[angelinacat]

There is a Petco in a neighboring town, where we go all the time.  I have been very impressed with the people working there.  I have also been impressed with the pet adoption program there. 

Shortly after I lost Angelina, they had a long haired tortie female up for adoption.  There was a restriction on her adoption in that she needed to be in a one cat home only.  I had two other adults, so I couldn't take her, but I certainly would have if I could have.  I ended up adopting my two boys, and they are an absolute delight.

Nevertheless, each time I went in, I checked on Natasha.  Just last Saturday, she was adopted by a nice family.  I was so pleased.  The lady at Petco, I was talking to, was impressed that I asked.

BTW, a PetSmart is supposed to come in to this same community.  I may check them out, but I most likely will stick with Petco.

 

[raintyger]

I"ve gotten good and bad service at both Petco and Petsmart. It just seems to be luck of the draw since they tend to hire young people with an interest in pets, but not necessarily knowledge of pets. One time the Petsmart clerk referred me to the pet trainer, and the pet trainer was definitely good. The trainer knew how to calculate nutrients from the guaranteed analysis and knew off the top of her head how much fiber was in the various brands of food they carried.

 

[oneandahalfcats]

I do most if not all of my pet food purchases at my local PetValu which is a franchise owned by an individual. I think I have stepped into a PetSmart maybe twice. I have gotten good service from a knowledgeable owner who understands the importance of customer service. She will offer the best price which sometimes involves a deeper discount than I might get from one of her competitors.

If you can find a franchisee with some good knowledge of pets and nutrition, you may find you will have better service, and will be supporting small business at the same time.

 

[marc999]

Interesting re: PetValu. 

I've had the opposite experience here.  I've browsed around 3 PetValu's in my city and have not been impressed with either the prices (steep), or staff knowledge.  

In fact, they're more expensive than Global Pet Foods, which was a surprise.

I don't have a problem with the prices/products offered at PetSmart; I take issue to their current treatment of my question, which I'm lead to believe they're going to ignore. 

I've since sent an email to Simmons Pet Food - who may be able to shed light on the calorie content of Grreat Choice foods. 

I'd say the worst comment so far from an employee was - "Yeah, all these canned cat foods have the same calorie content, because it makes it easier for the owner to feed a new protein and not cause diarrhoea" 

LOL - alrighty then.   I don't think he was lying - I think he just didn't know or care.  Yet, many people I find will tell you a story just because they don't want to say "I don't know, but I'll find out for you" 

 

[oneandahalfcats]

 
Interesting re: PetValu. 

I've had the opposite experience here.  I've browsed around 3 PetValu's in my city and have not been impressed with either the prices (steep), or staff knowledge.  

In fact, they're more expensive than Global Pet Foods, which was a surprise.

I don't have a problem with the prices/products offered at PetSmart; I take issue to their current treatment of my question, which I'm lead to believe they're going to ignore. 

I've since sent an email to Simmons Pet Food - who may be able to shed light on the calorie content of Grreat Choice foods. 

I'd say the worst comment so far from an employee was - "Yeah, all these canned cat foods have the same calorie content, because it makes it easier for the owner to feed a new protein and not cause diarrhoea" 

LOL - alrighty then.   I don't think he was lying - I think he just didn't know or care.  Yet, many people I find will tell you a story just because they don't want to say "I don't know, but I'll find out for you" 

Well, I guess it depends on the area .. I am not in the big city but out in a rural setting which may be the difference but when it comes to cost for different products I would think all franchisees are bound to the same price. I did have the need to call PetSmart recently to inquire about Authority as this is one brand that PetValu doesn't stock. They weren't aware that some varieties of FF were grain-free which is understandable, as there is no grain-free labelling. The price on the Authority was comparable to the FF sold at my PetValu.

Is there no kCal information on a can of Grreat Choice?

 

[marc999]

No, there's no KCal info. on any cans of Grreat Choice canned cat food, nor on PetSmart website.  Which is why I've been in discussion with them, or trying to with little success thus far. I was told on the phone (over 2 weeks ago) that someone in management should have the answer, but apparently that fell on deaf ears. 

Now, I don't feed Grreat choice exclusively, it's in rotation with various other brands from $-$$$. 

Yet, imagine someone feeding Grreat Choice 5.5oz. tins exclusively.  Is it 130,150, or 180+ calories?   I'd say for weight management purposes, that's important information.  

 

[oneandahalfcats]

 
No, there's no KCal info. on any cans of Grreat Choice canned cat food, nor on PetSmart website.  Which is why I've been in discussion with them, or trying to with little success thus far. I was told on the phone (over 2 weeks ago) that someone in management should have the answer, but apparently that fell on deaf ears. 

Now, I don't feed Grreat choice exclusively, it's in rotation with various other brands from $-$$$. 

Yet, imagine someone feeding Grreat Choice 5.5oz. tins exclusively.  Is it 130,150, or 180+ calories?   I'd say for weight management purposes, that's important information.  

Yes, agreed .. Most everything today has some kind of nutritional information. Has to as its mandated for the most part, but then depending on where the food is made, maybe not?

Did you see the toll-free number : 1-866-463-6738. If you don't receive a reply, I'd get on the horn to let them.

You should really take a look at Authority. It's practically grain-free and does not contain by-products.

 

[marc999]

Hmm, I'm not concerned about by-products and I'm fine with them.  All the other brands of food in my closet (small mountain of tins), are real meat ingredients. 

Yup, I called the toll free number - a rep. took all the details down of what I was looking for and my issue was then 'escalated' to management level.  Yet the 3-5 days to get back to me has elapsed, again.

It could very well be miscommunication between their departments, a lazy manager who's reviewed the issue, or I caught them red-handed and they have no idea how to obtain that information.   Either way, I will get my answer one way or another, even if it's a simple: "we don't know and don't have the info. to find out".  

Now, they've piqued my curiosity due to their silence.  It's a mini-mission - I'll find out. 

 

[procat]

BTW, a PetSmart is supposed to come in to this same community.  I may check them out, but I most likely will stick with Petco.

For the most part, I've found that PetSmarts and Petcos are pretty similar brand and price-wise. The only foods that I buy at Petco that I can't get at PetSmart are Halo and Merrick. Like any other comparative shopping, I just keep an eye out for the sales & coupons.

Adoption via rescue shelters isn't unique to Petco either. Both of our indoor cats are from a local PetSmart that leases out floor space to a local shelter. $100 gets you a spayed, vaccinated, dewormed, chipped and FeLV/FIV tested BFF.

 

[oneandahalfcats]

 
For the most part, I've found that PetSmarts and Petcos are pretty similar brand and price-wise. The only foods that I buy at Petco that I can't get at PetSmart are Halo and Merrick. Like any other comparative shopping, I just keep an eye out for the sales & coupons.

Adoption via rescue shelters isn't unique to Petco either. Both of our indoor cats are from a local PetSmart that leases out floor space to a local shelter. $100 gets you a spayed, vaccinated, dewormed, chipped and FeLV/FIV tested BFF.

Re. shelters and pet stores teaming up to increase adoptions. Our area Pet Values also does this and they have had great success. Most often when I come into my local store, there is one and sometimes two felines walking about. It's such a nice thing to see this. Besides having a bit of freedom throughout the day (which sure beats sitting in a cage), the cats get to test-drive the odd cat perch (sshhh, don't tell anyone).

 

[night wing]

I buy Soulistic wet canned cat food at Petco and Nutro Natural Choice and Sheba at Petsmart. I find the sales people at both retail chains to be quite friendly. Now for the nitty gritty below.

Do I "expect" the sales people to know how much percentage of an ingredient(s) or overall content of said ingredients is in "every" brand of cat food they sell (and they sell hundreds of different brands in many different flavors)? The answer is "no". Some canned cat food just doesn't have that information on the cans. This is why I don't expect any sales person working the sales floor at Petsmart or Petco to know the answer either. Ditto for any store manager at the store.

If there is not enough information on a can of cat food, I get on my computer and go straight to the cat food's website hunting the info down. If the info is not found on that brand's website, I look for a telephone number. If there is one, I make a call and see if that information is available. After speaking with an individual, if they know the answer, I politely suggest to that person that specific information needs to be put on their cans. If they don't know, then I politely suggest they need to find the information and eventually put that info on the cans.

What I "don't" do is get on a site like the Cat Site and berate the sales people at the these stores in public messages for things out of their control knowledge wise.

 

[marc999]

 
I buy Soulistic wet canned cat food at Petco and Nutro Natural Choice and Sheba at Petsmart. I find the sales people at both retail chains to be quite friendly. Now for the nitty gritty below.

Do I "expect" the sales people to know how much percentage of an ingredient(s) or overall content of said ingredients is in "every" brand of cat food they sell (and they sell hundreds of different brands in many different flavors)? The answer is "no". Some canned cat food just doesn't have that information on the cans. This is why I don't expect any sales person working the sales floor at Petsmart or Petco to know the answer either. Ditto for any store manager at the store.

If there is not enough information on a can of cat food, I get on my computer and go straight to the cat food's website hunting the info down. If the info is not found on that brand's website, I look for a telephone number. If there is one, I make a call and see if that information is available. After speaking with an individual, if they know the answer, I politely suggest to that person that specific information needs to be put on their cans. If they don't know, then I politely suggest they need to find the information and eventually put that info on the cans.

What I "don't" do is get on a site like the Cat Site and berate the sales people at the these stores in public messages for things out of their control knowledge wise.

Did you read my opening post? If not, I suggest you read again.  

I called both the toll free PetSmart line, in addition to conversing via email, but their lack of response, 3x now, has lead me to believe they're ignoring the issue. 

Please, enlighten me...whom on this thread is "get on a site like the Cat Site and berate the sales people..." and what post has lead you to this response? 

If you're referring to my comment about a Global Pet Foods store, as per post #9, whom as it turned out is the store manager, yes, absolutely he should have not told me the ludicrous story that he did. 

"Yes", I "expect" him to have known the information I asked. That issue is separate from my telephone & email discussions with Petsmart. 

 

[random gemini]

What I think Night Wing means is that your expectations of the staff at Petsmart are a bit high. The burden of knowing what you are feeding your pets isn't on the kid making minimum wage so he can buy his girlfriend a necklace for Valentine's Day. It's on the pet owner. Even if these folks did try to tell me what was in the pet food I was purchasing, I wouldn't believe them. They get trained by corporate marketing teams. Not by pet food nutritionists. 

If you want to know what is in your pet's food, your best bet is to stick with purchasing brands that have the items you want to be on the label, printed on that label.  If a food does not print the kcal count, then pass on that brand and send them a letter to let them know why they lost a customer. Speak with your wallet. Hit these companies where they hurt. If you want your pet food maker to be ethical and provide good customer service, then you should purchase pet food from a company that has a reputation for those things and they do exist. 

 

 

[marc999]

Staff at Petsmart?

Where did I mention in-store staff at Petsmart? 

Read my opening post...again.  Really, it's not that long.  

 

[random gemini]

I did read it. Now read my post again, because I said nothing about the store. Did you think that the phone staff were any different? I have worked in those call centers and I promise you, they are NOT.