It was really good and then unsustainable - Sales Associate/Cashier PetSmart Employee Review

3.0
Feb 9, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Everyone at first really cared for each other and I liked pretty much everyone I worked with. Management was friendly and caring, my co-workers were supportive and they really took mental health and the safety of the workers into account. It was easily my favorite job so far when I worked there because of the atmosphere they made. tl;dr: co-workers make the job fun and bearable

Cons

Suddenly hours were slashed and we were told they would get better but then they never did. Management started to leave for other stores and the pressure on the remaining staff increased. New management was brought in and disrupted things even more. Everyone was struggling to make ends meet and the quality of the stores just went downhill. Eventually, multiple people quit. The care for animals wasn't horrible when I started but management never fixed issues if you pointed them out even if you had experience owning these animals as the treatment of staff went down so did the care. The most consistent were the customers who were either really nice or incredibly mean or creepy. Tl;dr: Management makes or breaks this job, customers will always be a problem since they got what they wanted most of the time.

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5.0
May 26, 2026
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Pros

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Cons

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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
3w
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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