Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  06/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  5/16/23 @ 11am my wife had a appt for our mini schnauzer, walked inside the shop & greeted by 2 female groomers busy cutting other dogs hairs. One groomer was a white women with blonde hair, tattoos up and down both arms, the other female was a dark Hawaiian female with long black hair, dark features and tattoos on both arms-both looking like they jut were released from the state penitentiary and on drugs. My wife asked if she could get ***** with a normal Schnauzer cut pattern and the blonde female stopped what she was doing, walked over, felt one of *****`s lower legs and said stated right away hes all matted-we have to shave him and my wife replied, what? hes not matted, his fur is just super thick and was bathed yesterday but not combed out on his legs-so it looks or feels like hes matted, but he just needs a comb out. This reply did not matter to this groomer-she still was insistent that he was going to have to be shaved- in the meanwhile she was trying to get louder & louder and talk over my wife while she was trying to explain. At this time, the darker female groomer heard the conversation and in an angry shouting voice towards my wife yelling at her, thats it! Im not not doing it-I'm not working on your dog!! We are not even going to take him in! My wife turned to her and said, are you serious?? I drove all the way down here for his appointment and you are not going to take him in to groom him? Who are you? I wasnt even talking to you. At this point, the darker female groomer started calling my wife a b**** and started to throwing up her middle finger at her yelling just get the ***** out! The blonde haired groomer also shouting out to my wife Why are you still here, get the F%$^ out!My wife was so angry, frustrated and very offended by these unprofessional groomers.Very unprofessional.My wife mentioned we were going to let the owner ***** know what happened, both groomers yelledso what? He wont do jack ***** Very abusive behavior!

  Business response

  06/21/2023

  firstly, we take no appointments for dogs. we accept walk-ins only for dogs. we only accept appointments for cats. secondly, i have no hawaiian girl working for me. so, with those 2 inaccurate statements, i was inticed to watch the footage of the said day's events, and unfortunately the incident reported here by the new potential customer is inaccurate.

  the schnauzer was indeed very matted in the skirt and legs, and to attempt to brush such a matted coat would be painful and torture for the dog. we absolutely refuse to do that to an animal regardless of how insistent and sometimes demanding and unreasonable a pet's owner might be. we try to first educate and calmly explain what a pet must endure when a pet owner has been neglectful and brings in a pet in dire need of grooming due to being neglected and overdue for regular periodic grooming. this sometimes leads to a pet owner becoming defensive, argumentative and sometimes unreasonable. at this point, as stated in out store, we reserve the right to refuse service to certain difficult customers to avoid any further issues. we exercised our right to do just that on that particular day, for multiple reasons. the pet owner wanted us to brush and brush regardless of the pet's condition and was willing to subject the pet to unnecessary pain and potential brush burn and inevitable skin irritation and undue sensitivity at any cost. we *********** not do that and the customer was talking over the manager and 2nd groomer and would not listen to any explanation...at that point, they were told to take their business elsewhere. they were upset and got extremely vulgar. the wife started demanding them to take in their dogs and were once again told to leave, at this point, the woman called my manager a "fucking bitch" and insisted once again to be served!!!! we do not have to accept such abuse and disrespect from any customer, and i assure you...we DON'T!!!!! 

  the story that is being told by the customer is inaccurate and they are not welcome in my business. the vulgarity of her behavior provoked my employees to raise their voices and threaten to have to call the police and have them trespassed. 

  i absolutely will not contact these people as requested, and will offer no apology or compensation. i will,however offer this advice to them....respect and kindness works in reciprocity..and just because you are the "customer" does not mean you have the right to be disrespectful and the customer is not always right. also, the neglect that has been shown to your pets will be reported to animal control. pets should not have to suffer because of the pet owner's neglectful grooming practices. vanity is not nearly as important as the pet's health and well-being. kindness and consideration are qualities we pride ourselves in with our customer service. we've been in business almost 22 years. but by the same token, rudeness and unreasonable customers get thrown out and refused service. we try our best to service the needs of the pet as a first priority, and combine the requests of the paying client only as a second priority. some places are so desperate for customers that they will give the customer anything they ask for and demand, not taking into consideration the unpleasant and sometimes painful toll it takes on the pet. this is sad and unfortunate. we pride ourselves on not hurting animals regardless of the demand of the customer.

  unfortunately, this time of year as it heats up, we see more and more of this as the hot weather approaches. most pet owners are very reasonable and don't want their pets to suffer, and even request a ************ down when the pet is in poor condition. our job is to do what is in the best interest of the pet, causing as little amount of discomfort to the pet. sometimes, we have be the voice of reason for the pet. and this is sometimes contrary to what the owner thinks should be done. that's why we try to educate and explain, but not all customers are willing to listen. sad for the pet. but, under no circumstances will we have any part of causing pain to an animal, regardless of the customer's demands. 

  ****************************

   proud owner and operator of a humane place to bring your animal.

  Customer response

  06/23/2023

   
  Complaint: 20075472
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  Everything the owner ***** wrote in his defense is no where near the truth. As he stated hes been owning these stores for almost 22 years- I have been a customer of his for 16 of those years at both his Cheyenne *** ******** and ***************-I am by far not new customer and have had a couple of not so good experiences with this *************** ******** that I had to drive to his Cheyenne ******** to talk to him about it as he continues to hire worst and worst inexperienced so called professional groomers that care so much for our pets. As he stated he and his staff are caring for pets and their well being I can say that this statement is utterly false. I have attached several other peoples reviews from ****** to this letter which I have a lot more bad reviews I wished I could have attached to this complaint. Everything said by him is on the defense and he tries to make his business seem like he and his workers are humane when these ****** reviews say otherwise. He has no cameras in his store because if he had- he would have seen his workers flipping the bird to my wife! Truth be told, he actually ALLOWS for his workers to behave inappropriately, unprofessionally to any potential customers. I never once looked into his business reviews until I had an issue with his workers calling my wife a f****** b**** I was actually on the phone with my wife as she walked into the store to drop off our pet. She politely said she was there to drop off our pet and the blonde walked up to the counter to check his fur and right away stated that he was matted and had to be shaved. I have owned schnauzers for over 20 yrs and I know when their hair is matted- our dogs hair was not matted at all- I myself gave him a bath the night before and brushed him and used a pet blow dryer so he would have a nice easy cut the next day. I was not able to brush and blow dry his bottom legs because he moves around a lot- so my wife tried to explain this to the blonde groomer when suddenly the other darker haired groomer butted in and told my wife THATS IT! WE ARE NOT DOING IT- WERE NOT DOING IT!! She repeated. Then my wife asked her, who are you? Nobody was even talking to you, I was talking to her referring to the blonde lady. Then the darker groomer stated- who am I ? Who are you-fucking bitch?! Then the same lady proceeded to flip my wife the middle finger and then said get the f*** out of here! My wife was just stood there shocked and didnt know what to do at this point- then the blonde groomer said why the f*** are you still here? It was at this point my wife became angry from being attacked by both these women that she replied youre a f****** b**** and we know the owner ***** and we are going to report this to him! Thats when the darker haired groomer told my wife go ahead and contact him, hes not going to do shit! Meantime I was still on the phone with my wife listening to all of this- just in complete shock. We also took these pictures. Bottom line is: we are customers , not once did we have an issue like this before. We are not looking to hear his defensive long stories of his workers being humane and caring so much that they refuse the right to groom any pet. All this is just nonsense he tries to defend his and his workers bad behavior towards the general public. He believes him being the owner- he has the right to talk and behave like this to any customer he chooses not to mention a huge fact that this business ONLY ACCEPTS CASH- there is no debit/ credit card allowed or checks. This factor I will be contacting the *** as I have taken pictures of these signs in his businesses. The owner **** also has forgotten the main reason for being in his own business and why he is in business in the first place. Without customers - he would have no business at all. If he truly loves what he does, he would never ever allow a worker to speak to a client like this and anyone like this but since he does it himself, workers then take it upon themselves to behave in the same way. I would like to see this business close it doors to protect the general public from these type of people. There is no acceptable reason for any worker in a business to ever ,ever talk like this or yell at customers. Not to mention- ****** lies about saying his workers told my wife they were going to call the police. This never happened because my wife never once threatened any harm to these workers. Of course ***** is not willing to make amends or contact us- because he knows he does ALLOW workers to talk and act rude to the clients especially if they are not wanting to groom a pet because they may be overwhelmed with a bunch of pets that day- instead of politely saying they were full, they try to say the pet is extremely matted so they can just shave everything off instead of a pattern cut. Our pets are not neglected not malnourished or mistreated. Just because the hair is long and in need of a cut badly, does not mean they are not cared for.. Customer cant always bring the pets in regularly every month to keep them trimmed- not everyone can afford it or sometimes we have busy hectic lives with small children to tend to and not the time to drop the pets. Seriously this business needs to close once and for all- there are so many bad reviews of this owner yelling at the customers, swearing at the customers , being rude and never once held accountable. This complaint needs to go further if nothing can be resolved here. This business can not keep getting away with this and nothing ever happening to him or the business and yet it just keeps getting worst and worst for new and old customers and keeps happening year after year, month after month. When will someone see this is a bad business for the general public. 
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business response

  06/23/2023

  I know ***** and his dogs for many years. He used to bring his dog ***** in to ** in a complete matted mess as well. He started using the ***** ******** because he was thrown out of the Cheyenne ******** due to constant neglect and arguments regarding the condition of his pets and the need to bring them in sooner rather than later. He always brings the dogs in a complete matted mess and insists that we brush them out. If we are such a horrible grooming shop why have you continued to patronize us for over 16 years? I've had enough of customers that do nothing but complain and neglect and get angry. So yes, we throw people out who don't respect ** and who don't respect their dogs. And also, he might consider learning proper English and grammar and spelling when writing to forums such as the Better Business Bureau to complain in order to establish some credibility. He is a problem customer and a liar and has been for many years, but we have continued to take care of his dogs in both ********s because we don't have to necessarily like the customer in order to groom the dogs. We like the dogs and care for the dogs many times without liking the customer and their attitude until they become above and beyond reproach. Calling my groomers drug addicted thugs that look like they were just released from prison because they have tattoos and implying that they are inadequate at their jobs because of the way they look is a clear display of his judgmental and immature disposition. For this reason, and many others regarding his issues from two weeks ago and in the distant past, as I've stated, we will refuse service to him. That is my right as the business owner. And you may read all the reviews that you like to read. Many negative and many positive. The general public seems to have this constant false sense of security of Power by threatening with writing negative reviews and thinking they're going to destroy a business. It matters not to me what people decide to write about my business. We at Groomingdales Act a certain way. Some people like it, and some people don't. They are free to write whatever they like and I do not curtail my behavior to throw out a customer because I'm afraid of a bad review. We have a high standard and strong morals at my shop and if someone doesn't like that, there are a thousand other grooming shops that they can go to. I will not bow down to these disrespectful, self-righteous clients who demand respect when they don't give it. And I will not be ****** patronizing to ungrateful and ignorant customers because I'm afraid of what they might write as a review. This is where I am different from other companies. This man and many more have tried in the past to take my business down because of a grooming haircut. Waste your time as you may. You will waste no longer of mine or my staff. I welcome you to turn me into the *** as all of my taxes are paid in full. When you resort to Extreme Measures in order to cause harm to someone's business, I say redirect your anger to yourself and you're neglect, which is actually where it belongs. ***** is a that obviously irate and irrational. I welcome you ***** to do whatever it is that you find necessary in order to unsuccessfully attempt to hurt my business by your unsubstantiated claims and lies about what happened that day. I promise you that I do however have your address and have already notified Animal Control, the *************** and the ***** to do periodic checks on the welfare of your dogs regarding this and past issues. This is not being done out of Revenge or anger. This is being done out of an attempt to make sure that your dogs stop being mistreated and neglected. I will not change the way I do business because of your threats and your ignorance. You are a man who has been a problem customer for many years because you do not take care of your animals properly. I understand that people have Financial issues and children and legitimate reasons as to why they cannot bring their dogs in in regularly. But this has been a constant problem with you. Dogs are a huge responsibility and an expense. My opinion is, if you cannot afford to take care of a dog properly, then don't have one. Or, have fewer. We are sympathetic to that, and that is why we keep our prices low. Actually, much lower than average. And also why we offer to shave down dogs who are overdue without any raise of an eyebrow or judgment being passed as to why they are so neglected. You know as well as I do that you are lying about your behavior and your wife's behavior on that day. I implore you to stop wasting your time, as you will find that your attempts to hurt me will prove to be an exercise in futility. If you don't know what that means, look it up. Be that as it may, do what you need to do to make yourself feel whole. I owe you no apology. As a matter of fact, you owe my groomers an apology but with people like you that have no moral compass and think that they are always right because they are a paying customer, I won't hold my breath for the apology. The bigger issue here is, turn and look at your beautiful dogs and apologize to them for not being a good dog owner. Again I implore you to stop wasting so much energy on meaningless and misguided anger, but instead take some of that valuable time and try brushing your dogs so they're not in agony. I wish only the best to your animals. But, unfortunately I have known you for a long time and don't expect you to take that advice and do the correct thing. I only expect you to get more angry. That's between you and your pets. I feel sorry for them because they are very sweet dogs but unfortunately are represented by your behavior and wherever they end up getting groomed, I only hope for their well-being and welfare. Something you have never seemed to be able to do.

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