No Response to My Petcetera Complaint Letter

On October 28th, 2008, I sent a complaint letter to Petcetera and have since received absolutely NO response to it!

Check it out here:

“I’d like to comment about my “service” today at the N*&^%$# F@#$% [my city] location of Petcetera, of which I am a very loyal customer, that was inexcusable. (I have 5 dogs, 1 hedgehog (from a competitor’s store), 4 goldfish and 1 pleco – which I purchased at this Petcetera, and the aquarium). Honestly, I’m in the store a few times per week and almost always make a purchase upon visiting the store.

Last night, I went into the store to look at the new shipment of fish they receive every Thursday to decide upon any that I liked, and to return 1 item.

I was helped by an EXTREMELY helpful and sweet cashier and a Fabulous on-duty manager (I believe), but am unsure of their names. The manager assisted me in the fish area and we got to talking about the pets I have at home, one of which is a hedgehog.

She was excited to hear that I am a hedgehog enthusiast and have had them over the past 10 yrs. She was excited because at that location, they’ve had a hedgehog for over 2 months, who no one ever wants to look at.

I was happy to hear about it because it is difficult to find them, and I usually give up even looking because I’m stuck looking at gerbils & mice all the time.

So, she took me over to see the animal and in fact, I assisted her and the other employee and taught them about how to handle hedgehogs…They didn’t know how to pick it up.

She was happy I liked the hog, so she asked if I would like to take him home since he’s been at the store for so long (over 2 months), and no one has been interested in looking at him or taking him home.

I said that I would, except not for $130.00. She asked if I would tell her what I paid for my other hedgehogs, and the first one I had was $50, but that was about 12 yrs ago now. My newest one, I just bought this year and she was only $80.00 at a competing pet store chain in the city. Usually, the females are more expensive than the males are.

She asked for my name and phone number, because she had contacted another manager last night to tell her to contact head office to see if there could be a price change, just so they could adopt the animal out and find it a home, plus they didn’t really know how to handle it.

The hedgie is an African pygmy albino with red eyes. (I think this may be another reason as to why people may not be interested in it, as albinos are often misunderstood and “scary” to others). The hedgehog I have at home is an albino female African pygmy hedgehog, and I was happy to find another albino.

I tried to sex the animal last night, but was uncertain, as it is very shy and scared from not being handled.

So, this morning, I was leaving the house for an appointment and called the manager on duty at Petcetera, S*&%$ was her name, to leave my cell number in case she got any information about the hedgehog today.

She sounded, on the phone, as though she didn’t really want to help me or even try, and told me she didn’t know about it in the first place. Reluctantly, she told me she would email head office, but was very unhappy to even have to do that.

After my mother’s doctor’s appt, I took her in to also see the hedgehog, as well as the other animals, and to hopefully buy some treats and toys for her 2 dogs in the meantime.

When I entered the fish section of the store, browsing, I overheard the independent fish caretaker say S&%$#’s name, the manager, so I introduced myself officially, as I had spoken on the phone to her earlier.

I asked her if her name was S&%$#, to be sure, and she reluctantly said she was. I introduced myself and asked her if she minded that I took a look at the hedgehog. She asked another employee to assist us.

This employee, with short, dark hair and female in her early 20s, was Super helpful and was doing whatever she could to assist us. I am unsure of her name.

The big question was to find out if it was a boy or a girl, as no one had any clue last night or today, and didn’t offer to look it up, so as he has not been handled much, he’s scared and curls up in a ball. When I lifted him in the air, he didn’t want to cooperate so someone could see what I was describing to sex it.

So, we needed something clear/see-thru to allow him to open up and we could observe from the bottom. The employee found something and the 3 of us, my mother included, proceeded to sex the animal, which is a male, by the way.

The manager came over, S&%$#, very upset that we had the animal out of the cage and I was handling it, although she was not interested in assisting us in the first place and was not even friendly in the least bit.

About 1 minute later, the manager, S&%$#, sends the independent fish caretaker (who I think is an independent contractor at that), to come over and ask if I was the one she was supposed to send the email to head office for. I said yes I was, shocked that she would ask that, as I introduced myself and explained the entire situation when I entered.

The fish lady proceeded to tell me, 1 min after the manager gave us heck for viewing the animal, that head office replied to the email, that couldn’t have been sent but 30 minutes prior, and that they wouldn’t budge on the price of the animal…Strange, as S&%$# was 1 aisle over in the fish area…???

Now, that may be the case, but I have a suspicion that she just didn’t want to assist us. In fact, I even doubt that she sent an email to head office, let alone already received a reply regarding the situation.

I don’t understand why she couldn’t come and assist in adopting the animal out, that has been in the store for over 2 months, and no one knows what to do with or handle…They’re scared of it.

Clearly, I am a loyal customer, going out of my way to get the necessary information I need to make an informed decision about purchasing an animal.

I have never had a problem here or anywhere else at a Petcetera, and every employee has always been very helpful and kind…I am a very friendly person to boot.

Nonetheless, as a manager, it is necessary to be helpful, welcoming and friendly. I am a business woman, owning and running over 65 websites [now about 68]. I know about business and how to treat customers. Not only that, I’ve run my own mystery shopping company in the past.

This was not good customer service on S&%$#’s part today. Not only that, it was a poor example to her employees. It is not okay to speak to people in that manner.

S&%$# was very ignorant, unhelpful and very unwelcoming. I also thought it was rude that she sent someone else over to explain the situation that I explicitly spoke to her about, as she is the manager and in charge, nor was she even busy.

My mother was so put off by the whole experience that she refused to purchase several products she was going to buy there, and wanted to leave the store.

I thanked the sales associate that helped us, as she went above and beyond the call of duty to help us, as did the SAs last night. I have a sneaking suspicion that she will get in trouble for assisting us in viewing the hedgehog today, which is unwarranted.

I did not appreciate how I was treated today by S&%$#, the manager, and still hope to adopt the hedgehog, as he is friendly and sweet when handled correctly.

From now on, I will be telephoning the store prior to visiting to ensure that S&%$# is not on duty, as I don’t want to deal with her again.

Perhaps, she could use some specialized training.

I would appreciate a response to this matter,

Kimberly Edwards
Owner, Founder & Author of http://ExoticAnimalLover.com
& http://TerrierLover.com”

* Note: The sales associate’s name was scrambled, for purposes of being kind.

***

I usually really dislike it when people complain, but I really don’t ever complain like that…I’m super easy to get along with and I just don’t understand this.

I still wouldn’t have shared this letter and made you privy to it; however, it has been 1.5 months now with not even an automated response that they received my letter or anything!

So What Happened?
Nothing on their end, as you know.

Also, the day before I purchased the hedgie, I asked another sales associate if they could check how old he was for me in the back. That sales associate said they have no such records and that she could not.

When I went in to purchase the hedgie, the super helpful manager at Petcetera from the night before assisted me, and I asked her if she could find that information.

Guess what happened…She called me later on the next day with all the information I needed…Go figure! She rocks and should get a promotion for her stellar customer service.

As for me, I’ve only been back once, and that was to adopt the hedgehog. I waited 2 days for a response, and since I didn’t get one, I felt it was more important to bring him home and give him a happy place to live, than to stay at Petcetera, where they were making no real effort to show him to people or sell him.

His name is now Krinkle, because when they hiss, they sort of krinkle their noses up!

He LOVES Kokonut Kreampuff and they’re hitting it off, just as a great couple would!

What About Shopping at Petcetera?
I haven’t shopped there since I went back to purchase the male hedgehog, and DO NOT intend to again either.

* NOTE: Petcetera should not be confused with Petco or PetSmart, as I have never had ANY bad experiences at the latter 2 stores…

*** What Do You Think About All of This? Please Leave a Comment Below in the Comment Box.

***

I hope you found this on Pet Store Review on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Please be sure to Subscribe to this Blog!

Technorati Tags: Petcetera, hedgehog, African pygmy hedgehog, pet store, pet store service, pet store service rant, animal rants, customer complaints, Petcetera complaints

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