Posted 2nd August 2011 2628

There is so much to say, and I can’t believe I put it off for so long.

I applied to a lot of jobs, trying to get someone to give me my first job ever. I applied to your store on a whim, not thinking that I had the experience needed to get a position as a dog bather. Yet you took me in and gave me a chance. Take note that I am very thankful for the year and some odd months I spent working for you. But it was not easy, and you never attempted to make it so. In fact, you did quite the opposite. I was cool with minimum wage, being new to the workforce and all. I was even okay with half my coworkers going on endless smoke breaks. And I managed to understand and respect the fact that all three of the major managers, including yourself, sat in the office most of the day. But some of the conditions of work were not adequate by any means.

I get the fact that you were trying to run a business. You had quotas to meet and you were damn set on meeting them. But because of your tunnel vision, the whole store suffered.
? The floors were disgusting outside of the grooming salon. We cleaned the grooming floor every night with bleach. You had someone come in to wax your dirty floor once a month.
? You never trained your employees to stock shelves properly. Canned pet foods were left in the grouped wrappers with a tiny hole torn in them, making the customers frustrated when they were trying to get a couple cans in a hurry.
? Fish were always dying in the tanks, which is to be expected, but you always called Aquatics to run register instead of do the job they were hired for.
? When customers from any section of the store had complaints and we called on you to help them, you would scowl and ask us to handle it. We would tell you that they requested to talk to a manager, you would ask another manager to take care of it, even though you were top dog.
? You expected that there be grooming business on days where God himself was staying home. I’m sorry, but no customer with a brain gets their dog groomed during a monsoon, knowing the pooch will be dirty seconds after leaving.
? You hired me to groom, then asked me to run the store’s floor when grooming wasn’t busy. Newsflash, m’lady: I was never trained to help customers pick out dog food and cat litter. At first, I was peeved at this move of yours, but squeaked my way through customer interactions. It was hard, and it felt as though the customers weren’t getting the attention they needed, but I tried. Then when I actually asked those hired to work the floor to help me learn the ropes, you told me I was not allowed to learn said ropes. Where is your logic?
? When I would sit down and attempt to organize the grooming computer system, you would tell me to go run the floor. The computer is probably still in disarray.
? You had us buy shampoos and conditioners that were not quality products, simply because “they sponsor us”. I understand that as well, but the dogs suffered from it, and it pained me to see that. One dog lost his hair from having a certain shampoo used on him too frequently. Sad, really.
? The store was so poorly ran that you lost four groomers and one bathers in the time that I worked there. Pathetic.

Most of my coworkers were treated well, I won’t deny that. Me, however…you had something against me that I cannot figure out, to this day. You picked on me.
? You told me and me alone that I had to be 15 minutes early for work, and clock in 15 minutes early. I’ll have you know that I never got paid for all those early clock-ins.
? When I started developing carpal tunnel from the work I did, as well as back problems and feet problems, I got braces for my wrists and a stool to sit on when working on large dogs that we couldn’t table, so I wouldn’t have to bend over. You took the company’s stool out of the salon and demanded that I take mine home. Your excuse? “It’s not fair to the cashiers out in the main store.” Excuse me for being so blatant, but really? Bullshit! Most of them had no diagnosed foot problems or back problems. They have mats to stand on that reduce stress on their body from standing. And they are in a totally different job position. Absolute B.S. Even if someone really complained that it wasn’t fair, they don’t lift 100+ pound animals daily. Use your brain, lady!
? When I asked for time off 6 weeks PRIOR to the holiday season, before you need a full staff for holidays, you denied me. Even though it was for family reasons.

All in all, ma’am, I’m glad I’m gone. I miss grooming, but I will never go in that store again. I can’t wait until the competitor’s store opens up and you guys get floored! <3

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