Pets at Home.

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The store in Blackwood, South Wales is one of the worst I've been in. I even took pictures on my mobile! They old bird aviaries were full of rabbits and guineas, and the normal area for them had lots in too, but not all loose - the majority of the floor space was taken up by huge cages with lone buns or guineas in. The remaining animals in the pens had barely any floor space, water bottles with algae (again, green bottles not green water!) and not a sign of any fresh veg. I didn't complain because I was so angry I was afraid I might say too much! I wrote to head office instead.
 
It's awful how some of the stores are. Have you been there since? Has it improved? ?
 
God thats awful well done for writng a complaint! Our p@h have done the same with their bird cages are they not selling birds anymore?
 
The reason we use large bowls is because we never restrict the amount of food our animals have, We also use these bowls as they are stainless steel, so they will last for ages and are easier to clean. We tried using plastic bowls but found that the animals would chew the edges making them sharp and unsafe to use.

The decision to stop selling birds was because customers were not buying them and that fact that you can obtain them through local breeders at a fraction of the cost we were selling them at.

All water in my store has probiotic powder added and if mixed in the right quantities the water will have a green tint and small bits floating in it but never algae.

All stores will eventually undergo the changes to separate guinea pigs and rabbits, but it will take time.
 
Alison said:
All water in my store has probiotic powder added and if mixed in the right quantities the water will have a green tint and small bits floating in it but never algae.
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Sorry but this is getting a bit frustrating now...we are trying to tell you the water is not green, but the bottle has algae on it. We all know what algae looks like! Just because whatever P@H you work in doesn't have manky bottles, we are saying ours do!

Sorry Alison, moan over ;D
 
the pets at home by me has stoped selling birds and the guinea pigs are now seperated with males one side and females the other side. i was looking for a female guinea for company for my other female as was looking everywhere for one and couldnt find one anywhere, anyway i brought a lovely little smooth coated brown one which looked about 4 weeks old! and seemed alone sitting in the corner by herself only to get her home and 3 weeks later notice that she infact was a he!! do they have anybody there who actually can tell the difference?
 
All stores will eventually undergo the changes to separate guinea pigs and rabbits, but it will take time.
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Why on earth should it 'take time' is is dangerous and stupid to keep rabbits and guineas together, risking injury and possible dietary problems! and if pet owners have the sense to do it then pets at home should too! They are supposed to be knowledgeable about pets and supposedly 'educated'!

They sell animal cages! A couple of cages in each store to seperate is going to cost nothing to them! So why does it take time, why cant they make the order, get them booked on a courier and then fitted to the shop the next day?

The decision to stop selling birds was because customers were not buying them and that fact that you can obtain them through local breeders at a fraction of the cost we were selling them at.
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What gives them the right to sell animals in the first place?!?!? If they dont care enough to even seperate them or consider the animals, where is the need to sell them!

If they gave a flying f*ck about the animals, they would direct people to the animal rescues and the hundreds of pets needing new homes!! :tickedoff: >:(

And that goes for the staff that work there too! Its not like you get commision for each one you sell so why do it? If you dont sell birds as people dont buy them, why not point people in the direction of a rescue, people wont buy from there, they wont be sold at p@h anymore, the breeders wont have anyone to sell to, so they will pack up too! Kill 2 birds with one stone!

I'm sorry if i sound harsh but thats how i feel! There is no need for p@h to sell animals, especially as in most cases they do it poorly.
 
Agree with all of you. Alison there is not just one, two or three stores are there, therefore you can not possible know what goes on in all the stores. We are not stupid and can tell the difference between algae and a product that has been put in the water. As for the birds as I have already stated, in my store the birds sold regularly, most of them being sold in a few days of being for sale, the longest period a bird staying in the store being maximum two weeks. However, thank you for stating the reason your store stop selling birds, for a minute there I actually thought pets at home was being responsible and taking precautions against Avian Flu. :)
 
;D CC, I have a nickname. ;D I know Smiler what was I thiniking. ::) ;D
 
Cavy Crazy said:
However, thank you for stating the reason your store stop selling birds, for a minute there I actually thought pets at home was being responsible and taking precautions against Avian Flu. :)
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hahaha that made me laugh ;D
 
yo CC ;D

Yeah you silly moo, you should know that the only thing on p@h's mind is how little they can spend and how they can get the biggest profit! ::)
 
Smiler said:
yo CC ;D

Yeah you silly moo, you should know that the only thing on p@h's mind is how little they can spend and how they can get the biggest profit! ::)
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haha thats so true
 
neep_neep said:
But as an entire company, bird sales were simply too low for the amount of money and effort put in. I mean, in our store we would only sell a few birds a week, but the amount of time you had to spend changing their food, water, bathwater, grit, fruit and veg in the morning was ridiculous! ;D

If you can tell the difference between the powder and algae then fair enough, but i've had so so many people complaining about 'algae' when it isn't, and actually getting quite aggressive about it! I mean, I should know what it is, I put the darned stuff in the bottle that very morning! So it's an automatic reaction now ;D
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yeah I can see why bird sales were so low when they charged a damn fortune for budgies etc
I used to keep an aviary and OMG the prices for birds in P@H was a complete joke,and a rip off >:( >:( >:(
 
Puggies Rule♫ said:
I used to keep an aviary and OMG the prices for birds in P@H was a complete joke,and a rip off >:( >:( >:(
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How much were they? I never really went to look at the birds!
 
Hmm if i remember right ,£18 for a budgie,Starfinches £35 each..etc etc ::) >:(
cough-ripoff-cough
 
Puggies Rule♫ said:
Hmm if i remember right ,£18 for a budgie,Starfinches £35 each..etc etc ::) >:(
cough-ripoff-cough
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hahahahaha you crack me up! my mum just looked at me funny for laughing at the computer lol
 
by coincidence today I went into our PAH all rabbits nad piggys were ins eperate glass runs with clean water and food bowls not enough hay for my liking so I pointed out to a staff member that they had eaten all their hay and needed more and gave her one of my looks , she went away then I saw her carrying a bag full of hay back one of the other staff stopped her and she pointed me out and I gave her a I know what I'm damn well talking about looks and shes obvioulsy said ok fine they got their hay, they all looked fine although some of the pigs looked quite young around 4 to 5 weeks ( too young for my liking to go on sale)
a young child was pestering her dad for A guinea pig until I hissed at her you need 2 guinea pigs they only sell 2 for £35 and they need friends her dad heard and said is that true and i then spent ages telling him the right way to care for them, he then said to his daughter we will need to make more plans I am not going to just buy them now , they need room especailly made in the garden safe etc he thanked me and sdaid I wish everyone knew some one like you ahhhhhhhh I gave him my phone number if he needs any help how nice a sensible dad for once , but no birds or chinchillas on sale only bunny pigs and mice and gerbils all looked fine to me
 
If they gave a flying f*ck about the animals, they would direct people to the animal rescues and the hundreds of pets needing new homes!!
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Well, believe it or not, that's actually the next step ;)
 
what by having an 'adopt an animal' section to palm of their 'old stock'. ? not buying it. they should not sell animals.
 
Er, no, by directing folks to local animal rescues and working with local rescues to get *their* animals adopted too.


And regarding the store refits...

So why does it take time, why cant they make the order, get them booked on a courier and then fitted to the shop the next day?
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Because there are over 150 stores to do! Even if that's one every few days, that will take a year.
 
why cant they do several at a time?!?! Its b*llshit! Why would they have to do on every few days? There are enough people they can outsource the work to! Its a copout! Like you say they have 150 stores ripping people off so I'm sure they can afford it ::)

And directing people to local rescues, dont believe that either, if half the stores are still missexing and keeping rabbits and guinea pigs together, letting animals live in terrible states...(i know my local pets at home buy from a breeder my local petstore wont even spit on as the animals are inbred and kept in terrible conditions...they are selling some as we speak that have crusty and weeping eyes! how are they going to even think about doing something that isnt totally basic ::)

As i say, you cant justify p@h, they should not be selling animals!
 
To be quite honest, the fact that they are actually spending all this money to separate them is a pretty good start! They're actually bothering to do it, unlike the numerous other pet shops and garden centres around the country who still reckon it's acceptable to keep and sell them together.

There is absolutely nothing to say that they have to separate them. The Pet Care Trust (the organisation that actually issues the courses legally required to run a pet shop) clearly and openly says, and actually advocates that rabbits and guinea pigs can be kept together no problems....these courses are actually TEACHING the next generation of pet shop keepers that rabbits and guinea pigs are fine together. As do plenty of books on the subject, many animal care college courses, and even vets! I told a woman she could NOT keep them together, and she basically called me stupid because her "vet said that they would be fine, I think he's a bit more qualified than YOU" 98)

When all this 'official' literature is floating about saying it's ok...well, what are people supposed to believe?

However, the company has actually taken the initiative to LISTEN to the rabbit and guinea pig people, who say that they shouldn't be kept together. So they are going *against* the teaching of the whole industry to make sure they get separated. To be quite frank, does it matter that it takes a little while? It's actually HAPPENING, which is more than can be said for many *many* other places. My hope is that they will start taking note if the major chain sets an example.

Though i'm sure that even when stores direct customers to rescues, people will still find something to complain about ;D

I won't try and convince you about the whole rescue thing, you probably don't want to hear it, so i'll just let you believe it when you see it. Easiest way all round ;)
 
uumm....i used to run a grooming parlour in pet smart...b4 it was taken over by PAH .....i had little to do with the animals or the store as a whole ...but would clean them out after work and top up hay/food/water if they were low.....as long as the manangment were not around...top manangment that is ....area boss......the managment are under a great deal of pressure to meet financial target or its the chop!....I'm not excusing this or standing up for them in anyway.......it is all money focused ...i had to account for every last penny spent and had meetings if i didnt meet my targets.....hence i left after 10 months!..back to veterinary nursing..:-)))
 
sonya said:
uumm....i used to run a grooming parlour in pet smart...b4 it was taken over by PAH .....i had little to do with the animals or the store as a whole ...but would clean them out after work and top up hay/food/water if they were low.....as long as the manangment were not around...top manangment that is ....area boss......the managment are under a great deal of pressure to meet financial target or its the chop!....I'm not excusing this or standing up for them in anyway.......it is all money focused ...i had to account for every last penny spent and had meetings if i didnt meet my targets.....hence i left after 10 months!..back to veterinary nursing..:-)))
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I cant blame you for leaving,it sounded a nightmare job and that they were all about money again :(
 
yeah..it was......ver nursing is much more rewarding ....i got a job in a vets straight out of school at 17 ...just thought i needed a change so did city in guilds grooming and thought pet :-\ smart would be a good place to work ...how wrong i was on both accounts....i missed nursing and petsmart was defo not a good place to work...
 
sonya said:
yeah..it was......ver nursing is much more rewarding ....i got a job in a vets straight out of school at 17 ...just thought i needed a change so did city in guilds grooming and thought pet :-\ smart would be a good place to work ...how wrong i was on both accounts....i missed nursing and petsmart was defo not a good place to work...
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it kinda opens your eyes as to how those places are run :(
 
what id like to put on here i cant as i dont know who is reading this....... ;)..but lets say i dont even shop in them now.....
 
Sonya give us a hint!

I have 2 p@h stores by me, lucky aren't I! They have managed to put all the small pet shops (they didn't sell animals) that do bargain food and brilliant service out of business! They now separate the piggies and rabbits but they don't separate the boys or girls, I have to tell my children they are just cuddling! They sometimes have VERY young piggies it makes me soooo angry >:(
 
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