written by on 09/05/2008
i am an animal care student with a degree in animal care. i work in a pet shop myself, and i am always getting customers in complaining of the service they recieved at pets at home. Some women at pets at home told a lady that netherland dwarf rabbits were aggressive. this is not the case. they were aggressive centuries ago, but careful breeding has wiped out this trait. A colleague of mine, who specializes in aquatics, has also been complained too about how quickly the fish at pets at home die. I have also been to pets at home to purchase a couple of gerbils a few months back, and and i rang up pets at home in gateshead. They sed that they had alot of gerbils in and they would look forward to me coming. 20miles later, they had 1 male gerbil,and the woman who was serving me didnt seem awake! she looked bored to serve me and didnt seem to know much about what she was talking about. She told me that the one male that they had would not be able to be homed since it was by itself! thats a load of rubbish as u can introduce gerbils if u are wanting to breed. I ended up leaving the shop after a harsh exchange of words and never went back.
In the shop were i work, we have different members of staff who are experienced in different species. For instance, we have a reptile guy, an aquatics guy, a birds, a small rodents and an exotics.
this shop needs to buck its ideas up, as they give bad advice to people that can result in detrimental health in the animals.
written by diangelic on 22/04/2008
My daughter had 2 rabbits from petsathome that died within a week of having them. the first girl my daughter spoke to made my her feel like it was her fault the rabbit had died but luckily we got to speak to a really nice girl who assured my daughter it was not her fault and to not be put off and if we wanted another one free of charge again we could go see her and she would sort it out for us. Unfortunately when we went back today she was off so we were stuck with the girl who was rude to my daughter in the first place who promptly told us if we lost this one to give up and i even thought that the tone of her voice implied that she thought we had something to do with the rabbits dying.ie neglect or something but we have had rabbits before and know how to look after them thankyou very much.its a shame that some of the staff let the store down but well done to the people who know just what to say and do.
written by on 18/04/2008
I think its good for buying pet stuff but not actually pets (espeically fish) if you dont mind paying more than you need to
written by on 14/04/2008
Its very good but not that many rat items.
written by on 03/04/2008
I think the shop is good it has an ace range of products and they can SOMETIMES be fairly priced. They are good quality and I don't mind spending money for good quality. I thnk the shop is very good. I bought a hamster from the shop and it died a week later! But then I went and got another and they told me it was a girl so I trusted them and took it home. I have had 12 hamsters and i know weather they are male of female when I got home I was putting it back in the cage when I noticed it was a boy. Which I think is wrong as I had already called my hamster Tinkerbell! The staff are clearly untrained, but I like the shop and still shop there and I think you shouldn't mind spending money to give your animal good quality products.
written by chrisyuk on 30/03/2008
You can take your pet in to shop with you. Very expensive, to many products for sale that can be harmful to your pets health. I find smaller, independent pet shops give you better all round.
written by Salix182 on 27/03/2008
I recently purchased a rabbit from pets at home Trowbridge when I went in to enquire about it the lady that served me was very helpful and full of information and spent a hole hour with me going over what I needed for my new rabbit what things to look out for showed me how to health check him went through the foods that are good for them what foods to stay away from. Explained about vacionations. the size of the home needed how to settle him in effectively. Told me to ring them if there was any problems, asked me the next week when I went in how he was doing showed me some toys and gave advice on how to keep him happy and not get bored. I would happily go back there for any pet I have as I found them very useful in all aspects of the shop.
written by fishkeeper81 on 21/03/2008
I bought four fantails from pets at home in Rustington last Friday, and by Tuesday two had turned ill and died. I took them both back and was made to feel like I'd done something wrong - I might add that I have been a very successful fish keeper for over 15 years. SO when i got the two replacements home, within twenty four hours one died. Hmmm, think before you go to a pet supermarket to buy your pets.
Written on: 29/03/2008
You bought 2 fish that were healthy when you bought them and they died. You took home replacements and one died. and you still think it's not your tank?
Written on: 08/05/2008
Yep, seeing as all my fish in three of my tanks and 2 of my ponds are ALL healthy! So yes it appears to be a problem with petsmart stock.
written by Madbunny on 20/03/2008
I am a rabbit owner and stupidly bought a 8 wk old rabbit. In the 5 weeks of owning her I have had to go to the vets for three weeks to be treated for some strange skin disease.
I have since found out how they treat their animals and I will never buy any livestock from them again.
When I complained to the manager they payed for the vets bills, so hit them where it hurts, in their pockets as they seem only too willing to sell unhealthy animals, passing it's problems directly to customers.
The person who spoke to me said that if it was too much I could bring her and exchange it for another one! Unbelievable and just shows how much they really care.
After this very stressful time I would only ever rehome a rescue rabbit and not line the pockets of Pets at Home. Beware that you might end up buying a whole load of problems!
Written on: 13/04/2008
I have to say I think Pets at Home certainly our store in Worcester are excellent. We have had 3 rabbits and 2 hamsters from them and at the end of the day they can't guarantee that any pet would not get ill and lets face it who can? I feel people are basing their opinions of a company based on the individual store and having had a pet from a private pet store I can guarantee you that if you had any problems they certainly wouldn't pay the vet bill (I know from experience) And rabbits are allowed to be sold after 8 weeks because if you buy them when they are to old they generally become independent.
Written on: 01/09/2008
I have seen how good Pets at Home treat their animals. They take all ill pets to the vets and spend lots of money to treat ill pets. I do not believe that Pets at Home mistreat animals.
Written on: 23/05/2008
All I can say is what I've experienced with the company. I've since found out that other people have had problems with their animals too.
<br/>You say that you should only buy young rabbits? I do not agree! I've taken on a much older rabbit who is the most loving pet I've ever owned and has never been diseased.
written by hash brown on 19/02/2008
I purchased a rabbit from the Telford store before Christmas and imagine my surprise when three and half weeks later, my rabbit had given birth to four babies. Pets at Home assured me that it was the breeders fault and not theirs, they even offered to take the babies from me for free! (for profit no doubt). They couldn't even look after my rabbit let alone four babies!
I am at the moment in the middle of a complaints proceedure with Pets at Home. Rest assured I will never use that shop again.
Written on: 20/03/2008
I can't believe they blame the breeder (there is only one by the way, in Essex somewhere, nice big 'factory' I guess)!!!
<br/>They really couldn't give a monkeys could they?!!
<br/>
<br/>Who have you complained to as I've emailed them but had no response.
<br/>
<br/>Thanks
written by samantharey on 24/01/2008
Will not use the store again, have spent lots of money there in the past years, but thats it. Support your local pet shops!! Best thing at least they are honest
Written on: 20/03/2008
Complain directly to the manager. I bought a young rabbit 5 weeks ago and they HAVE paid the bills!
<br/>Be firm and persistent!!
<br/>I found it best to ring the store and ask to speak to the manager directly.
<br/>Good luck!
written by comment on 21/01/2008
good shop for pet food and toys but think twice before buying a pet from there
written by on 20/01/2008
so generally im a bit cautios of what i buy eventhough i was able to refund my rabbit sumdge i will not be able to forget him :(r.i.p smudge)
written by on 01/01/2008
Pets at Home is a great store. Sadly, every fish that I have bought from there has died.
written by on 22/12/2007
As a new employee to a pets at home branch, you're going to assume I will be very biased. This is, however, not at all the case, it's in the interest of a fair rating that I'm writing this review at all.
Obviously, the quality of customer service/pricing etc depends on the individual branches, but the one I work in is very good on that front. If a queue is ever more than 3 people, we buzz someone down to open another till. We must train in all areas of products and animal care to ensure that we can help a customer; we take home leaflets and booklets of each animal we stock and learn everything we can so any questions are answered. The longer we continue working there, the more we are expected to know about the products; where they're located in the store, how much they are, delivery dates, etc. The effort that goes into our store may be exceptional to the effort that goes into others, but it is my personal opinion that Pets at Home is one of the best out there =]
written by sharonsjuk1 on 02/09/2007
I went into Pets at Home today to try to buy some lights, a filter, heater and stand etc for my tropical fish tank. We found what we wanted, but as these were quite expensive, they were in a locked cabinet. We waited almost an hour to speak to someone who could get the products out and answer a question about the lights, while the one person who appeared to be working on the floor talked to her friends. After asking the one other person who appeared to be working that day whether anyone was likely to be available soon to help us and not getting much help, we ended up leaving after another 15 minutes of waiting because there were obviously at least another 5 people waiting to speak to this one girl, and by this time it was getting close to closing time. We will now be taking our £160 + of business to one of the smaller retailers we should have taken the extra 15 minutes drive to see in the first place. It was disappointing that on what I would imagine was one of the busiest periods of the week, there appeared to be only two staff working, neither of which were particularly helpful.
written by misty1234 on 22/04/2007
We went there to purchase a pair of Dumbo rats. The member of staff that helped us was friendly and confident with the rats. The rats themselves were friendly, and they had been handled often and well.
We were in the store for about an hour, and we got to handle and play with the rats, and we were give lots of help and advice!
Unfortunately, after a couple of weeks, one of our rats got a bit snuffly/sneezy. We rang the store, and they said to take him straight to a vet and they would cover the cost, no matter what it cost!
He only needed some antibiotics for a few days, and the vet put it mainly down to the sress of the move.
written by AndreaG on 16/03/2007
I went in to Pets at Home last night as we have recently acquired a puppy and I needed some bits and bobs, including a name tag.
I did the shopping that I needed to do, which I found everything that I needed easily and quickly.
Then to the tag, I wanted one from the machine that they have, so I asked the lady behind the counter and she said that you buy the tokens with your shopping then off you go, put your info in etc and there you have it.
Sounded easy enough, but as I was finishing paying I said, okay, stay close by in case I do this wrong, she said, oh it's ok, I am not busy right now, I'll do it for you - and she did!
Excellent customer service, my new pup now has a lovely little name tag on her collar.
Couldn't fault pets at home!
written by djeva1 on 08/01/2007
I have never had a problem with 'Pets at Home' in Norwich. There are about 4 of these stores dotted around the city. Each store has a wide range of books about many different types of pets, plus many types of cages, aquariums, toys and treats. But even though the staff are friendly, they tend to have a lack of knowledge about the animals themselves and their needs. It would be best if the staff did some training on appropriate animal care, feeding habits and suitable toys etc., based on all types of pets before working at the store. I find that the products were a little expensive, but worth it.
Once we've checked over your question we will put it live on the site and our strong community of experts will hopefully give you some great answers that you find useful.
We will email you when the question is on the site
Once we've checked over your answer we will put it live on the site so others can gain from your experience. We rely on members like you to sustain our vibrant community so thanks again, we couldn't do it without you.
We will email your when your answer is on the site
Once we've checked over your answer we will put it live on the site so others can gain from your experience. We rely on members like you to sustain our vibrant community so thanks again, we couldn't do it without you.
We will email your when your answer is on the site
Once we've checked over your answer we will put it live on the site so others can gain from your experience. We rely on members like you to sustain our vibrant community so thanks again, we couldn't do it without you.
We will email your when your answer is on the site
Once we've checked over your answer we will put it live on the site so others can gain from your experience. We rely on members like you to sustain our vibrant community so thanks again, we couldn't do it without you.
We will email your when your answer is on the site
As rated by our community of reviewers
Madbunny's Response to 361400_diangelic's Review
Written on: 03/06/2008
After my experience I will never use pets at home again (I used to buy all my stuff there).
<br/>The rabbit I bought has had problems soon after I bought it and I also somehow contracted ringworm.
<br/>Thankfully after £200 of vets and GP bills we're both better. I really wouldn't wish this on anyone, beware where you buy your animals.