Petco Dog Training

Horrific experience, even worse customer service! Save your time, money, and sanity (yours and your dog’s) by using actual training services!!! After attending a class with the out-of-touch Senior Trainer Diannah on 09/05/2023, I contacted Petco Customer Service on 09/06/2023 to discuss the previous day’s traumatizing events for my puppy. Petco’s website advertises “At our in-person puppy group training sessions, our expert dog trainers also leave plenty of time for puppy socialization and playtime.” Yet, Diannah stated the three rules of her class as being “1. Dogs are never off leash. 2. Dogs are never within three feet of each other. 3. There are no stupid questions.”. I asked Petco Customer Service for clarification on Petco’s actual policy and noted that this question was especially important as Diannah was training two new Petco dog trainers and her policies seemed in complete contrast with Petco’s stated class takeaways. I also took the time to explain that Diannah’s policy put my puppy in a terrible position. It left her scared of the other two large-breed puppies who spent most of the class barking at her as Diannah tossed them handfuls worth of treats as “positive reinforcement for sitting quietly”. Unfortunately, my puppy spent the class cowering in fear beneath my legs. Her training amounted to a total of two minutes practicing responding to her name or learning to sit. She was also afforded the opportunity to practice “come” twice during the session. On the other hand, Diannah spent an hour and fifteen minutes of class singing her own praises and making snarky comments about past class participants under the guise of her being “cheeky”. Puppies are resilient and I have already taken the time to research and sign up for training with a competent trainer so my little gal’s experience will, hopefully, be forgotten shortly. However, I feel for the puppies, dogs, and owners who are left in the hands of such a poor excuse for a “Senior Trainer” and the new trainers that she is instructing incorrectly. As far as the “customer service” I have experienced, it has been abysmal. After being told to “stay by the phone” on 09/06/2023, I have followed up with Petco each day. On 09/07/2023, I was told that I would receive a call by 11:17am on 09/08/2023 but this did not occur. On 09/08/2023, after not receiving the promised 11:17am call, I called customer service and was told that I would be receiving a call from Petco’s general manager for the store, but this has yet to occur. I have also failed to receive any follow-up after requesting a refund on my training session. Today, 09/11/2023, I was finally escalated to a “premier support specialist” who informed me that they had the wrong phone number for follow-up. I reminded her that I had provided the number to their agents three times by this point, but she seemed unbothered by this major lapse in their system. This “premier support specialist” then told me that I should expect a follow-up call shortly. I asked for a timeline and was told to expect a call within 72 hours. Again, she seemed unbothered by this disgusting failure of Petco’s so-called customer service. I continue to wait by the phone as Diannah traumatizes others and strokes her own ego.