FirstBark
I cannot say enough good things about our experiences here. Not only is the quality of service you receive excellent, but everything is made as streamlined and easy for the human client and clearly designed with the understanding that life happens so if you miss a class, you just…Read full reviewClose full review
I cannot say enough good things about our experiences here. Not only is the quality of service you receive excellent, but everything is made as streamlined and easy for the human client and clearly designed with the understanding that life happens so if you miss a class, you just send a message and you'll quickly be sent a link to access a video with everything that was covered in class that day to review when you can. We sent a message on a Friday night and got a response within minutes. The level of customer service is consistently very high. This is not a situation where someone is a genius at the job itself but being a customer is a lot of work - they just nail every aspect of what they do. Seeing how many services provided is also great because short of being a veterinary hospital, it seems they cover everything your dog could need and it just provides that much more peace of mind that my dog knows them, they know my dog, and it's not a revolving door of human workers who may or may not be a good match. I know who my dog is with and I trust them completely to keep my pup safe and happy. For context, I am a compulsive researcher who trusts no one and was unable to so much as find an exaggeration of a credential/award in this case. I even joined various professional forums online to search what people had to say about specific awards and courses and suffice it to say, Nikki's professional resume absolutely checks out. We completed our level 1 class with Nikki and I've already signed up our puppy for level 2 as well as day training twice weekly where we drop off in the morning and pick up at night after a day of playing and learning (including individual goals we need help with). Our first meeting involved our giant puppy jumping and doing all the things you don't want and I was immediately embarrassed, but Nikki is the embodiment of positive reinforcement and reassured us, calling him "confident" and deftly putting a stop to any sense of shame/embarrassment/judgement I had. No part of her interaction with dogs or clients comes off as anything but the most genuinely sweet and patient nature you could hope for in a person and she's equally effective at what she does. I'm still shocked at how much better our life with our puppy has gotten in just 5 weeks when I am definitely not the best at remembering to do my homework. I even suspect that the pricing here is kept to a level that allows for as many people and pups to benefit as possible because for the amount of thought and effort put into every part of the service provided, the price tag is nowhere near what they're worth. I grew up associating professional dog training as something reserved for those with more disposable income, but even before you consider how much you'll save on vet bills and replacing destroyed belongings (not to mention the savings in frustration), the cost is more than reasonable so don't deprive yourself of the best possible low stress relationship with your dog that you can have over the same misconception I labored under. I have been unable to just say "yeah, Nikki's great I definitely recommend her" in favor of talking people's ears off. I love seeing this caliber of talent contributing to Erie and seeing this caliber of human being able to succeed at what they clearly love doing. As paranoid as I am of a great small business getting too big and losing what made it special, they deserve nothing but success and you + your dogs deserve the quality of life improvements provided here. I hope this novella of overt gushing doesn't make future interactions as a client weird/stressful for Nikki and her colleagues. I just genuinely have nothing but the deepest admiration for how things are done here and wouldn't want to change a thing in how we interact or how my dog is treated. Small business person to small business person, you have built something so truly special and it is a joy to witness!