Petco — Local services in Birmingham

My daughter wanted to pet a cat she saw near the door. One of the girls with long blonde hair was young and super sweet about the kitty she asked about. When we went to ask about a different one after shopping a bit, a young brunette with blue hair came over to tell my daughter about another cat she liked. The sweet blonde girl had said previously the cats were not allowed to be outdoors if adopted and must be indoor cats at all times. And I asked why was that? She said just a policy of ours I’m not sure and I said ok. She was informative best she could and kind. When I asked the blue haired girl about why were the cats were not allowed to be indoor outdoor animals, she went off on me in front of everyone in the store including my kids. I asked you don’t think it’s mean to cage them at all times? They are meant to climb trees and feel safe at home. She started visibly shaking and getting so angry yelling that they don’t belong outside or belong climbing trees and how dare me say that, and slammed the cage shut on my daughter. She said more but I won’t keep going on that. My point is you guys shouldn’t hire someone that can’t carry on a simple conversation without going psycho on a customer, but instead be able to calmly educate us on why the choice of indoor only. I have rescued all my animals over the last 40 years and have never given an animal away. We believe animals are for life and to take care of them until they naturally pass. We’ve had 18 year old cats over the years and 15 year old dogs and rescued exotics also. This confrontational girl didn’t help my kid learn anything about pet store buying except that employees are sometimes crazy. I explained later that she may just be emotional because she’s had to rescue too many animals that owners do not take care of but that unfortunately she couldn’t contain herself in a public environment over a simple question to educate instead of convict a stranger of nothing. We won’t be coming back to Petco if we can’t ask questions without being confronted by anger. It really caught me off guard today and upset us. Hope the worker can compose herself next time someone asks...

Today I took my sweet little Bella to be groomed at Petco in preparation for Christmas pictures. (Brook Highland Plaza, Birmingham, AL) I had a very in-depth discussion with the girl at the desk AND the girl who would be actually grooming her. We specifically discussed trimming the face close, discreetly trimming the potty area, cutting the chest and belly close to prevent the slight matting that had occurred in that area since her last visit and buffing her nails so they would not be sharp or rough. She even brought out a sample board to confirm lengths and I repeated that I did not want her cut short except in the couple of areas we discussed. The groomer confirmed everything we discussed and I left Bella in their care. Three hours later I get the call that she is ready for me to pick up. When they brought her out my heart fell to my feet. They had COMPLETELY shaved her!!!!!! All of her hair gone!! The shave wasn't even a good one and there was various different lengths of hair on top of her head and random missed patches over her body. Her tail completely butchered. And her face was left long like she has a mustache or beard. The girl came out to talk to me and proceeded to act like she had no clue what I was upset about. This upset me even more. They then bring the manager out who is completely unsympathetic to what has happened to my Bella. I was and still am devastated. While my money was refunded, it doesn't put her hair back, it doesn't fix the fact that the planned Christmas pictures are ruined. It also doesn't fix that fact that not one person involved in this scenario even apologized or acted concerned that they completely butchered my Bellas coat and left her with no fur for the winter. I can not even convey my anger, disappointment, and distress over this whole ordeal. If you care at all how your pet is cared for or having your explicit instructions followed during grooming DO NOT go to this Petco. Store # 1835, 5269 Hwy 280 South, Ste B6, Birmingham, AL 35242....

I've always had a great experience at this location. Not only are their employees that work there are awesome but their aquatics department is spot on. Check out their community tanks! They are amazing and you can tell that hard work and dedication were put into those tanks. Donald that works in the aquatics dept. has been so helpful every time we visit to look for new fish for our 15+ tanks at home. He answers every question we ever had and if there was ever anything he didn't know (which is rare) he will help us find out. He gives us great recommendations as well as brainstorming ideas to help us what kind of setup we can do for future tanks. He has made it such a great experience the first few times we came to visit that we visit this store just about EVERY weekend.

You can tell that Donald and his team have put in so much effort to making it look flawless as well as keeping the fish as safe and healthy as possible. Don't let negative reviews deter you from getting fish here. Sometimes you can't blame the store in how a fish comes in from a vendor - some breeds of fish are more susceptible to stress and illnesses during transport and will develop ich. It sometimes can't be helped but rest assured that Donald and team will treat anything that may affect the fish they have. Other local pet stores will toss out sick fish because they don't care, however this store is quiet the opposite!

Donald is our favorite aquatics person by far! He's very approachable, knowledgeable, super helpful, and you can tell that he has great passion for aquatic life. We will keep visiting and purchasing fish from this location. Other Petco locations only wish they had someone like Donald. I have bought MANY fish from this store and I have never had any issues and they are all still alive with zero illnesses to this day. Fantastic staff, clean store, great products, and I will continue...