BARK on PARK — Local services in Jacksonville

Terrible Grooming Experience. My wife and I made an appointment via phone for our Golden Retriever, Jacob, for 9am on Saturday. When we arrived on Saturday morning the check in process was chaotic. No one took the time to explain the process or get more background about our dog or the services we were interested in. They took the leash and led Jacob to the back room. When we asked what else they needed from us they said nothing. When we looked a bit uncomfortable and asked how long the process would take and how we would know when to pick them up, the receptionist "remembered" that she needed to get our phone number and told us that Jacob would be ready in two hours and they would give us a call when he was done. After this, we left expecting to get a call shortly.

After not receiving a call, I called two hours later to check on JAcob's status. The lady asked which dog was Jacob and I explained that he was the Golden Retriever. They told us that he hadn't begun yet. I explained that they had told us that he would be done in 2 hours and that we had scheduled our day around that timeline. She replied that because we had added nail trimming in addition to the bath it would now take an additional 2-3 hours. This was not explained when we checked him in.

Around 1pm my wife called (4 hours later for those of you keeping track), to check if Jacob was ready. The receptionist said that he was in the drying room and wouldn't be ready for another 45 minutes. My wife and I were shocked that it could take a pet store almost 5 HOURS to give a dog a bath and trim the hair around his paws, especially when we had an appointment.

My wife arrived to pick Jacob up at the 5 hour mark and when he came out it was obvious that something was up. She asked why it had taken so long and why the process hadn't been explained to her. She was met with what I would describe as absolutely horrible customer service. The woman at the counter explained that on Saturdays our appointment was not actually an appointment. You share the time with 4 dogs and it's first come first serve. If you happen to be third, which we were, they kennel your dog while he waits. So for those of you doing the math, the whole experience took almost 5 and a half hours and our dog was kenneled for a solid 4 of that. It still baffles us . . . even if you are third in line for your "appointment" how can it take five hours to wash three dogs?

When my wife asked why none of this had been explained, the women at the counter took no pains to explain anything, introduce us to their process, let us know the time constraints, apologize, or ask if our dog had any particular needs or issues. There was no apparent oversight and the whole experience cost $50 for a dog wash and teeth brushing!

Save yourself the hassle and take your dog...

I normally never write reviews, but we had such an insane experience that I must share so that someone else hopefully doesn’t get deceived like we did by this groomer again. We have taken our dog here before and couldn’t remember if they did a good job because it had been a while (we usually take him to Dogtown, and now we remember why…(it’s cheaper and they do the actual services we ask them to do and pay way less for (65 including 20% tip) but we were going out of town in a rush and live in the neighborhood and needed our dog groomed before flying on a plane and going in an Uber so he would not get hair all over during the trip. We asked Bark to give him a simple bath and then a deshed, which should have taken care of AT LEAST 48 hrs of shedding…especially for the grand total of over 90 dollars before tip, it did NOT. When I picked him up he was barely dry and it only took an hour to do the entire service I might add. (it usually takes at least 3-4 to do this same service anywhere else) He had loose hair all over him and every time he shook hair would fly all over the place getting all over the car, room, and everything near him. If you pet him it was clear he was barely even brushed out if at all. When we got him through the airport and in the Uber and to our destination we were horrified but not shocked to see we were charged a large Uber cleaning fee due to all the excessive hair left behind in the car when we got out. This was completely unacceptable due to what we paid for the groom and deshed and when we contacted management to resolve this we were basically told to kick rocks and then insinuated we either didn’t take proper grooming care of him or he had a medical issue (we just took him to the vet yesterday fyi). As dog owners who groom their dog once a month and take him to the vet every 6 months for check ups and know what a REAL bath and deshed should look like this was absolute rubbish and the fact that they wouldn’t even take any responsibility for the poor job they did was even more shocking and disappointing. Bark should do better for their customers and their community. (Picture is from the sheet laid down in the car day...

So, I'm leaving 1 star since I could not leave 0! My babies have both previously went to Bark on Main and never came back with FLEAS!!! I take them to this location for the 1st time (since Main is closed down) on last Tuesday 5/23/23 and no fleas!!! I literally keep them in the house at ALL times!!! They go in not a flea in sight! The little one the next day after their visit has multiple fleas on him. BTW, I picked them both up before leaving out the door and walked them in my arms to the car! I called this morning 5/30 and the store manager Makayla just calls me back and basically says "oh well, it's Florida, they could have picked them up from anywhere!" I literally WFH, I literally went nowhere last week and they were both inside with me... So please tell me, HOW any flea would have hitchhiked on my clothes??? This is wildly unprofessional. The most she could have offered was a free wash and treatment for the issues but, nope. That is too much like right, too much customer service. I was told I can bring them in and at a cost to me. Like where is the accountability???? I have worked in customer care for over 10 years and accountability is the FIRST thing you are supposed to have!!! And there was none. Needless to say, I wasted $115 for NOTHING!!! I will be going to a new groomer from here on out. Thanks for nothing.

Hello. So There was NOT A NEED TO TEXT ME!! I have stated factual information and you all chose bot to hear me out!! My pups ate both in housers and we do not have company. With work and me not finding the flea(s) for 24 hours AFTER my visit I did not have the opportunity to follow up. Then there is the weekend and the holiday. Today was the first initial day I was able to contact you all!! The courtesy should have still been extended.

I am EXTREMELY attentive and aware of my animals and their surroundings. My home is sprayed. My yard is SPRAYED and maintained by PROFESSIONALS so no there is No way a flea got onto my clothing and into my home! Where there is tile, no carpet!! Your very RUDE UNPROFESSIONAL and impersonal response was NOT WARRANTED! Now u...