Pets N' Stuff — Local services in Lakewood

I'd give this store 5 stars alone for the product selection, prices, and for the fact that they are locally owned. The two star deduction is for the customer service I personally experienced on my single visit in-store so far.

I have a medium-sized mixed pup that is a recent rescue, who is a little nervous in social situations but nonetheless well-behaved. I brought my sweet pup with me on this trip as another excuse to expose him to a controlled situation that is a little out of his comfort zone in order to slowly work on his anxiety.

With that being said, my pup looked happy AF when we walked into this store (per usual). Upon entering, I noticed that at least three staff members looked in our direction; I sent a smile their way but received nothing in return. That's fine though, I get it...I've worked in retail and I understand that people have a roller coaster of a day each shift.

Anyway, I had a good idea of what I was planning to get for my dog that day, but wanted to check out everything they had to offer and compare prices (in my head, not with my face in my phone) to other vendors in the area. My pup was especially well behaved and we had a great experience together, though looking at these other reviews I realized we were not approached once in the store by staff, whether to ask for help or to even comment on/say hello to my pup. This wouldn't be a big deal to me except that I did notice that every time someone else walked into the store with a "small" pup (think Schnauzer, Shih Tzu, etc.), the staff doted over them and gave them treats on the spot. I also noticed that staff regularly approached these same patrons to see if they could help or to comment on the dog again. For me, this felt like we were maybe a bit on the outside of things and not necessarily as welcome as the people with small, purebred pups. I wish this didn't matter, but I also need to note that my dog is a 38 pound mutt that looks like a very small yellow lab...not very threatening.

My main reason for checking this store out was to see what CBD products they had. While they had a good selection, I got a little distracted momentarily when a different customer's dog got a little too excited and friendly for my pup's liking, so I had to steer clear and do a lap before hastily returning and picking a product that I thought was a happy medium between price and quality. Unfortunately, I seem to have chosen the single item (placed in the middle of the CBD section, mind you) that was indeed "calming" but did not contain any CBD. I even mentioned something about CBD to the cashier during the checkout process, and she gave myself and the product a bit of an odd look but didn't say anything and continued to ring me up. I didn't realize until I got home that the product I purchased was a calming treat, but it did not have any CBD...instead a combination of herbs that are supposed to help calm anxiety. Unfortunately my dog (who isn't a picky eater at all) won't even take a lick of these treats, which smell horribly and were not cheap by any means. This is mostly my fault for getting distracted and not specifically noting that there was or was not CBD in them, however I swear they were placed in the middle of the CBD treat section and must have been the only product that didn't contain it in that section. Lesson learned.

Anyway, rant over. Maybe this experience wasn't worth sharing, but I just felt that it should be known that I did feel uncomfortable bringing my dog here, even though he was well-behaved, albeit anxious. Probably wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't so obvious when the staff saw a "toy" pup walk in and give them a ton of attention.

I may return when I'm in the area without my dog, and I don't like to form my opinion on a shop based on one experience, but I'd also like to think there are a lot of other locally-owned pup shops that will give my boy the love, attention, and patience he deserves. Even just one "hello" or...

A lesson in customer service....

My daughter and I brought our dogs across town from Thornton on Sunday to our favorite dog wash. What we did not know is the dog wash/store both close early on Sunday. While it wasn't quite 5:00 it was close enough that the dog was was deemed closed. We were bummed and pleaded with a lovely young lady by the name of Theresa to let us wash our pups. After some pondering and conferring with a co-worker Theresa graciously let us wash our two dogs. We were ELATED. We chatted with her, thanked her profusely for her customer service, for going above and beyond. In my mind I was writing a glowing review and reveling in the outstanding customer service of a family owned business. This is why we drive all this way.... In walks (who I assume was a manager) Beth, while we were half way through drying our pups. If there was ever an antithesis to great customer service, Beth was it. With a scowl across her face and disdain dripping from her voice she loudly and rudely informed me that the dog wash closed at five and "I'm gonna need you to wrap it up" Good feeling gone. Beth's demeanor and attitude left us feeling wholly unwelcome even though one of my dogs was still wet, we high tailed it out of there as fast as we could.

At checkout.. Beth and her scowl lingered but said nothing as the young lady at the counter rang me up and checked me out. I assume Beth was making sure I paid for my dog washes in full, my daughter had taken the dogs out already I asked the young lady behind the counter for Lingerers name.. She replied: "I don't know" I asked "You don't know your managers name" young lady; "she isn't my manager" Me: "What is her name." Young lady: "I don't know her name, why do you want to know" me: " I wanted to write a positive review about our experience here today" Young lady lights up: "OH, OKAY That's GREAT NEWS That is Beth"

I was insulted, lied to and every ounce of good will that Theresa had was ruined by the other two. I've interacted with Beth before, she is always unpleasant, but this was unacceptable even for her and for the counter girl to lie about the name of her co-worker? Just...WOW. We will find a dog wash on our side of town. we will...

Pets N' Stuff has been my go-to place for years. I buy all our family's dog food here and bathe my dog at least twice a month. I have always found the employees helpful and friendly. However, after the experience I had in the store this past Sunday, I will find somewhere else to buy my pets' supplies. After bathing both of our family's dogs and purchasing dog food totaling $96, I presented a punch card to the cashier for the dog food (after so many punches you get a free bag of food). She told me the offer had expired and the card was no longer valid. I explained that I had been told by two other employees in the past that even though the offer had expired, they would still honor any outstanding punch cards once filled up. She seemed annoyed, but told me to fill out the info on the card and go get another bag of food. When I handed the completed card back to her, both she and the cashier next to her proceeded to tell me how unfair this was, that the owner was loosing money, and that I was trying to cheat the system. All this was done in front of a long line of other customers. I was so totally humiliated that I placed the "free" bag of dog food back on the counter and left. I certainly wasn't trying to cheat them. I loved shopping at this store! And while this interaction was completely uncharacteristic from all my past dealings with Pets N' Stuff, it's enough to cause me to take my business elsewhere...