Petco — Local services in Rolling Hills Estates

Here's the short version of my review: Petco is a business that exploits and neglects their animals, and this location isn't much better than the others. I don't recommend any Petco store for live animals or pet supplies.

The long version: I worked here for a short time during highschool, and I have visited this location frequently outside of that time period. I have also bought pets (hermit crabs) from them. I can tell you right now that Petco, as a business, does not care about the animals they're selling. You can see that with the egregious mistreatment of their smaller animals, such as their Bettas, parrots, hermit crabs, rodents, and various reptile species.

I have two birds at home and have done extensive research on their care. This location does not treat them correctly. They typically have one or two medium sized birds at a time (cockatiels or conures), and they are kept in small, brightly lit, featureless white enclosures with no hiding spots and perhaps one or two toys at best. The water was always dirty when I looked at it. These are intelligent social animals that require constant interaction, and other birds to bond with. They are being kept alone in enclosures akin to a jail cell. The budgies aren't much better--several at a time are in one enclosure, where they also have no hiding spots and are absolutely not tame. I saw my coworker have to spend 10 minutes catching a frightened budgie with a net, just to give it to a person who claimed their bird "flew away" and they "needed a new one". This shows just how little they care for their animals once they are sold--they're just put in a cardboard box for any uneducated person to buy.

Their hermit crabs are another example of poor treatment. Hermit crabs are often marketed as an "easy first pet" for kids, and their little care guide brochure made them seem just so. But upon doing more research after getting them, I realized that these are actually very needy animals. They are not suitable for kids whatsoever, yet stores like these continue to sell "starter kits" full of cheap, low quality items for these creatures. They have important humidity and temperature requirements for one, and they also need lots of substrate. This was not being provided in the tiny tank they were given.

The fish get similar treatment. Bettas are kept in tiny cups where they often suffocate to death. This is unfortunately an industry standard. They are also supplied from careless breeders that provide fish with poor genes and overall health, resulting in their short lives. I frequently saw Bettas that were in the process of dying, or already dead in their cups. I had the "aquatics expert" at the time (about 2 years ago) tell me a dying fish I was concerned about probably had "neurological issues" and that I should just transfer him to the big live plant tank to see if that would help. I watched it die from shock in there. This store also sells round bowls and tiny tanks (again, often marketed towards kids) that are absolutely unsuitable for most fish.

Those are just a few small examples of animal neglect at stores like this.

While this doesn't apply to all of them, many of the people I worked with at the time didn't really seem to have much of a passion for animals at all. Nor did they seem to particularly enjoy their job--I remember them being rude and dismissive to me, despite me being a teen who was very new to working retail at the time. Everyone was bored, tired, and seemed like they wanted to go home. I would not recommend working here because of that.

If you are considering shopping here, even for food/toys, I ask that you reconsider and look for a much more reputable establishment. Adopt or look for a rescue if you're seeking an animal. Buying overpriced products from a store like this just fuels the greed of the corporation running it. They don't care about you, and they don't care about their animals--no matter how many times their hourly recording of "at petco, pets come first!" plays on...

The customer service at this location was horrible!! I asked the guy at the register if he could help me find specific products for my dogs. And he referred me to Trevor, which was a horrific mistake. He was very rude and dismissive, and everytime I asked a question about the products, he seemed to be agitated, and basically said..."I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOUR DOGS, AND HOW THEY WOULD REACT, I HAVE NO IDEA!!" He kept talking really loud and I felt very embarrassed. I felt as though if I talked in a low monotoned voice he would stop talking loud, so he wouldn't continue to cause the other customers to stare at us!! I had my dogs with me, so I thought it would be easier to obtain information from a professional, which wasn't the case. When he rudely insisted that I buy the higher priced item, and I declined, he then told me to get out of his store, and he would no longer help me!! I felt mortified, embarrassed, humiliated!! I have lived in RPV for 14 years, and have spent thousands of dollars at Petco, and never experienced the level of this humiliation!! Their staff would benefit from getting extensive training in diverse customer service!! I would hate for others to be subjected to the same...

Watch your receipts and grooming charges. Great service in grooming, especially Dana. But was going to be charged for a long hair dog and my dogs are short hair. Also, was over charged big time- was charged for 6 dogs and I only had 4. Caught the mistake and of course the cashier blames it on technology- he’s rather rude. Get home to find I was still charged wrong. Went to correct it today and the rudeness from the same guy and another one was a bit much. Can see it his face he doesn’t want to be bothered even with a customer that was talking to him prior to me. Still wouldn’t correct my receipt even though he claimed I would’ve been over charged. Tried to explain in need it corrected and he wouldn’t. I will still continue using the grooming services as they do a great job, but will be definitely keeping an eye on the charges. Recommended that the charges should show up on the card machine. “That’s corporate for ya”. Good customer service guys. Need to work on it. Especially the young man. Attitude won’t get you very far especially if you can’t be bothered -which shows...