Carm's Dog House - Cicero — Local services in Town of Cicero

I took my dog to Carm’s Dog House to be groomed after a friend had recommended them. I normally take my dog elsewhere to be groomed but I was willing to try a new place. My dog is 3 and she is a lab mix. We adopted her three years ago and I called to ask a lot of questions before making her appointment because she does not like kennels and has horrible separation anxiety. I was told when you book an appointment for grooming the dog would get in right away at that time and they would call when she was done. No need for a kennel. I booked the appointment and was excited to try a new place.

When I got to Carm’s the woman at the front desk had zero personality and was not friendly at all. Not very welcoming for your first time somewhere. Another woman came from behind the counter and commented that my dog was beautiful. I said thank you. No introduction or “hi, my name is blah, I’m going to groom your dog today.” She took my dog back and I explained that I would be waiting in my car in the parking lot and to call when she was done. I was reassured that I would get a call when they were done.

I got a call about an hour later and there was nothing but static on the phone. I couldn’t hear anything but assumed it was Carm’s calling since it was a Cicero number. I called Carm’s back and asked if my dog was ready. I was told “I don’t know. Did the groomer call you?” I said I couldn’t hear anything and I assuming it was a call from there. The woman on the phone was very rude.

I walked back into Carm’s and again the same woman at the front desk with zero personality and professionalism was there. Basically, I was given my total and asked how I was paying. After I paid, they went and got my dog in the back. She was still damp and her coat wasn’t even brushed. She had visible clumps of dog hair all over her. Who does grooming services without brushing the dogs coat? I ended up paying $50 and then taking my dog home and brushing her myself. When I got my dog back she was visibly shaking and not herself. She seemed very nervous and wanted to get out of there fast. Much different experience than our normal groomer.

Overall, I am very disappointed and will not be taking my dog back to Carm’s Dog House. I would not recommend this place to anyone. You would think being a first time customer they would want to greet you a little nicer. Not only was the woman at the front desk cold and unpleasant, I got a wet, hairy dog in return. I’ll go back to our normal place and spend double the money for a much better experience for my...

My wife and I boarded our two dogs for just under 24 hours. Dropped off on a Saturday afternoon, and picked up Sunday. Our bill had two line items, boarding without daycare, Qty 1 day, and the second line item, Qty 2. We were charged an extra $25 per dog, for the second day. When I asked what the charge would have been if I'd picked up the moment they open in the morning, I was told exactly the same, 1 .5 days. This was my first time booking here and wasn't something that was made clear. We will not be using again. Each line item on the bill was inconsistent with the previous, and not clear, or reasonably intuitive. The only real explanation I got is that "Carm charges by the day, not the night, or hour." I would expect a line item that says "boarding without daycare" would be enough to distinguish between those expecting to pay for one night, and those who drop off your dogs during the day, and pick up later that same day. - Not two days. (Sunday was half off because I picked up before 1pm. I believe they close at 2)

Let's be clear. My issue with Carm's is that: 1. Being new, it was not made clear, ahead of time, what we were going to be charged, and why. 2. The bill we received was not intuitive or clear about what we had been charged. (Even after having it explained, and giving the business a chance to make it right, other than explaining, what the bill meant, along with, "this is just how we do it.") If any of this had been alluded to, directly, before we booked, we would not have booked. - What intuitively is one night, at any other place I've ever kenneled my dogs at, is, at Carm's, double. (With the exception of Sundays being half off because they...

Carm's grooming has provided our dog grooming service for several years and though the service for our pet is generally good, the customer experience is horrible. Though over the course of time there has never been an issue with payment Carm's cancelled an appointment today because the service was not paid in advance. When I returned home today at the time of the appointment there was a message on my answer machine to call their office and at that point I was told the appointment was cancelled because it wasn't prepaid. After waiting a month to get the appointment and then to have it canceled I asked to speak to the manager. The manager explained they do not take checks or credit cards on site when doing mobile grooming. The only way to pay is either by cash or to call their office and provide the card information over the phone ( which is when someone answers the phone in their office how we pay). She then indicated that they called (when I was not there) to collect payment by credit card in advance and when no one returned their call they canceled. When asked her why when there has never been an issue with getting paid would they cancel she hung up on me. Clearly a company that does understand customer service in any manner what so ever. Frankly not feeling like a valued customer, certainly hope they treat the pets better than they do the...