I tried to make an afternoon grooming appointment at the Daly City PetSmart, but they have nothing between 1:30 and 5:30. I checked two weeks in advance, and they just don't seem to offer grooming at these times anymore. Unfortunately, mid afternoon is the best time for me. I decided to make an appointment at the San Mateo PetSmart, which is over 20 miles away. They could accommodate me. In fact, I made an appointment for the next day. Alyssa Jang was my dog's groomer and she was very polite and attentive. She inspected my Chihuahua before the session and noticed that his skin was a bit dry. His hair is also a bit thin on the back. I believe it is color dilution alopecia, as he has had this issue all of his life. It is worse in the spring and fall, when Chihuahuas tend to shed more. She said she would use hypoallergenic shampoo and conditioner on him. Since I drove over 20 miles to get there, I wasn't about to drive back home and come back again. She said it would take about an hour or more and recommended that I go to the mall or Barnes & Nobles. She would call me when he was done. I went to the mall for about 45 minutes, got bored, and came back. He was done! She was writing up his report card and was just about to call me. Alyssa did a wonderful job with my dog. His coat looks great. He smells great. His nails were perfectly trimmed and ground. I am happy. My dog is happy. I may just bring him to the San Mateo store in the future, even if the Daly City one starts offering afternoon appointments again. The Daly City groomers were all good, but sometimes they are very busy and it can take up to 4 hours for them to finish. The San Mateo branch isn't as busy. It's easier to make a next-day appointment and they finish up in less than an hour, without cutting any corners. I highly recommend booking online. Reading the reviews, apparently one of their groomers killed a dog by strangling it to death. He was found not guilty, even though the prosecution's expert witness said it was not accidental. The jury didn't believe it. In criminal trials, there must not be any doubt. The fact that there were no witnesses or surveillance cast a shadow of doubt. This is horrible, but you can't blame the other groomers for the incident. Even PetSmart can't predict what an employee will do. All I can say is that Alyssa did an awesome job and cared for my little guy like he was her own. I now understand why this place is so empty, but I think this may be a good reason to go here for grooming. It's like when an airline has a crash or a fast food chain has food poisoning, they tend to fix these issues and pay attention to them, especially when they are corporate chains. I didn't know about this incident before I booked my appointment, and I probably wouldn't have made one had I known. But my experience was a good one, and I will come back and try to book with Alyssa again. The online booking app lets you choose your groomer. I can guarantee you that they are much more careful about hiring groomers after this incident. It's a shame it had to come to that. I feel so sorry for the people who lost their dog. I would be devastated. read more

Unprofessional managers, makes fun of customers on their walkie to eachother, sells expired food just to get rid of it, they could care less about you, im someone who just quit here and ide recommend you not coming here. Completely lack knowledge about their products and will tell you anything just to make you buy whatever. Extremely fake enviroment, their goal is to make it seem that they look good, not to genuinely be interested in your pet. Manager wont do anything to fix that as they hide in the office. I never felt so horrible working for this company, if only the corporate cared about being authentic rather than, also one manager there named monica would drink with an co worker named Alonzo before work and now drinks buzzballs with other coworkers before starting a midnight read more

Note: This review is ONLY to the groomer Becky. The store itself is nice and clean, and the other staff there are friendly and helpful. The story: Our favorite groomer Mariela was no longer working here and Becky was the only available groomer on this specific day, so I decided to give her a try. First of all, she seems cold to me with attitude. When I showed her the rabies certificate, she looked at my dog and started questioning me "Is your dog a Maltese? He seems too big to me to be a Maltese." I told her my dog is a 8 lbs pure bred Maltese with certificate and it's also showed on the rabies cert. She looked at the cert and said" he's almost ten pounds (So 8 lbs equals 10?!) Normally a Maltese weights 4-5 pounds, so I need to reclassify his type in the computer." I then asked her what's this reclassifying for, and she rolled her eyes saying "cuz your dog is bigger than normal Maltese, I need to change the type in the computer. "At this point, SHE DIDN'T TELL ME THE PURPOSE OF DOING THIS IS TO CHARGE ME EXTRA $5 FOR THIS GROOMING SERVICE until later I asked for the total fees! This never happened to me before and my dog just got groomed at the same place two months ago! I thought its a new policy of Petsmart, which later proves NOT, so I signed the paper and handed my doggie to her. SHE THEN PUT A LEASH ON MY DOG'S NECK AND STARTED DRAGGING HIM ON THE FLOOR TOWARDS THE WASHING ROOM. Again, this never happened before, so my dog was so scared and tried to run away from her. I wasn't sure what to do at the moment so I stepped out from the room. When I was walking to my car, I really felt uncomfortable with the treatment Becky gave to my dog and can't imagine what would happen during the service when I'm not present, so I returned to the store, canceled the service and brought my dog to another Petsmart. "Surprisingly" no one questioned the breed of my dog there and there was NO $5 extra charge!!! And most importantly, my dog didn't get dragged to the washing room and came out cleaned and happy. (note: I brought this issue to the store manager Maria who was very nice and sincere. She apologized to me and promised me to address the issue in their staff meeting.) If you love your pet and want to have an honest and caring groomer for your pet, stay away from Becky! Other groomers there seemed very friendly to me and gentle to the dogs at the time I was there. read more

My review is for the gromming department. If I can give a negative review I would. I took my 2 chihuahuas there for grooming. The asian girl (who looked really young and inexperienced) She asked if we want to try the grinding for a few dollars more isntead of the traditional toenail clipping. I said sure. My dogs came back. When I got home, I saw one of my dogs skin had been scraped by with the grinder with a little bit of blood showing. That damn girl didn't even say anything or apologize. I went back there jus tto make a complaint, and some other big girl came over and apologize. Ahh, yeah, a little too little too late. I will never go back there. The worst service I've ever received. read more

DON'T GO HERE IF YOU LOVE YOUR DOG. May 17, 2016 - One of their groomers killed a dog under his care and is being prosecuted. Read this ABC News story - http://abc7news.com/pets/family-defends-san-mateo-groomer-accused-in-dogs-death/1343207/ Avoid their grooming dept. it was "okay" with cuts for my Poodle/Bichon for the past 7 months until today when I saw a groomer (not my dog's) working on a dog's matted ears and consistently making it cry. The poor thing. I was watching with another customer. It went on and on. So I went inside the grooming office and asked for the manager. Store manager was paged and I spoke to Tim about my concerns. He said they can't see the groomers all the time. I said get a web cam then. He was professional and took my concerns seriously. Then when I picked up my dog from my groomer (Jonah) he suggested that I use another groomer next time. Yep. He "fired' me for being an advocate for a dog being mistreated by an incompetent colleague. They have high turnover in groomers for a reason. Always a bad sign. I won't be going back. read more

God the salon is so bad! Was told dogs ready 1:30-2:30. Called at 2. Said 2:45. Called at 2:45. Said 20 mins max. I started driving. Got there at 3. Was finally ready 3:30! 5hrs! Have a little respect for people's time and give better time estimates. read more

S.O.S. Management!!! Went into the store today. Asked for help to find a pill popper for a cat as well as bandages for a wound. The front desk cashier employee was very confused and spaced-out. He had to call the manager for help. Laura, the manager, told me that there was no such item as a pill popper for cats. She had never heard of them before. I gathered the items that I did want to purchase and waited at front cashier. No one was there to check me out....I left the pile of 50.00+ of supplies on the belt as there was no one around. Overall, seemed very pet-unfriendly and it will be my last time to visit. Come on, management???? read more

I like pets, I like pet stores, so it pains me to say that I hate this store. First, it's in a crappy location... if you're in the wrong southbound El Camino lane you'll miss it and it'll be a pain in the ass to get back. If you do manage to turn around and get there, you'll be pretty disappointed. Every time I've been there it's been the same thing. Employees seem pretty apathetic to the customers almost to the point where I think the try to avoid eye-contact or acknowledging customers. Booooooooooo. read more

We took our dogs here since moving to the Bay Area, and the last two times has been really bad. We've decided never to take them here again. No shampoo, it smells like they used water only. Plus when we get them into the car, smells more like humidity than a showered dog. Then the cashier failed to give me 20% on my coupon because he made a mistake. So...Petsmart you've lost two doggies as a customer. read more

They just cancelled my 2 grooming appointments for this morning. 1 hours notice. Now I have two filthy dogs and nowhere to take them. I can reschedule for next week though. NO THANKS. I'll find a more reliable groomer. Epic fail again Petsmart. read more

I usually go to the Pet Smart in San Carlos but couldn't get an almost last minute for the Groomer so I made one at the San Mateo location.I had brought in a picture of what my dog always looks like and when I picked her up, I noticed right away that it was more like a cheap Super Cut type haircut that you pay 10 dollars for. He trimmed her paw area but not so much the legs so it didn't really go together. Also, the hair above her eyes, they were cut almost like bangs. Nothing like the photo I brought in. Around the face...kinda looks like my baby girl has a mustache.Don't tell my puppy but honestly, she looks kinda ugly. Taking her back to the same place that made her look so bad is out of the question so, lesson learned and I will never go to that Pet Smart groomer again. The other thing I wanted to mention, and this really made me mad too, as I was coming in with my dog I stopped at the counter in the front and told the guy about a leash & collar that I had bought from the San Carlos store that was a size too big. I didn't have the receipt for but asked, since I was a Pet Perk member could they look that purchase up. he said that they could.I said great, I will bring it back when I pick my dog up because I need to get some dog food & treats anyway. Well, sure enough, I get my dog and invoice and take it to the counter along with my dog food and treats and there was another person at the counter and she has to get a manager because she said she didn't think they could exchange the leash and collar. Manager comes up and looks at me like I was stealing or something and says no, they can't look it up.And he walked off. he looked so uncomfortable telling me that to. Very poorly trained and it showed in his lack of confidence. Anyway, lesson learned, like I said, I just won't go there again. read more

I love this Petsmart!! So today I called to see if they had time to groom my dog tomorrow and Kristen I think was her name who answeared the phone. I didnt even finish talking and she interrupted me and and in a rude voice said no there's no time for tomorrow, and hung up the phone! What a rude b*tch !!! read more

The groomers here did a horrible job on my baby, a one year old sheltie. All that was needed was a simple haircut, but because of the ineptitude of the groomers, a massacre was unleashed upon his luscious coat. The groomers made a horrible mistake while trimming and claimed that "when a dog passed by they lost control of the clippers." Come on! Don't trust them with your dogs grooming. read more

Got two Betta Fish and they both died with in days of purchase. Such a shame the animals were sold because I have a feeling they knew they were sick, they were half off. Not all the Bettas looked healthy but the ones I bought did. Very upsetting and I wont be returning to this petsmart when prior to this they were pretty good. read more

Will never ever bring my babies to this grooming place again. Don't know where they find their groomers. They are horrible and unprofessional. On my last visit they trimmed my dog's nails and they cut his paws so badly, that they were bleeding for days. Won't go there ever again. read more

I started coming here when I got my dog, Mochi, about a year ago. I had Mochi groomed there every three months or so and each time I became less impressed. They DIDN'T follow my instructions and they made my dog HIDEOUS. Finally, I picked up my dog one day after a grooming sessions and she seemed to be afraid of me. She kept shaking when I held her and when we got home she hid under my chair for the entire night and two days following it. She also had diarrhea and was extremely afraid of people reaching for her for about a week. They obviously didn't treat her well while she was there. I'd never go back for grooming. read more

Ty has been an amazing resource for my husband and I with our new puppy, Asher. We got Asher from a rescue over a month ago and Ty has helped us care for him from the moment we brought him home. Our first evening together, we brought Asher to Petsmart for some essential puppy supplies and Ty immediately helped us with the appropriate harness, food, puppy pads, and toys. She also signed us up for puppy school and conducted his classes for the last 6 weeks. Ty is very knowledgeable and patient with us and our new addition. Asher has excelled from the moment he started his training and we are excited to continue our training with her and Petsmart. Thank you Ty! read more

Extremely disappointing especially the grooming salon, you give specific instructions on your dog and they think they know better. Then the manager who was a short heavy set blond was rude and lied about the situation. It is definitely about the money, they had 12 dogs with appointments and they were still accepting walk in dogs, what a joke. I won't ever waste going here. I contacted the district manager and I g an even different story like I should feel bad because their employee didn't listen to the client and it ended up negatively. read more

You know I like this place because its quite close to where I live, so I can hit it on my way home from work. However I went in there today on their designated time and hour to do cat adoptions. I was told to come at that specific time if I wanted to adopt the cat I had been looking at the previous day. So I show up this morning ready to go with my application filled out and I'm told that you can't even take home that cat on the same day. I understand the fear of cruelty towards animals but if I'm paying for my adoption tody, you best be thinking I'm taking my cat home. But, no. I would have to pay and then they would have to CREDIT CHECK me, and get back to me. Seriously? I'm pretty sure that my credit score has nothing to do with how affectionate I am to cats. Seriously retarded PetSmart. I won't be supporting their business anytime soon. read more

This Petsmart is horrible do not go here if you don't want to be disappointed. On Wednesday I took my dog grooming and shopped around for dog treats to kill time. The employees had attitude and my dog didn't smell good, he smelled like wet dog. I wouldn't recommend this petsmart for anyone read more

I flagged a reviewer and Yelp did nothing about all the nasty name calling this "person" is guilty of. To the caring folks at PetSmart--you did not deserve this nut job's rant. You are just great and this jerk is a real loser. read more

This review concerns only the San Mateo PetSmart Grooming salon: After reading a few Yelp reviews on this PetSmart Grooming salon, I decided to make an appointment for my 6 month old Maltipoo, Chesca... That is, I made an appointment with a groomer whose name was not Becky (see Bella C.'s review.) Chesca and I got there 15 minutes early and were serviced immediately. I was informed that Chesca's groomer was Carlos, the salon manager. I thought, "Yes, I didn't get Becky. And, Chesca is in good hands with a manager of all people." I WAS WRONG! I picked up Chesca 2 hours later (even though I was charged for 3 hours... something about an additional fee for two small hair knots.) She looked cute. I paid at the counter and we drove home. When I got home, I noticed Chesca licking her inner thigh. Upon inspection, I saw--she was cut. I thought, "How serious is this and why didn't anyone tell me?!" I called PetSmart and asked to speak with the manager. Maria, the store manager, was very helpful and scheduled an appointment with the Banfield Pet Hospital (located in PetSmart.) And, because the appointment was for the following day, Maria advised me to pick up a few first aid materials (at no expense.) In addition to the cut on her inner thigh, Chesca's: nails were not cut properly, the hair near her private areas were cut too short, and she was sad the rest of the day (she didn't even eat). Now that I think about it, when I went to check on Chesca (about an hour into her appointment)--I noticed one of the groomers was really rough with the dog she was grooming. I think her name is Stephanie. I hope Chesca was treated better. :'( Given the poor/painful service we received--I just had to write this review. Hopefully you will not take your pet to San Mateo PetSmart Grooming. **But, if you do watch your groomer like a hawk. More/Recommendation: Prior to this visit Chesca and I went to Groomingdale in San Mateo. Chesca was just 4 months at the time. George (her groomer) is so nice! It's totally worth the extra 15 bucks. read more

This review is about the appointment process and store personnel. My wife and I had planned ahead and made an appointment for full service grooming three weeks prior with Sylvia - who was great with out dog and did a great job the last time we were there. Unfortunately this time around the guy that took out appointment forgot to add us to the appointment book and so when I showed up there was no record of it being made. The grooming staff just looked annoyed with me and didn't believe that we had made an appointment. I got a "manager" involved who asked me to come back to the grooming area and one of the groomers yelled out- I already told him no! When I calmly asked them what could the offer me for this inconvenience the manager told me that I had to come back tomorrow when the salons manager was in. WTF?!? Aren't you a manager? He them says no and that their managers don't work in the weekends. Last I checked EVERY retail store has a manager working EVERYDAY the store is opened. I am now on search of a new place which is a shame as Sylvia was really good and seemed really nice to our pet. read more

In response to Bella's review, I am having trouble seeing how Becky is in the wrong here. I have taken note of your numerous reviews of other institutions and have noticed that you don't seem to understand that there are numbers between 1 and 5. All of your reviews are either hate it or love it. If you're having trouble getting laid don't use your time on the internet writing copious inklings of rude comments to people in the customer service industry and try going out into the world and imparting your gleaming sense of humor and smile upon the world. If you knew anything about dogs it is that MANY of the pups in the United States are no longer pure bred. So if your "Maltese" is actually 8 pounds then one of two things can be the reason for your misinformation. The first, being that your $12 an hour salary did not actually buy you a pure bred dog (which may be why you are complaining about $5 in the first place). OR, you are a shitty pet parent and over feed your dog. In both cases you ARE WRONG. The second thing that I noted about your review is that you claim that the Petsmart employee put a leash on your dog and "DRAGGED" them to the back room. This also may have a simple explanation that could possibly be linked to the fact that your dog is 160% of the expected weight of the breed. If you, the "loving" pet owner that you are, ever actually WALKED your dog, then your dog would know how to be on a leash and wouldn't lay there like a dud. Instead, your fat ass never walks your dog, hence it is fat, and hence it is not leash trained. FIGURE IT OUT. As for my review of the Petsmart, I have been coming here for 3 years now and have NEVER had a problem. Becky has been my groomer for the last year and has ALWAYS given my dog the best treatment. However, maybe this is because i tip 5 or so dollars instead of penny pinching her. My experiences with Becky has always been professional and courteous, which is why I have been coming here for so long. My pup Benny was not only groomed by Becky but also trained by Becky, and I wouldn't go to anyone else. For future knowledge try researching your dogs breed. Try this link, it was the first thing I found on Google. http://www.akc.org/breeds/maltese/index.cfm read more

I find employees here to be particularly unhelpful. Typical large selection of products at a big box kind of store, but not that clean. More importantly, don't expect any help or info from the staff her, who have little knowledge and are not very courteous. Quality of staff and cleanliness of store is much better at the San Carlos location. For a better all-around experience, though, try one of the smaller, local pet stores in SM, Burlingame & SC. What they lack in size and number of products is offset by the cleanliness, people, their knowledge, and the overall experience. read more

I found 4 dead fish floating in the little cups sitting on the shelf. I asked the worker if they even check on the fish or feed them, he slightly laughed and said yes they do. meh, sure you do! I only come here for the grooming salon and that's it. read more

The selection of products is pretty good but don't bother with any of their services. The grooming salon closes at odd hours with no warning; we tried to make a training appointment and the trainer never returned our calls. We finally made an appointment in person when we were there buying products and he never showed up for it. The staff who are on site are very friendly and pleasant, but the store clearly does not have its act together. read more

I am so sad that Pet Smart kicked The Homeless Cat Network volunteers out. Now the cats are kept 24/7 in their glass cages with no toys, no access to the back room where they used to have a cat tree to climb, and no wonderful caring people to play with them and socialize these felines. We "adopted" our 3 cats there 6 years ago and got to know many of the HCN folks. What a difference these people make for the homeless cats they rescue & for our community. I like Pet Smart other than this shameful turn of events...Please bring the Homeless Cat Network back!! -Pat & Tom in Belmont read more

Not all petsmart are the same that's for sure. Kudos to this one in particular and for the grooming salon. I dropped my little pup off for a haircut and about 2 hours later got a call. The manager called to say that the extension from the razor had popped off mid haircut and basically now my dog has a bald spot. No one was hurt or anything except for a bald spot. He apologized profusely and said that service was comped. I appreciate the fact that they called me to tell me about it. When I got there, the groomer continued to apologize which wasn't really his fault. The store itself though is clean and always nicely organized. The employees are usually very friendly as well. read more

This isn't a rating as much as an update. This Petsmart NO LONGER HAS HORSE TACK!

While I try to hit the mom and pop petstores as much as I can, sometimes you just have to go to the more corporate ones. This store is an all-in-one for pets meaning that they have grooming services, dog training and a vet clinic onsite in addition to the store so it truly is a one-stop shop. I've gotten the customized dog tags (made on the spot), dog toys, dog food, shampoo, treats, etc.and its all been good. It's a convenient location on ECR, has plenty of parking and near the mall. The store is pretty clean. read more

This review is for both petsmart and banfield at this location. I called ahead to check with Banfield to see if they have time to give my dog an anal gland release. They said I would have to go in person to check. I arrived, the front desk assistant at Banfield was helping someone else and eventually got to us and told us they didn't have time for us today and laughed at us. Instead of letting us know when we could go back or helping us, she just laughed and mocked at us as if we should've known they were sooooo busy. There were literally just 5 dogs names on the whiteboard chart that day. I walked away with my dog and started heading to the front enterance. Before I could do so, there were dog poop all over the aisle, leaves piled up in the front. Bathroom never serviced in forever. Legit filthy pet store. (Seriously should've took a picture of this) Seriously stay away, I rather drive another 20 miles to another banfield/petsmart than come to this one. I've never been more upset walking out of a perspire until today. read more

Another YAY for horse stuff! Not the best selection, but decent prices and they have the basics.

After reading the previous reviews of the grooming salon at Pet Smart San Mateo - I must admit that I was skeptical. But after meeting with the new manager of the grooming salon and voicing my concerns before my dog was groomed - I am happy to say that she did not let me down but did a fine job (much better than Pretty Paws in Foster City where they consistently are cutting the dogs)......... We were very pleased and will return! read more

The best part about this place is the kitties up for adoption. I forget exactly when but if you are around in the evening they have volunteers taking care of the cats and sometimes they let you in to play with them. The costumer service has always been good and they have always had whatever I've needed. read more

My 75lb Bulldog is very hard to wash and clean. Jonah took very good care of my bulldog. No hassle or wait to make an appointment. Nail and face fold were very neat and clean. He was done in less than 2 hrs. I can see my dog was treated with lots of TLC from how he is behaving. read more

Don't purchase the reptiles from petsmart. I got two bearded dragons from here and have already spent more than $500+ on medical treatment due to tail rot they got from here and parasites too. I love my dragons and have the money to help them get better. If you don't have money to invest on them getting sick be warned. read more

Ariel. the dog trainer here is just excellent! He was formerly at the Petsmart in Mountain View where I met him. He has a wonderfully kind way with the dogs while maintaing his "Alpha" dog style. Our rescue dog Elmer, just loves him. Can hardly wait to go to class! I found the fee to be reasonable and the time spent in class highly enjoyable. We are signed up for the next session. read more

Stephanie and Erica are extraordinary. They are friendly and knowledgeable, They went out tof their way to accomodate the needs of our family- which is so usual for a business this size these days. They will be helping to make this the best Christmas ever for our young daughter. THANK YOU THANK YOU Erica and Stephanie!! Thank you Petsmart!! We will being doing our pet needs shopping there now! read more

I want to give a shout out to Ben. He went beyond the customer service. Really tried to find the life saving prescription cat food. I felt like he really cared. Still have not solved the problem yet but I have faith. Will update to 5 stars when they find it. Thank you. read more