ComplaintsforBark Avenue Grooming Company

• Initial Complaint

  04/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On April 4, we brought our certified service animal, a golden doodle / poodle mix to the Establishment for his routine hair trim and bath. We have routinely paid $85 for this same service in the past. We were unexpectedly charged $125 without reason. Second, we provided pictures and written instructions for the style of haircut we wanted and without calling or asking if a different cut would be okay, they gave him a half-finished, choppy and ugly haircut. Gouged hair. They claimed he was heavily matted so they had to cut more hair but that’s not true. He had minor mats on his flanks but nowhere else. Even so, the chop job that was done on this dog has no excuse. They should have called and said (1) we need to do more work for extra money and (2) we can’t complete the job we were hired to do because of the following reasons…None of that was discussed. Lastly, the haircut they completed was grossly below any professional standards. They should have (3) completed a professional cut to industry standards, because it was what they were paid to do. Moreover, they failed to clip his nails and clean his ears, which is also standard practice based on industry standards and past performance. They took fur chunks out of his face and muzzle, crooked feet cuts, left patches of dirty fur under/in his ears, failed to brush out his tail, clipped his back side so short that the dog has been in constant discomfort since the grooming. I am not certain they didn’t abuse him in some way as he’s been more withdrawn since the incident. I made multiple attempts to contact the company via facebook and their main number, but despite my requests they refuse to respond to me in any way. I have made several calls but the mailbox is always full. I asked them to complete the job they started but after zero response I have asked for a refund so i can take the animal elsewhere. I am expecting a refund and some measure of communication from the facility to help resolve this.

  Business response

  04/19/2024

  ****** last visit was on Jan 31st at 8:30am. It is recommended to keep in a routine every 4-6 weeks. From Jan 31st to April 4th, it was  9 weeks before they had brought him in. Unfortunately, he was matted. We have a waiver for them to sign that states they are okay with us moving forward doing the hair cut to make the animal feel more comfortable. (attached is the waiver) There was no written instructions provided. All that was stated, "don't touch the face and don't touch the mohawk. The ears were cleaned and dematted. When you dematt a dog, fur tends to come out in chunks. We do what we can do when we get a matted dog in our possession. On a poodle breed, the nails have longer quicks, therefore we cannot cut more of the nails or they will bleed and hurt the dog. Poor Rudy was being worked on for hours trying to save his fur. We do not like to push dogs to their limits. When he got tired of being on the table, we call it quits because it will stress an animal out. According to the attachment, it goes over how a dog will act after being dematted. It is extremely uncomfortable and we always recommend a shavedown instead but they insisted on dematting. There will be no refund due to the situation. Lastly, Stated in the paperwork under satisfaction, you have 24hrs to let us know about the groom for us to fix. We were informed on April 8th through Facebook messenger.  

• Initial Complaint

  01/04/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I dropped my 2 dogs off for their noon appointment at 11:45am on 01/02/24. I was assured they would be groomed and ready to go by 3:00pm. I planned my whole day around this, but when I arrived at 2:50, they weren’t ready. I was then asked to return at 5:30pm. Things happen, so I understood. I show up at 5:35pm and there’s no one in sight. The doorbell rang when I came in, I called them, etc… Around 6:20pm, someone finally came out of the back and informs me that they hadn’t even started on one of my dogs and that the other was only half done. It’s not just about the poor grooming and the unnecessary stress that this put my dogs through, but it’s about respect for a customer’s time. I expected far better service and professionalism than I received. When I posted a review on Google stating exactly what happened, the owner lied and said that I did not have an appointment and that I was a work in. I was not. My appointment was at 12:00. Regardless of that, I was told my dogs would be ready at 3:00 and they were not, then again at 5:30 and they were not. Had I waited until 7:00, I’m still not sure if they would have been groomed. The owner has since had the business block me on all social media.

  Business response

  01/11/2024

  Attached are the times that *** ******* called the shop to set an appointment on Jan. 2nd 2024. We had told him that he would be a work in on the 2nd or we can schedule him for a different day. As a work in, we cannot guarantee a time for pickup. He came in around 3pm to pickup his pups with no one sending a message to him that they were ready for pickup. We told him it will be longer because there were appointments that were scheduled out for months before him. We did not guarantee a time. He was no where in site when he stated that he came back in at 5:35pm. We do have an employee working the front desk until ALL DOGS are checked out. Also, Attached is the date of service. He Was very upset so we did not charge him for the service. Basically the bath was free, we started the cut but did not let us finish. He proceed to post pictures of them online of unfinished work. He refused to let us finish his dogs. Those pictures are not a reflection of our work. Yes, he is blocked from social media due to slander of the business.

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