# Pets @ Home



## leannelatty (Aug 14, 2009)

Dont shoot!!! Ive just applied for a job at [email protected]

Not sure how it will pan out or how i will get on witht he staff there as i am pretty opinionated about animals and their welfare etc but hoping it might work out to the advantage of some of the owners and their pets, maybe? I know that most people have a bad impression of the staff at these stores so hoping if i do get the job that people wont be judging me too harshly!


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## paddyjulie (May 9, 2009)

Good Luck


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## Shrap (Nov 22, 2010)

If you've made it clear to them that you know about animals then they probably won't even give you an interview from what I've heard.


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## Qow (Jun 26, 2012)

The staff at my local [email protected] have always been lovely to both my current and previous dog (who was very nervous with non doggy people). The ones I've spoken with have told me about their own dogs and seemed to love dogs.

I'd be tempted to work there myself. Why would people have a problem with it?


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## leannelatty (Aug 14, 2009)

Qow said:


> The staff at my local [email protected] have always been lovely to both my current and previous dog (who was very nervous with non doggy people). The ones I've spoken with have told me about their own dogs and seemed to love dogs.
> 
> I'd be tempted to work there myself. Why would people have a problem with it?


Generally the staff at [email protected] are not very knowledgable about animals at all. Heard some horror stories about advice they have given to customers mainly revolving around nutrition.


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## seraphinious (Jun 18, 2012)

Good luck Leanne!

Finding a pets at home around the corner was almost as bad as discovering zoo plus. Too easy to just pop in. 

Says the girl currently sat on the vets eyeing up the wagglers. They're very purdy like sun flowers made of feathers


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## bugsalot (Jun 29, 2012)

good luck with getting the job . if one came up close to me i would apply . i used to work for petworld for 8 years till the shut it down i loved the job. and miss working with animals .i am fully qualified to run my own pet store having spent many years at collage getting my degrees , i have heard bad storys about pets at home but then again i have heard bad storys about all pet stores and even down to the rspca, i can even tell bad storys about pets at home regarding the hamster i brought my son . she had a luck escape but tankfully she is fit and healthy and i knew what i was doing to ensure the worst did not happen . but thats another story 

but in general i do think you should take the storys with a pich of salt. and some times the customer is as much to blame .


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## Qow (Jun 26, 2012)

leannelatty said:


> Generally the staff at [email protected] are not very knowledgable about animals at all. Heard some horror stories about advice they have given to customers mainly revolving around nutrition.


Oh, to be honest I've never asked any of them for advice. I've mainly gone in as a socialisation opportunity for my dogs and to buy some toys. I feed raw.

Why would we expect them to be experts? I wouldn't expect a Supermarket assistant to give me nutritional advice.

My local independent pet shop certainly aren't any better. I once asked if they sold any alternatives to rawhide as I was worried about the dangers of my dog swallowing rawhide and the owner of the shop acted as if I'd personally offended him. And unlike the pets at home staff they didn't interact with my dog.


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## GoldenShadow (Jun 15, 2009)

If you get an interview let me know, I've had one with them and know how it goes


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## leannelatty (Aug 14, 2009)

GoldenShadow said:


> If you get an interview let me know, I've had one with them and know how it goes


Oooh thatd be great  Was the interview difficult? The online app was quite in depth. I quite liked my answer to this

If you were to describe yourself as a pet what would you be and why? *

I would definately be a dog. Fiercely loyal and protective over those that i care for but friendly and waggy tailed 99% of the time.

Lol thought they might eat that up! But i might be wrong!


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## GoldenShadow (Jun 15, 2009)

leannelatty said:


> Oooh thatd be great  Was the interview difficult? The online app was quite in depth. I quite liked my answer to this
> 
> If you were to describe yourself as a pet what would you be and why? *
> 
> ...


Haha I was similar, I was like:

I would be a dog, but more specifically a golden retriever. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah :laugh:

Its a group interview you get put into pairs and we had to get a fish tank, dec it out how we thought appropriate then explain to the group why things were there. The girl I got paired with was a right dope, I hated it because she was just like omg omg omg I don't know what fish need, I was like you don't need to know you just need to be able to talk about it etc. The other groups did way better than us because they just got on with it and made them look funky. I've heard others have had to put a hamster cage together in a time limit etc, stuff like that.

Its pretty boring and then you get a 5 min chat with a member of staff at the end. I am glad I didn't get the job, I don't think I could have kept my gob shut about a lot of things and I think that kind of reflected in my 5 min chat too


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## Dogless (Feb 26, 2010)

Very best of luck. There is one girl who works in PAH near here who I really like (and Kilo loves her) - she offers sound advice (from the odd snippets I've overheard) and I have also heard her telling other staff to ask owners before you give a biscuit etc etc. Sounds minor but I reckon she's starting a mini revolution in the store.....maybe you can too .


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## leannelatty (Aug 14, 2009)

GoldenShadow said:


> Haha I was similar, I was like:
> 
> I would be a dog, but more specifically a golden retriever. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah :laugh:
> 
> ...


Oh dear well i prob wont get the job either then cos i wont be able to keep my mouth shut and will most certainly not be recommending Bakers to anyone, in fact will try to discourage its use!!!


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## Summersky (Aug 11, 2012)

Good luck Leanne.

You've got to be in there to make that difference, so why not give it a go?


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## hannahbubble (Dec 30, 2011)

Good luck, I applied there earlier this year but didn't get an interview. 

I generally think the staff are good. When I was buying a flexi lead the girl helping me was really helpful andhad dogs herself so told me about the ones she uses.

I popped in yesterday to get a bag of food and the girl at the till had Bailey up on the counter while she was scanning my things, stroking him. It's good in there for socialising them.

She also took his picture for the cutest puppy comp they are having this month, so fingers crossed!


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## WeimyLady (Jan 3, 2010)

My good friends daughter just got rejected for a full time position at Pets and Home. Odd considering she has a First Diploma in Animal Care, a National Diploma in Animal Management, an NVQ 2 in Dog Grooming, three years of volunteer work in a vets and two years of working in another pet shop. It seems they are against anyone with actual experience working for them.


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

WeimyLady said:


> My good friends daughter just got rejected for a full time position at Pets and Home. Odd considering she has a First Diploma in Animal Care, a National Diploma in Animal Management, an NVQ 2 in Dog Grooming, three years of volunteer work in a vets and two years of working in another pet shop. It seems they are against anyone with actual experience working for them.


Someone on here once posted that she had heard that any applications that came through saying that the applicant loves animals gets refused


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## hayleyth (May 9, 2012)

I also find alot of people who work there do not actually know anything about animals! Some of the advise they give to people in the one near me is shocking and they definately should not be working there. 

They definately need some more people who actually know what they are talking about and give the correct advise! So good luck!


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## BlueBeagle (Oct 27, 2011)

I guess it is like anywhere, you get good staff and not so good staff.

The staff I have had dealings with in my local [email protected] have impressed me, they have definitely improved in the 5 years we have been away. We bought 2 gerbils for 2 of my children and the guy who went through the care did really well. I asked a couple of questions (which I know the answers to as I used to keep them myself) and he answered them correctly.

The next time we were looking at a King Snake and the girl we talked to told us she knew nothing about the reptiles and went to find the reptile guys but neither of them were in. She wrote down the times they would be in and suggested we come back then for more info. Tbh we were just concerned about the size of the container it was in.


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## delca1 (Oct 29, 2011)

Good luck, the more people that work in pet shops that know and care about animals the better :thumbup:


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## Tillymint (Nov 2, 2010)

Good luck :thumbup:
The only problem I ever had with PAH is when I try to buy fish.... jeez you have to pass an exam on the size of your tank, how long you've had it, how big is it, how many fish are in it etc... before they will let you get any!
I was trying to buy some guppies once for my Biorb & the bloke told me I could only have 2 because they grow to at least 12 inches long! We had a blazing row, I swore at him & was asked to leave the shop I did... swearing I would take my custom elsewhere & they could stick their fish!
of course I was sneaking back in there the following week as it's right near where I work so I can't stay away


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## missnaomi (Jun 4, 2010)

It's what the people make it - be careful that you don't tar everything with the same brush...

My local rescue that I help as much as possible, has built up a fab relationship with the local PAH - when food was low, the shop really came good and sacks off food arrived, a dog needed some wheels that were too expensive (!!) so they knuckled down and raised loads of cash, they organised a fun day to help find some dogs homes and raise some money Fabulous fun charity day 4 Love Underdogs with Pets At Home Hull! | Facebook and the staff put in loads of effort to make it a success - their a real ally for the rescue, and that's cos of the people that work there - sure, some of them might not be able to advise how many neon tetras go in a 60l tank - although some know their stuff, and they sell a lot of crap cos they have too - but these guys really put a lot of effort into making a difference in my local area, and I'm sure there's no reason why others can't do the same! When I go into a shop, I make sure I know what I'm buying is good for my pets - and if I want advice I research, I don't ask the Saturday girl a complex nutritional question any more than I'd ask someone in Asda to help me with my diet...

I'm not saying they're all good, and I don't really agree with animals being sold in shops - especially large chains that are so hard to monitor, and I know there's a ton of bad practice, and lots of the staff are crap and give bad advice... But I wanted to sing the praises of my local one - they deserve it (but I still wouldn't ask for advice )

Good luck with the job!
Naomi x


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