1) The company: Greedy. Very expensive and the service isn't worth it. We take dogs who have no fecal tests, missing vaccines, all for more money. Some dogs have stayed here who have parasites and worms. These dogs can sometimes be only a kennel away from other healthy dogs. There is no actual quarantine in place. Us team members- the ones handling these dogs and risking catching something- are not told how to properly handle these dogs besides to just wash our hands. With something as serious as this, some sort of training on precautions and safety should have taken place. There needs to be actual isolation, and tell us how to handle these dogs safely and properly.
2) Safety: They put dogs into the playgroups who are known to start fights with other dogs, known to bite people and other dogs, have a generally bad and aggressive history, etc. We do not turn them away because that means less money, so they risk the dogs and staff members safety. If a team member says a dog shouldnt be in the playgroup, we are pretty much ignored until something extreme happens involving that dog (bad dog fight/wounds/bleeding/person badly bit). No concern for safety at all, all for the sake of more money. The employees have the dogs and peoples safety in mind. We are the ones who are actually working with these dogs every single day and know their behavior. If we say a dog should not be in the group, listen.
3) Management: Two supervisors are dating, the company knows but ignores it. If you ever have an issue with one supervisor, you are really having an issue with two. One of these supervisors has passive aggressive tendencies and will give you the silent treatment if you ever have any kind of issue. This supervisor is also the one who makes everyones schedules. You can see where this is going. You shouldnt be a supervisor if you cant handle your emotions in a healthy/professional way. You shouldnt be dating your fellow supervisor period, but especially if you can't separate your work from your personal life. How this relationships been allowed to go on for so long is baffling.
4) Pay/Hours: Minimum wage isnt enough for all the risk. You will be bit, scratched, get headaches from barking, have tons of bruises, your feet will ache. You have to work for a year to get only a 50 cent raise. When the minimum wage goes up, they don't match it. If you were making $11/hour when the min was $10/hr but then went up to $11, you will still be making $11 unless you mention it to your boss. Then you'll most likely only get a 50 cent raise. Suddenly your work is only worth 50 cents more than minimum wage, even though it was just worth a dollar more. Brand new workers will be making the same as you, even though you have more experience. As for hours, even if you've worked here for years, your hours can and will be cut still. Meanwhile, someone new may be getting more hours than you. Nothing is stable at all. Because hours are often cut, there isnt enough help when its busy and 1 person will often end up doing the work of 2. Theres no reason to work hard, when your hard work goes unnoticed and people doing way less than you are making the same wage.
5) Employees: Because the company doesnt care about pay, safety, or want to give decent hours (you can't pay your bills on 4 hours shifts) the turn over rate is high and morale is low. Most employees are nice and have fun together, but not getting decent hours or pay takes a toll on us and has made it an unhappy work environment. It is also impossible to be fired from this job if you do a bad job. There are employees still working here who have kicked dogs, pushed them, slapped them, thrown bowls at them. There are people working here who come to work drunk & hungover.
6) Other: The building is old. There are things broken that have been broken for months. Broken doors, door handles, leaky pipes, heating and cooling, etc. There is also no communication throughout the team for anything. We get yelled at for things we had no clue about, because no ones ever told us.