Pet Life

Staff actually greats you when you enter the store. Helps you find what you need. Makes suggestions and its not pushy about it. Thanks to them I have switched my dogs food to Taste of the Wild and he is cleaning his bowl again!

Unfortunately I have now decided to take my business after 3 years of purchasing ALL Raw food, which is the most expensive food they sell, to a competitor down the street. Here’s why. To me customer service comes before anything. Second to that is the cost of an item.
Today I went into the store to buy the normal raw patties for my dog as I have done for 2 years straight now. Just before I did this I went to a dog store down the street, one town over, and ordered the same brand of food for 3 day delivery to the store. This other store «— — — » I went to ordered the bag and happily went out of their way to accommodate me. It is a chain but smaller than Pet Life so they dont carry as much stock hense the reason they had to special order the bag of raw I needed. They gave me the price of 30 dollars plus the 10% discount from the brand/​company promo deal when buying that particular brand of dog food. Keep in mind I have only been to this competitor of Pet Life twice and they are so kind and helpful. Pet Life is NOT. The following is why:
I went to Pet Life an hour after I ordered the raw from the other store to pick up some raw patties that will hold my dog over until the special order comes in. When I went to Pet Life today, my usual is every other week buying food from there, it was a new manager in Stoneham along with a number of new faces. Right off the bat, certainly not as warm and as welcoming as the last store team. Anyways I explained that I just came from a competitor but would like to continue giving Pet Life the business since I’ve been using them for 2 years straight. However, i told the manager at Pet Life that the other store charges a few dollars less for the same food AND offer the 10% discount from Stella And chewy company promo. Therfore I politely asked if they would match that price and the manager said no we do not. Not to sympathetic or politely either. The tone was a bit condescending actually. I said ok but even after all the money I’ve spent in your store and the customer loyalty I have shown can you at least honor the 10% discount that the other store offered me, especially since it is the 10% promo that comes from the brand itself? Again I was shot down with a quick and flat out NO… I went on to ask why a larger chain like Pet Life can charge more money for the same food smaller chains charge. Her response to that was a bit argumentative and she said she doubts the other store pays less but either way she won’t lower the price or assist in any way to come near the price that I just ordered it for at a different store. «Even to keep my long standing business you won’t see what you can do?», I said. Response no I can’t and that is the price you pay here and it won’t change. Nor will we offer the 10% off and you will have to order it from Stella website directly if you want the 10% discount. Ok, at this point I started to become a little annoyed with her attitude so I asked what evee happened to the last Manager and why did they leave. Her answer was that they did too much for the customers and lowered pricing to be more competitive when they are not supposed to… Oh my lord did she really just say this to me out loud. Lol. I proceeded to tell her my opinion of the last Manager and staff and explain how friendly and helpful they would always be whenever me and my little guy would go into the store. She said well they are no longer here because of these reasons you are requesting at this time. I told her she would lose all of my business then and that if she looked me up in the computer she would see I purchase a bag of raw patties almost every 14 days or so for the past 2 years straight. Well that did not make a difference to her and she flat out told me I will have to buy my dog food from somewhere else if I wanted to receive it for a lower price than what they charge.
I saw this as an opportunity to effectively provide advise for this poorly skilled customer service manager but didn’t even waste the time to do it. I myself have been in medical device sales for over 15 years so know very well how important customer service is in today’s competitive arena. I asked if it mattered that they will lose my business entirely or is it irrelevant because they have so many stores losing just one customer isn’t going to have much of an impact. She just simply brushed it off as fast as she could knowing very well I was upset at this point and just wanted a price match or some help to keep business. Still not one sympathetic remark to try and retain my customer loyalty. She let me leave angry and frustrated that a fairly large chain such as Pet Life does not care one bit about losing a long standing customer over 2 dollars! Which she so kindly confirmed when she said I’m sorry but your right, losing one customer won’t effect us too much and I will not try to maintain business by lowering the price for you. who hired this Manager?

They sold me a rabbit that died A WEEK LATER. And REFUSED to give me a refund! Most awful people I’ve ever encountered. Even the manager didn’t help! I had to cremate my bunny, I didn’t even mention my emotional distress of losing her. Not one penny I got back. NEVER SHOP HERE.

Twice I have been disappointed with the Stoneham store! The first was when they not only refused to give a refund for a dog toy that did not stand up to the rigors it was supposed to (when I contacted the manufacturer they said that the store should have refunded me because they in turn would have refunded the store!). The second time they would not accept a coupon claiming that I cannot use it for pet food. There was nothing on the coupon that made that statement! The lackadaisical attitude of the staff did not help either. The only reason I have been going there is because it’s convenient but Petco which is farther away is certainly more professional and inviting. I will just have to travel a bit further, I will definitely spread my opinion to friends and neighbors with pets.

Always very pleased when we go to Pet Life. Our pup likes going there, and she always finds something to take home. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable and always ready to help.
We’ve made Pet Life almost a weekly trip, it’s enjoyable for us and our pup.

A better alternative to the larger chain pet stores. The prices aren’t warehouse, but they end to be cheaper than the other big stores. They are, as another poster has commented, bright, clean, and well organized. They have a good selection of high quality food as well.

Big, clean, nice selection of items. I’ve always been curious about this newcomer to the Redstone Shopping Plaza in Stoneham and now was my chance to check it out.
It’s new — so it’s this big, bright, well-​lit store space inside. Everything is all shiny-​new and all the isles are clean and fully stocked with all the usual pet stuff you need: toys, treats, food, etc. They sell a small selection of animals here: Ferrets, parakeets, rabbits, hampsters, spiders, fish. No dogs or cats — which is fine by me — I don’t recommend buying those from big stores like this anyhow.
There’s a place in back to do a self-​wash for your dog. They offer training classes and photography, etc.
The staff was all young and eager to please. Bought a few things here. Nice place. I definitely recommend it if you’re in the area.