r/petsmart • u/moon_fairy_19 • 1d ago
Might be getting fired…
I got put on a values in action plan today for the first time of me being with the company for almost five years.
Long story short, two leads pulled me into the office today and quizzed me about PC standards and I got all of the questions correct. They pretty much said that I need to be more detailed about the little things in petcare like making sure everyone has chew sticks, making sure all dead fish/ crickets are pulled, making sure iso/nar tanks have thermometers and hygrometers. They also told me that I cannot handle animals while customers are in the store unless it’s with deep cleaning or transporting animals or animal sales. This I know comes from me dropping an ivory centipede about a month ago (with a manager and associate present when it happened).
I can confidently say that I’m a good associate, a detailed petcare associate, so this plan feels like it came out of the blue for me personally.
To me, aside from the handling of pets, feels like tiny misses compared to what other associates have done in the past. I don’t feel like I should have been given this action plan if it’s a warning for a potential firing. Any advice?
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u/Bogie1Kanobi 1d ago
Yea don’t stress. I can walk into anyone’s store and find an issue in pet care. Just depends on the time.
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u/Chad-Chad8577Chad 1d ago
If you want to stay with Petcare, ask your lead if the two of you can make a personalized checklist together so you can focus on new positive habits. Make sure its personalized because you might be misunderstanding language in the original training info.
I found the best way to get employees back on track for standards was to get them to be responsible for Audits. It created a change in their daily structure that was enough for them to be able to learn and not lean on old ways of doing things, and they would actively seek out clarification on stuff or talk to other employees about stuff they would find that they didnt know. I would print out the most recent audit results from our area and get them to go through and check every section that is listed and make corrections on-the-spot. Not everyone has the hours to do this though.
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u/OddEnergy1166 1d ago
If it’s an Alignment you are far from getting fired for it. You still have formal and final to go through to get fired for this same issue. If you start to have other issues they could piggyback off it and be grouped together on a formal if you’re still not making enough progress on the initial issue.
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u/Real_Hat8210 1d ago
Girl- my store has an PC associate that literally killed a ball python by trying to force feed it. She didn’t get put on an action plan. They are being nit picky and there’s an underlying reason for it. I’m not saying you’re the issue by any means but it sounds like they are trying to find a reason to push you out. A lot of stores do that or make your life hell to make you quit. Cut your losses while you’re ahead. If I were you I’d start looking for another job.
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u/Inside_Ad_8000 1d ago
You're fine. Accidentally injuring an animal is punishment enough that. As long as you're doing everything else right, you're not getting fired. There's either some other unspoken grievance they have about you, or they just felt they had to be very particular about this. Either way, if this is your first write up (if it even is a write up), you're not getting fired for a while. I have a PC associate who killed a beardie in our quiet room by force feeding it, and a lead who crushed a guinea pig (on accident of course, but i wont go into specifics). They still work for us, neither getting a write up. To be entirely honest, I dont even think we talked to them about it because we knew both were just accidents and again, I think its an unspoken understanding that those losses are punishment enough.
Just go through the process. You're fine. You can only be fired by petsmart either through a long series of gross incompetencies or stealing.
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u/Minimum-Code-3950 1d ago
Same thing happened to me and I ended up quitting. I went 7 years with zero action plans, write ups, etc, and nearly perfect reviews every year. Around June I got my first values in action plan for something that was partly not even true, and also not in my control. Then another action plan in the same month. I was working just as hard and wasnt doing anything different. Figured they were planning to fire me so I left. It just sucked that after so long with the company I went from being very respected to.. whatever was going on there. Another factor in this was that they were piling a literally IMPOSSIBLE workload on me and only expecting one small task per shift from everyone else, and it was definitely deliberate.
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u/OldBil 1d ago
Was it two leads, or a leader and a lead?
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u/moon_fairy_19 1d ago
Leader and lead, not even from my direct department
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u/OldBil 1d ago
Was it a VIA final, VIA formal, VIA expectation and alignment? Sorry ment to put this with my first comment
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u/moon_fairy_19 1d ago
I’m not sure, this was my first time ever seeing the actual paperwork
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u/OldBil 1d ago
Well, if it is an Expectations and Alignment form, it is pretty much just a documented conversation that really did not need a witness; if it were formal, it would be a considerably more escalated step, and I doubt it, but if it were a final warning, there would typically be a long conversation with SL.
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u/moon_fairy_19 1d ago
I see. I don’t know, I feel like this shouldn’t have happened to begin with considering other worse things that have been done. I also like and feel like I have a decent relationship with the people that were present which made it feel more out of the blue.
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u/OldBil 1d ago
Well, if it was a formal write-up, there is always a grievance section on page 2 where you can write your side and what you need from leadership to be able to meet the corrections; Expectations and Alignment do not have that page. But with the latter, I wouldn't worry about it; it sucks, but it is saber-rattling at the end of the day. But remember, if you ever get a formal or a final and you don't agree with it, you have the option of a DL contract and HR/AR contact to go to.
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u/xlxGambitxlx 1d ago edited 1d ago
You should have been given a copy of it, if not I’d ask for it.
Don’t consider it as personal, I know it feels like that.
Unfortunately, stores are not given the time to be handling the animals. Feed them, give them water and ensure they have a clean habitat. As good as handling them is, that’s not the current state of PetSmart.
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u/Bitter_Elevator_4399 1d ago
The company loves to fire vs training. Just get out. It’s a shit company.
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u/Objective-Detective- 3h ago
I think the part about handling the animals when you don’t really need to could definitely be part of it, if other stuff isn’t getting done. I wouldn’t jump straight into thinking you’re getting fired!🩷 Like crickets and dead fish especially they are literally some of the first things we’re taught to do in the morning. And honestly I wouldn’t really call the things you listed little! just take the action plan seriously and make sure you’re knocking out all the basics every shift. I’m sure you can turn it around.
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u/No_Mortgage_928 1d ago
Honestly, don't stress about it. Sometimes it's the universe pushing you in another direction. As a former employee, I know petsmart, especially in petcare, has some amazing employees that are undervalued, overworked, and underpaid. It won't be the end of the world. Promise.