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June 2024 by Christina Fogel
Owner is rude, abrasive, deceitful and completely out of touch. Be prepared for an immediate rampage over the kind of harness your dog is wearing. I guess this is her tactic to sell these insanely priced custom harnesses that line half the store. The business is surviving solely off the astronomical markup on items. Truly the most disappointing experience I’ve ever had at a small business.
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June 2024 by Mariel Littorno
Yup! My experience was the same. Could barely get through the door without being cornered about the harness. I was trying to shop, not be harassed with unsolicited training advice.
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October 2023 by Cindy Kehl
Great personalized service. Excellent products. Look forward to continuing business with the company.
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October 2023 by Bob J
We were in the Dog Store yesterday and the previous comments regarding the store owner appear accurate. IMO, she was pushy, abrupt, and in the end, completely deceitful. As others have noted, she is very focused on selling you a harness. In our case, we were open to that and ultimately found ourselves ready to spend $130 on a harness and leash, which is quite a bit. We researched the manufacturers online and could see we were being charged about $40 above manufacturer "RETAIL", and certainly the store owner buys at wholesale. So, I'd estimate her gross profit to be perhaps $60-65 on a leash and harness, which is just about 100% markup, give or take. We understand that small businesses have overhead (as the owner constantly reminded us, unsolicited of course), so we were OK going ahead with the purchase, since we like to support local small businesses. You'd think that making $65 profit on a leash would be sufficient, but no, apparently not. When reviewing the receipt, the total didn't match our purchase. Only AFTER the purchase rang up and we questioned her about it, did she disclose that we also had to pay the 3% merchant processing fee!! However, in fact, when we did the math, it was actually 4% on both the items PLUS 4% on the state sales taxes that we were charged. So, strike 1 and 2, first with the unethical non-disclosure of the fee, but then lying about it. She further went on to say she pays the bank 7%. What she didn't know was that I have been a professional in the payments industry for over 35 years, and what she claimed is a huge lie; she pays nowhere near that. So, for what it's worth, just expect that everything you buy in this expensive store is actually 4% more expensive. Not thinking it could get any weirder, she proceeded to take our paid-for items and cut off the price tags. My wife asked for them back and she refused. Then my wife asked to simply take a picture of the tags, and she again refused. I can only guess this was her end-run to make sure we couldn't change our minds and return the purchase. So, if you want a pushy salesperson experience delivered in a highly aggressive, condescending way....and if you want to be ripped off, deceived and lied to, then this here store is your Shangri-la! We, of course, will never go back and we'll make sure we warn our friends who frequent Murphys.
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September 2023 by Roj A.
We were in the Dog Store yesterday and the previous comments regarding the store owner appear accurate. IMO, she was pushy, abrupt, and in the end, completely deceitful. As others have noted, she is very focused on selling you a harness. In our case, we were open to that and ultimately found ourselves ready to spend $130 on a harness and leash, which is quite a bit. We researched the manufacturers online and could see we were being charged about $40 above manufacturer "RETAIL", and certainly the store owner buys at wholesale. So, I'd estimate her gross profit to be perhaps $60-65 on a leash and harness, which is just about 100% markup, give or take. We understand that small businesses have overhead (as the owner constantly reminded us, unsolicited of course), so we were OK going ahead with the purchase, since we like to support local small businesses. You'd think that making $65 profit on a leash would be sufficient, but no, apparently not. When reviewing the receipt, the total didn't match our purchase. Only AFTER the purchase rang up and we questioned her about it, did she disclose that we also had to pay the 3% merchant processing fee!! However, in fact, when we did the math, it was actually 4% on both the items PLUS 4% on the state sales taxes that we were charged. By the way, without signage displaying this fee (which I believe exceeds her cost), the owner is in violation of MasterCard and Visa merchant regulations, and she risks losing the ability to accept these forms of payment. But anyway, strike 1 and 2, first with the unethical non-disclosure of the fee, but then lying about it. She further went on to say she pays the bank 7%. What she didn't know was that I have been a professional in the payments industry for over 35 years, and what she claimed is a huge lie; she pays nowhere near that. So, for what it's worth, just expect that everything you buy in this expensive store is actually 4% more expensive. Not thinking it could get any weirder, she proceeded to take our paid-for items and cut off the price tags. My wife asked for them back and she refused. Then my wife asked to simply take a picture of the tags, and she again refused. I can only guess this was her end-run to make sure we couldn't change our minds and return the purchase. So, if you want a pushy salesperson experience delivered in a highly aggressive, condescending way....and if you want to be ripped off, deceived and lied to, then this here store is your Shangri-la! We, of course, will never go back and we'll make sure we warn our friends who frequent Murphys.
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June 2023 by Tracy M.
My experience happened 5 days ago now when I was visiting Murphys for the first time on my birthday. I'm hoping that writing my experience down and reviewing this store for others to view will give me the ability to move on, because the whole ordeal has really bothered me since. I hate to give this shop a bad review because I know it's a small business and the owner probably means well, but I cannot say that I had a positive experience while I was there. When we first walked in with our pug, we just wanted to browse and look around, but after just 30 seconds of entering the store, the owner, Louise, asked if she could "critique" our dog. Thinking she said "see our dog", I immediately said sure and then immediately after saying that, I realized what she had actually said. She offered to do a fitting for our dog for a harness, which we were not in the market for and her store is incredibly expensive. She measured him and said there was no obligation but she was rather pushy about the whole thing telling me that my harness isn't good for him because it chokes him when he pulls as it rests upon what she kept referring to his "fight or flight" area of the neck. Well, my dog doesn't pull to begin with, so this is a nonissue for us. But she did mention that it could be making him hot, and it was a hot day and we live in Sacramento, so I was open to what she had to show us. The first harness she showed us was $70 or $75. I told her this was out of my price range and so she offered another style saying she made them herself - it was basically rope with a plastic side release buckle and it was $65. I told her I was worried about the rope chaffing him under his arms but she kept saying it was soft and that I should put him in it & walk right outside the store with him in it for a bit to see how he likes it. Not wanting to be rude, I obliged. But when I went to clip our leash on the harness that we already had with us, which is a retractable tape leash, she had another leash in her hands ready to place on my dog and proceeded to tell me that the leash we have "is dangerous for you, me, and him [meaning my dog]." I told her we've been using this leash for years, he loves the freedom and have never had a problem with it and I went ahead and clipped our leash onto the harness. Coming back inside, I told her I appreciated the gesture, but that the harness was again too expensive and so she offered to discount it $5. Finally I gave in and said I'd buy the harness just because I wanted to get out of the store and away from her condescending sales tactics. As I was paying for the harness, she pulls out a bag of food that she said she came up with the recipe for herself and offered to give some to my dog. Again, not wanting to be rude, I took a small amount from her and offered it to my dog, but surprisingly, he was not interested. If you know anything about pugs, you know they eat just about anything, but he was just not interested in this food at all! She asked me what we feed him and I explained that since he has skin allergies, we feed him Royal Canin Rabbit & Potato and she told me that the food we're giving him is bad for him and that she's been doing this for 12 years and has perfected her recipe and so on. Which is great, but his food is actually prescribed (not suggested - prescribed) by his vet as what he should be eating to both maintain a healthy weight and reduce skin allergies. She then gave me a sandwich baggie full of her food along with her card, and finally we were free to leave. The whole experience left a really bad taste in my mouth. We never got to even browse the store or look at anything that might actually interest us or my dog and, instead, I paid $65 (after tax) for some rope with a plastic clip. Awesome. She was pushy, condescending, and made me feel like I know nothing about my own dog whom I love as though he was my child, is 9 years old, and goes to the vet regularly. It was like she was trying to get us to buy everything a
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June 2023 by Heather H
Owner was friendly and knew the designer of some of the products for sale. Cute little boutique style pet store.
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May 2023 by Bri P.
I hate to sound dramatic but the neurotic condescending harness pushing zealot who owns this shop is a menace to society. I felt eyes on me as I walked in, I have a bully breed dog, so I'm used to a wary eye following us around, no big deal. But we get about half way through doing a lap when this woman, skin crawling, could no longer restrain herself from engaging. Again, cool, it's a small town shop, of course she wants to interact! After questioning me on my dogs sweater, what brand it is, where I got it, how much I spent on it, she proceeds to lecture me on my current dog walking (collar/leash) arrangement and (if you've been reading the reviews: you guessed it!) immediately starts telling me about her rack full of "custom" harnesses that will change my life. She proceeds to frantically urge me that my current set up is cruel, doesn't work (it does) and will certainly result in a crushed trachea (he's had the same collar for five years). Listen, I don't feel the need to really explain myself to folks but she doesn't know me and out of respect to this woman (who has so far not extended the same curtesy) I try to ease her suffering by informing her that my dog has a back injury and his doctor (whom I work for at a veterinary hospital) recommended against harnesses as they put strain on his back. None of these explanations or credentials of quality dog ownership would suffice. She insisted I put one of these harnesses on him right there and watch my troubles melt away (namely the one of my animal cruelty and neglect). At this point in the exchange I began to feel extremely aggravated and needed to remove myself from the situation by slowing inching my way out the door with nods and "uh huh's" as she repeated herself and her reasoning again and again. Rather than simply taking this social cue, this person DOUBLED DOWN, and began yelling, not enunciating, not raising her voice, yelling even after we were well out of the store. It was by far the most extreme and confusing interaction I've ever had with a shopkeeper. I guess the moral really is if you would like a good story to tell at parties or just need some entertainment in between wine tastings, stop on by, bring your furry collared friends. I can't recommend this side show attraction enough!
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December 2022 by Zero Cool
Really cool store. We spoil our dog here.
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June 2022 by kris thomas
I am not typically someone who reviews a business but in this case I feel that the owner was unjustifiably rude. I would not recommend doing business with this establishment.
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June 2022 by Marie B.
I would give this store zero stars if I could. The woman who identified herself as the owner knows nothing about dogs! I have trained and handled dogs for over thirty years and am proud that I was trained by one of the top dog trainers in the U.S. I walked into the store with a bulldog puppy. I am immediately asked if he was aggressive. This pup is so sweet and well bred, he won't bite a flea. The store owner assumed he was aggressive as he had on a training collar. There was no pressure on the dogs neck, the lead was loose, and the collar is used to gently jiggle to send the pup signals; in this case when he needs to move. I was told it would crush his trachea! In thirty years I have never crushed a dog's trachea. I was then asked if he was vaccinated and it took all my self control to not snidely say I was trying to expose him to parvo! This pup cost more than I expect she makes in a month; of course he is vaccinated! She tried to sell a harness. Harnesses are used on dogs that need to pull, e.g sled dogs. She didn't even know the dog's breed. She just wanted to sell harnesses or her hats. This woman was rude, intrusive, arrogant, and ignorant.
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January 2022 by Carolyn Staat
I wish the door plastic cover be taken down for those who can’t move it. As well as for everyone touching it and leaving germs. And the women there is really pushy.
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December 2021 by The C.
I had a horrible experience with the owner of this shop. I have 2 frenchies & an English bulldog & was ready to spend money but the owner stopped us with the most disrespectful way literally yelling at us as we walked in the door. We had masks & didn't have them on when we arrived but instead of her asking nicely she was very rude telling us we can't be in there & asked us to leave in the most rude voice EVER saying GET OUT OF MY STORE. We had our mother with us & she was absolutely rude to her when she said she had a medical exemption (sweetest little old lady) & YELLED at my mom & it was UNEXCEPTIONABLE the way she disrespected my husband & myself but then to yell at my mother... I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS PLACE!!!!
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December 2021 by Mary M.
My husband and I along with our dogs Bette and Foxy have been coming to this store for years. We did a large shopping before moving to Arizona 4 years ago. We came for a visit this week and wanted to get the girls fitted in new harnesses. We called and Louise rushed down to the store and opened her doors. She spent an hour fitting our girls, giving treats and visiting with us. This is what brick and Mortar small business is all about. My dogs love Louise!!! Thank You
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November 2021 by Hear Hear
My wife and I walked in and the owner (wearing a face shield) made us super uncomfortable, asking if we had proof of vaccine. She practically got in our face and began yelling at us calling us "liars" for not having our paperwork when we said we were vaccinated. No not support this business. Shop elsewhere.
