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January 19, 2010 12:55 PM

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It depends. First, are employees expressly prohibited from bringing their dogs to work, or is it encouraged? I shop at Petsmart and the trainers always seem to have one of their pets with them at all times.

Second, exactly what services did he use? I could see this being a problem if his dog used something that, had he not \"used it,\" could have been sold for profit.

This just smacks of a boss trying to get rid of an employee.

5 replies

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gStein_*|bringing starpipe back|*

January 19, 2010 4:56 PM

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i agree, more info is needed. were any consumable products used? did he ask permission first?

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twonewfs

January 19, 2010 3:54 PM

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I worked (very briefly) at a PetSmart, and the dog \"trainer\" often brought her (poorly trained) dog and put him in the boarding kennel. So yes, I'd say his boss was being a jerk.

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pecan 3.14159265

January 19, 2010 1:06 PM

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It does, and he said as much. He and the boss had been having some disagreements over the store and it's management. So yeah, I think it was the boss trying to can an employee he disliked.

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Nogard13

January 19, 2010 1:05 PM

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The service would probably be the overnight boarding, which PetSmart charges for (the amount varies by store). I've left my dog overnight at PetSmart and paid something like $30 or so. They feed the dog, play with it a bit, then put him in a kennel by himself until the next day. If this guy didn't put his dog in a kennel and instead left him in the play area (they also have a separate play area where all the dogs interact during the day), then he didn't steal any services at all.

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January 19, 2010 1:47 PM

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They expressly state that he was also the only one working, so no one else had to feed or play with his dog. That being so, it would be a reasonable conclusion that PetSmart never provided any 'service' to him or his dog. So the only way I could see this being \"theft\" is if he used any product reserved for paying customers on or for his dog.

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stonny9

January 19, 2010 12:55 PM

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no it was not theft of services. They didnt list any of his work skills of a cause for firing him. I'm betting a manager had it out for him. Does Petsmart offer overnight boarding with employee interaction? If not then what services did he \"steal\"?

2 replies

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pecan 3.14159265

January 19, 2010 12:59 PM

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PetHotel at PetSmarts does offer overnight boarding, but I'm not sure of the procedure that any employees have for taking care of the animals. I hope there's someone staying there overnight at least.

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jaya9581

January 19, 2010 2:26 PM

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Someone is there all night, every night. They are supposed to be, at least.

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Oranges w/ Cheese hates what Christmas has become

January 19, 2010 12:55 PM

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Theft? Maybe MAYBE if he fed his dog using supplies in the daycare, but even then the right thing to do would be to ask him for compensation for that food - easy enough - $3 or so considering bulk prices.

Did they even ask him to pay or did they just can him??

1 replies

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January 19, 2010 1:01 PM

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Yeah, but thats tangible goods, not theft of services.

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t-spoon

January 19, 2010 12:56 PM

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So he went from a PetSmart to walking dogs over land mines?

5 replies

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xanxer

January 19, 2010 2:55 PM

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That's better than retail.

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witeowl

January 19, 2010 2:31 PM

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Yeah, because that's what those dogs do. (Insert snarky sarcasm symbol that I refuse to pay for.)

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pecan 3.14159265

January 19, 2010 1:04 PM

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Hazards doesn't necessarily mean landmines. Hazards could be things like potential sinkholes or gas leaks.

And if he's a dog handler, it doesn't mean he's a trainer. He could be the guy walking the dogs, feeding them, making sure they get to their training on time.

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January 19, 2010 2:31 PM

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Actually, in NJ, we lost a PetCo to a gas explosion. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D03E7DB113DF936A35750C0A9639C8B63 So it''s a shame the dog wasn't there, instead of the idiot utility finding company which believes in dowsing for gas,electric, and water lines. No, I'm not kidding. UtiliQuest allows their employees to dowse for lines to mark them off.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly

January 19, 2010 6:43 PM

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i'm never coming to visit any of my NJ friends after hearing that

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January 20, 2010 10:15 AM

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Utiliquest is nationwide and based in GA. Yes, one of your southern states.

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January 19, 2010 1:01 PM

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nice

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January 19, 2010 12:56 PM

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i'd say not unless he spent more than a reasonable amount of company time occupied with his dog. even then, if i were his boss and his assigned tasks got done i wouldn't say anything to him let alone fire him.

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SybilDisobedience

January 19, 2010 12:58 PM

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In my opinion, no, as long as it didn't detract from his job duties in any meaningful way. But did he ask his supervisor for permission to do this first? Not supporting PetSmart's original stance on this - I am on the fired employee's side - but I wonder if he got any sort of informal approval to do this first. (I did not read the original article, just Consumerist's recap.)

3 replies

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January 19, 2010 2:35 PM

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I agree, this could have all been avoided by this simple conversation:

Favetta: \"Hey, I'm good to go for the overnight shift, but could I bring my dog in and stick him in an empty boarding crate?\"

Store Manager: \"Sure\"

Problem solved.

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Rectilinear Propagation

January 19, 2010 1:12 PM

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The original article doesn't say he did so I'm guessing it didn't occur to him that they'd have a problem with it.

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January 31, 2010 9:27 PM

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Especially not if other employees often have their own pets with them. But I agree the employee might have avoided this by clearing it with the boss first.

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January 19, 2010 12:58 PM

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Theft of service? What service? He was the only guy in there. Maybe misuse of facilities, but that would be stretching it. Dumb decision by a district manager that was reversed by corporate, but not in time to prevent bad PR. Ah, the short-sightedness of the middle manager.

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January 19, 2010 12:58 PM

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Absolutely not a thief in my book. I am single and sometimes am forced to work long hours on top of an hour commute each way and always feel guilty for leaving my dogs alone for that long. The guy is a hero not a thief! At least in my book.

1 replies

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Oranges w/ Cheese hates what Christmas has become

January 19, 2010 1:20 PM

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This is why I don't have dogs.

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January 19, 2010 1:00 PM

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If he would have let the dog run free around the aisles of the store would they have still fired him? What if he left the dog in his car in the parking lot?

Employers need to look carefully at what they are doing, firing employees who clearly go above the call of duty for their crap minimum wage pay is antithetical to what it takes to run a successful business.

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From the cubicle of PGibbons

January 19, 2010 1:00 PM

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PetDumb.

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January 19, 2010 1:01 PM

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Unless his dog was buying a zhu zhu before the doors opened the following day, PetSmart is out of line here.

I've always thought PetsMart was playing at the \"we really love pets!\" angle, but this is kind of beyond the pale. An employee comes in to work an extended shift to help out the manager and company, but he brings his own dog in overnight so the animal wouldn't be uncared for for most of a 24 hour period.

There was no other employee in the store, so I assume that there were no other animals currently staying in the Petsmart hotel.

IF by bringing in his dog, a paying customer was unable to book their animal for a stay, I would agree. But the store was empty. If under these conditions PetSmart would fire an employee, they just bought themselves some ironically bad publicity for a pet-care chain.

I wonder if Martha would back out because of it. Would serve them right.

4 replies

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OletheaEurystheus

January 19, 2010 4:02 PM

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interesting aside, my mother actually bought a zhu zhu for Christmas for our cats (my parents, mine and my sisters) to play with during the week we were all together. I swear to god I am not making that up, it was wrapped up and all.

God my mother is so going down the crazy cat lady route.

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chiieddy

January 19, 2010 1:50 PM

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I doubt Martha would backout. She's not exactly the bastion of ethics and morality, is she?

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Copper

January 19, 2010 4:48 PM

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She could also treat morals as a buffet table, which I find likely.

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January 19, 2010 3:17 PM

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Ethics and morality were not the reason I was thinking she would use. Although I understand she's big into her own pets. I was thinking the bad publicity over the issue would do it. She's had enough of her own to want to take on PetsSmart's baggage too.

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January 19, 2010 1:03 PM

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If I bring my infant daughter to work, place her play pen in my office, in which I am spending all day as well, is that theft of services? I don't think so. My employer doesn't have a problem doing that when I have issues with the babysitter showing up. (single dad)

3 replies

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kujospam

January 20, 2010 11:16 PM

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You have a really nice boss. Then again I have been pretty lucky with my life so far with good bosses. For the most part as long as I always get my job done and get it done perfectly my boss lets me do anything, but of course I'm warned that if I fail at it I will be punished for it. That helps balance everything out. Then again I wish I could bring my baby girl to work. /sigh I miss her. 13 hour work drag day.

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Verucalise (Est.February2008)

January 19, 2010 1:21 PM

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Good for you and your boss. Most people aren't as lucky.

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tbax929

January 19, 2010 3:15 PM

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Right. My (now former) employer would have fired you for that. Of course, they fire people for any reason whatsoever.

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January 19, 2010 1:09 PM

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Maybe it was the time he took every fifteen minutes to check on his dog that was in question.

6 replies

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January 19, 2010 11:10 PM

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Yeah, that stood out for me, too. Every fifteen minutes seems like a lot.

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brianguyy

January 19, 2010 4:27 PM

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as opposed to the workers at any retail establishment or office taking \"smoke breaks\" every 15 minutes...

besides, this was a special circumstance where he came in to work on a rare overnight shift for a manager as a favor. not just the regular slacking that people do, drinking coffee or smoking constantly on the job.

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Kiz

January 19, 2010 5:01 PM

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People who \"regularly slack\" or take coffee/smoke breaks every 15 minute would not last long around here. Don't know about where you work but that's not usual behaviour if you want to last or get ahead.

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Rectilinear Propagation

January 19, 2010 1:33 PM

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Then they should have fired him for farting around on company time. Heck, that one might have stuck since he admits to regularly checking on his dog.

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Keep talking...I'm listening

January 19, 2010 2:52 PM

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I had Taco Bell for lunch, and am actively farting away on company time.

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Kiz

January 19, 2010 2:05 PM

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That bit got me, too. Everything else I'm with him on but wandering away to play with his dog, or even \"check\" it, ever fifteen minutes doesn't seem to leave much time for getting any work done. I know I'd be canned if I wandered off from my work to check my hair or make a tea or whatever.l

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Kitamura

January 19, 2010 4:14 PM

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I dunno, it rather depends on what exactly the job he was supposed to be doing was combined with the location of the dog. There's a lot of tasks in retail that can happen where you'd be able to check up on something every 15 mins and not have it detract from your duties.

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Kiz

January 19, 2010 2:17 PM

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I was going to finish... don't think it was worth firing him for as a one off. Certainly if I lived in this area it would make me think twice about shopping there, if they treat their employees that way.

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January 19, 2010 1:12 PM

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Depends if he did it on the sly or had notified his boss when accepting the overtime request.

2 replies

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BytheSea

January 20, 2010 12:52 AM

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Doing it when no one else was working, and apparently not asking first, sounds like he was trying to get away with something.

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January 19, 2010 3:58 PM

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That was my thought also. Not that I agree with what happened. A simple 'hey, can I *? (in writing to CYA)'

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redrolla

January 19, 2010 1:13 PM

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The feel from the article is that the manager wanted him gone and was just using this as an excuse. Ridiculous excuses like this for firing people are usually because someone higher up doesn't like the person, for good or bad reasons.

FYI, PetSmart's corporate offices in San Diego allow and even encourage employees to bring their pets to work. At least as of a few years ago when someone I knew worked there.

2 replies

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January 19, 2010 2:32 PM

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Correction: PetSmart's corporate office is in Phoenix. Petco's corporate office is in San Diego.

I did contract work for PetSmart's corporate office and can confirm that employees at PetSmart's corporate office are allowed to bring their pets to work on Fridays. However, I am unsure whether the policy extends to stores or distribution centers. My guess is no.

It is a shame what happened to the individual in this article, but it is NOT reflective of the company as a whole. Overall, PetSmart is a wonderful place to work and the corporate office truly tries to create an environment that is welcoming to employees and pets. I absolutely loved bringing my dogs to work and meeting everyone else's pets in the elevators and hallways. What a great perk!

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January 20, 2010 4:15 AM

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Individual managers, both district and store-level, set the tone for a store much more effectively than Head Office does, as much as they may try. I once worked for a company that was run by Mom and Pop Huggington, and they were prudent, conscientious businesspeople and honourable employers, but their choice in middle managers made my workplace hell on earth, because that is who I had to deal with every day.

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January 19, 2010 1:14 PM

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no because if he was stealing services, someone else would have been watching the dog.

2 replies

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Cant_stop_the_rock

January 19, 2010 1:36 PM

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Makes no difference if it was him or someone else watching the dog. He was being paid to be there, so he was providing the service to himself as an employee of PetSmart, and he used PetSmart facilities to do it.

Perhaps the reason people don't understand this is because watching the dog is a pretty passive job. If he had brought his dog in to groom him while he was on the clock, would you think that's ok? If a plumber (who is employed by someone else) went to his own house and did some plumbing work with company tools while on the clock, is that ok?

Now, I don't think the guy should have been fired; I think he was wrong to assume, he should have asked for permission, but this is not something that someone deserves to be fired over unless there are other reasons and this was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

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January 19, 2010 2:11 PM

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Toos ok, using company piping and fittings, no.

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Cant_stop_the_rock

January 19, 2010 2:37 PM

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You think it's ok to do that while on the clock?

If you want to use company equipment for something other than company business you SHOULD get permission unless you KNOW that it is accepted behavior. You wouldn't borrow things from your neighbor without asking, would you?

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January 19, 2010 2:12 PM

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i ment tools

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Loias calls you out if you can't RTFA

January 19, 2010 1:15 PM

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Although it would have been better if he had asked first to let his dog come in during the shift, this is not theft nor fireable. Any other business this would be bizarre, but all he did was place his dog in a holding location already built for that purpose while he worked. No company materials were consumed, damaged, or lost value in any way.

Plus he was doing them a favor. Nice way to treat someone.

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January 19, 2010 1:23 PM

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It's not theft. It's beurocracy,stupidity, and docuhe baggary at it's finest. That guy did nothing wrong.

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dolemite

January 19, 2010 1:27 PM

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Wow, bad for them in my book. I just took my dog in for a bath/nail trimming and had to wait around for almost 4 hours despite the fact they said it would probably only be an hour, so I was quite pissed. Then I read a story like this, and they just went down another notch on my list. I'll be taking my dog to the vet or a local groomer for nails next time.

The guy tries to do them a favor and get's canned for \"stealing\" something that can't really be stolen. \"Mark, it's come to our attention you breathed some air while working. You think that is your air?\"

4 replies

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HogwartsProfessor

January 19, 2010 5:21 PM

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Don't give my boss any ideas!

(about the air, that is)

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January 19, 2010 1:39 PM

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We discovered that our vet's grooming and clipping services were WAY cheaper than PetSmart's. Almost a quarter of the price, in fact.

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Bohemian

January 19, 2010 4:43 PM

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The vets office groomed our dog and it was about half of what Petco or Petsmart would have charged.

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dolemite

January 19, 2010 2:50 PM

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Petsmart is $15 for bath/nails (we have small dogs), and the vet is $12 for just the nails. But the vet is usually done in 10 minutes, and it takes me all of 10 minutes to bathe a chihuahua!

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Bargaineering.com

January 19, 2010 1:34 PM

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In a world where people are reasonable? No. In a world where we have lawyers? Yes, technically his dog could've gotten sick or hurt or whatever and he could've sued the store... but that's only when lawyers get involved.

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MrEvil

January 19, 2010 1:36 PM

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I agree with other commenters. No way this constitutes theft of services. You have an employee doing a 24 hour straight shift who has a dog at home that needs care at least once in a 24 hour period. He didn't harm any company property or take any merchandise in doing so. No theft, just a manager with an axe to grind.

1 replies

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vesper

January 20, 2010 8:47 AM

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It's not theft? Sorry, I disagree with most of you. Did this person pay for this animal to be present? It is a PET STORE. They're in business to sell services and products for animals. This employee took advantage of this service by allowing an animal to be present without authorization and payment. It's theft. It's not the stores fault that this person didn't have a pet sitter. I can almost say for certain had this person been working in a manufacturing plant, he would not have brought to animal with him, would he? or a bar? A restaurant? Of course not. He thought \"Hey, I work at a pet store, how convienent for moi?\" Well, that doesn't fly. He took advantage of his business and they fired him. What if this person worked at a hotel and allowed a friend a room just because he needed a place to sleep. Can he just use a room because it was empty? Of course not. This is no different just because an animal is involved.

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varro

January 19, 2010 1:40 PM

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If large corporations were intelligent, they would have fired the lazy manager (seriously, a huge client meeting is the next day, and you foist the job on your assistant?) or, even better, made him the assistant to the operations manager.

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Pender

January 19, 2010 1:42 PM

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That manager clearly does not like pets at all! Why isn't that person fired?

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January 19, 2010 1:49 PM

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He got sacked for the DM had an HR issue that he could not handle without HR's assistance. So the DM jumped the gun and fired him.

That kind of (mis)management only gets good people canned and the slimeballs moved up.

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zacox

January 19, 2010 1:58 PM

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Pretty good case for wrongful termination.

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CTAUGUST

January 19, 2010 2:01 PM

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I trust the manager in question has been terminated by PetSmart for making a horrible firing decision and then causing the entire company to be embarassed nationally because of media coverage like this of the event? I'd love to hear a follow-up.

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January 19, 2010 2:03 PM

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The only thing that feels weird is that perhaps the employee should have asked permission rather than assuming it would be okay. I imagine if the daycare was empty then perhaps some cleaning needed to happen the next day. But as a supervisor currently, you have to allow some flexibility with employees to retain motivation. The supervisor, clearly has a different style and perhaps a different view of the retention needs of this specific employee.

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Heresy Of Truth

January 19, 2010 2:13 PM

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That's not theft.

I know this isn't exactly comparable, but when I nursed at a LTC facility in a Medicare unit, sometimes you needed nurses. Occasionally, the graveyard shift would get filled by a parent, who brought their kids with them because they didn't have a babysitter on such short notice. Nobody tried to charge them for the empty room they had their kids sleep in, everyone was just happy to have an extra body on the floor.

This was a special overnight issue, and the guy was willing to work on short notice. Why would they call it 'theft of services'. That's crazy.

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January 19, 2010 2:27 PM

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Definitely not. It's a day care. So no services were being offered at night for him to steal.

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January 19, 2010 2:50 PM

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This is why I strongly feel that there needs to be Federal laws that govern employment abuse such as this. In Pennsylvania, an \"At Will\" state, you can be fired for pretty much any reason, even such petty things. The management will then make things up, like \"theft of service\" to cover their butts so they don't have to pay unemployment. Personally, making up lame excuses to get out of paying an \"entitlement\" is fraud.

Ultimately, if you are fired for fraudulent reasons, you are due compensation.

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stlbud

January 19, 2010 2:53 PM

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Sounds like the dog needs a bit of training. Fido, the store manage is a tree. There Fido, go to the tree. Make sure everyone knows you were at the tree, Fido.

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docrice

January 19, 2010 2:54 PM

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no worse than someone taking smoke breaks...

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Brunette Bookworm

January 19, 2010 2:58 PM

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The store manager sounds like an idiot. Should he have asked if he could bring the dog in? Maybe, but he was also a manager so I would say he could have made that decision himself. From the article, it sounds like he was a good manager since he helped turned around one store and was at that store he was fired from to help make it better.

One part of the article that struck me was where it said, \"The store started turning around, and Favetta said he tried to make the best of his position, even though he had ongoing conflicts with his manager. Favetta would do favors for the manager, such as coming in at 4 a.m. to work a two-hour shift, even on days off, because the manager didn’t like to work so early, Favetta said.\"

Hmm, I wonder why the store wasn't doing very well. *eye roll* If the store manager doesn't do their job because they don't like to do it, things aren't going to go well. I hope PetSmart realizes that this store manager and the district manager isn't really doing anything to help their business.

1 replies

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January 19, 2010 11:35 PM

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I think you've found the key to why the manager who did the firing had it out for this guy. If he was brought in specifically to turn the store around, that's obviously an indictment from corporate as to how the management team was running things previously. I have no doubt that he'd been butting heads with the other manager before, and that the other manager had it out for the new guy who was trying to change the way the store was being run (including, I suspect, actually making him work- quelle horreur). Frankly, the guy who was fired sounds like a pretty decent person, trying to do favors and go the extra mile for boss that he knew didn't like him, but no good deed, and all that. If PetSmart has any common sense, they'll get rid of this other manager, who was apparently already doing a crappy job of running the store and has now brought them a bunch of bad PR.

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bdcw

January 19, 2010 3:12 PM

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In this case (new and better job) it was fortuitous.

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Duke_Newcombe sez íViva la Revolucion de Chihuahua!

January 19, 2010 3:19 PM

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I think this thread is missing the Be an F&!*ing Person tag.

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jimmyhl

January 19, 2010 3:52 PM

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When I worked for a rather douchey federal agency, it prohibited union employees from using the facility's electric outlets for coffee pots, radios, etc. The prohibition had to be addressed via collective bargaining when the new contract came up. Don't tell anybody I said this, but the agency was the IRS.

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January 19, 2010 3:53 PM

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Regardless of the situation as intent of theft, if PetSmart offers him his job back, it means that PetSmart determined it was NOT theft of services.

Since they fired him, he should seek unemployment from that company, and work at his new company. I hope it works better for him. Good job reporting this. I wont be shopping at PetSmart anymore.

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brianguyy

January 19, 2010 3:54 PM

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so if my boss asks me to stay til midnight to finish some paperwork, and my daycare ends at 6pm and bring my baby into the office to sleep in a car seat in the cubicle next to me I'm stealing?

wtf Petco. wtf.

1 replies

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January 19, 2010 4:48 PM

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Petco had nothing to do with this.

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legalguy

January 19, 2010 4:20 PM

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The OP was being paid to be there. The OP said he checked on his animal every 15 minutes. If he worked an 8 hour shift, he would have logically checked on his animal a total of about 32 times if we ignore the drop off and pick up time and assume no lunch break. Most dog lovers would spend about 5 minutes on each \"doggie visit\". That would equate to about 2 hours and 40 minutes of time that could be construed as \"theft of services\" by the OP. In addition, did the OP use pet food belonging to the store? Did the OP use clean-up materials belonging to the store? I know many will dispute the 5 minutes per visit. How about 2 minutes as a total time for leaving the area he belonged in and returning to that area? Still over an hour of time that he was caring for his animal and not performing his job duties. People just do not want to accept personal responsibility these days. Simple solution? When he was asked to work this special shift, maybe the response should have been, \"I can do that for you if it's okay to bring my dog with me. I have nobody to care for him if I am working that shift.\" The likely answer would have been \"yes\" since this was a need perceived by his employer.

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Sky75

January 19, 2010 7:31 PM

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Actually, I disagree. The dog most likely slept (it was the middle of the night, after all) - most dog owners would not disrupt a sleeping dog to \"check on it\". If it was me, I would simply walk by, make sure the dog was still asleep, or if it was up and needing water/bathroom break. Total time would be like 2 seconds to walk by & see dog is still sleeping, back to work.

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HogwartsProfessor

January 19, 2010 5:16 PM

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That is ridiculous. He took care of the dog himself. There WAS no service.

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January 19, 2010 5:43 PM

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Ever hear of \"Bring your child to work day?\"

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January 19, 2010 6:29 PM

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Though he was doing the manager a favor, we can't forget that he was being paid for his services. He needed to ask his manager if he could bring his dog to work in order for him to pick up the overnight shift. In all likelihood the manager would have said yes.

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dg

January 19, 2010 11:29 PM

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No it's not theft. It's bullshit, flat out bullshit. The guy did the boss a favor, brought his dog to a PET STORE and let the dog sleep in the back where ummm, dog's usually sleep anyway. The store was empty, the dog area was devoid of animals save for his.

So what's the beef? Hell, if that guy worked for me, I'd TELL him to grab a box of milkbones or something for his pal as an additional thank you.

Now if he brought the dog in, dropped it off with Zelda, had the dog washed, styled, clipped, fed, etc. and didn't pay anything - then THAT would be theft of services. But not this... not by a friggin long shot...

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Thyme

January 20, 2010 12:25 AM

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Sounds like PetsMart wanted to fire him, but didn't want him to be able to get unemployment benefits.

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BytheSea

January 20, 2010 12:48 AM

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Was he using Petsmart facilities, or did his dog hover on an aircloud above all Petsmart surfaces, eat food brought in, play with his own toys, and relieve himself into a bucket that the employee took home and emptied? Then it's theft.

Does everyone do it at their job and it was a dick move from the employee? Hell yeah. Maybe the employee sucked and that's why he got the crap shift, and Petsmart was looking for a way to fire him.

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January 20, 2010 4:24 AM

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You obviously did not read the article. This man was not a \"crap employee\", he had already turned around a previously unprofitable store and was transferred to the one where the incident happened so that he could work his magic again. He was not the top-level manager, but he had some management authority. I agree with posters upthread that he was trying to reform an ineffective head manager who used a b.s. excuse to get rid of him, so that he could go back to peacefully running the place into the ground.

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Crovie

January 20, 2010 1:31 AM

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I guess people are going to think I'm a jerk, but I think it is theft. He was being paid to mind the store, and looking after his pet took time that could have been spent doing something beneficial to the business.

The reasonable thing to do would have been to ask his boss ahead of time if he could bring his dog and look after him periodically during his shift, and his boss reasonably should have allowed him since the guy is doing the boss a huge favor working a suicide shift. The problem arose because the employee in the story assumed his boss wouldn't mind, instead of making arrangements beforehand.

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pwillow1

January 20, 2010 5:03 AM

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I agree with those who say that the manager was using this as an excuse to fire an employee he didn't like.

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Scatter

January 20, 2010 9:40 AM

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It may be nitpicking but I'd have to say that it IS theft of services. A non employee couldn't leave our dogs there overnight without paying for the service so as long as this service isn't provided as an employee benefit then it was theft of service.

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Truthie

January 20, 2010 9:51 AM

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Yet another reason to shop at PetCo instead of PetSmart. I have always found my shopping experience at PetCo to be more pleasant anyway.

Also, PetSmart's PR person should be canned on the spot. This is an HR issue and they should in no way, ever, make a public statement regarding sxuch an issue. This is seriously PR 101. They also might not have dug such a hole and sounded so awful if they just said they couldn't discuss it.

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GreatWhiteNorth

January 20, 2010 10:42 AM

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Does Petsmart want to be know as a pet friendly retailer so that pet owners will shop there? Probably yes. Did Petsmart do more harm than good to itself firing this employee for this reason? Yes.

If you were asked to work an extra shift as a \"favor\" and that shift had you as the only person in the Petsmart store overnight, and you owned a dog would you take the dag? Yes. Not just for the company but also for the security. The only one in the bloody store! Damn right Skippy, not only is Fang coming with me but he's going to roam freely in the store too!

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Coyote

January 20, 2010 2:50 PM

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It's called a company perk. Do you think those managers never deviated a single mile in a company car/jet? Took an extra long lunch? Spent company time doing something besides being douches? I would guess someone at the company just wanted him gone.

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Toonzee

January 20, 2010 5:04 PM

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The manager is a moron...........he is the one that should be fired, for lacking common sense.

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