The Golden Paw

I took my standard poodle here for several months with no problems before things went from imperfect, to bad and then to worse. I will never go back to this groomer.
Their rules are supposed to be first in, first out or last in, last out. I would bring my dog in around 8am on my way to work, but more often than not, I could not get him until the end of the day because he was not ready any earlier. If he was not going to be done on time, I will bring him in later. The thought of my dog being in a crate ALL DAY is not acceptable to me. I was told I had to bring him in early since he had to «air dry» part of the way. And then they asked me for more money. I told them there was no way I was bringing my dog in early to stay here all day and was going to pay more money for it. To their credit, they did accommodate me with a later start time, but I also was picking up my dog between 6:30 — 7:30pm.
Next, the person who cuts the dogs hair showed me how the dog washer didn’t wash all the soap out of his hair. He was not shiny or soft and he had large white soapy flakes coming out of him. The groomer was talking total crap about how she bathes dogs and was using my dog as an example. I only brought my dog back on the condition Lana did not bathe my dog. The owner John was aware and ok with this. As a result of Lana not bathing my dog, I arranged to bring him in around 1:30pm. When I did so, she said I was too late and missed my appointment. I explained to her I had worked this out with Michelle and John, but she docked my record with a missed appointment anyway. (Probably because she is spiteful and rude and would not know good customer service if it bit her).
I missed a 2^nd appointment due to losing my ticket (I admit to having some fault here) but I also did not get a reminder call. She said they «sometimes give reminder calls when they can.» Again I talked to John about this and he said I absolutely should have received a reminder call. Again, Lana shows no customer service and continually blames the client for their lack of service.
So this time, I made three appointments, one for 10/​30, ¹¹⁄₂₅ and ¹²⁄₂₃. When I showed up on ¹⁰⁄₃₀ they told me I had the wrong day and since I had missed 3 appointments I would no longer be allowed to schedule my dog. When I explained I had the right day, they argued with me and said I was wrong and they would squeeze him in since he was just a bath. I went home and found my ticket which had the date of OCTOBER 30^th on it. The groomer said she had no idea how that happened. Well you wrote it down wrong in your book. That is what happened!
I show up for my ¹¹⁄₂₃ appointment, which was scheduled for 1pm, but they asked me to bring him between 2 – 3 and couldn’t guarantee and pick up time. I brought him at 3pm. When I had not heard anything at 8pm I text the groomer. She said he had just washed him! I didn’t hear anything from her and so I went there at 10pm at night and he STILL WAS NOT DONE! I was told it was all my fault because her was matted. He was not that bad. He goes here once a month so he can’t be that bad and THIS IS YOUR JOB. Then she told me how I had the wrong day on the 30^th and they ticket I had was not the right ticket, so it must have been wrong. Funny how it was a Golden Paw appointment ticket and it was not my handwriting. Just how does she think I got that? These people take no responsibility for their inability to run an effective business. 7 hours is way too long to have a dog there and for him to still not be done. I really tried to work with these people and make it work, but their are just arrogant and are liars who can’t even bathe a dog right. I have no idea why I stayed here as long as I did.
I have more horror stories about this place, but I think this review is long enough and you probably get the point. :)

Lana did an amazing job on my collie. She had been shedding SO MUCH and Lana was able to get her undercoat out and just made her look so pretty. She did EXACTLY what I asked on her cut. And she’s still shiny after several weeks. lizzy loves john and Lana and we’re happy we found groomers who enjoy their job and the animals they care for! :)

Best groomers ever… I have Persian cats that are no small feat to groom. Full lion cuts done great everytime… always honest and very knowledgeable… so glad there is a shop up here now :)

I took my dog to The Golden Paw for the first time today and was so impressed! The staff was so nice and the price was great! I will definitely be using them again!

John is the best! We took our pom Gizmo, who we also got from John who is the breeder, and he is awesome.

I have been taking my Shetland Sheepdog, Dolan, to The Golden Paw for over a year. Lana and her crew are so, so fantastic. They have consistently gone above and beyond to make sure Dolan, who is a nervous dog, is comfortable and, of course, perfectly groomed.
An example of their amazing customer service is this: once, the day before Dolan’s appointment, I called Lana to see if I could bring him in early due to a last-​minute schedule change at work. I live in Paso, and instead of having me drive to Atascadero, she offered to meet me at Trader Joe’s in Templeton to pick up Dolan! I couldn’t believe she made such a kind offer, it really hoped me out. She also offered to pick him up several more times, which I didn’t need but very much appreciated.
Another plus — I have shopped around for groomers a lot over the past four years, and the prices at The Golden Paw are the best in the area. This is the best groomer service I have ever experienced. Highly, highly recommended.