Ryan (2008-01-20)
I would not recommend this place to anyone. From the lobby, it appears a great place, Staff is friendly, appears clean...though somewhat industrial looking as you look through the glass to the wash area. Several people ahead of me were dropping their dog off or just simply waiting to pick them up and having the dog washed by the staff...since this was my Dog's first time, I thought it best for me to take her back and do it myself. Boy am I glad I did. So for starters, this is not my first dog wash, had been to several before and was very excited when I found Muddy Paws, however I will NEVER, EVER go there again. I am escorted to the back by a nice young girl, who spoke so soft that I could barely hear her, and then when I looked up again she was gone. Okay, no big deal. So I begin by trying to set up the soap to be dispensed (there is four options) and it is fed directly through the water hose...no soap. I kept trying and trying, after about ten minutes another guy asks me if everything is alright and I show him my problem. He fiddles with it for a second, couldn't get it working and then brings me a bottle of shampoo to wash the dog. Okay, mulligan, I guess things do break, but no offer to move me to another stall, and really, not much effort or concern on there part. So I continue washing...the water temperature was supposed to be able to regulated as you would expect your shower to be at home, however; my only option appeared cold or very cold. At this point I am starting to get frustrated. To be honest, my Lab weighs about 80 lbs so I think I was paying around 20 dollars to wash my dog, and it wasn't so much the money...but the lack of care for any sort of customer service. Now on to what really put the icing on the cake. They provide ear wipes, eye wipes...one was empty, and the other one was full of dog hair and nastyness....Not even nice wipes...basically the cheapest you could find. All of the while this is going on, some girl is walking back and forth with a sqeaky toy squeaking it for all it is worth. Seriously, my dog is real easy to wash while your doing that...moron. And as I turn around to look at what she is doing and think about ripping her head off, I see she is like 14 and decide to bite my tongue. What I do notice though is that there is a bulldog and some little fluffy dog stuffed in a crate dryer and two others in another... Let me tell you, I wouldn't want my dog with some other dog in the same crate, not only are they not getting dried well, it didn't look comfortable at all.
So I swallow my frustration, finish washing the dog and then let her out to dry her off...NO towels. Are you kidding me? Do these people give a shit about the customer? I ask for towels, they bring two to me, and then when my dog steps on to the mat by the wash basin, I notice what an absolute pig sty is in this place. I don't mean a little hair, it was absolutely attrocious. There was dog hair and dirt, mud, and whatever all over the counters the floor, under the bin...Just where I want to have my dog sitting down after I just spent good money to wash her. I quickly dried her...and rushed her out to the lobby.
As I proceded to the counter to pay, the lady at the counter nicely asked how I liked it...I think she was sorry she did. I explained my frustration and she refused to let me pay. My point in complaining was not to avoid payment...but to let her know what I really thought about it.
In my humble opinion, if you are going to run a place like this, you need to #1 keep up with the cleanliness. I mean seriously, a quick once over with a shop vac after each customer, and a QA that the soap is available, towels, wipes, etc, etc. After all, these are paying customers, and hopefully returning customers. I will definitely not be. These people have a good thing going, as they are right outside of quiet waters which this time of year is an absolute mud pit. My advice, save your money and get out the garden hose or put the pup in the shower at home. I had thought about opening something like this in the area...so was a little bummed when I saw that Muddy Paws was up and running. Fig'd maybe I'd missed my oportunity. After visiting Muddy paws...I don't see them as competition at all. In an area like Annapolis, people expect customer service, cleanliness, and will pay good money to get that. I actually felt bad for putting my lab through this. If I had just dropped her off, or allowed them to do it, I would have never known what went on in the back and would have probably come back again. My advice is to give the back a try instead of dropping your dog off...I would think you would very quickly form my same opinion.
In my opinion
