The Groom Room gave me a cancellation appointment for my dog. He is a large breed and I have used the Groom Room in the past, it was a Saturday and I just needed somewhere close and local. I spoke to a woman on the phone and explained that my dog has anxiety at the groomers, mostly due to being left alone in a strange place often put in a crate. She reassured me that he would not be left or put in a crate, that they were quiet and would have the time to make him comfortable. Having dropped the dog off and having spoken to a different lady at the counter about my dog and his anxiety, I swiftly left them to it. I asked that he not be left in the back room and definitely not in a crate – they would call me 10 mins before he was finished so that he did not have to be left out back. Fab. As anybody who visits the Redruth store will know, you can see right through to the groom room from within the store, so I lingered to make sure he settled (out of sight of the dog). What I saw was the very same lady I had just spoken to, walking back to the front desk on the phone WITHOUT MY DOG who was left out in the back room. This was within the first minute after our conversation. Immediately he was audibly distressed, his frantic barking echoing through the store. I watched and waited for many minutes before asking another member of staff to go and check on my dog, I couldn’t bear to hear his distress any longer. By the time the other member of staff had retrieved him, he was beyond recovery, as was I. Now, I am not a fussy dog owner, I put no frills on my large dog and his annoying ways HOWEVER, I have left my dog in the care of the Groom Room and I expected them to have listened to my request and acted upon their promise – not unreasonable. What I picked up within those first 10 minutes of his appointment was a visibly distressed, frightened, shaking dog. This was solely due to the fact that he was left alone in a back room within one minute of arriving for his appointment in a strange place, unacceptable behaviour given my explicit requests (that the groom room agreed to). As owners WE have to deal with the repercussions of inadequate care, put right the wrongs of establishments who do not know how to engage, care for or soothe anxious pets. So my issues are as follows: Why after two conversations with staff was he left in the back room alone within one minute of my leaving? After hearing his distress why did staff not make it a priority to check on him, instead continuing the phone call through the terrified barks of my dog? Was the phone call more important than the wellbeing of my pet that I left in your ‘supposed’ care? The phone call continued for many minutes through the cries of my pet. Apparently, the member of staff was on the phone because her boss told her to take the call and no other staff were available as they were on lunch (at 3pm) – I needed to take it up with the manager…… She did offer to continue the appointment, but I was too cross and upset with the shaking anxious dog I had retrieved, I couldn’t leave him in their ‘capable?’ hands again. When I made this clear, the lemon she was sucking became very obvious. My advice, don’t sit and listen to an animal in distress and then pretend to be professional, you are not. Nobody who gives a rats arse about animals would have sat through that situation on the phone, continuing the call. You should have ended the call, offering to call back once the animal in your care was at ease. After talking to the manager, I am not sure who to feel sorrier for, both he and his staff had so many excuses, its hard to decide. A) The member of staff left on her own in the Groom Room who sat through the annoying noise without a thought to the welfare of my pet – she must hate her job/ or pets/or both. Very little in the way of heartfelt apology, more avoidance of responsibility and she even tried to tell me that I was making her “feel really bad” AAAWWWWW  B) The new boss apologised for his lack of knowledge of how the Groom Room runs, he “shouldn’t have made her take the call when she had an appointment”. Apparently, he did try to calm my dog whilst in fancy dress for Halloween but to no avail. No wander my dog was petrified – wigs, blood, face paint on staff as well as our much needed Covid masks. Freaky for a human let alone a dog. The manager has only been there 3 weeks so does not know “how things work” apparently. He also managed to not hear the cries of my dog? Now, as my friends know, I am VERY hard of hearing and wear aids. If I could hear him with my cloth ears – the manager definitely should have! He also pointed out that due to Covid, they are short staffed – and that created this situation because?????........ Thanks to the wonderful woman who felt my pain and said she would have been in tears if it were her pet and to the FOUR members of the public who heard the terrified barks of my dog and also voiced their concern to me. Although the Groom Room apologised, I will not be frequenting their business again (I am sure they are pleased to hear). This incident will have made a mark on my dog I have no doubt. It will take me a long time and the patience of my regular groomer to get him back to a comfortable and confident place.