My husband and I have been bringing our two labs here for two years now. We have had decent care for our dogs, but the customer service is ridiculous. My husband and I both work late hours and rely on services like this to take care of our dogs during our late hours. We also rely on the 7 to 7 schedule and work to the last possible minute. One night my husband showed up a few minutes late (after calling and calling with no answer) and found the entire place locked up, lights out, and no person in sight. We had no clue what had been done to our dogs, and read nowhere about a policy concerning lateness. Furious, we called the manager who refused to return and finally the owner who came out at 9 o'clock to give us our dogs and referred to this as a ""big accommodation."" I hardly see this as an accommodation when neither my husband or I were notified by phone that they would be putting our dogs in boarding, nor was there anything written in our contract regarding any such policy. We were never called for consent to lock up our dogs for boarding. We continued to take our dogs to Hip Hounds, much against my wishes, but to finish out our pass, when our dogs were locked up a second time, after running a few minutes late...again, we were not called, our contract had never been altered to include a late policy...our dogs were just locked up and expected to pick them up the next day and pay for boarding. My husband got into a verbal argument with the manager, who basically told us we were the only people who ever had issues with the pick up time and if we felt so strongly about the policy then we should take our leave. I had contact with the owner through a series of e-mails where she apologized for the behavior of the manager, but never once attempted to rectify the overall situation stating...""I'm sorry our hours are an inconvenience for you."" and ""You should try Taurus."" At any other business establishment, employees are scheduled to work at least 30 minutes past closing time...at the very least, institute a late fee...but when we are commuting from downtown Austin to Pflugerville and hit unexpected traffic, then treated as if we have broken some sort of policy (that has never been written or signed by me!), is unforgivable. In her last e-mail, the owner stated that she was a former lawyer and was ""confused"" by my ""Threats"" of ""slander and/or defamation"" after telling her I would let the public know about our experience with Hip Hounds. She continued to state that she is ""under no obligation to give people written notices."" Our dogs are like our children, and I would expect a company like this to be understanding of that. You cannot put them into boarding without my consent or without notification. DO NOT TAKE YOUR DOGS TO HIP HOUNDS! There are too many other businesses with the exact same amenities and MUCH friendly staff and clearly stated policies and procedures!
Pros: Decent Dog Care
Cons: Owner and Employees have clue what Customer Service Means
more