PetCoach Reviews 7

I just had worse experience in my entire life who ever is running Petco grooming at Palm springs Petco are is complete idiots. We do business with Petco and Petcoach and yet one does not talk to other. We have had our dog groomed there many times and our dog tags says 2025 on tabbies which was done at this company yet we got to our appointment on time and was top sorry we are Not going to help u when I came back with my phone I was told by manager sorry we are not going to help u and get out professiknali3 is not their cup of tea and I will never ever go va k yo this people again wokeness is alive in Palm Springs when guy at regestor told us to leave manager comes out and tells us to leave our pet was vaccinated by this company yet they are owned by same company and work with Petco well they just lost a consumer who spent lots of cash with them NEvEr again

This is an update of my original PetCoach review.

I originally gave them a 1. They deserved it, although, admittedly, my biggest takeaway was my having made the decision to use them in the first place. Dumb decision.

I cc'd PetCoach on my original TrustPilot review and they credited me back my initial fee. I didn't even ask them to credit me back my initial fee. So, at the very least, in the end, they're a standup company.

That said, consumers looking to use an online vet should know the following about PetCoach before deciding to use them:

1. They do not "triage" cases brought to them. Do not contact them at all if the question you have requires an answer before the end of a six-hour window.

2. Realize that they may get back to you in the wee hours of the morning. If you aren't up and don't respond immediately, don't expect a response when you do respond.

3. The vets that they use are not necessarily US-based, or (to my knowledge) US-educated and certified. I did try to confirm my understanding online but couldn't find a clarification. At the very least, this could create issues with language.

So, my takeaway is that if you've got a question that's not too serious, nothing that can't sit on the backburner for an entire 6 hours, and is general enough that you don't care where they went to vet school or what time of the day they get back to you, then by all means, they'll probably be fine for the $20 fee. If that doesn't sound like your situation or your expectations, then pay a little more for a different online service.

The company charges low rates for conversations with vets. I wrote that my male cat was having difficulties with my landlord's female cat. The first vet asked a question in the chat, then disappeared from the chat. I pleaded twice for him to return (he had not ended the chat) but he did not respond. I waited 20 minutes. I had just lost $20. By accident, I tried to get his attention through another page on the company's webpage, and accidentally charged another $20 to my account. A second vet responded and apparently did not even read my inquiry. She referred to my male cat as a female and asked me if there were any other animals in the house (when my inquiry was about the male and female not getting along). She asked a couple of questions and then disappeared for nearly a half hour. I wrote twice asking if she was still there but she did not answer. I finally said I was ending the chat. I then called my credit card company and placed the $40 in dispute. I took screenshots and printed out the chats showing that both vets did not respond to my questions and left me alone in the chat until finally I ended the call.

This service feels like a scam, in my opinion. At the start, they don't really give enough characters on their question form to properly explain things and then their "experts" give generic non-answers as replies. I recently went on there and asked:
"Should I risk anesthesia to clean my 16 year old FIV+ cat's teeth? My FIV+ cat has frequent URIs & mild seizures, but he has done really well until now-a couple weeks ago he started drooling after eating & not eating much, We ended up taking him to three different vets (long story) #1 says he needs his canines out, #2 says he needs everything BUT his canines out, #3 says he just needs a cleaning. None are AAHA accredited, or have done xrays, one gave him a Covenia shot & that helped a lot."
And the reply I got was;
"If in doubt I would see if a local referral center has a board certified dentist that could give you their assessment. But often cats with stomatitis do need full mouth extractions."
This answer does not address my concern with older FiV+ cats and anesthesia in any way, it passes the buck by telling me to see a "local referral center," to find a dentist to ask, which is a thing that does not exist as far as I know, there's certainly not such a thing where I live and there's no help with where to look for one online, and finally, it gives me a fact about a disease I did not mention that my cat does not have!
I was hoping for an outside opinion on my cat's condition and the risks of anesthesia, as obviously the local vets I've seen have varying and confusing opinions (for clarity, my usual vet wanted all teeth but my cat's canines out without the use of any antibiotics, so I got a second opinion who recommended just cleaning, then the one I got for an emergency visit after the poor cat's face swelled up wanted just the canines out and gave the antibiotic shot) and I'm too emotionally attached to feel clear headed about picking one and feeling I've made the right choice. Also, considering the guy's age and health challenges, I wonder if I shouldn't just skip anything with anesthesia and do the best I can until he is suffering too much to go on. Obviously, PetCoach was not any help with any of this.
I have sent an email with my complaint and I have requested a refund, but I'm not too hopeful about getting one.
I would advise people to stay away from this site unless they like to do things like pay five dollars to be told to go ask someone else and then be told about something irrelevant, which is how I feel my experience went.

I asked a question about cat flu and testing - I got a generic response from a vet tech which didn't remotely address the question! So, completely pointless service really. Don't bother, phone an actual vet.

Updated - a vet later responded to my question (not sure if that's standard or was prompted this review/an email I sent) but it was a helpful response which did actually address the question i'd asked.

Disgusted by this website.
Encourages you to 'ask a question now!' all over the shop, assuring you that you will get a response from a veterinary professional.
I came across this website as one of the top hits on Google as I am really worried about my cat. I typed in my question (max 500 characters so outlined the situation), it then prompted me to enter all my cat's information, which I did.
Then there was yet another page prompting sign-up to receive a response.
So I did all of this, only to find on the next page the following two options; either to receive an 'in-depth response' for $20, or have my question answered for $5.
I was shocked, not because it's unusual for companies to reveal they are charging you last-minute, or even the RIDICULOUS prices.
I was shocked because they are toying with pet owner's emotions.
People wouldn't be on this website unless they were really worried about their animals, who are like family.
They are family.
Anyway. It's so messed up to make people go through all the information admin just to ask them for money, which if people have they will pay as they have already entered all the info, and if they (like me) don't, they have wasted valuable time they could be using on an actual humane website!
(Before anyone says this is wasting time, I am currently awaiting info from other sources, so fingers crossed.)
Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's wrong to charge for veterinary services, information is pushing it but that's not the sick bit.
It's the way the website goes about it, tricking concerned individuals in vulnerable states into thinking they are going to receive potentially life-saving advice concerning their beloved pets.
Surely people go into becoming vets because they love animals, not to lend their services to websites like these.
So in case you haven't already gathered, overall not just a bad experience but one of those day-to-day experiences which makes you lose a little bit more faith in humanity.
If you think this is OTT I don't care, you know what you're doing.

They send you to different domains charge you and keep you on the page waiting for an expert and never answer you. ٌWaste time and money.