ComplaintsforSit Means Sit Dog Training-North Milwaukee

• Initial Complaint

  11/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Purchased a package on 12/15/2022 to train our dog. Paid in full: ******** During the course of the training, we realized that our dog was getting worse and became aggressive. We shared this information with the company, which they are denying we shared with them. It's "not in their" notes. Upon purchase they claim "NO REFUND" but this is a circumstance where we actually had to put our dog down. It's an exception that should be made. I am assuming that they do not have this situation come up where their client's pets are being euthanized because their product makes the dog worse. I tried to have a conversation in private with both owners to discuss options of a refund, or even a partial refund because we could not continue their promised services because our 1.5 year old puppy needed to be put down due to the inefficiency of their services. All the owner did was continue to read the contract to me and said that he is a business owner and can not have human emotion in this situation. He did mention that had we mentioned this issues to him (which we did), that they would come to our home. I asked if that was in the contract, and he said no. The owner is willing to make up things they would do that are not written in the contract. But is only willing to send clips of it via email to prove a point. I did also do research and until recent, this organization had language in their contracts that "scared" people from writing reviews and reporting them to the BBB. That doesn't exist anymore, but their ratings are deceiving and had I known more information, I would not have done business with this organization. Please contact me with any questions. Thank you!

  Business response

  12/05/2023

  Please see the attached PDF, which includes 2 emails from the client as well as a copy of their service agreement, agreed to and signed by both parties.

  Please not the following points in the service agreement:

  **Customer is responsible for the control, conduct and training of the dog. Customer is solely liable for any injury to persons or damage to property caused by the dog. Customer agrees that although trainer can provide equipment and instruction for the training of the dog, the trainer does not maintain control of the dog, and Customer is responsible for the successful training, control and conduct of the dog at all times during private and group training sessions. Customer is also responsible for dog outside of training and 'Sit Means Sit' makes no claims of when a dog can or should not be off leash. Customer expressly agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless 'Sit Means Sit', its officers, directors, employees, agents, volunteers and assigns for any claim arising out of or incident to Customer's participation in the program, including and without limitation the payment of attorney's fees and costs.
  If the dog is aggressive, Customer shall use a muzzle during all training sessions and Customer shall be responsible for avoiding potentially problematic situations. There are no guarantees that aggression will disappear with training, so it is the owner's responsibility to muzzle the dog and keep the dog out of potential problem situations at all times, not just during the training sessions.
           
   **I understand that all dogs are trained by 'Sit Means Sit' without liability on its part for loss or damage by or from disease, death, running away, theft, fire, or injury to persons, other dogs, or property by or to said dog(s), or other unavoidable causes, due diligence and care having been exercised by 'Sit Means Sit'.

  **Should a refund or change of training program be requested prior to training, a processing fee of $25 shall be incurred as well as fees for any time, ******s or mileage that were rendered. All programs require a NON- REFUNDABLE 1/4 deposit of the full training cost. In the event that the program is paid in full, 1/4 of the payment will be NON-REFUNDABLE. Once training program starts, no refunds will be granted on any packages

  Please review the training timeline as well as communication with the client:

  -Initial training was completed on January 25, 2023. At this time, we were given no indication of any aggression in or out of the house. Although it is now stated that the aggression started within 2-3 weeks of the start of training, we do not have any record of this. I have included a short video of ****** during week 3 of his day training, showing him friendly with our trainer and working calmly around 5 other dogs. This video can be found here:  ************************************************

  
  
  -As is customary, we recommend group class attendance so all of our clients have the opportunity to practice these skills with distractions. 5 classes were attended over the course of the following 4 months (2/8, 3/1, 4/18, 4/26, 5/2). While several others were scheduled, the clients canceled them as they were unable to attend (we did cancel one due to lack of other attending on 2/22).
  
  
  - 6/6/23, cllient reached out to the office expressing that there were some struggles at home and asked for a phone call with a trainer to discuss options (see attached email). Please note in the email that she states we provided a good foundation during the training program. This was nearly 6 months after the completion of the initial training program.,
  
  
  - 6/7/23, Client spoke with our head trainer, who gave her some advice and recommended attending a few group classes and to follow up in 2 weeks. If there were still struggles, we would bring the dog in for an additional private ****** to determine what was going on and what steps we needed to take to provide additional support.
  
  
  -Client scheduled a group class for 6/13/23. Although it needed to be canceled due to a work conflict, she indicated that she would follow up in 2 weeks to schedule another class. We have no further communication requesting group class attendance after that.
  
  
  - 6/21/23, 2 weeks later, we received communication from client, asking about what the group class attendance was, as they were providing it to your doggy daycare. Again there was no indication of additional problems due to aggression or aggressive behaviors. In fact, attendance at a doggy daycare would indicate just the opposite. Doggy daycares would be leaving the dog in an uncontrolled environment with the supervision of new people. To my knowledge, doggy daycares do not allow dogs with aggression to come into their facilities. 
  
  
  -That was the last communication we received from either client, until 11/24/23, when they asked for a refund.
  
  
  -As with all of our clients, we are happy and willing to provide additional support for the lifetime of their dog. If there are additional, new issues, or if a client is struggling with their training, we are happy to offer help. In this case, we did so but were not made aware of any worsening issues or aggression. We would have happily provided immediate help.
  
  
  -It is our understanding, based on all the information, that we provided the training and offered the appropriate support and will maintain our position regarding our refund policy per the signed service agreement.

  Customer response

  12/06/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  The owner is not acting in good faith - 
  The duty of good faith is the principle that directors and officers of a company in making all decisions in their capacities as fiduciaries must act with a conscious regard for their responsibilities as fiduciaries. The duty applies equally to members of a limited liability company as well as partners in a partnership.
  

  My dog was put down - because of the company. There are exceptions business owners can and should make in extreme  circumstances. 
  

  The owner actually took it in the opposite direction and posted a public ******* video of my dog at one of the first meetings they had. Its cruel and shows even less concern for my now deceased pet. 
  

  Please issue a refund. Thats all I am asking for. 

  Regards,
  
  Arshig Mesdjian

  Business response

  12/11/2023

  We will refer back to our original response, which highlights the facts, communication, and agreed terms of the training program, none of which have been disputed by the client.

  Training took place during January, 2023 and video proof has been provided to show that during the time the clients dog was in our care, custody, and control, the dog was calm, happy and under control.

  The last communications the clients had with us stated a) they acknowledged the training provided a good foundation and b) the dog was attending doggy daycare, which would indicate that either the dog was not acting aggressively at the time or he was being put in an unsafe situation.

  We are always ready and willing to help all of our clients if they are having any training issues and offered to do so. There was no communication with the clients after June 21 and we cannot be certain what took place with the dog after that or have been able to help.

  We would also like to note the statement made by the client: My dog was put down - because of the company. This is a very serious allegation that is made with no supporting evidence that our company was involved in the decision to put this dog down. Not only is this untrue, it could potentially be exposure for defamation and libel but that would need to be reviewed by our legal counsel.

  We understand that this is a difficult time for the clients, and we are always empathetic for those losing their companions, however in this matter, there was not anything we failed to provide or offer them for the almost an entire year since they entered our training program. 

  Based on this information, we maintain our position that a refund is not appropriate in this situation.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩