Customer service becomes the battleground for pet retailers

As customer interaction becomes increasingly important, pet companies are investing more heavily in staff training and service quality. Meanwhile, they increase digitization to deliver convenience and seamless shopping experiences.

Customer service rankings

Arcaplanet, Italy’s largest pet retailer, ranked first in the “Italy’s Best Customer Service 2025/2026” survey conducted by the newspaper Corriere della Sera and international research firm Statista, with a score of 8.43.

The survey, which recognized 462 companies across 141 categories, polled a panel of 15,000 Italians to evaluate brands based on service availability, customer focus, professional competence, quality of communication and variety of solutions offered.

Arcaplanet led in the service availability category, with the survey noting the recognition was driven by its staff’s expertise in pet nutrition and wellbeing.

“The brand invests in continuous training for its Pet Specialists, who follow structured professional development paths designed to enhance skills, support internal growth and provide digital tools and integrated processes that ensure operational consistency,” the retailer tells GlobalPETS.

The power of training programs

In the US, Pet Supplies Plus earned recognition from Forbes, which named it best in customer service for the third consecutive year. The Forbes 2026 Best Customer Service list also featured Tractor Supply, Chewy, PetSmart and Petco, highlighting 300 companies selected from more than 3,000 reviewed. 

More than 150,000 consumers were surveyed, rating their experiences with companies operating in or serving the US market. 

The Michigan-based pet supply franchise also earned a bronze Stevie Award for customer service success. These awards recognize leading companies worldwide across more than 150 categories.

According to the company, the recognition was also due to a strong emphasis on staff training, particularly given its franchise business model. “Our training programs ensure that our teams have the confidence, product knowledge and neighbor-first mindset to deliver support every time,” the company tells GlobalPETS.

In addition, Pet Supplies Plus operates a blended support model across its corporate-owned and franchise locations, rewarding franchisees financially when they adhere to the company’s customer service standards.

24/7 availability

Another pet player recognized by the Stevie Awards came from the insurance sector. Trupanion received 2 recognitions: silver for contact center and bronze for customer service.

The company says it invests heavily in veterinary-focused training for its workforce. Its claims team is composed almost entirely of professionals with field experience, including veterinarians and licensed technicians.

“We also focus on support for the veterinary community. We have expanded service hours and days for our partners and elevated the tools and training for our territory partners, who act as in-person concierges to the clinics, enabling them to have more complete and effective conversations in the field,” COO John Gallagher tells GlobalPETS.

The pet insurance player also offers 24/7 contact centers, which play a major role in its customer experience strategy. In 2025, the company supported more than 50,000 policyholders who called during overnight hours.

Digital integration and AI investments

The insurer is also advancing its quality assurance efforts through a technology-supported approach. Its system uses an integrated AI-driven analytics platform that monitors all member interactions.

According to Trupanion, the technology deciphers emotional sentiment and pinpoints friction points or success drivers that manual sampling might miss. “We then use these insights to expand and improve our agents’ training modules, refreshing the curriculum as interactions evolve,” Gallagher says.

Investments also cover a platform that surfaces critical, real-time insights the moment a call connects. This allows the company to predict the reason for an inquiry based on recent activity or claims history, eliminating manual data searches and enabling agents to focus on the pet owner’s needs.

“To support this, we are moving toward what we call a unified member view: a single interface that consolidates every touchpoint, from marketing interactions to prior claims conversations. This ensures our team is always equipped with the full context of a pet’s journey,” the COO adds.

Customer relationships and AI 

Pet Supplies Plus is also exploring AI to strengthen customer relations and improve employee knowledge. “We are also looking at AI to help enhance and strengthen the knowledge of our teams and the relationships with our neighbors,” the company says.

Meanwhile, Arcaplanet is taking a different approach to tech integration by focusing on a fully integrated digital experience across all touchpoints, including WhatsApp. 

“We are progressively integrating veterinary services, with the aim of offering a complete care pathway supported by advanced digital systems monitoring customer satisfaction in real time,” the retailer adds.