‘Hiring non-stupid people.’ Pet resort owner tired of bad applicants changes strategy

After spending an “enormous amount of money” trying to find qualified workers through Facebook advertisements and job boards, the owner of a Texas pet resort continued to be disappointed by the applicants.

Many of those applicants would agree to an interview but never show up — known as “ghosting” — and one worker who he did recently hire was fired three days later.

So Walter Parsons, owner of Pets Gone Wild Resort in Pasadena, took matters into his own hands.

“I figured I’ll put up a sign and I’ll see what happens with local people that are just driving by,” he told McClatchy News in a phone interview.

The sign was one that resonated with him on Amazon, he said.

“Now hiring non-stupid people,” the sign says in red and white block letters.

He hung the sign on Tuesday, Oct. 18, and since then he said the feedback he’s received has been 99.5% positive. Only one person has come to him upset over the sign’s word choice.

“Since COVID the society has gotten just completely out of hand,” he said. “They don’t want their feelings hurt.”

In one example, Parsons shared how he hired someone to start on Monday, Oct. 17. She used her phone while working, he said. She also would disappear when she should have been shadowing a current employee.

After three days of continued phone use despite being asked to put the device away, the worker was fired on Wednesday.

But since Parsons has put up the “hiring non-stupid people” sign, he is hopeful his next applicants might make better workers. He said at least three people have come in for applications.

“They don’t think they’re stupid so they came in to apply,” Parsons told KHOU.

And after coming in, he told McClatchy News they now “know what to expect.”

“I got to have responsible people,” Parsons continued. “I mean these are people’s children. I’m serious, (pets) are family ... I want the quality of care that these owners deserve.”

He plans to take the sign down Friday evening.

“It served its purpose,” he said.

Pets Gone Wild Resort offers boarding, grooming, pet daycare and dog training in the Houston metropolitan area.

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