coupedefleur
09-04-2006, 11:17 AM
I see a lot of threads about ignorant LFS employees. Usually it's blamed on the fact that the jobs don't pay a lot, but I think it has more to do with their selection process. There are lots of bright people working in other low-paying jobs who know a lot about animals, and would rather clean out fish tanks than the grease trap at the local fast food.
Have you ever looked at the online job applications for Petsmart or Petco? It's interesting that there are only one or two questions about animals, and they're just "I know about fish/dogs/cats/birds/herps CHECK ONE". NOTHING that would demonstrate any knowledge, like "Chocolate is good for dogs T/F?" or "Neons and Oscars get along great T/F", or "You can put 20 tinfoil barbs in a 10 gallon T/F?".
There are a huge number of vague headshrinker questions like "If I could change something that happened in my life I would, T/F". Having done some work in retail and having owned my own retail business, I seriously question the validity of most of those questions, and think a lot of them are culturally biased. It's hard to see how many of these questions would show an ability to help people, be a good employee, or have a willingness to answer the same "ignorant" questions day after day.
They do have some strange retail practices- the very second I walk into the fish department, someone runs up and asks me what they can get me. How stupid! How am I going to know if there's anything there I want until I've seen what's there and how close to death it is? After that, the employees are gone, and you have to do some real work to find one if you do want anything. If you're there studying the fish in the tank and looking around for someone to help you ( i.e. giving out "buying signals" ) you will be there all day waiting, unless someone else walks into the fish department and you can grab the employee before they vanish again.
Maybe if someone's got some spare time, they could put in a fake app and copy out the questions for us.
Have you ever looked at the online job applications for Petsmart or Petco? It's interesting that there are only one or two questions about animals, and they're just "I know about fish/dogs/cats/birds/herps CHECK ONE". NOTHING that would demonstrate any knowledge, like "Chocolate is good for dogs T/F?" or "Neons and Oscars get along great T/F", or "You can put 20 tinfoil barbs in a 10 gallon T/F?".
There are a huge number of vague headshrinker questions like "If I could change something that happened in my life I would, T/F". Having done some work in retail and having owned my own retail business, I seriously question the validity of most of those questions, and think a lot of them are culturally biased. It's hard to see how many of these questions would show an ability to help people, be a good employee, or have a willingness to answer the same "ignorant" questions day after day.
They do have some strange retail practices- the very second I walk into the fish department, someone runs up and asks me what they can get me. How stupid! How am I going to know if there's anything there I want until I've seen what's there and how close to death it is? After that, the employees are gone, and you have to do some real work to find one if you do want anything. If you're there studying the fish in the tank and looking around for someone to help you ( i.e. giving out "buying signals" ) you will be there all day waiting, unless someone else walks into the fish department and you can grab the employee before they vanish again.
Maybe if someone's got some spare time, they could put in a fake app and copy out the questions for us.