Don't you hate it.....

isellcars

isellcars

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Mar 5, 2012
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Where I live, I have to drive about an hour before I can get to a lfs. I really hate it when I go to one and ask questions and they have no idea what they are talking about.
Recently I was in touch with one and they told me that they're are no such fish that are SAE. Another tried to sell me flying fox and telling me it was a true SAE. That was until I told them I knew what I was looking for and able to describe the difference.
I went to one today to speak with their "plant expert" and she had no idea what she was talking about and couldn't even tell me about or the names of the plants they sold. I had to show her pictures on my iPhone so she knew which plant I wanted. Worse part was one of the plants she said she had never seen and they never sold it.....that was until I showed her the "just arrived" section on their website and the plant was there. She is the supposed "plant expert".
If we can't trust our lfs does that mean we just buy everything online?


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You really need to be your own source of information. I would not trust anyone at an LFS. They have fed me so many lines of bull that I can't even count them. As for on-line, you still really need to know exactly what you are looking for which means educating yourself.
 
Don't hold a LFS employee hostage over knowledge. There are too many plants and far too many fish to know them all. Knowing what is available vs what your stores carry are often very different inventories since on-line items can be warehoused much easier than in-store items. Warehouse/on-line items can also be procured from some other place faster and at less cost that often a store cannot do. Retail modelling vs online modelling does not compare.

Calling a fish an SAE is not correct either. Crossocheilus Siamensis is the correct Latin name for the Siamese Algae Eater. Calling it an SAE is more of a hobby name and can actually go by different trade names and are often confused with the False Siamese Algae Eater and the flying fox.

Since you "sell cars" I am sure you have heard some very weird names and descriptions about a car part and have no idea what the customer is talking about until they show it to you. Sometimes a car part can go by several different names just because of it's location on a car. Same weirdness applies to just about anything retail.

Ultimately, it's up to you to get the right name of whatever it is you are trying to buy. Yes, sometimes dealing online is easier. Having a pick ticket versus a confused communication is sometimes so much less stressful even though we are still at the mercy of the person on the other end doing their job correctly.
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I do know what you mean but to clear one thing up. When I wrote SAE I did this to save time instead of writing it all out. When I was in the lfs in question, they just had the fish listed as Siamese Algae Eater. I then asked if it was a true one and I was told it was. The tank was pretty high up and once I told them that I don't want a flying fox, I was at first told there is no difference. At this point I described some differences and then they finally admitted it was a flying fox. If I didn't know what I was looking for they would have sold me the wrong fish and would have done it very happily.
I had another lfs tell me that there is no such fish and ONLY the Chinese Algae Eater is a true algae eater.
I also didn't expect the "plant expert" that I dealt with today to know everything about every plant available. But is it to much to ask to at least know something about and be able to identify the ones you do sell?
When I go looking for a fish or plant that is not considered common. I make sure I have the scientific name and the common name. That way there is no confusion.


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HAHAHA, just consider who you are dealing with. If it's a box store you might as well give up. I've had box store "experts" make some claims that are pretty far out there. If it's a local Mom&Pop I sure hope it isn't the owners! If it is an in-store item, Yes, I think they should know but if online not necessarily. Hope you find what you are looking for.

The best thing I have ever found to eat algae was olive nerite snails. Not much else to find here.
 
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I dont listen to anyone at the big box stores. Three of the lfs I am talking about....1 is dealing with the owners and the other 2 are employees. The 1 were they tried to sell me flying fox....one thing the got the employee to change story real quick was the owner walked by and said "I didn't realize we had a deliver of true SAE". I will say since that day they haven't tried to pull the wool over my eyes since.


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I recently bought an "algae eater" at petsmart and it turned out to be Gyrinocheilus aymonieri...
 
Don't you hate it when "hobbyists" come into your store and preach to you about differences in a relatively obscure and insignifigant product? Then when they are so full of themselves that they take their complaints to a forum, as they'd never dare insult us to our face?

At least they didn't give bad advice about cycling, feeding, and the key parts of the hobby. Anything after that is really reserved for serious and specialized stores, not mom and pop shops or chains.
 
user_name said:
Don't you hate it when "hobbyists" come into your store and preach to you about differences in a relatively obscure and insignifigant product? Then when they are so full of themselves that they take their complaints to a forum, as they'd never dare insult us to our face?

At least they didn't give bad advice about cycling, feeding, and the key parts of the hobby. Anything after that is really reserved for serious and specialized stores, not mom and pop shops or chains.
Click to expand...

Actually I did tell them....and yes to there face as well. The lfs here "claim" to be serious and specialized stores. So now knowing that, where does one go for advise.....my guess forums?


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isellcars said:
Actually I did tell them....and yes to there face as well. The lfs here "claim" to be serious and specialized stores. So now knowing that, where does one go for advise.....my guess forums?


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Click to expand...

Care to tell which stores these were then? Wouldn't it be more helpful to say I had a bad expereince with "Derp's Pets and Stuff" more helpful then whining about it? Maybe asking if anyone knew a better LFS in your area would be a good start.
 
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