paradigm shift.... the way we look at the business end of the hobby

[James0816]

** Disclaimer ** Once again, the following views and opinions are my own and are not directly towards any one person or entity. If you don't want to read my opinion, please look away.

From the buisness side (This by far does not apply to all businesses)

It's about profit!...bottom line...plain and simple. What can I do to enhance my bottom line so I can make a profit. Now this particular area of interest will definitely not apply to huge chains like <insert smiley face here> since this area is probably only .00001% of their bottom line so they don't care right off the bat. So to keep it generic, I'm in it for profit. Not because I love it, but because I run a business and my target is $$. I order product, I store product, I sell product. Don't ask...don't care...I sell, I make money. Cool...end of day...I'm good.

Can the business provide adequate means to store and ultimately sell product? ABSOLUTELY! UNDENIABLY! YES! There's tanks, there's water, there's filtration, there's food, and there's upkeep. As a business, I have provided what I need to my customers. Is it adequate to the product? Heck no! I'm not gonna provide an individual tank for every Oscar that I get shipped in. I don't care if I have 50 species crammed into one small tank. If all goes well, they won't be in the tank long at all anyway. There is no way I can hire people that know everything. I don't even care what they know. I just need someone to occassionally clean the tanks, drop in a couple of weekend feeders, scoop out the dead and answer an occassional question or two. That's all I need. Any high schooler can do that right?

Consumers come in...oooooooo...I'll take that one, that one and that one. My job is done. I provided a product to the consumer. Is the consumer happy with said product? Don't care. Not my job to care about feelings. I have a bottom line I have to meet.

Now, if my means to store and care for said product are good...I move product. Moving product is good. I make money. Life is good. People come in, see product on display, little girl asks mommy "can I get a fishy?". Mom says "sure honey". fish, tank, deco, etc. what's that sound? cha-ching. sale. money. Word gets around, more consumers come in, more product goes out.

Now, if my means to store and care for said product are inadequate (I.e. lots of dead product - NOT the one or two that is expected), completely filthy tanks, disease outbreaks, I don't sell said product. A little boy asks his father "ooooo daddy,daddy can I have a fishy?" Father looks at the display and tells son "maybe. but we'll go somewhere else". WHAT?! Somewhere else? Someone else is making MY money. More death, more dust on shelves, product not moving. Word gets around, less people come in. I'm losing money. Losing money is BAD.

And every now and then, we'll get a small operation pop up from someone who actually cares about what they are doing. Little place out of their home at first (MG ) and then maybe to the little hole in the wall space at the local strip mall. Just a wee store. Sells just enough to pay the lease and make a small profit on side. Why...because he cares about his business, stands by the product he sells and loves his customers and will do what he can to keep them happy and coming back for more. Might be a little more expensive than the chain stores, but the quality of the product and services, knowledge and customer satisfaction is what keeps him going and return customer visits.

 

[crimsonmoon]

i agree 100% with MG
some good points made in the thread.
i, too, get tired of seeing the threads about how horrible ppl's lfs is lol

 

[arachnar]

There's a pretty good local chain store called Zamzows here in Idaho, they are mostly pet and garden but they have a well taken care of fish section. They also seem to quarantine their fish and they have never had ich in the few times I've bought for them.

The petco here is pretty much guaranteed to have the fish infected with ich, that's where I first bought my 6 silver tips becuase each were a dollar cheaper:headshake2:. Anyway they got ich, they are all fine and cleared now but I bought 4 more, two of them silver tips from zamzows and paid the extra dollar.

I remember the guy at petco told me the small fish always die and only kept cichlids, well probably because he didn't know much and probably got them from the very same store.

 

[Dev]

On the other end, (and I am guilty too), is rather than researching, the forums are abused as a source of information. However, I ask here to see if this is something I want to get into or is it something that I am better off staying away from. I don't buy a fish and then try to figure out what it is and what to do with it. Too often I have seen that occur here and there is no way to prevent this from occurring. The misinformation offered comes from not only the inexperienced but the experienced as well. Point is - we all make mistakes either from ignorance or stupidity and even vanity. Nor is there any way to prevent someone from making a purchase only to find out they are in over their head. Let's face it, we're human and we screw up. Personally, I have gotten tired of the rants over the box stores and would just as soon never hear another "story".

FWIW - I think post counts should be eliminated and let your reputation precede you. There are some members with ridiculous post counts and yet they are the last person I would go to for assistance.

All very true. I've gotten bad advice from some LFS owners that have decades of experience that I still highly value the advice of regardless; at least when it comes to certain fish. I'd never ask them for advice about SA dwarf cichlids or killifish, but there's no one better around here for africans.
Still, you can't expect anyone to know everything in such a diverse hobby, and you have to be willing to do your own research on top of asking around if you really want to get creative IME. Go to several different sources for reading and ask lots of questions, but keep in mind that some people will give the best advice they can offer when you may have been better off with none.
As for post counts, I mentally filter them out. Being new to a forum doesn't necessarily mean you're new to the internet or topic at hand, but I guess not everyone thinks so.. :hypnotized: silly status symbols.

 

[Dev]

There's a pretty good local chain store called Zamzows here in Idaho, they are mostly pet and garden but they have a well taken care of fish section. They also seem to quarantine their fish and they have never had ich in the few times I've bought for them.

The petco here is pretty much guaranteed to have the fish infected with ich, that's where I first bought my 6 silver tips becuase each were a dollar cheaper:headshake2:. Anyway they got ich, they are all fine and cleared now but I bought 4 more, two of them silver tips from zamzows and paid the extra dollar.

I remember the guy at petco told me the small fish always die and only kept cichlids, well probably because he didn't know much and probably got them from the very same store.

Sounds like you may live in the same area as me. The older man/manager of the Zamzows on Caldwell blvd knows his stuff pretty well but he doesn't seem to be there often. Still the best fish store store in Nampa IMO, ever since that other small one with the creepy owners went under so many years ago. Petco's mostly just there for products you can't find elsewhere without driving half an hour as far as I'm concerned. Not sure if you've even been to those locations but meh. Zamzows is pretty good

 

[Mgamer20o0]

i agree 100% with MG
some good points made in the thread.
i, too, get tired of seeing the threads about how horrible ppl's lfs is lol

well its less about that and more about what good is it doing for the hobby. trying to get people to think differently. when you come to problems less pointing in shame more self reflection on what they can do to help.

And every now and then, we'll get a small operation pop up from someone who actually cares about what they are doing. Little place out of their home at first (MG ) and then maybe to the little hole in the wall space at the local strip mall. Just a wee store. Sells just enough to pay the lease and make a small profit on side. Why...because he cares about his business, stands by the product he sells and loves his customers and will do what he can to keep them happy and coming back for more. Might be a little more expensive than the chain stores, but the quality of the product and services, knowledge and customer satisfaction is what keeps him going and return customer visits.

lol there is no store opening up here lol

 

[arachnar]

Sounds like you may live in the same area as me. The older man/manager of the Zamzows on Caldwell blvd knows his stuff pretty well but he doesn't seem to be there often. Still the best fish store store in Nampa IMO, ever since that other small one with the creepy owners went under so many years ago. Petco's mostly just there for products you can't find elsewhere without driving half an hour as far as I'm concerned. Not sure if you've even been to those locations but meh. Zamzows is pretty good

No, not the Caldwell one but the one off federal way in Boise, fairly close too. I do wish the treasure valley area had some more lfs though, Fish aquariums and stuff is kinda far off for me as I'll usually just browse the selection. The is a middle aged guy at the zamzows though here that seems to genuinely care but I haven't really asked him much.

 

[arachnar]

Petco is good for food and supplies though in the past I've found that the one filter and two heaters have been cheaper to buy online on foster&smith.

 

[Dev]

No, not the Caldwell one but the one off federal way in Boise, fairly close too. I do wish the treasure valley area had some more lfs though, Fish aquariums and stuff is kinda far off for me as I'll usually just browse the selection. The is a middle aged guy at the zamzows though here that seems to genuinely care but I haven't really asked him much.

Fish Aquariums & Stuff is one of the best local stores. I'd recommend checking out Boise's Freshwater Aquariums on Overland as well if you haven't yet, they top my list so far.. wider selection of fish too. Added bonus is that I believe both of these stores will take fry/juvies from local breeders for store credit, something no chain store I know of will do (including Zamzows), although I know they have their reasons for it.
Sorry if this has gotten too far off topic from the OP =\ Carry on :lipssealedsmilie:

 

[DrNo]

Sorry for the length, but it is a complicated topic.

All such businesses (regardless of configuration) are service industries. They must meet demand for product and provide a high level of customer service if they expect to generate sustainable revenue and have an opportunity to expand operations.

Many of us here are represent their ideal/target customer. Generally, we are not casual enthusiasts who will drop a few bucks every few months on a goldfish. Even in higher volumes, targeting these customers is a lousy way to make a buck. Contrast that to myself for example: filter media purchases, foods, chemicals, fertilizers, product upgrades on a regular basis. Earning my repeat business for these transactions is how a business succeeds. Three basic configurations seem to exist (I'm excluding large online retailers):

1) The Big Box pet store: They have this repeat-customer equipment business dialed in: they have better selections, good prices, and larger quantities on supplies. They get the majority of regular tank expenditure dollars and do well as a result. I have never bought a live specimen from these stores and never will due to generally poor quality of care. Trust me, they could care less whether I buy their pleco or not. Housing live specimens is merely a means to an end, i.e. to precipitate customers to buy all of the associated necessary equipment. If they could cut out the live stock completely, they would (in a heartbeat).

2) "Mom and pop" running out of my garage outfit: Can be highly effective, but the margin for error is zero. The quality of the stock/plant/specimen is paramount and stocking conditions and cleanliness counts folks. Lousy product = no business. Quick true story:

- Recently visited the local cichlid breeder for the first time.
- Pulled up to his house and saw his messy yard, his filthy dog.
- Saw his dirty stock tanks in the open garage before came out to meet me.
- Re-started car and pulled away.

He lost a minimum $150 transaction in a single day because he doesn't understand the service side of his industry. All businesses fail for a reason...

3) LFS: Generally, they are somewhere in-between the two categories above and can have some of the most knowledgable people. They don't have the best selection of equipment, but can happily special order if desired. They have the luxury of taking better care of their stock than the big box store if they take the time to perform the appropriate maintenance and actually give a d___. Think dirty tanks and depressed stock are just part of the business model? Not for my dollar. I value and want to support local business. I will/do spend the spend the all-valuable equipment dollar at a LFS but ONLY if I believe the store cares humanely for its stock and seeks to provide all specimens with good homes. I am my