Petco...just sad
- Thread starter nderouch
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I have seen some Petcos that are very clean and the staff is knowlageable while there are others where the conditions in the tank are deplorable. It all just depends on the management in that store and how much time they are willing to spend on that department. As far as the cashier at the register, she is probably not allowed to leave the register to go and check the situation out but she could call someone to go and see what is going on in their tanks.
Marinemom
Marinemom
Sad situation, but I figured I would chime in and say that the local petco that is next to my office where I buy all of my supplies from has a really great staff in the fish department. Every time I go there, one lady especially is always working on a tank. Just goes to show that a no matter how hard a chain store tries to make the same experience at every store, it really boils down to who they have working for them.
DAVIDFBT
Extinct? Since when?
I went to petsmart today to pick up a dwarf gourami, and I saw every tank looked great with nice clean water. But I did see a dead eel-like fish and a dead dwarf gourami.
But I don't know about you, but the LFS I go to to get fish and live bloodworms at has a really nice selection of nice healthy active fish and I never saw a dead fish in any tank.
Out of the 4 pet stores here in Medford, all of them have healthy fish. Petsmart, Petcountry (LFS), Nui Kai (My main LFS with exotic fish and reptiles), and Reef Tech (Specializes in SW). No PETCO in Medford yet though.
But I don't know about you, but the LFS I go to to get fish and live bloodworms at has a really nice selection of nice healthy active fish and I never saw a dead fish in any tank.
Out of the 4 pet stores here in Medford, all of them have healthy fish. Petsmart, Petcountry (LFS), Nui Kai (My main LFS with exotic fish and reptiles), and Reef Tech (Specializes in SW). No PETCO in Medford yet though.
The strength and reputation of any team, or company, is only as good as it worst store, or weakest link. You've all heard that saying.
If the big box stores really cared, they would make sure that they keep their reputation clean. That's the bottom line. For any company to allow any less than favorable notoriety is a foible that will bring down that company. If their weakest link has deplorable conditions, the whole company is in contempt.
Any company that allows some of the situations I've seen at PetCo and PetSmart, needs to be bashed. Or worse yet, we as conscientious fishkeepers(not fish havers), need to boycott these places. To them, animals are a commodity, not a living thing.
I worked in retail management for 20+ years. I can hire anyone and train them to do a job and become a Britannica of information. Those that don't live up to the expectations and standards aren't there long.
It is the responsibility of management to see that proper training is available and received. So, don't blame the employees, blame management and the higher ups for their lack of humanity, morality and sense of duty. They are corrupted by the almighty dollar. It's all about sales, no matter how you get them, in their eyes.
Some of you may shop the PetCo's and PetsMart's that are not being pointed out. I am glad for you. I see that you have people who care in those stores. But there are still WAY too many of these stores that are subpar. We as conscientious aquarists must be aware of these merchants and take our disgust to those that can make a difference, starting with these forums.
If the big box stores really cared, they would make sure that they keep their reputation clean. That's the bottom line. For any company to allow any less than favorable notoriety is a foible that will bring down that company. If their weakest link has deplorable conditions, the whole company is in contempt.
Any company that allows some of the situations I've seen at PetCo and PetSmart, needs to be bashed. Or worse yet, we as conscientious fishkeepers(not fish havers), need to boycott these places. To them, animals are a commodity, not a living thing.
I worked in retail management for 20+ years. I can hire anyone and train them to do a job and become a Britannica of information. Those that don't live up to the expectations and standards aren't there long.
It is the responsibility of management to see that proper training is available and received. So, don't blame the employees, blame management and the higher ups for their lack of humanity, morality and sense of duty. They are corrupted by the almighty dollar. It's all about sales, no matter how you get them, in their eyes.
Some of you may shop the PetCo's and PetsMart's that are not being pointed out. I am glad for you. I see that you have people who care in those stores. But there are still WAY too many of these stores that are subpar. We as conscientious aquarists must be aware of these merchants and take our disgust to those that can make a difference, starting with these forums.
I agree with the previous post, if one petsmart or petco has done me wrong they all have. And in my experience, i agree that these stores do not hire the most intelligent or concerned employees, and the reason is simply bottom dollar, they pay less than say a smaller shop may pay their smaller staff.
I am a firm believer that big box stores of any kind are what ruined personal service and knowledgeable sales people, i sell car audio, tint, and alarm for a living, at a place where our proces may be slightly higher, but the quality of installation is far superior, we outsell the best buy down the street in the car audio department, yet i still lose sales to those people who are looking for a cheap install.
when it comes to pets, the difference between 99 cent tetras and the ones i paid 2 dollars for is enormous, mine are still alive and a friend who set up a tank after mines had disease within days of coming home.
I think that the condition of the tanks is a silly way to judge the quality of the location, i have seen the petco here use ammonia based chemicals to clean tanks, sure they are clean, but not stable or safe.
in this same light my favorite LFS has tanks that have been set up for over 10 years, of course they look a little haggrd and the hard water we have in texas has taken its toll, but the tanks are stable, the fish are generally active and healthy, and the floors are wet, never trust a fish store with dry floors, means someone isnt working hard enough.
I just want to make the point that clean does not always mean safe or better. In my opinion finding a great small LFS and a salesperson you can trust to be knowledgeable is the best route to go, I have 2 guys at my LFS who have never steered me wrong, and have been really friendly in the process, its great to feel like your time is important, never gotten that from the usual highschool kid working at petco or petsmart.
It is customer SERVICE after all and you shouldnt have to track someone down to help you, they should be asking you what they can do for you, and thats my major grief with the big box stores, hourly employees tend to stand around unless told to get to work, people who work on a comission or profit share like most small privately operated lfs around here, they tend to care more about your need or situation.
I am a firm believer that big box stores of any kind are what ruined personal service and knowledgeable sales people, i sell car audio, tint, and alarm for a living, at a place where our proces may be slightly higher, but the quality of installation is far superior, we outsell the best buy down the street in the car audio department, yet i still lose sales to those people who are looking for a cheap install.
when it comes to pets, the difference between 99 cent tetras and the ones i paid 2 dollars for is enormous, mine are still alive and a friend who set up a tank after mines had disease within days of coming home.
I think that the condition of the tanks is a silly way to judge the quality of the location, i have seen the petco here use ammonia based chemicals to clean tanks, sure they are clean, but not stable or safe.
in this same light my favorite LFS has tanks that have been set up for over 10 years, of course they look a little haggrd and the hard water we have in texas has taken its toll, but the tanks are stable, the fish are generally active and healthy, and the floors are wet, never trust a fish store with dry floors, means someone isnt working hard enough.
I just want to make the point that clean does not always mean safe or better. In my opinion finding a great small LFS and a salesperson you can trust to be knowledgeable is the best route to go, I have 2 guys at my LFS who have never steered me wrong, and have been really friendly in the process, its great to feel like your time is important, never gotten that from the usual highschool kid working at petco or petsmart.
It is customer SERVICE after all and you shouldnt have to track someone down to help you, they should be asking you what they can do for you, and thats my major grief with the big box stores, hourly employees tend to stand around unless told to get to work, people who work on a comission or profit share like most small privately operated lfs around here, they tend to care more about your need or situation.
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