Petco...just sad

[herefishy]

Once again, you spout very ignorant words. My wife works part time at PetSmart, so you believe she is not intelligent or concerned about the animals that she cares for in the store?

The fish get very good care when they are in the store, and are even treated when they are ill....same for all other animals. This location refused to sell birds because of an illness...for several months, refusing many customers. Does that tell you that they are more concerned about money or the animal's wellbeing?

All dogs and cats get personal time, the dogs get to run around the store and play when the store is closed. They all get the most expensive and the best food, not the cheap crap...same for the fish...they even feed veggies to the ones that require a vegetable diet...not all LFS do that.

Hell, they even do background checks before releasing pets for adoption...and make them go through training classes.

Also, you don't know how many times a week they refuse to sell fish to people that have no idea what they are doing...despite repeated attempts to point them in the right direction.

Meh, I'm done defending these store...most of you have your opinions. I just wish people would base their opinions on fact instead of that one time that one guy did that one thing that you didn't like. If you actually took the time to find a good store (most are good) you could easily find great stock at a great price.

The ignorance comes from denying the facts. Both of these companies are coming under the scrutiny of law officials. The investigation has surely come about by the negativity created by a few stores. Not only are these stores coming under fire, but their suppliers are feeling the heat, too (re: Rainbow Exotics).

I would be a fool to think that all PetCo/PetsMart stores fit the mold of "bad" stores. BA, I would like to think that just the fact that your wife works at a particular store, that it is she that has made the difference there. My kudos to her.

As far as the background checks, training classes, and the "personal" time, that sounds good. But, I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut that many stores shortcut that process. I would tell you that come quitting time, that many employees, save the most dedicated, are out the door as quickly as possible once the door is locked for the night. The training classes are also a means to justify the higher price charged for some animals. Another marketing tool.

The fact remains that these stores must work doubly hard to change their image. They will surely find that it is easier to maintain a good image than it is to clean up the mess. The problem is upper management, not only in the stores but the company.

I also think that there are smaller "ma and pa" stores that fall in the same category as the "big box" stores. We, the grassroots of the hobby, must be the ones to take action. It is our dollars that keep unacceptable operations afloat. We must set the standards and police, maintain and uphold them. It is OUR hobby, not theirs. There are groups(PETA and other "butthead" animal rights groups) that would like to see fishkeeping abolished. We MUST be our own policing group and not depend on "officials" to do it for us. We can do this by communicating with company brass and controlling where we spend our money.

Sorry to sound like a fishkeeping radical, but the hobby, and animals, in general, have been a part of my life for a long, long time, almost 47 years of fishkeeping. I want to see it around for all to enjoy when I'm gone.

 

[BoredAgain]

The ignorance comes from denying the facts. Both of these companies are coming under the scrutiny of law officials. The investigation has surely come about by the negativity created by a few stores. Not only are these stores coming under fire, but their suppliers are feeling the heat, too (re: Rainbow Exotics).

I would like to see some evidence of this investigation.

I would be a fool to think that all PetCo/PetsMart stores fit the mold of "bad" stores. BA, I would like to think that just the fact that your wife works at a particular store, that it is she that has made the difference there. My kudos to her.

Thank you, I think she does...as well as most of the other employees. It can be seen by the fact that most of the pets adopted out are to employees.

As far as the background checks, training classes, and the "personal" time, that sounds good. But, I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut that many stores shortcut that process. I would tell you that come quitting time, that many employees, save the most dedicated, are out the door as quickly as possible once the door is locked for the night.

That could be true for other stores, I'm only reporting what I see at this store. But just to show that they care beyond the hours they are clocked in, many employees took personal time to search for a dog that was accidentally let go by a customer a few weeks back...this included walking and driving around the area and posting signs...they were not compensated for this time.

The training classes are also a means to justify the higher price charged for some animals. Another marketing tool.

Yes, I also believe it is another way to make money...but it still does benefit the pets and the owners. Most owners come back for more classes.

The fact remains that these stores must work doubly hard to change their image. They will surely find that it is easier to maintain a good image than it is to clean up the mess. The problem is upper management, not only in the stores but the company.

The company does good, believe it or not, but it is hard to change the minds of people that have had bad experiences at certain locations. To combat this, the company should do a better job at screening and hiring local management. But every company, pet store or not, has to deal with this when a certain location isn't up to par.

I also think that there are smaller "ma and pa" stores that fall in the same category as the "big box" stores. We, the grassroots of the hobby, must be the ones to take action. It is our dollars that keep unacceptable operations afloat. We must set the standards and police, maintain and uphold them. It is OUR hobby, not theirs. There are groups(PETA and other "butthead" animal rights groups) that would like to see fishkeeping abolished. We MUST be our own policing group and not depend on "officials" to do it for us. We can do this by communicating with company brass and controlling where we spend our money.

I agree completely...there are a few ma and pa shops in my area that have been in business for a while and I refuse to give them my money for over prices (and I mean way over priced) equipment and sickly fish.

Sorry to sound like a fishkeeping radical, but the hobby, and animals, in general, have been a part of my life for a long, long time, almost 47 years of fishkeeping. I want to see it around for all to enjoy when I'm gone.

That's a good cause.

 

[wataugachicken]

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.

As an hourly employee working in customer service, I find that a very rude thing to insinuate. A person is either lazy or not, and the manner in which they get paid doesn't change their attitude.

 

[Intelekt]

you do notice my qoute says TEND to stand around, and it is true, hourly employees are less eficient as well as far less productive, there are no statistics that suggest otherwise, i will be happy to look at any companies productivity rating that is not outmatched by a commision based sales company of the same industry.

dont take personal offense to a general statement about economics, you only hear the words and clearly missed the content of what we are discussing here.

Bored Again, im glad your wife is a good employee, however as many here have stated is that big box stores all have the same name on the front, so if one does you wrong, you are not likely to go back to another, if i get food poisoning from one jack in the box, why would i go back to any of them?

again you are too personal with this thread, your wife works there so of course you are going to have a biased opinion about the subject, just because others in this thread disagree with your OPINON, you call them ignorant, that in itself is the most ignorant thing of all, not being able to have a discussion without insulting those who simply disagree with you.

i still dont change my opinion of big box stores, never will, however I do agree that a ma and pa type place can be as bad or worse, again why I said finding your own personal shop seems to work best. i personally am a fan of the boycott the big box stores idea, if you look into their politics even just a little, you will find that the corporate structure of these companies is not in the animals best interest, it is in bottom dollar economics.

again all of this is opinion, i choose not to shop at these stores due to corporate policies, but also from experience, the sales people at the big box stores tend to make things up, fabricate the truth about things when they dont know the answer, very often i have heard ridiculous things at sores like this. at the shop i go to, the guys have books stacked up behind the counter, they have sites bookmarked that they will pull up and explain their answers with, there is validity to the information i get, there are more reasons but for the sake of trying to shorten my posts, thats all for now..

again, please remember that this is a DISCUSSION and not an ARGUMENT...

 

[mphunk]

Now that is just plain ridiculious! Some people are just too bull headed and think they know everything when it is clear that they do not have a clue. A freshwater tank set up for a saltwater fish? Now that just makes me mad! The employee should of told her that she is wrong but then again maybe they did and she just doesn't want to listen. She is intent on going home and setting up the fresh water tank for a saltwater fish without even any regard to even stabalize the temp.in the tank let alone all of the other things needed to do before adding fish. Like addig marine salt to the tank if it is a saltwater set up.

Marinemom

The funny thing is that she was not aware of the difference in table salt and marine salt. There is also a no return policy on all SW fish. So technically Petco does not care if the fish will survive the ride home. It would be different if there was a 7 day return policy:idea:

It has been said before but all employees are not created equal and ultimately they are subject to the Corporate policies that are put in place. Support your Local LFS. Mine is Aquatic World in Napa and they are AMAZING.:headbang2:

 

[Danyal]

having worked at a deathco for 9mo now i can honestly say that if we had educated and employees that are willing to work together then we would be awesome, however we have managers who don't care that much and employees who couldn't care less or don't know better, if i was to refuse to sale a goldfish to an idiot with a 2g then all they'd have to do is wait until my back was turned and grab the next employee they see and they'd walk out of the store w/ a new fish or two, at least i can inform them as best i can before telling them i won't sell them the fish(however if the person truly and sincerely cares then i'll sell them the fish with the confidence that they will be upgrading soon)

 

[BoredAgain]

again you are too personal with this thread, your wife works there so of course you are going to have a biased opinion about the subject, just because others in this thread disagree with your OPINON, you call them ignorant, that in itself is the most ignorant thing of all, not being able to have a discussion without insulting those who simply disagree with you.

I only called what YOU said ignorant, and that is not an insult. I don't mind having discussions with people who disagree at all, I was having a very good debate with herefishy, as well as others, who happened to have very healthy views on the subject. I just don't understand people (you) that can't look at facts and the overall picture, who choose to base their opinions on that .0001%, and refuse to change their mind no matter how much fact is thrown at them that shows they are wrong. Reminds me of those crazy conspiracy theorists.

 

[Intelekt]

lol well YOU clearly cannot read as I have done the research needed to not only show that the big box stores have a bad reputation, but for the most part, unskilled and ignorant employees.

once again you show that your person bias is your only reason for disputing the FACTS that plenty of people have posted here, the majority of these posts are from people who do not think well of these companies.

If you look rationally at the situation, YOU are the one taking the.0001 percent and trying to justify your wifes job.. again, glad she works at one of the EXCEPTIONS to the rule, but for the most part, these stores have a bad reputation for a reason.

again, hate to get personal on a forum in a DISCUSSION, but BoredAgain seems to be very closed minded to the idea that his wife works for a company that has policies clearly not suited in the animals best interest..

if you see the post prior to yours it is an EMPLOYEE of one of these companies, even this person agrees, i dont know how many more people you have to hear tell you about their bad experiences at big box stores, simply put, i still agree that a boycott is a reasonable way to think about these companies.

and ignorance is not knowing the FACTS before you speak/type. everything i have written has either experience or written fact to back it up, the only thing you have done is generalize and tell us how good of an employee your wife is.. again kudos for that, but even one employee that is perfect in a company full of morons, doesnt make that company sucessful or reputable.

ill quote you here -- "If you actually took the time to find a good store (most are good) you could easily find great stock at a great price."

I shouldnt have to FIND the GOOD store, and all the ones I have been to in my very large city, san antonio, have been pitiful as far as salesperson knowledge, they may keep the tanks clean but when it comes to stocking properly, eventual size of each full grown fish, feeding, or any other crucial information, they are hopeless. again, i shouldnt have to go out and find a good petsmart, they all have the same logo and name on the front, if they cant operate every store properly, then they dont deserve my business.

again, each store is a representative of the others, just cause the one your wife works at may be run well, if others arent, the entire companies image is what is tarnished... good luck

 

[tidioute06]

this thread fails epically (gosh i miss wow) Cant we all just get along?

 

[Hermes]

It really sounds to me like there's a lot of overreacting going on.

First of all - It's a pet store. If their tanks look like crap, then their sales will suffer.
Second of all - They use a huge central filter. It's easily possible that it's on the fritz and messing up. This kind of thing happens.
Third of all - Fish die.

That being said - Is the company in the right? No, but at the same time don't jump to conclusions and go insulting each other over it.