Silly LFS patrons...

[Dangerdoll]

hoo-boy. My sister went to my other sisters house over the holidays and was looking at my old 55 gallon.

She asked: what size tank is that?

I say: 55 gallon

She said: I think I want to change my tank to that size.

I say: What size is your tank?

She said: 50 gallons but it's taller than it is longer like this one.

I say: what have you got in the tank?

She said, 3 of those bella, bala, billa sharks.... you know the silver ones... they're funny, the one makes me lugh, they're so skittish, they constantly bang at the ends of the tank.

I say: really, for 3, you really need something bigger than a 55 gallon, do you have any idea how big those things get?

She said: oh sure, but they only grow to their environment, there's one really big one and 2 smaller ones.... they won't grow anymore until they get into a bigger tank.

I say: ummmm.... wrong, they might apear not to grow but they are getting stunted/damaged, still growing from the inside. Eventually, being in the tank that size will kill them.

she said: no, you're worng... they grow to the size of the tank, they'll be fine, trust me...

hoo-boy...... trust her??

 

[Emg]

Well, you could always try the age old trick of slapping a taped sign to his back while he's standing there......that reads something like:

DANGER!
PHYSCOTIC FISHKILLER ALERT!
I LOVE TO KILL FISH
EVERY CHANCE I GET
IF I CAN"T DO IT MYSELF
I GET OTHERS TO DO IT FOR ME !!
UNBEKNOWNST TO THEM!
BWAAAHAAAHAAAHAAAA!!!

OR

Your aquariums and fish are in great danger if you listen to this man !

OR

If you love your fish....
Don't listen to this man about ANYTHING aquarium related..
HE KNOWS NOTHING !

Any other ideas ??

 

[Galaxie]

hmm....

ok

1) tie 16-inch purple string around guy's neck
2) drop rock

:huh:

 

[patoloco]

I was wondering how long would the purple string take to come back to life in the forum... :hang:

 

[carpediem]

The LFS is really the one at fault IMO and I'll tell you why...

Obviously Joe Know-it-all doesn't mind when fish die, it must happen all the time. However, the customers whose mind he's infecting with his misinformation may not take so kindly to their poor success rate. Even worse, they'll usually blame the LFS for the fact that 75% of their fish went belly up. Now you have an unhappy customer that tells 5 of his/her friends not to go to your store because the fish always die.

In the fish business, you must always be comfortable and confident in your knowledge. Your clients depend on you for the correct information. If that was my store I would have told the guy that his information was incorrect and that I didn't want him giving MY customers incorrect information. If he insisted, I would throw him out of the store. I'd rather lose one ignorant customer then many future customers.

INTEGRITY
-Give excellent service
-Do your best to ensure your customer's success in the hobby by giving sound advice and encouragement
-Reap the benefits of return business from your customer and his/her friends

Just my .02

 

[CBTF]

Meh. At petsmart a few days ago I saw a woman buying 4 bettas for one tank. They were pretty colors apparently. I told her it wasnt a good idea because they fight and she was all "no no I already have two with short fins and they get along."

She probably meant females. I gave up. RIP bettas.

 

[graphicdesign_r]

Man what a bunch of "fish snobs" you guys are. I can't believe you actually care this much about fish.

Kidding! I saw that "fish snob" thing in another thread posted by someone who didn't like being told they were wrong and it struck me as funny.

I've said it once, I'll say it again:

You can't argue with an idiot, they'll just try to drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.

 

[JimmyOrangeSeed]

Yea, I have had some bad experience with LFS' in my area. One kid that worked at one tried to tell me not to ever turn off the fish light, because its bad for them .....
Another one told my girlfriend that her new 47 hexigon didnt need a filter because her new pleco would do it all....
Oh and last week I went into a Petco and the guy that ran the pet department had his hand in the Salt Water aquarium "petting" the fish. And when I told him this probably wasnt the best idea, he said " Why, I do it all the time." LoL

 

[Hannys_Papa]

LOL I know this is shifting a bit off topic but i had one guy at the LFS tell me that bettas can withstand anything - they are genetically engineered to !!! :duh:

And on my quest to find some pure ammonia for a fishless cycle i drove to a mostly marine fish store quite far away - the store owners wife !!! (not some high school kid) told me to NEVER use ammonia in the tank or it will soak into the gravel and then leech out after a while and kill my fish.

At least these comments help you to figure out where to take your business.

 

[mandimoron]

I don't often try and advise people in pet stores. Most of the time, people seem to be pretty **** sure that they already know everything, so who am I to tell them otherwise? I've only ever helped a few people with fish or rodent problems, but that was only because they asked me.

Oh and last week I went into a Petco and the guy that ran the pet department had his hand in the Salt Water aquarium "petting" the fish. And when I told him this probably wasnt the best idea, he said " Why, I do it all the time." LoL

I pat the resident koi at the pet store down the road... They're pretty tame to the hand, and will let you stroke their sides or the tops of their heads so long as you're also feeding them (otherwise they want nothing to do with you, heh). Is it really that bad to touch them?