Silly LFS patrons...

carpediem said:
The LFS is really the one at fault IMO and I'll tell you why...
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Let me take this a step farther, if I may.

If the LFS is a chain store, the specific responsible party isn't the person working the fish area ... unless that person is the manager of that department.

The manager of the department is given several goals, mainly sales quotas, all boiling down to selling $x of merchandise, in this case live fish.

And above him, there are multiple layers of management, all reporting upwards and receiving goals and quotas.

So don't be too harsh on the person who's doing the actual selling. It's a very real possibility that the management wouldn't appreciate him doing anything at all that would cut into sales ... and would likely not provide any training to deter sales. I can even foresee a person doing too good of a job of educating customers, and the sales figures going down, and the pointy-haired boss gets called in, and Lundberg wants his f'n TPS reports ... all resulting in the well-meaning employee being "corrected."

Thus a reason to shop at an LFS, when possible, where the information is more geared towards a love of the hobby than figures generated by an Excel workbook :)
 
mandimoron said:
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? O_o
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I would be more worried about the oils on my hands getting in the water all the time (careful to wash beforehand). But does it disturb their slimecoat? I know at the aquarium at Myrtle Beach they leat you stick you hand in and pet the sting rays who will swim by. So maybe it won't bother a larger type fish?
 
anyone have any good articles online or anything to prove/support the whole thing about still growing form the inside even though the body is stunted? i have heard this multiple times with fish and water turtles and personally dont believe it. im not saying anyone is wrong or trying to argue, i just want some more info for myself.

i worked at petsmart and i was told specifically that if i didnt think it was a good home, refuse the sale. i dont like petsmart and they can afford a lost sale better than most LFSs, but none the less many managers and clerks are in the industry for the love of the animals, not the money, and will therefore do the right thing in the wrong situation. i cant think off hand any times i actually had to refuse sale, although there may have been a couple when i should have but didnt because it was a language barrier and i would probably get in trouble for holding that against them (since i couldnt ask questions to verify they had the right setup, or explain things they needed to know).

i dont worry about the oils on my hand, i just make sure i didnt just dip them in bleach or other chemicals. i think petting them physically removes some slime coat, so i guess i wouldnt pet a fish even if it would let me, but i also wouldnt get too upset if i saw someone else doing it.
 
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This is one of them problems where right now he is winning. Because you are mad and he still buys abunch of fish. Haha.

If you want to win stop being mad, and turn the game around and talk to him one day and pertend your a noob. Start talking with him and seeing all the stupid things he say and you would say the real facts back and as you sit there thinkin to yourself "**** im smart" you see the guy starting to panic and studder replys. And if your lucky runs away crying.

-Q
 
I saw a similar situation at a local Petsmart. The clerk simply said "I can sell you the fish now, but I can't give you the 14-day warranty." I think that's a good solution in dealing with ignorant yet stubborn customers.
 
i have refused to guarantee the animal a few times, they still bought them though, doesnt help the poor animal though.
 
absmin said:
I saw a similar situation at a local Petsmart. The clerk simply said "I can sell you the fish now, but I can't give you the 14-day warranty." I think that's a good solution in dealing with ignorant yet stubborn customers.
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A couple tried to buy an oscar and 2 mollies for a single tank. The salesman said in 3 months the mollies will be lunch for the oscar. At which point the guy said, "well that will be interesting to watch". The salesman said, well, at $3.00 each, those are **** expensive feeder fish, but I'll sell them if you want them....with no warranty at all on the mollies. ...but I think a better idea would be to buy these feeder guppies at 10 for $1." This made me think for a bit....but overall, in the salesman's shoes, I think I would have done the same thing.
 
NotGumbel said:
Let me take this a step farther, if I may.

If the LFS is a chain store, the specific responsible party isn't the person working the fish area ... unless that person is the manager of that department.

The manager of the department is given several goals, mainly sales quotas, all boiling down to selling $x of merchandise, in this case live fish.

And above him, there are multiple layers of management, all reporting upwards and receiving goals and quotas.

So don't be too harsh on the person who's doing the actual selling. It's a very real possibility that the management wouldn't appreciate him doing anything at all that would cut into sales ... and would likely not provide any training to deter sales. I can even foresee a person doing too good of a job of educating customers, and the sales figures going down, and the pointy-haired boss gets called in, and Lundberg wants his f'n TPS reports ... all resulting in the well-meaning employee being "corrected."

Thus a reason to shop at an LFS, when possible, where the information is more geared towards a love of the hobby than figures generated by an Excel workbook :)
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I agree with what you're saying, in principle. But I have my own opinions in regards to sales quotas and success in the long run. In my opinion, over the long haul, it is possible to operate with integrity i.e. giving the correct advice regardless of the immediate outcome of on-the-spot sale, and still meet sales quotas. My point in the original post was that selling random fish and giving bad advice will ensure failure for the customer. Those who fail will become discouraged and either quit the hobby or go to another vendor. Either way, you lose their future sales. Even worse, they may tell someone else that their failure was because you run a poor operation, especially if they go somewhere else and the new vendor gives good advice leading the customer to a successful situation.

Word of mouth is huge in any business.

Then again, the world is full of the incompetent so I suppose most vendors don't mind losing one discouraged customer because there is always an abundance of idiots to buy new aquariums and receive poor advice. In my business, I choose the high road... I would rather sell fish to people who appreciate the hobby and return to me again and again.

Cheers
 
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