I've worked at two LFS's over the past two years, and the one I'm currently working at definately shines above all the rest in our area. Here's what I've noticed that makes it really work:
+ A huge selection. If possible, not just fish. A lot of people come in for hamsters, mice, etc and end up liking the show tanks so much that that idea for a tank starts in the back of their mind. Two months later, they're back buying their very fish tank.
+ Small animal-care labels for fish and everything else you carry. What we do is we have small business-card labels that are taped to the outside of the tanks. They include the name of the animal, the price, feeding info, adult size, minimum habitat size, and it's aggressiveness level.
+ Employee training. My LFS has required seminars quite frequently, and plenty of magazines and pamphlets on different animals in the break room that we're supposed to read during our lunch breaks. New employees spend one week shadowing employees in different sections (small animal, fish, and cat/dog) to learn the ropes so they have a basic working knowledge of everything before they're allowed to start sales. There is a 20% employee discount on everything but books - if an employee buys a book, they get a 50% discount.
+ Plenty of learning materials (ie books, pamphlets, care sheets, etc). Have your employees recommend a book with each animal or tank purchase. Include books in tank kits. Have a wide variety so there's plenty to choose from.
+ Cleanliness. Hire someone as the "animal husbandry person" to come in full-time and clean tanks and cages. Have employees run hourly checks for dead fish, even if you don't have very many (we had a total of 5 dead fish at work yesterday, but we still ran the hourly checks just in case). We call the fish check the "DF run" (Dead Fish run) so that customers don't know what we're talking about. It makes for a much better image. Sweep, vaccuum, and mop the floor every day - and don't get carpet, it doesn't work very well in a LFS. Rugs are fine, but carpet gets messy. Wipe the class of the fish tanks hourly with the DF run, and get sick livestock off the floor immediately. It helps to have three hospital tanks in back to treat different cases. If you have small animals, put an anti-bacterial spray next to all of the cages and require employees and customers to use it before handling any animal and again between animals if they're looking at multiple animals. This stops the spread of disease and keeps the animals healthy and clean.
+ Shoplifting. The 10-foot rule has worked very well to prevent this at our LFS. Each customer has an employee within 10 feet of them, but NOT shadowing them or bugging them. For instance, if someone is looking at hamsters I might be the next aisle over facing shelves or dusting. This also makes sure that there's always someone available when you need them and you don't have to go searching to find help.
+ Friendliness. Have your employees say hello to everyone that walks in the store. Even if I'm helping customers, I'll still say hi to people as they walk past. It gives the store a friendly, open atmosphere.
+ Lighting. Good lighting is a MUST. Dark pet stores look dirty and make people wonder if they have something they're trying to hide.
+ Overall appearance. Keep products dusted and faced, and have everything ordered in a common-sense way. Have an employee uniform so it's easy to tell who works there and find assistance. Require your employees to look their best - no holes, brush their hair or tie it back, etc. Have a dress code so everyone knows what's okay to wear to work and what's not. Have your employees wear khakis or black pants to work on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays (your busiest days) to help create a more professional atmosphere. Jeans are fine for week days. Send employees home to change if they don't comply with the dress code.
+ Cover all aspects of pet ownership. People who have multiple pets like to be able to get everything in one place. Carry a variety of cat/dog toys, collars, leashes, food, small animal food, toys, and treats, fish stuff, etc.
+ A huge selection. If possible, not just fish. A lot of people come in for hamsters, mice, etc and end up liking the show tanks so much that that idea for a tank starts in the back of their mind. Two months later, they're back buying their very fish tank.
+ Small animal-care labels for fish and everything else you carry. What we do is we have small business-card labels that are taped to the outside of the tanks. They include the name of the animal, the price, feeding info, adult size, minimum habitat size, and it's aggressiveness level.
+ Employee training. My LFS has required seminars quite frequently, and plenty of magazines and pamphlets on different animals in the break room that we're supposed to read during our lunch breaks. New employees spend one week shadowing employees in different sections (small animal, fish, and cat/dog) to learn the ropes so they have a basic working knowledge of everything before they're allowed to start sales. There is a 20% employee discount on everything but books - if an employee buys a book, they get a 50% discount.
+ Plenty of learning materials (ie books, pamphlets, care sheets, etc). Have your employees recommend a book with each animal or tank purchase. Include books in tank kits. Have a wide variety so there's plenty to choose from.
+ Cleanliness. Hire someone as the "animal husbandry person" to come in full-time and clean tanks and cages. Have employees run hourly checks for dead fish, even if you don't have very many (we had a total of 5 dead fish at work yesterday, but we still ran the hourly checks just in case). We call the fish check the "DF run" (Dead Fish run) so that customers don't know what we're talking about. It makes for a much better image. Sweep, vaccuum, and mop the floor every day - and don't get carpet, it doesn't work very well in a LFS. Rugs are fine, but carpet gets messy. Wipe the class of the fish tanks hourly with the DF run, and get sick livestock off the floor immediately. It helps to have three hospital tanks in back to treat different cases. If you have small animals, put an anti-bacterial spray next to all of the cages and require employees and customers to use it before handling any animal and again between animals if they're looking at multiple animals. This stops the spread of disease and keeps the animals healthy and clean.
+ Shoplifting. The 10-foot rule has worked very well to prevent this at our LFS. Each customer has an employee within 10 feet of them, but NOT shadowing them or bugging them. For instance, if someone is looking at hamsters I might be the next aisle over facing shelves or dusting. This also makes sure that there's always someone available when you need them and you don't have to go searching to find help.
+ Friendliness. Have your employees say hello to everyone that walks in the store. Even if I'm helping customers, I'll still say hi to people as they walk past. It gives the store a friendly, open atmosphere.
+ Lighting. Good lighting is a MUST. Dark pet stores look dirty and make people wonder if they have something they're trying to hide.
+ Overall appearance. Keep products dusted and faced, and have everything ordered in a common-sense way. Have an employee uniform so it's easy to tell who works there and find assistance. Require your employees to look their best - no holes, brush their hair or tie it back, etc. Have a dress code so everyone knows what's okay to wear to work and what's not. Have your employees wear khakis or black pants to work on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays (your busiest days) to help create a more professional atmosphere. Jeans are fine for week days. Send employees home to change if they don't comply with the dress code.
+ Cover all aspects of pet ownership. People who have multiple pets like to be able to get everything in one place. Carry a variety of cat/dog toys, collars, leashes, food, small animal food, toys, and treats, fish stuff, etc.
