Hate Petsmart/Petco?? Vent here, and tell me/us why!!

[ADCISCO]

Well I guess that I will add my 2 cents for what it is worth!lol I didnt care for our Petco because they didnt have much of a selection and what they did have were half dead. But I did go to a Petsmart about 2 hrs from here and WOW! But I do live in a small town!lol Only fish we have here are the carp that you catch in the Ohio River! But anyway I thought it was a a nice store though I did not buy anything other than some Amquel Plus and an ammonia detector that was half the price of the one at the local pet store. Had a large variety of fish...I like to look and dream......Now I will say one thing....we have a Super Walmart and the girl that works there is a PRO! I do mean she has had 20+ yrs of know how and she has helped me soooo much over the past month and I will say that, that store has the best looking fish that I have seen anywhere and they actually have a nice selection for "Wally World". I am ther quite frequently and I always look at the fish to see if they are active and healthy looking so that when my tank is perfect I can get some!!!!!

[shawmutt]

[acronym:77ab4b69f4="In my opinion"]IMO[/acronym:77ab4b69f4], how good any store is depends on the management and associates. I bet someone here has had excellent experiences (yes, plural) in their local walmart. We have a Petsmart here that is halfway decent, they even go as far as feeding the fish zuccini and other vegetables! I see dead fish in the tank sometimes, but that is inevitable, and they are usually removed. Compared to my favorite [acronym:77ab4b69f4="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:77ab4b69f4] 45 minutes away, it's not great, but for a quick run or common fish, it's pretty good. But compared to the other [acronym:77ab4b69f4="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:77ab4b69f4] in the area (see http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewto...181&highlight= ) it's paradise.

[Mutz]

The Petco's in my area are OK. They each have 1 person who I would call very knowledgeable. From my experience, the rest of the people there are just high school kids who don't know jack and just needed an after school job. I don't like going into Petco and seeing a beautiful fish in a tank with 3 dead tankmates. I also don't like when I see beautiful betta's in glass "holders" that are about the size of dixie cups. Those poor things are being tortured. Most of the time 50% of their tanks have ich.

They do, however, have a large selection of supplies and equipment.

I have yet to venture to Petsmart.

[madasafish]

(In my opinion...)

Funny... I used to think that Petco would always be cheaper for aquarium-related products (that's the idea of the chain stores after all). I've compared several items that I bought in Petco with the prices at my [acronym:15642d2d15="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:15642d2d15]. Low and behold, the [acronym:15642d2d15="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:15642d2d15] had the items for cheaper!!!!!! I couldn't believe it (and my good fortune for having such a non-pricey [acronym:15642d2d15="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:15642d2d15]). Then again, my [acronym:15642d2d15="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:15642d2d15] is called "Petland Discounts."

E.g.: At Petco, I bought a 10G tank for $12. At Petland Discounts I can get the tank, a (cruddy) filter, gravel, a net, some flake food and one or two other small things for $11.88!! Not that I'd want all that other stuff, but what a difference! (Petland Discounts is a small chain that has stores throughout the tri-state area.)

Then again, I'm sure there are some items at Petco/Petsmart that are cheaper... And I do have to say that a 14-day return policy on fish is pretty amazing.

My conclusions (opinions...) so far:

1) Big chains do generally have a slightly less-well-informed staff, but there are always exceptions to this rule. (It's gotta be hard to find that many well-informed people, especially when turnover rates are high!)

2) Big chains may have cheaper prices, but not necessarily.

3) Large stores often mis-state or mis-represent (probably out of lack of knowledge) the size and compatibility of certain fish.

4) Some have cool buggies for kids to ride around in.

5) Petsmart offers a beneficial system of tests of competence that allow industrious employees to make more money.

6) Large chain stores often have a great number of dead and molding fish in their tanks, but so do LFSs... Perhaps the balance swings a little more toward the large chains.

7) Different branches of the large chain stores may have better/worse selections of fish, and better/worse conditions depending upon the size of the branch and its employees.

That's it for now.

Jonathan

[marilynjo]

Yes, I added DEATH to my tanks when I bought some "cute" ,"cheap" additions to my tank. I stupidly didn't isolate the fish before introducing them because I had had no problems whatever with fish from the other 2 stores I had been purchasing fish from. These "bargain" fish have cost me big bucks in losses plus the fact that some of my favorites died. NEVER add fish from an untested source without isolating them first!

[mollyluvr]

I find that Petsmart is good for the educated pet owner. We need to remember that not everyone who works at a pet store knows about all the pets and if the fish guy calls in sick who do they have to replace them? The bird guy? I have a very good [acronym:649b1e00da="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:649b1e00da] that I deal with and I only go to Petsmart if he is out of something. I made this decision when I heard a salesperson tell a woman that she could buy a goldfish, a bowl and some food and just add tap water and she would be all set with a great starter pet for her 5 year-old. All I can say is....poor fishy.

[madasafish]

Thanks for keeping the thread alive!

[sumphead]

My biggest complaint is up there with everyone else. Large chains usually have a lack of proper knowledge, but primarily the fish stock is very poorly kept! nothing is more displeasing to see a dead fish bobbing in an overcrowded tank, much less when you tell an associate about it and you see the same dead fish the next day when you go back for something you've forgotten! I told the manager, but don't think he cared.

Zic is right on with the pets as well.

Thanks for hearing me out.

[pentiumburner]

I have to put in my .02. Because of a lack of local LFS'S I buy almost all of my fish from the Davis, Ca PetCo. I have yet to have any problems with any of the fish and have in fact had great specimens that are going strong after 2 years.

I am sure that like any retail environment there are the bad, good and great people that are knowledgable. i give a thumbs up to the Davis store.

One comment about LFS. The is one store locally, and they swear by and recommend everyone use UGFS. So take that for what it's worth, I'll continue to go to PetCo. Just my .02

[Tiffi]

All the LFSs arounds me are just as bad, if not much worse than the Petcos that I've been to.

I've only made the best experiences with my lfs compared to petco etc.. At the lfs they have very clean tanks, enormous filter systems and you very rarely see a dead or even sick fish (except for the saltwater fishes they have there).

I have a thing about breeders that I feel I must mention

I've been to a breeder once who was very rude. After asking him if I could get different colored guppies than those that he just bagged out there, he got very unpolite. Before that he tried to sell me corys like crazy, although I didn't want them at all. At that time I had amano shrimps to keep my tank clean. I left his basement quickly and never came back.

Let's face it, the staff usually know nothing, the tanks are often way overstocked with obviously diseased and/or dying fish at these chains. I only purchase dry goods at these stores.

I totally agree. I am sure that is actually what it all comes down to. The employees might be students just wanting to make a buck. They know some about dogs and cats, but fishes are a little different and require more knowledge to keep them healthy and alive.

a 14 day guarantee policy... who can beat that?

My lfs has a 14 day guarantee on the fish, but I never had to use it!

I've seen many tanks with many dead and many sick fishes in the chain stores before. It's just sad. Once I heard an employee tell a costumer just to use some kind of algae fix for his algae problem. No questions asked if he had any life plants he could damage with that product, what light he had etc. And the algae is going to come back, again, and again, until that costumer gives up on fishkeeping. And if he quits the stores will have less and less costumers. No one that says, hey, this works great, I want a bigger tank...

I'm thinking about working at a local chain store besides school though, maybe I can help the store and the costumers.