2nd dumbest question Ever

[blindskate]

Me:its a great day at the ******, how may i help you?

lady: hi...do you sell oxygen?


(hmm, let me think ...yea, sure bring in a bag and we'll load ya up!)

me: sell oxygen?...(annoyed, kind of..your dumb attitude)

lady: yea, my fish need oxygen

me: ma'am...you need an air pump

lady: i dont want to buy an air pump, i just want the oxygen

me: ma'am how do you suppose we give you oxygen?

lady: i am going on a trip and am taking my fish with me and i need to buy oxygen

me: we dont sell it...

lady: ugh! can i speak to someone in the fish department?!

me: sure, please hold




hm. disappointment.
sheer disappointment.

[Innovator]

Perhaps she had her fish in bags already and just wanted the bags to be filled? Could have also pointed out that many sporting goods stores sell battery powered air pumps (perhaps she misunderstood your air pump advice, as in corded).

[An t-iasg]

That really is not an unusual request. Oxygen can be added (bubbled in) to the fish bags if you have a long drive home or if, like the customer said, they are moving with the fish and would like an extra supplement of oxygen for the trip while the fish is in the closed bag.

[FiveSix]

When the guy at the fish store asked me how I cycled my tank he gave me a "annoyed, kind of..your dumb attitude" too when I told him ammonium hydroxide. Then chuckled when he said "that's a new one you should have cycled with fish and BIO-SPIRA".

Just because you are not familiar with something someone else knows about doesn't make them dumb. There is nothing worse than going into a store (or calling) and the staff is unprofessional and condescending.





"If a shipping additive is to be used, it is placed into the bag water prior to the addition of fish. Once the fish are placed into the appropriate bag, the ambient air is removed (squeezed out) and replaced with pure oxygen from an oxygen bottle. The bag is then sealed with a rubber band or other sealing device. During transport, oxygen levels decrease and carbon dioxide levels increase as fish respire. The addition of pure oxygen to the shipping bag allows the producer to ship a greater number of fish in each bag for a longer period of time. If the sealed bag contains only ambient air, the fish quickly consume all of the available oxygen resulting in high mortalities (see IFAS Fact Sheet FA-119 On Farm Transport of Ornamental Fish )."

[pitt420dude]

Ouch, not exactly getting a friendly audeince here blindskate, and I sort of agree with them.

[tawolcott]

Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to explain in detail WHY I want something (beyond the basics). I just want my question answered. If I'm not getting what sounds like a reasonable answer I prefer to move on to someone else. Active listening is a difficult and learned skill.

[CatatonicBug]

I really do think it is strange that fishless cycling with ammonia is such a widespreade concept here, but the LFSs have never heard of it. One would think that small bottles of ammonia would be a standard ingredient sold at every LFS by now...

[roka64]

I agree, I go to marinescene and they fill up the bags with O2.

[blindskate]

I dont care if you guys think I'm mean, it was ridiculous to ask in the sense she did. I love how everone on here has an answer for everything.

[happygirl65]

I can see both sides here.

I think the customer could have been more specific about her needs. And probably should have asked for the fish department right off.

"Do you sell Oxygen?" is very general and and she doesn't mention anything about it's application at first. How is someone answering the phone at a general pet store (I am assuming it is since there is a fish department...) supposed to steer her in the right direction until they know what she needs the oxygen for? It took three questions before she finally got to WHY she needed oxygen...for her fish.

However, as a customer on the phone, I would be very annoyed with an immediate attitude along with apparent confusion as to what I was asking for.

Many times as a customer at Petsmart I have learned never to ask questions becuase they look at me like I have two heads, and finally realize that they have no idea what I am talking about and therefore I must be an idot.....ummm, not really I just happen to know a LOT more about aquaria than their employees. So now when I am asking about whether they have a product I try to be a general as I can because they NEVER know what the heck I am talking about.

It is assumptions on both sides that always cause tension.