Big Chain Pet Store Employee, Venting

[CPryor]

She walked off after talking to him and I was like... "a ghost knife in a 30?"
He just leaned into me and said low, "This lady never listens to anything I say. I tell her something and she does the opposite. I just gave up."

YES YES YES! There have been a few days where I'm so frustrated with a "regular" who cant keep their tank stocked that I just keep quiet.....but then I always feel bad. I don't feel like I've done my best job unless I at least make an effort to give the best advice I'm able to, even when I know I'll be ignored. So I just smile brightly, chirp my advice, and try to look cheerful when I bag the fish.... if it's bad enough I'll void the refund, though it's rare.

 

[Luananeko]

Yes, that's a great idea and I'd love to have a reference! Right now, I have convinced a few people that a better idea is to buy a Betta for their itty bitty glo tanks. We keep the Goldskirt Tetras in a tank with the purple Glo Tetras, and they end up a really pretty pearly purple under the lights. I've sold a few of the white bettas that no one seems to want otherwise this way

Do you think the light affects the fish aversely in any way? Also, I feel like the glo tanks at work always have more algae in them....thoughts?

Here's what my Glofish tank looks like, and no, it doesn't have more algae as long as you have shrimp or snails. I get a little extra here or there, but nothing that a quick mag-scraper and some rubbing of the decorations during water change time won't solve.

I've been running my Glotank for over a year now and have never noticed any adverse behavior from my inhabitants, so the light doesn't seem to bother them at all. I actually see more of my shyer guys in this tank because the different light spectrum doesn't seem to make them as nervous

Edit: Oh, and another way to encourage them toward the bigger tank... Those awesome lionfish and jellyfish decorations are too big to fit into the small tanks

 

[CPryor]

Edit: Oh, and another way to encourage them toward the bigger tank... Those awesome lionfish and jellyfish decorations are too big to fit into the small tanks

AGHHHHHH THAT IS SOOOOO COOOOOOOOL! I am SO going to print this out to show people your tank! Is there any way you would like to receive credit for this image? Should I just put the URL?

Oh, and thank you for clairifying that the jellifish were decorations....I was about to have a serious case of the derps, and ask if they were real

......btw, we have a dragon decoration in one of our tanks and twice now I've heard a customer turn to a loved one and say "Look darling! Look at that lizard in there, I wonder what he eats?" etc. ....I just turn around and walk away until I can regain my composure.

 

[Luananeko]

AGHHHHHH THAT IS SOOOOO COOOOOOOOL! I am SO going to print this out to show people your tank! Is there any way you would like to receive credit for this image? Should I just put the URL?

Oh, and thank you for clairifying that the jellifish were decorations....I was about to have a serious case of the derps, and ask if they were real

......btw, we have a dragon decoration in one of our tanks and twice now I've heard a customer turn to a loved one and say "Look darling! Look at that lizard in there, I wonder what he eats?" etc. ....I just turn around and walk away until I can regain my composure.

No worries, I get the question about the jellyfish a lot. They really do look realistic at first glance

I'm not picky about credit, but if you tell them it was an online forum member's tank that should be fine. If people want to do a similar design I'll be flattered, not upset.

Omg on the dragon decoration bit

 

[jwh0818]

I'll tell yall my favorite story while working at a "petstore". One day I was right about to leave and a guy walks in and tells me he has a 12" oscar that he just got in a 55g tank. He begins to tell me the Oscar looks dirty and is looking for stuff to wash him. I was a bit lost at this point so I asked a few more questions and turns out he was holding the Oscar and he was slimy and he wanted to wash the slime off?!? I told him he could if he wanted to but his fish is gonna die because that's the Oscars slime coat and he needs it.

 

[CPryor]

I feel like at this point I should share a positive story regarding customers....about a month ago, a lady came in and selected a 20 gal. long aquarium. As I was helping her load it on a handcart, she said she had a standard 20 gal with a herd of cory cats in it, and was getting this tank to put them into, as they were beginning to breed. She was very concerned about what to do with the fry. I mentioned craigslist and she balked, saying she could not stand the thought of putting them into a bad situation. I thought about it some more, and suggested she go to the local science museum and ask about the fish club that met there - she could talk with and "interview" the people who might take some of the fry and even possibly they could help her identify genders, so she could separate them to keep the numbers manageable. I'll start adding this forum as well as a resource for customers who hit me with something I am WHOLLY unprepared to answer!

And my heart grows three sizes whenever a young'un and their parent comes in to research their future pets. I don't mind at all being interviewed by people who want to get a feel for how well our fish are cared for!

 

[CPryor]

I'll tell yall my favorite story while working at a "petstore". One day I was right about to leave and a guy walks in and tells me he has a 12" oscar that he just got in a 55g tank. He begins to tell me the Oscar looks dirty and is looking for stuff to wash him. I was a bit lost at this point so I asked a few more questions and turns out he was holding the Oscar and he was slimy and he wanted to wash the slime off?!? I told him he could if he wanted to but his fish is gonna die because that's the Oscars slime coat and he needs it.

You win for best story, jwh0818, you win.

 

[henningc]

Yesterday, I didn't realize until they left the store that an employee had sold some lady and her young daughter a 1/2 gallon betta keeper and a pair-Male and female-of bettas. I was buying feeder rosy reds and just was not apying attention.

I will say that most of the employees at the [name removed]store that just opened near me have learned to ask me questions. They realize I have done this for years and at least are trying. The employee from yesterday was new and I went back in and pointed out what happened to the manager. He stood there and told me he was sorry and trying his best to get them to think.

 

[GodFan]

I have he oppisite problem. The petstore employees hate me as a customer lol people think I work there because I like to give advice. And I may or may not have talked people out of buying certain fish...after they were already bagged.....

 

[Boogety48]

As a fellow pet store worker, I completely agree. I get tired of explaining to people everyday why fish can't go in one gallon bowls and why we can have 1000 goldfish in our huge fish wall but they can't have 20 in a 10 gallon. I hate hearing people mispronounce fish names on purpose because they think it's cute. You reach a point of either not caring or having cared to much. It kills me to see fish go to bad homes where you know the people will be back tomorrow to get a replacement and then go "well why did it die?"

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[CPryor]

Yesterday, I didn't realize until they left the store that an employee had sold some lady and her young daughter a 1/2 gallon betta keeper and a pair-Male and female-of bettas. I was buying feeder rosy reds and just was not apying attention.

I will say that most of the employees at the PetS Whatever store that just opened near me have learned to ask me questions. They realize I have done this for years and at least are trying. The employee from yesterday was new and I went back in and pointed out what happened to the manager. He stood there and told me he was sorry and trying his best to get them to think.

Ohhhh dearrrrr....thats upsetting. At least I did know that going in :/ Our dept. also covers small animal, and I'm pretty sure I got the job because I know so much about hamsters.... different employees have different "specialties", depending on their pet history. I know which employee to send to for reptile advice, chiclid advice etc etc...

I will say, looking back, I've given questionable advice before, but nothing that bad. My family had a 20 gal. fish tank when i was young, so I had some broad (incomplete) knowledge of compatibility and setting up a new tank. As soon as I got the job, I started researching more....but not every employee will do so, certainly.

 

[CPryor]

I have he oppisite problem. The petstore employees hate me as a customer lol people think I work there because I like to give advice. And I may or may not have talked people out of buying certain fish...after they were already bagged.....

Haha, well, I'd probably like you. I never mind when someone calls me out on something - I know I don't know it all! I like to debate and talk to people that know more than me; it's one of the pleasures of my job. I'd MUCH rather have a well-informed customer make me feel foolish for not knowing something, than have someone expect me to select and set up a whole ecosystem for them without them having to do any research themselves (remember, it's not only fish I'm expected to know about, but various birds, reptiles, amphibians, rodents, and small mammals).

Probably my third week there I had a customer who "pop quizzed" me, and was upset that I could not sex the gourami. I admitted I was new and could only sex mollies and platys. I had him show me how to sex other fish... I think he appreciated my honesty. If I can't dazzle you with my knowledge, I'll dazzle you with my eagerness to learn! ...just be aware I'll double check the **** out of you as soon as I get home

 

[bribo12]

Isn't sexing gouramis hard? Lol I love the people who come in and ask you to sex the little angelfish an then get mad when you say you don't know because they're to small.

 

[CPryor]

As a fellow pet store worker, I completely agree. I get tired of explaining to people everyday why fish can't go in one gallon bowls and why we can have 1000 goldfish in our huge fish wall but they can't have 20 in a 10 gallon. I hate hearing people mispronounce fish names on purpose because they think it's cute. You reach a point of either not caring or having cared to much. It kills me to see fish go to bad homes where you know the people will be back tomorrow to get a replacement and then go "well why did it die?"

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

YES. I've had to bite back saying "okay, have fun watching this fish slowly die from stress......see you in a week for your replacement!".

And I must ask, how do you feel when you tell someone that the goldfish they picked will die in their tank, and they proudly respond "No, you're wrong, I had a goldfish last a whole three years in that tank!"

I always smile and respond that a goldfish's lifespan is more in the decades area (depending on species). I DO hold back from pointing out that that's like getting a puppy, and being proud that you got it to live for a few months in a cardboard box......

I feel it's not rude to just give bare facts in a friendly way.....but I have to bite soooo many additional comments back -____-

 

[Grumble69]

Personally I think people need a test and get a license before they can have pets (or children for that matter).

 

[IShallNtEatFish]

Personally I think people need a test and get a license before they can have pets (or children for that matter).

Yes!!!!! And have to report how they are doing!!

 

[Plantaholic]

Personally I think people need a test and get a license before they can have pets (or children for that matter).

+1! The world would be a better place.

 

[Dallascowboys16]

I never buy anything from Big box stores beside supplies. The nes around here have fish who's faces have actually decomposed off while they're still swimming and the fish live in horrendous conditions. Well anyway I once heard a lady ask "if she fed her oscars neon tetras would they glow?" The man working there who is a supposed "fish expert consultant" said " I don't see why not, actually I'm sure they would, How many do you want?" He then proceeded to sell her 10 neons for food for her oscars who I'm sure we're in a hideously tiny tank due to her level of fish knowledge.

 

[GodFan]

Haha, well, I'd probably like you. I never mind when someone calls me out on something - I know I don't know it all! I like to debate and talk to people that know more than me; it's one of the pleasures of my job. I'd MUCH rather have a well-informed customer make me feel foolish for not knowing something, than have someone expect me to select and set up a whole ecosystem for them without them having to do any research themselves (remember, it's not only fish I'm expected to know about, but various birds, reptiles, amphibians, rodents, and small mammals).

Probably my third week there I had a customer who "pop quizzed" me, and was upset that I could not sex the gourami. I admitted I was new and could only sex mollies and platys. I had him show me how to sex other fish... I think he appreciated my honesty. If I can't dazzle you with my knowledge, I'll dazzle you with my eagerness to learn! ...just be aware I'll double check the **** out of you as soon as I get home

Yea yall have alot to keep up with! I saw them selling this lady 2 young serpae tetras to put in a tank with an oscar. I made sure she realized she was buykng a snack lol

Man thats hardcore about the gourami! I coukdnt sex them!

 

[CPryor]

I never buy anything from Big box stores beside supplies. The nes around here have fish who's faces have actually decomposed off while they're still swimming and the fish live in horrendous conditions. Well anyway I once heard a lady ask "if she fed her oscars neon tetras would they glow?" The man working there who is a supposed "fish expert consultant" said " I don't see why not, actually I'm sure they would, How many do you want?" He then proceeded to sell her 10 neons for food for her oscars who I'm sure we're in a hideously tiny tank due to her level of fish knowledge.

The devil in me would try to sell her a few of the $8 Glofish "just to be sure!" ....but no, I totally kid, I never would.

YIKES! What is that store doing??!?! I'm not saying the conditions are ideal at a big box, even under the best of circumstances....but still! At our store, we have 3x the filtration we actually need, we clean the tanks once a week (betta containers 3x a week), and have quarantine tanks in the back. Actually, we once had a tiger oscar come in with a growth, and we had a veterinarian remove the tumor....the fish lived! We had to adopt him out, because he was not "sellable"; any fish with a genetic condition or wound that causes it not to be sold can be adopted out. So again, the conditions are not ideal, but I do have some things to be positive about at my store.

Only, I really, really wish we got our fish from responsible breeders We take care of what we get pretty well...but what we get is far too often a sad, sad thing.