More horror stories from a LFS

[Talvari]

So very frustrated right now... For the first time in more than a year, I had a customer complain about me to my manager. Thankfully, my manager laughed it off because she knows me too well.

Back story: I work at a local fish store, and have been there for a year and a half. I have a tech degree in Animal Science. I've been keeping fish and working with animals all my life. I really enjoy my job, and really like teaching people about animals and I like being able to be a voice for fish, who are so often mistreated.

Anyways... Tonight I had a lady come in who wanted a fancy goldfish. Okay. How big of a tank, what other fish do you have etc.... She had a ten gallon tank. With goldfish. FOUR other FANCY goldfish to be exact.

I told her in no uncertain terms that her tank was way overstocked and that she would need to upgrade to a 50 gallon tank to keep the fish she had healthy and happy. I did at NO point REFUSE to sell her fish. She just shrugged her shoulders and wandered off...

Then went and told my manager that she needed to write me up because I refused to sell her a fish. UGH.

Anyways... I figure Id start this thread so that I could post my work experiences, and people could get a look at the other side of the story: how frustrating it is to work at a LFS.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

That is exactly why I could not work at a LFS! I couldn't hold my tongue.

 

[cheeky_monkey]

I don't think I'd make any money owning an lfs lol
None of my locals ask any questions about your tank, tank mates, etc. when buying a fish because honestly they probably are sick of having the same discussions over and over again with people who just simply don't care.

 

[Talvari]

Thats definitely part of it, cheeky monkey. Some of the regulars come in who just dont care so you dont bother telling them "hey, dont put those fish together" cause you know they wont listen.

I dont have much of a choice. There aren't many job options for me around where I live. If I didnt have this job, my husband and I couldn't afford our apartment. I really do enjoy my job. I love taking care of the animals and I love teaching people about animals and helping them fix problems with their tanks. I just wish more people gave a crap.

Second story of the night: A middle aged woman comes in, wants two red cap orandas. I start to ask her what kind of tank she has, and she cuts me off and says "I really dont need you to ask me questions about my tanks. I just need you to get me the stupid fish."

I was stunned. I got her the "stupid fish". Not ten minutes later she comes back and starts asking all these questions about this fish and that fish... And I was just like... how can you be THAT rude to someone, and then turn around and expect their help?!

 

[Hholly]

Wow. People never cease to amaze me how rude hey can be. Maybe you might run into fewer problems if instead of asking them about their setups, you asked them if they have any questions about the care and requirement of the fish they are asking for. Good luck!

 

[bruinsbro1997]

This is exactly why I go to a LFS where the customers actually care and the employees know what they're talking about. The others ones around here are either in it for the business or profit and don't care about the fish. How many LFS know about chemistry of FO, FOWLR and reefs, or will give you a full five-minute explanation on a fish/plant, or setting up CO2 diffusers, or special order some rare fish for you, or will actually test your water and give you solid advice, or tell customers not to buy a pleco because it will get three feet and die unless you have a 125 Galon tank? Not a lot around here.

You're not the only one who deals with people like this. My mom and dad come home from work all the time about patients and customers who just were rude or trying to get some profit from used items. A couple of days ago my mom came back from work talking about how this rude boy did not just want to get a shot and simply walked out of the building to his grandma's house a couple blocks away.

 

[Talvari]

Oh I know... Anyone who works with people is bound to have horror stories. People can be so inconsiderate and rude.

I remember a couple weeks ago, we had a gentleman in who had only a 5 gallon guppy tank. He said it was over run with snails to the point that they were clogging up his intake in the filter, so I suggested a thorough cleaning of everything but the filter, or try setting a piece of lettuce on the bottom of the tank overnight to see if they gravitate towards it, that way he could just pull it out in the morning.

He rolled his eyes and told me he wanted a Clown Loach. I told him that was no advisable since they get entirely too large and they prefer to be in groups. I suggested, if anything, a kuhli loach for the time being, and that he should upgrade to a 10 gallon tank at the very least.

Again... Rolled his eyes and told me to just get the clown loach. "Its not going to get that big in a five gallon tank. It will stop growing."

My response, before I could help it, was "You are absolutely right. Death usually does stop animals from growing. I doubt that loach will last more than a month in a tank that small."

"Who cares, as long as the snails are gone..."

SERIOUSLY?! Its a living, breathing animal! GAH!

 

[Hholly]

Yep. Doesn't surprise me at all. Some people view animals as objects and have no empathy for others. I think it's a form of mental illness.

 

[Sisserydoo]

That's true...people who intentionally mistreat animals usually mistreat people too.

 

[Talvari]

How about the gentleman who wanted to put a Tiger Oscar and two Jack Dempseys in a 40 gallon tank?

He said hed done it before and they did just fine... <sarcasm>They lived in there a whole year and a half before they died! Wow!</sarcasm>

Never mind they are supposed to live for ten years or more...

 

[Galligak]

This doesn't quite have to deal with fish, but frogs. There was this lady who wanted a pleco to clean the algae from her ADF "tank". The employee kept asking her what size tank she had an kept telling her that the pleco was a bad idea. The lady replied that her frog was in a tupperware container in the kitchen! Then the employee suggested a 5g tank or even a 2.5g tank and to put a filter and heater in. The lady said no that she just wanted a pleco. The employee managed to get the lady some plant and said that it'd help. But the worst part was that the lady had a little girl, ok so she wasn't little she was like 10, but she wanted an OSCAR to put in the "tank"!!! The lady said that they'd come back and buy it when there weren't know it alls working!!! This went on for a good 10mins. And might I add this was a PetSmart, so I was pretty amazed...

Finally when she left I went up to the employee and told her that she did a good job. She said thanks, and that the worst part of her job was dealing with those kinds of people. Now I'm scared to go work at a lfs because of that. But I probably will this summer, plus my friends think that's probably the best place fore because of my "knowledge" about animals so I won't bother people at other places... Not much of a me working at a lfs story but one nonetheless!

 

[Sisserydoo]

Amazing....can you imagine having to argue with customers like that every day. I bet some of the people who work there just give up out of pure exhaustion.

 

[Nyghtfire]

Well to start off I had been shopping at this store for roughly 3 years. Great relationship with the owner and employees they know I'm a bit obsessive and picky with my fish so they tell me to net and bag my own. Works great for me I get the exact one I want. Works for them they know I come back again and again.

So there I was happily netting my new corydoras school <3
A customer walked up to me and started asking about the discus about four tanks down.
Asked me if she should get some for her tank.
So I asked the usual questions. How bigs your tank. Got an answer of 48"
What else do you have in your tank?
African "chinlids"
I responded with your african cichlids would be quite likely to kill the discus. But they are very rewarding pets. If your interested in them you should go research them (was cut off here was going to say research them and see if they are right for you and maybe get another tank for them)
She butted in with you don't know anything don't even know how to say chinlids right I'm sure they do fine in my tank my fishes wouldn't hurt them your boss should fire you.

Well I got a bit annoyed at this. So my response was quite sarcastic. I'm sure if I worked here theyd be glad I told you that the fish would be killed in your tank.

Owner had a quiet word in the corner to me about fifteen minutes later. Apparently she'd come in to demand a refund for the neons she put in her tank. They'd dissappeared. And wanted me fired.

 

[rebelyeller89]

Wow. And I for some reason want to own a fish store. I was at a petsmart a few weeks ago checking out when I over heard a couple in the next line saying that their ten gallon tank had crashed, and they wanted it to be more colorful this time. Said the employee pointed out some good fish and they thought, hey, might as well get them all at one time. At which point my head snapped around and I couldn't even stop my jaw from dropping. They had five bags of fish. There HAD to be ten fish in each bag. I just closed my eyes and turned around. My dad was like "what's your deal?" and I not so quietly told him that some idiot sold those people five times too many fish for their tank.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

It get's pretty bad in LFSs. At some point I just think the employees should just tell them the advice, and when they don't listen and come back with dead fish, say "I told you so." I mean really, just because animals are not of our intelligence doesn't mean you can keep them improperly. It amazes me how rude and stubborn and ignorant some people can be..

 

[Talvari]

It get's pretty bad in LFSs. At some point I just think the employees should just tell them the advice, and when they don't listen and come back with dead fish, say "I told you so." I mean really, just because animals are not of our intelligence doesn't mean you can keep them improperly. It amazes me how rude and stubborn and ignorant some people can be..

Thats pretty much all we can do. Depending on the manager working we will write a giant "void" across their fish receipt, basically saying that they ignored our advice so if the fish dies, we will NOT replace it or refund their money.

Its so very irritating when you sell people these fish after you tell them flat out its a bad idea and wont work, and then they come back and tell you its your fault!

I had a woman who had bought a betta to put in a 1 gallon tank with a goldfish. I told her, repeatedly, this was NOT a good idea and that a 1 gallon tank was not even big enough for a betta, let alone a goldfish, and all that rot. Of course she did it anyways.

Fast forward to a week later, she comes back demanding a replacement betta because it died. I wasnt there, so she just got a new one and left. Not even three days after that, she came in, slammed the bag with the dead betta on the counter, and started yelling at me.

She got RIGHT up in my face and she told me all of our fish were diseased and that every betta she bought from us to put in that little one gallon with the goldfish died, and this was the last straw cause her goldfish died too... It was all my fault because I am a horrible human being and neglect the animals in my care and that all I want is my commission... Which we dont get for selling anything. She almost had me in tears. I had to walk away.

 

[Sisserydoo]

I'm very sorry you have to put up with that.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

I'm sorry you have to put up with that. Hopefully there are still good people that come to the store that are appreciative and will listen!

 

[cwt]

Stick to your guns. Tougher to rebuild reputation than it is to build a resume'.

I think part of the problem is that the fish people want to start with are almost always the wrong types to start with. I started with danios and corys, and they provided a lively active tank, but not a showy one. Walk-ins like the complaint lady want something colorful and showy.

 

[foster53]

I can completely relate to all the previous posts. I owned a shop for years, and heard the complaints, and criticisms for years, All you can do is try to educate your customers. some will listen and be very grateful, and some will argue until death(usually a fish death) that they know better. I made sure all my employees were also hobbyist's. This made the everyday banter with customers lean in favor of the employees, at least they knew what they were talking about. We had many customers leave in a huff, because they didn't hear what they wanted, or get what they wanted. When it comes to living creatures, the customer is NOT always right. Stick to your guns, the shop's reputation, and yours will speak for it's self