Worst employee of the month?

[jefferzbooboo]

Ya. I used to be shy and didnt speak much. Them i started to notice how stupid some people are. Good luck with that LFS!

Most people don't notice that until they're 30. As for LFS advice, I always take their advice with a grain of salt.

 

[Coryluv]

No, no live plants in those tanks except for some lucky bamboo, and IMHO that doesn't qualify as an aquatic plant.

Actually he probably tested, but if you test with the wrong kit (as in use low range pH tests on hi range pH water), you might as well not bother.

I've always asked what pH stores keep their tanks at. Most here on the freshwater side only adjust the pH for discus. But this was the craziest discussion I ever had over local water. BTW our water should be about 7.8 to 8 out of the tap. Since it is city water I can get detailed water reports.

Well anyway, yeah, it's a fine line sometimes to gently educate your learning customers while not talking down to your educated customers. One phraseology that works is, "While there are many ways to (blank) I've found that (blanking) this way has worked best for me or best for us here in the shop." Or, "over the years we've had a lot of success with (blank)" and "Though you can do it that way, we've had more succes with (blank). I can tell you more if you'd like to try it"

There are many ways to treat your customers with respect even when they may need to be educated.

 

[Fishingforfish]

No, no live plants in those tanks except for some lucky bamboo, and IMHO that doesn't qualify as an aquatic plant.

Actually he probably tested, but if you test with the wrong kit (as in use low range pH tests on hi range pH water), you might as well not bother.

I've always asked what pH stores keep their tanks at. Most here on the freshwater side only adjust the pH for discus. But this was the craziest discussion I ever had over local water. BTW our water should be about 7.8 to 8 out of the tap. Since it is city water I can get detailed water reports.

Well anyway, yeah, it's a fine line sometimes to gently educate your learning customers while not talking down to your educated customers. One phraseology that works is, "While there are many ways to (blank) I've found that (blanking) this way has worked best for me or best for us here in the shop." Or, "over the years we've had a lot of success with (blank)" and "Though you can do it that way, we've had more succes with (blank). I can tell you more if you'd like to try it"

There are many ways to treat your customers with respect even when they may need to be educated.

Wow, my tap water is 7.5! I live in a newly developed area, so I don't know if that affects anything. How do you handle having a high ph?

Now that we're talking about customer service, I found that big chain stores (ahem* it rhymes with retco) are hard to find genuine advice from. So far the most ridiculous thing said was "water conditioner is a waste of money, use dishwashing soap". However, there are few individuals that actually know what they're saying. Oh well.

 

[jwh0818]

Wow, my tap water is 7.5! I live in a newly developed area, so I don't know if that affects anything. How do you handle having a high ph?

Now that we're talking about customer service, I found that big chain stores (ahem* it rhymes with retco) are hard to find genuine advice from. So far the most ridiculous thing said was "water conditioner is a waste of money, use dishwashing soap". However, there are few individuals that actually know what they're saying. Oh well.

I work at petsmart and I pride myself on making sure others know about proper fish keeping. It makes my day whem someone thanks me for my advice

 

[Coryluv]

Wow, my tap water is 7.5! I live in a newly developed area, so I don't know if that affects anything. How do you handle having a high ph?

Now that we're talking about customer service, I found that big chain stores (ahem* it rhymes with retco) are hard to find genuine advice from. So far the most ridiculous thing said was "water conditioner is a waste of money, use dishwashing soap". However, there are few individuals that actually know what they're saying. Oh well.

Because I have a South American tank, I have put a little peat in the filter. Not enough to really alter the pH but rather to get some tannins in the water. My fish seem to like it. Other than that not much except to top off from evaporation with distilled water from the grocery store. So the real answer is that pretty much everything I buy has already been acclimated to my city's water.

I have found dedicated fishkeepers at the chain stores. I've also found people who don't know or don't care. I think a lot depends on the management and personnel of a particular store.

 

[Fishingforfish]

I work at petsmart and I pride myself on making sure others know about proper fish keeping. It makes my day whem someone thanks me for my advice

Lucky them! If I never found this forum, I'd be using Palmolive as a water conditioner by now!! Haha. There's only like 3 petsmarts around here, and they're all branched out. The rest are petco, but I'm trying to find local fish stores to buy my stock from.

 

[Brandon K.A]

You could try Coral Place Hawaii (I think that's the name) in Aiea if you're trying to look for saltwater fish. It's two stories; downstairs is for sw fish and upstairs is for fw fish. The only thing is that I read that their stock is common, nothing rare or special, and the place is a bit dirty. You may just want to read the reviews on yelp.
What I do is search up "fish stores" on yelp that's located in Oahu. You could get a variety of choices, and read the reviews before you actually get there.

If you want a place that has a little more variety or a certain fish, you can do special orders at The Pet Depot in Ewa. I don't know how far it is from you, so it may be a little far.
Here's what it says on Yelp:

Thanks for that info on the Pet Depot!! I have been to that Aeia one. It's an okay store, but they didn't have any fish I needed. And the prices are kinda high but I still visit every so often.

 

[Aquamandan]

I'd ask to speak to the store manager and tell them that this guy doesn't know much about fish and obviously the importance of cycling. And I can't believe he tried to pressure you into buying a $6 cory!

 

[jwh0818]

I'd ask to speak to the store manager and tell them that this guy doesn't know much about fish and obviously the importance of cycling. And I can't believe he tried to pressure you into buying a $6 cory!

You shoulda read what I would have done!

 

[Fishingforfish]

Thanks for that info on the Pet Depot!! I have been to that Aeia one. It's an okay store, but they didn't have any fish I needed. And the prices are kinda high but I still visit every so often.

Most lfs have higher end prices. Even my nearest petco has $6 a cory, and that's not even locally owned. To top that off, they look super dull and sad.

I've never been to Pet Depot but I'm planning to check out what they have soon. I live in Kapolei so it's not that far. Hopefully they have what I'm planning to add also (it's only panda cory and honey gourami!), they aren't even rare so some store should have it. Haha.

Pet Depot might be your best bet because it seems like they specialize on Sw fish mainly.

 

[Fishingforfish]

I'd ask to speak to the store manager and tell them that this guy doesn't know much about fish and obviously the importance of cycling. And I can't believe he tried to pressure you into buying a $6 cory!

I know. I already calculated it; if I got 4 of them, it should be $24...plus TAX (ugh) = $26. $26 for just 4 cory is killer, but I'm sure a lfs have them for lower..maybe. I wouldn't mind paying that much but they didn't even look healthy; instead, they looked super dull and inactive. So the hunt begins...