Has anyone ever complained to a chain store about their fish care

[WendiDell]

A good thought, besides, I was really upset about the whole Oscar tank thing. :'(

I can understand that. But when you've composed yourself, try and go back. Speak with someone in authority, about what you saw and why it's going to kill the fish and prevent sales.
You have a good chance of making a difference being that it's a new store. But, you may need to be a bit of a pain in their ...
A few months back I went into my only LFS which is a Petsmart, with my Grandson, Casey. He has Aspergers Syndrome, so if he is upset by what he sees it's a big deal.
Any way, I don't get my fish from places like that, I drive three towns north to a great little store that orders fish for me as I need them.
I just want to grab a bottle of prime. While doing that Casey went to watch the fish and was very upset to see how many were dead in so many different tanks. So I found the person in charge of the fish dept. and told him that he had many dead fish and it was very upsetting to children to see
that. I then proceeded to fallow him around the store, waiting for him to fix the problem. He didn't plan to, but another customer came over to ask a question and asked if they could do so quickly then let him get back to helping me.
Never wanting to miss an opportunity, I simply said "Oh, no problem, I'm just waiting for him to remove all the dead fish floating in the tanks.There are so many, it's a disgrace".
Well the poor young man turned a few shades of red, helped the other customer and the quickly went over to remove the dead fish.
Now I periodically show up to see that things are still being done right. It took a few times of embarrassing them in front of other customers, but now they do pretty well for a big chain store.
I still buy most things I need online except on the rare occasion I need something fast. And all my fish come from a very good FS a few towns over. So I would never know if my Petsmart were slacking off, except once a month I take a few minutes to check up on them. So far so good. they are stocking fewer fish at a time and the dead are gone quickly.
It's not perfect but it's an improvement. And it really doesn't take much time at all. As a bonus, my Grandson thinks I'm awesome for trying to make a difference.

 

[NODAK1979]

The last time we were in Petsmart, we were aghast at how many dead fish were in the tanks. Either many fish died within a short period of time, or they were just leaving dead fish in there for a while. Not sure which. Either way, no way will I ever buy a fish from one of those stores.

 

[mwilliams]

Here in Houston at least the few Petsmarts that I do go to from time to time the tanks are spotless very seldom do I see any dead fish and the salespeople are somewhat knowlegable... Now for Petco their tanks are dirty and never have anyone over there to help you. Walmart tanks are better then Petco's and that is pretty bad.

 

[biggesteaglefan]

We stopped at petco saturday only as we were in the strip mall where it is located. While looking at the saltwater fish we noticed a couple tanks with a tag that read "under observation". The water in all the tanks was very cloudy. An employee was standing near us so we asked what was wrong. He told us..... the filter has been malfunctioning for about a week and they have had over $1000.00 worth of saltwater fish die. The worst part was that he told us they keep getting new fish and dumping them in the tanks knowing that they are going to die a slow miserable death. It made me very sad. Needless to say we will no longer do any kind of bussiness with petco. We have a wonderful LFS so we dont buy any livestock from petco anyway. Just thought I would chime in..

 

[Homedog98]

Our petco is great! But I happened to be up near a petsmart and just wound up there. And id really like to give the petsmart people a peice of my mind, but I'm only thirteen and I'm afraid they won't listen.

 

[mwilliams]

Nope they probably want listen unless your parents are with you and speak on your behalf.

 

[Homedog98]

That's why I got so mad! Cause I couldn't do anything but sit there!!!

 

[mwilliams]

I know your feeling even though I am an adult I just want to shake them silly and put them in a tank and let them see how it feels being all cramped up with a whole bunch of other idiots and depleted oxygen, dirty water.... Give them their own taste of medicince.

 

[Homedog98]

If only.

 

[McLumpy]

This is a long story, but I had to share!

Earlier this week I was at Petco exchanging my heater and getting a few other items... including fish to put in my QT.

Cruising through the freshwater tank area, I stumble upon the tank w/ the Dwarf Gouramis, (which is what I was wanting to get). I'm looking around and it appears to be empty, but out of the corner of my eye, I see a dead Gourami floating in the tank. It was completely white and beginning to decompose. Needless to say, I was livid!! But before I could wave down an employee, this beautiful Neon Blue DG comes swimming out from behind a rock. He was the only one left in the tank and his colors were amazing!

A minute or so went by and I'm standing there debating whether I should get this beautiful fish, (that may or may not have a disease), or just pass. Shortly thereafter an employee walked by and didn't even acknowledge me, so I asked him for assistance. He acted like I was interrupting his thoughts or something. At that point I didn't know what his deal was, nor did I care. That dead DG had been in the tank for awhile, so he obviously wasn't doing his job!

So he walks up to me and asks me what fish I wanted to buy. I said, "I would really like that beautiful fish there, (pointed to the DG), and not that gross dead one floating in the tank". He just sighed and fetched the net and transfer tank.

After he got done bagging up the DG, I told him that I would like the 5 remaining Neon Tetras, (I referred to them as the small, shiny fish). lol Again, he sighs and does his job. Then I spotted an African Dwarf Frog in a tank. I went into a more annoying mode, (just to mess w/ the guy and waste more of his time). I asked him, "what do you feed frogs that small?" His reply, (after yet another sigh), "you feed it frog food". I almost started rolling on the floor! LOL but I kept my cool, and just said, "oh, well that makes sense".

The last fish that I wanted was a Dalmation Lyretail Molly and I knew right where it was. But, again, I wanted to make this guy work. So... I began explaining what the fish looked like and he took me around to about 4 tanks, including a saltwater tank, (I was thinking a BIG WTH?! on that one! lol). Finally he gets me to the Molly tank and I said, "yep, that's the fish I want... it is sooooo cute!!" Man, I thought the guy was going to have a stroke by sighing so much.

After all the fish were bagged up, I asked him, "I didn't interrupt your break or anything, did I?" He said, "well, I was getting ready to head out for my break, so yes". Then I replied, "hmmmm, well perhaps before you take your break, you could take that poor dead Gourami out of the tank".

I spent yet another minute going into an in-depth lecture about the importance of removing dead fish, checking water parameters, etc. Finally, he realized that I knew about fishkeeping and that he was played. He just smirked and after I was done, he promised me that the fish would be removed and even offered to carry my fish to the checkout counter. When I was being rung up, I looked back... sure enough, he took the fish out and was even checking all the other tanks for casualties. I couldn't help but walk out the door w/ a smile.

Btw, the DG that I picked up is beautiful and healthy as can be, (along w/ the others)!

 

[HeathB]

I'm lucky to get even 13 hours of work a week at Petsmart (stock boy). It all comes down to corporate and how they want to save money. Save money by not training employees properly, save money by making 1 employee do the job of 2 employees. Not schedule the necessary amount of employees to do things properly....and so on.

 

[akkitten]

I was in PetSmart the other day talking to an employee who actually has tanks and knew what she was talking about. We were discussing fishless cycling and NO2/NO3 levels and I was actually kinda impressed an employee knew something. Then she recommended a ple*o for my 10 gallon tank. I stopped, and asked don't those get to like 12 inches? She said, oh yes they do, just bring it back when it gets too big. Why oh why would I want to buy a fish that I KNOW will get too big for my tank? Sigh...and I was almost impressed.

 

[HeathB]

I was in PetSmart the other day talking to an employee who actually has tanks and knew what she was talking about. We were discussing fishless cycling and NO2/NO3 levels and I was actually kinda impressed an employee knew something. Then she recommended a ple*o for my 10 gallon tank. I stopped, and asked don't those get to like 12 inches? She said, oh yes they do, just bring it back when it gets too big. Why oh why would I want to buy a fish that I KNOW will get too big for my tank? Sigh...and I was almost impressed.

Because by then we can sell you the huge tank you'll need!

 

[McLumpy]

I understand where you're coming from Heath. I know that the chain stores don't train well, nor do they have adequate workforce in order to be more efficient. However, this guy was not only ignoring a dead fish, he wasn't even interested in selling me fish. But in the end, he understood that his job was an important one and he did the right thing.

 

[WendiDell]

Our petco is great! But I happened to be up near a petsmart and just wound up there. And id really like to give the petsmart people a peice of my mind, but I'm only thirteen and I'm afraid they won't listen.

As a grown up independent woman I cringe at giving this advise, as I don't believe in emotional manipulation. But since your only 13 you need a little extra when dealing with obtuse adults (never your parents).
Next time you are faced with the cruelty of some chain FS, TURN ON THE WATER WORKS. Between the tears and sobs you can give them a loud piece of your mind. Embarrass them into fixing the problem before all the other customers come over to see what is going on and see the conditions the fish are in.
This won't work in every case or to get you your own way. But give it a try, what can it hurt. I'd practise with the water works for a bit first, make sure it all looks real.
And as I said as an adult this kind of manipulation is wrong. But as a 13yr old trying to correct a true injustice, a little manipulation is called for.
Please no body let me have it for giving this advice to a 13 yr old. I would never do so for any reason except in a case of a cruel injustice. Just because they are kids doesn't mean they are wrong. Adults forget to listen sometimes.

 

[Homedog98]

Teehee! Definitely! I'll get right on it this... Is gonna be some fun justice cause I was sooooooooo mad.

 

[ejaramillo01]

Atta girl!
Agree

 

[WendiDell]

Teehee! Definitely! I'll get right on it this... Is gonna be some fun justice cause I was sooooooooo mad.

Good for you . Enjoy fighting your own battle instead of having an adult fight for you.
Not everything about being 13 has to s...
Please lets us all know the outcome, when your done.

 

[WendiDell]

I'm lucky to get even 13 hours of work a week at Petsmart (stock boy). It all comes down to corporate and how they want to save money. Save money by not training employees properly, save money by making 1 employee do the job of 2 employees. Not schedule the necessary amount of employees to do things properly....and so on.

Hi HeathB,
It's difficult being the only one at work that gives a s... Been there, done that.
I'm sure it's hard to hear all the horror stories about the company you work for.
All you can do is treat your own fish well and try to encourage the people where you work to do some research about the animals and products they work with. The rest is up to them to do whats right.

 

[mandy2936]

Well said, WendiDell.