Saltwater & Reef

michealprater · 10-25-2002, 01:19 PM

I was reading in one of the other discusions entitled"cycle?". Jacob wrote "never trust a lfs". Now, in no way do i want this to be taken as a flame, but i disagree. Now i know in some place people are not able to choose from a varity of lfses. however, THERE ARE GOOD LOCAL FISH STORES. I live in a very rural area. I have two to choose from. One, is about 35 minutes away, in Highland Il. (Aquatic Treasures). One, is about 20 minutes the oposite direction, in Vandalia, IL. (Slice of Nature Pets). Now aquatic treasures is ran by a man who is probably exactly like the store owner that jacob based his opinion off of. This guy knows his stuff but he is clearly only in it for the money. Now on the other hand at slice of nature, the owner would bend over backwards to help anyone without even making a penny, just to keep the hobby of fish keeping alive. so my point is, dont loose all faith in lfses, you may have ts_trive farther but if you look you may find a good one.

michealprater · 10-29-2002, 01:26 PM

hmm. thought i might get a responce. hmm

reefrunner69 · 10-29-2002, 01:55 PM

I believe there are good ones! I also believe that for each good LFS, there a 2-3 that are really bad. Simple fact is any store is at some point in time, going to put there needs above yours. No matter how knowledgable or benevolent, they will eventually go for the wallet. For this reason, it is not good to blindly trust any LFS. Key word there is blindly.

10-29-2002, 02:08 PM

Not only are there some good and some bad STORES, its the employees that count. One time you may go in and find someone who really knows their stuff, and the next day get the bored idiot who doesn't care, or the greedy owner that just wants to sell you stuff.

Do your research first before you buy anything! Believe me, I've had to learn this lesson time and again.

EMS503 · 10-29-2002, 02:52 PM

Out of the six LFS in my area I have narrowed it down to two stores that I do trust. one being ten min. from me (Fish Tails) in Bricktown, NJ and the other in Ocean twsp (Tropiquarium) thirty min. from me. The others have staff that is just there to make a buck. The two I have mentioned have corrected problems in my Reef Tank without me purchasing anything, and have stopped me from buying fish & hardware that was'nt needed or good for my tanks and pointed me to the right items, that were also less expensive. So I have to agree Look before leaping into a LFS, But there are some good ones out there. also becareful about online dealers again some good and some really bad. Sorry you guy's in Fl. but the worst online dealer is in you area.

reefrunner69 · 10-29-2002, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EMS503

Sorry you guy's in Fl. but the worst online dealer is in you area.

Which one might that be? I need to be able to avoid this dealer...

EMS503 · 10-29-2002, 06:13 PM

I didn't know if I could put a name on the site, Guess I can.
The online store is Aquacon.
I dealt with them for three orders, Each one got worse

Dead stock, Ruptured bags, wrong fish.
The last one was so bad the driver from Fed Ex stayed with me while I opened the box and made a report on it.
Had to fight with them to get my money back, The last order was mostly dead. I couldn't get anyone in authority to speak to me.
i had the credit card company go after them. I won

.
I really wouldn't deal with them.
I my opinion Flying Fish Express is the best I have used.

reefrunner69 · 10-29-2002, 06:16 PM

OK, I knew about Aquacon, it isn't a big secret, I just didn't know they were in FL

I've never dealt with them, never even looked at one of their ads, I've talked to enough people to know to stay away from them.

Jacob Morgan · 10-29-2002, 06:20 PM

HAha I just found this thread

No I suggest not to truist any lfs.. especially off the bat. now if you get to know them and learn that they truly help you then fine but until then no i would not. I have yet to find one I trust. cause of lack of options here really. The LFS can get away with high prices since he has no competitions and well he goes by the three F's in sales if you knwo what that is.

Not taken as a flame and I stand by it never trust a LFS from the git go neway.

Jacob

Jacob Morgan · 10-29-2002, 06:23 PM

and to add. hehe soryr i didn't see a modify button

even if you do trust a LFS I still sya a second opinion cannot hurt...

that may just be me but heh sorry to offend ne1. I plan to get a job at a LFS this summer to be around fish.

Jacob

michealprater · 10-29-2002, 06:54 PM

jacob, i appreciate the fact that you respect my opinion, and i respect yours alike. Thats what makes this site much better than all the rest.

wfulltime · 10-29-2002, 11:32 PM

I wish I had knon about aquacon sooner, It would have saved me alot of grief. I have picked up on good and bad sites since being here.

fishfreek · 10-30-2002, 07:33 AM

I would love to hear loganj take on this thread as it sounds like he works at a LFS.

Course we are not LFS bashing but more collectivly telling about our past experiences.

loganj · 10-30-2002, 08:18 AM

OK, here it is...LFS...the good, the bad, and the ugly. The first time you walk into an LFS, and they tell you it is daylight outside, don't believe it until you have looked for yourself. Many of these places are "in it for the money". Where I work, we like to make money. That is the point in having a business. HOWEVER, our theory is that unhappy customers do not come back and spend any more of their money. Likewise, uninformed or misinformed customers will not be back because either 1) everything they had died and they're giving up the hobby or 2) they found out you didn't know what you were talking about and went somewhere else. Happy, well informed customers come back and, quite often, bring someone with them. One problem we have, and I think this is a widespread problem, is younger kids who work there and just don't know what they're doing. We have this trouble. I have heard our "kids" tell customers some pretty outlandish things. I try, when I have the chance, to intervene without causing a scene. "Well, Mr. Jones, you really don't need the skimmer with the V-8 chevy powered pump for your 10 gallon tank." No offense to those of you who are younger...that's just the way it is. So, when you go into the LFS, don't talk to the teenagers if you want anything more than fish food. I know there are kids out there who are brilliant, but I'm talking about the other 90% who are just trying to make some gas money. If you're not sure about the LFS, ask a few questions that you already know the answer to. Get to know them and let them get to know you. And, PLEASE!, don't go in there and talk for 2 hours about the trouble you are having, select the equipment you need, and then go buy it online for $10.00 less. We once had a woman come in, talk for hours, decide on a filter, went and bought it online since it was a little cheaper, and brought it to us to put together. If you have a good LFS who is willing to take the time to analyze your problem and make suggestions, support them with some business. For example, our power bill runs $1200.00 per month. Got any idea how many containers of Goldfish Food you have to sell to clear $1200.00? All in all, the only place I can really talk about is where I work p/t. We believe that the road to success is well educated customers who will come back again and again. We are not perfect. We do try however. I think, in the end, you have to judge each store on an individual basis. Believe me, the pet business is not a get rich quick thing. You have to save in the winter to pay the bills in summer. You have to love it or you will never make it long. I have really made a mess out of this...it's all disconnected. Maybe you can wade through it though. Up till 12:00 last night, up at 6:00 this AM...brain is backfiring once in while

. If there are any direct questions about the LFS thing, I'll do my best to provide a satisfactory answer.....
Logan J

SleeplessLwd · 10-30-2002, 08:25 AM

I use two Local Fish Stores by me and I would trust them completely. They have never steered me in the wrong direction with any of my tanks. I agree that it is wise to get to know the people you're dealing with before you take their word on anything, but the only way to find out is to ask questions and research. I've found that what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another. That happens all the time with me & a friend of mine. Some of the things I do with my tanks don't work on his and vise versa. Also, a sign of a good LFS would be if someone tells you right from the start that "this is what I does", not "this is what you have to do." I don't care how experienced you are some things don't always work for other people. So, not all LFS are bad, you just have to shop around and research the info given by them until you learn to trust them. Trust is the key word here.

fishfreek · 10-30-2002, 09:08 AM

Quote:

We once had a woman come in, talk for hours, decide on a filter, went and bought it online since it was a little cheaper, and brought it to us to put together.

U gotta be kidding me...

It would have been funny if someone would have said ya ok but since you did not buy it from us we will have to charge ya $$ to put it together. HAHA Then slip in that you would have been more than happy to help the customer put it together for free if they had purchased it from the store.

Im evil that way

Jacob Morgan · 10-30-2002, 05:28 PM

Quote:

One problem we have, and I think this is a widespread problem, is younger kids who work there and just don't know what they're doing. We have this trouble. I have heard our "kids" tell customers some pretty outlandish things. I try, when I have the chance, to intervene without causing a scene. "Well, Mr. Jones, you really don't need the skimmer with the V-8 chevy powered pump for your 10 gallon tank." No offense to those of you who are younger...that's just the way it is. So, when you go into the LFS, don't talk to the teenagers if you want anything more than fish food. I know there are kids out there who are brilliant, but I'm talking about the other 90% who are just trying to make some gas money.

OuCh!

heh, So if I go thru with this and get a job at my LFS, If I wore a suit would I look more professiona nd move up to seeling powerheads :-p

hehe ouch man... it may be tru but ouch...

hehe no hard feeling but still oUcH!

Jacob

SleeplessLwd · 10-30-2002, 06:27 PM

Unfortunately, I have to agree with the person who said that one of the problems with the LFS is dealing with kids. I too have found that most kids don't know a lot about fish. Like the post said, there are some kids that are very intelligent and do know what they are doing, but there are a lot of kids that don't know as much as they pretend to. They are just trying to make the sale at any cost. I have run into this problem in the past in a LFS. Unfortunately, it is wiser to deal with an older person, or better yet the store owner if possible. One previous post recommended that to test the knowledge of the person you're talking to is to ask them a question that you already know the answer to and see what kind of answer you get. Another way to make sure you've been given the right information is to research and get other opinions.

loganj · 10-31-2002, 07:59 AM

Hey Jacob,
Absolutely, you come on down and we'll get you a plaid suit, striped tie, and some two tone shoes. You'll make a great powerhead salesman! I'm just kidding, of course

. We do have one guy at the store who is 17 and I never worry about him giving a customer bad advice. If he doesn't know the answer (which is rare), he'll look it up and get back to them. We have two others though who make me break out in a cold sweat every time I see them by the tanks with a customer. We all know you're knowledgeable here and respect you for it. It's tough being young and, well, it doesn't get much easier as you get older.
Logan J

Jacob Morgan · 10-31-2002, 08:46 AM

haahh yea i knew u weren't meaning any offense...

Can I offer anyone in some fish food?

Jacob

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