petland makes me want to pull my hair out.

[a.tetreault]

i am so frustrated right now!!! i thought i had finally found a store that knew something about fish! they had a good stock, the employees that i had dealt with always seemed very friendly and had some knowledge (more then most) untill last wednesday.

My boyfriend went to go pick up a few more fish after work, so i wasnt there with him, the employee was someone we had never met before as we usually only visit on the weekends. he seemed to be having trouble netting our fish so he took out some of the rocks they had in there for decorations...there was dead fish UNDER the rocks! at that point i would have been asking for the manager to explain this but my boyfriend is not like that at all. so he finally netted the fish, only putting about an inch of water in the bag...and as he was putting everything away the net and such...he threw the rocks in the tank, literally THREW them in the water probably crushing more fish and potentially damaging the stores tank. My boyfriend called me as soon as he was out of the store and told me all of this, he does not want to go back to the store ever again. me on the other hand, i want to go and talk to a manager! because as of today only one of the three fish we purchased is alive. im sure they just died of too much stress, we got them home and moved them to the quarantine tank and they had shown stress bars the whole time, are water parameters are fine and we have never had this happen before. so angry!!!!

[maestromad]

I would put a complaint in writing and take it with you when you go to complain about the deceased fish. At the least they should offer replacement or a voucher if your unhappy about buying lifestockfrom them

[severum mama]

Moved to General Retailers.

[Darkseid76]

There is a Petco in my area that is absolutely terrible. Lots of the tanks have dead fish and others loaded with parasites.

It's really a tragedy. In my opinion any I fish I bought there were being rescued.

[severum mama]

Any fish you buy there just contributes to the store's bottom line and encourages them to stock more in the same manner. In the meantime, the mom and pop shops are struggling to stay in business. Just sayin.

[Rhino]

Originally Posted by severum mama

Any fish you buy there just contributes to the store's bottom line and encourages them to stock more in the same manner. In the meantime, the mom and pop shops are struggling to stay in business. Just sayin.

Totally agree with this.

[TT71]

Originally Posted by severum mama

Any fish you buy there just contributes to the store's bottom line and encourages them to stock more in the same manner. In the meantime, the mom and pop shops are struggling to stay in business. Just sayin.

No argument from me on this statement. The nearest LFS is about an hour 1 way. Makes it kinda hard to for me to practice what think. But it just makes me research more to make sure what I'm doing is ok for my tank. In fact yesterday I added 2 kribs and a roseline shark.

[Mrc8858]

Honestly once I began my SW tank I started ordering livestock online and now that's almost the only way ill stock my tank.. I only use the chain stores for their equipment since not many places can compete with their prices

[Phranque]

Originally Posted by TT71

No argument from me on this statement. The nearest LFS is about an hour 1 way. Makes it kinda hard to for me to practice what think. But it just makes me research more to make sure what I'm doing is ok for my tank.

Not unusual..... I drive 1 1/2 hours each way to avoid the local chain stores. And you're absolutely correct. I don't make that drive just to "go to the fish store" and make an impulse buy. If I'm going that distance, it's for something specific that I know I want & have researched first.

[Rhino]

Originally Posted by Mrc8858

Honestly once I began my SW tank I started ordering livestock online and now that's almost the only way ill stock my tank.. I only use the chain stores for their equipment since not many places can compete with their prices

I have never found a chain store that can beat the prices of online vendors for equipment (besides tanks).

[Mrc8858]

Originally Posted by Rhino

I have never found a chain store that can beat the prices of online vendors for equipment (besides tanks).

I have a pet supplies plus near me that with my psp card discount I can usually get things the same price as online then take into consideration no shipping its a couple bucks cheaper and no wait for it but ya all in all online is the way to go

[TheCrazyFishLady]

This is really sad... But, every store is different. My boyfriend used to manage the fish/reptile room of a Petland and something like this would have never happened. So, it all depends on the employees and the managers.

Not all mom and pop shops are that great either. I know of one in particular that I have almost gotten to the point of fighting while in their store. Just because you're local doesn't mean you are better than a chain.

[severum mama]

Originally Posted by TheCrazyFishLady

This is really sad... But, every store is different. My boyfriend used to manage the fish/reptile room of a Petland and something like this would have never happened. So, it all depends on the employees and the managers.

Not all mom and pop shops are that great either. I know of one in particular that I have almost gotten to the point of fighting while in their store. Just because you're local doesn't mean you are better than a chain.

No, not all of them are, and that wasn't my point. Perhaps I worded it poorly, but the point I was trying to make is that hobbyists should support good local shops rather than "rescuing" a fish from poor conditions in a bad shop. Otherwise the purchase is just encouraging the bad store to go about business as usual, and the good store is missing out... and the good local stores are rapidly disappearing in many areas.

[GodFan]

Originally Posted by severum mama

No, not all of them are, and that wasn't my point. Perhaps I worded it poorly, but the point I was trying to make is that hobbyists should support good local shops rather than "rescuing" a fish from poor conditions in a bad shop. Otherwise the purchase is just encouraging the bad store to go about business as usual, and the good store is missing out... and the good local stores are rapidly disappearing in many areas.

That is probably because the average pet store owner only makes 17 k a year. hardly enough to live on as a married couple let alone a family with kids.

[tarpon]

I always drive far out of my way to go to my privately owned LFS rather than petco or petsmart (unless im buying equipment)
Ive had bad experiences with the two chains and always worry about introducing something foreign into my tank such as hitchhikers, disease, etc.

My lfs also has a much wider variety of fish that they also QT before selling and mark NFS if they are sick. Its a little higher priced but im willing to pay.

[TheCrazyFishLady]

I agree to purchase local if there are good ones in the area. Luckily, a local shop near me has turned around and has much better quality and service. Before that, I was basically with chain shops.

[Andy Sager]

Originally Posted by a.tetreault

i am so frustrated right now!!! i thought i had finally found a store that knew something about fish! they had a good stock, the employees that i had dealt with always seemed very friendly and had some knowledge (more then most) untill last wednesday.

My boyfriend went to go pick up a few more fish after work, so i wasnt there with him, the employee was someone we had never met before as we usually only visit on the weekends. he seemed to be having trouble netting our fish so he took out some of the rocks they had in there for decorations...there was dead fish UNDER the rocks! at that point i would have been asking for the manager to explain this but my boyfriend is not like that at all. so he finally netted the fish, only putting about an inch of water in the bag...and as he was putting everything away the net and such...he threw the rocks in the tank, literally THREW them in the water probably crushing more fish and potentially damaging the stores tank. My boyfriend called me as soon as he was out of the store and told me all of this, he does not want to go back to the store ever again. me on the other hand, i want to go and talk to a manager! because as of today only one of the three fish we purchased is alive. im sure they just died of too much stress, we got them home and moved them to the quarantine tank and they had shown stress bars the whole time, are water parameters are fine and we have never had this happen before. so angry!!!!

I understand your frustration but you have to realize that even under the best of circumstances, fish do die. If your boyfriend didn't see the dead fish until the decor was removed, why do you think the store employee would think there's a dead fish in the tank? That's unfortunately what dying fish do, they hide. So that's not what would upset me. The handling and netting of the fish is an issue you should bring up to the manager. They don't always see what the employee does so it's in the best interest of the store for the customer to report any questionable actions by the employees. If you are disatisfied with the fish, ask for a store credit and use it towards merchadise instead. You can see exactly what you're getting this way.
A good store requires good customers. You would be helping them be a good store by letting them know your concerns. I'm sure they would appreciate the feed back.

Hope this helps...