CPryor
Aquarium Advice Activist
Okay, soooo...I work in the small animal dept. at a chain pet store. I've had a betta for the past 4 years, and just started a 10 gal, so you KNOW i'm not an expert - but I DO know that "no, no sir.....you can not put this bala shark in a five gallon" and "no, you can not put this tiger oscar in with your gold fish" (and yes, these are things I have had to tell people).
I'm just INSANELY tired of people buying their children 3 gal. aquariums and wanting to keep 4 Glofish ("one of each color!"), and getting angry at me for telling them not to do it. Can we please start some sort of petition to those Glofish people to stop making anything smaller than a 10 gallon, when the fish they offer are danios and tetras???? I cant tell you how often I've had parents "sneak" in to buy a replacement fish, so their child can avoid the trauma of having to face the death of their pet
My store has a 2 week return policy. One thing we DO have the power to do, is void the warrantee on our fish - it does help a little. When I know someone is HORRIBLY overstocking their ciclid tank, I can tell them "I'm sorry ma'am, but if you insist on 100 inches of fish in a 50 gallon, I'm going to have to revoke the warrantee", then I go to the register and instruct them to write VOID on their receipt. It often makes them rethink their choices....but it only really works when i have the time to do it (we are not busy), and the fish selection is SO in-your-face bad that it's worth the risk of them complaining to the manager....I know the manager wont back us up on all things.
One last thing - I've had customers pull me aside and complain NASTILY about a co-worker when she told them the truth about their poor fish selection, looking for some sympathy from me......no. I usually get an earful about customer service....to which i respond that we ARE doing them a service by providing them with some good advice....it hasn't seemed to have calmed down a single person so far
So....just some love for my fellow fish store employees....we may not be experts for minimum wage, but seeing the people i do, I understand why so many customers get bad advice....it's hard to tell people the truth!
I'm just INSANELY tired of people buying their children 3 gal. aquariums and wanting to keep 4 Glofish ("one of each color!"), and getting angry at me for telling them not to do it. Can we please start some sort of petition to those Glofish people to stop making anything smaller than a 10 gallon, when the fish they offer are danios and tetras???? I cant tell you how often I've had parents "sneak" in to buy a replacement fish, so their child can avoid the trauma of having to face the death of their pet
My store has a 2 week return policy. One thing we DO have the power to do, is void the warrantee on our fish - it does help a little. When I know someone is HORRIBLY overstocking their ciclid tank, I can tell them "I'm sorry ma'am, but if you insist on 100 inches of fish in a 50 gallon, I'm going to have to revoke the warrantee", then I go to the register and instruct them to write VOID on their receipt. It often makes them rethink their choices....but it only really works when i have the time to do it (we are not busy), and the fish selection is SO in-your-face bad that it's worth the risk of them complaining to the manager....I know the manager wont back us up on all things.
One last thing - I've had customers pull me aside and complain NASTILY about a co-worker when she told them the truth about their poor fish selection, looking for some sympathy from me......no. I usually get an earful about customer service....to which i respond that we ARE doing them a service by providing them with some good advice....it hasn't seemed to have calmed down a single person so far
So....just some love for my fellow fish store employees....we may not be experts for minimum wage, but seeing the people i do, I understand why so many customers get bad advice....it's hard to tell people the truth!