Even more horror stories from a lfs employee

[pcdebb]

-Had a gentlemen complain that we were selling him sick fish. Asked him what he had... 3 African Cichlids (1 lab, 1 bumblebee, 1 kenyi). Tried to ask how big the tank was, he ignored me. Asked what was going on, and he said "they look fine for the first day or two, and then I turn on the light one day and they have scales missing and their fins are all shredded... You guys should be ashamed of selling sick fish." I asked again... How big of a tank. He sighed, exasperated, and showed me the exact kit he bought. 5.5 gallons. I told him you cant keep cichlids in that small of a tank, he said "oh they are fine... you are just trying to blame me so you look good." Really?

lol whut!?!? that is beyond insane. I had a few cichilds in a 75 gallon that were territorial, i can only imagine!!

these stories are hilarious. reminds me of my days when i worked for a certain retail giant. now I can keep you going with stories for a while lol

 

[pcdebb]

Then he recommended that I put in my tank 1 platy, 1 white skirt tetra, 1 zebra danio, 1 tiger barb, and 1 bala shark. I thought, "Alright, I don't have a large enough tank for 5 platys, but I have a large enough tank to put in a bala shark? Makes sense..."

LOL he can barely turn himself around in that thing fully grown.....

 

[Athaocity]

hm maybe this story might not sound as horrific but here's mine.

went to buy fish tanks ($1 per gal sale). I walked in through the door, asked the lady nicely who was working @ the fish area "HI! do you guys have the dollar per gallon sale going on?" she just nodded. that akward moment when you walk away with that kind of reply.

 

[Keithhjs]

At a LFS last weekend I saw a leopard shark (I think, not great at identifying sharks) about 2' long in a 55 gal. Thing could hardly turn around. Didn't surprise me as I consistently see things like 4" puffers or triggers in 6" cubes and such there. Sad.

 

[bettaowner]

I work at my LFS and most customers are well informed so I rarely get stressed unless my friends come in. They kept four baby koi in an uncycled FISH BOWL. Traumatizing.

 

[hpiguy]

Is it legal to refuse to sell a fish our a tank to those ignorant people? Hopefully, it is. That is just horrible.
I especially enjoyed "Mr. Jersey Shore and his ditsy girlfriend"

It's completely legal to refuse to sell an animal to a customer.

On the other hand, the OP saying they are voiding receipts to avoid having to honor a warranty after the sale is illegal in all 50 states and if pressed would get them and their store in trouble with their state attorney general. If they dig deep and found out it was a common practice by an employee, they could face actual prison time for fraud, but more than likely the employee and store would just face very heavy fines and could lose their business license. There are very specific state and federal laws regarding warranties and retail practices like that.

If you sell the animal and it has a warranty or guarantee, you have to honor it. That's the law. It's no different than selling a TV to a guy that knows nothing about A/V and then voiding his warranty because you are mad at him for buying it.

I agree with the OP that those people should not be buying fish. But breaking the law on consumer warranties isn't the way to resolve the issue.

 

[Boogety48]

Where I work, we have the right to refuse the sell if we believe the fish will not be properly taken care of, like a koi in an aquarium. I can't even count the number of times a day I have to explain why goldfish don't do good in "goldfish" bowls and why you can't put a fish that will grow big in a small tank. Usually when I try my best to explain anything to customers I get the response of "well I have this is my tank already and its been doing just fine." Sometimes I want to rip my hair out at the lack of compassion for fish.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Some LFSs have specific guarantees that state in writing that a fish will only be replaced if a water sample is given and is free of contaminants that are harmful to fish.

 

[pcdebb]

One of my LFS has created a policy where if you buy any saltwater fish they make you sign a log affirming you understand there is no return policy. I flat out refused for a number of reasons. That means they can get away with selling me sick fish (which they have done), plus they do nothing to protect your info on this list. I can see everyone that has signed it, phone number, address, etc. I'm glad I've developed a good relationship with the lady that does the actual purchasing and the guy that pretty much runs that part of the shop.

 

[Tetra1990]

Where I work, we have the right to refuse the sell if we believe the fish will not be properly taken care of, like a koi in an aquarium. I can't even count the number of times a day I have to explain why goldfish don't do good in "goldfish" bowls and why you can't put a fish that will grow big in a small tank. Usually when I try my best to explain anything to customers I get the response of "well I have this is my tank already and its been doing just fine." Sometimes I want to rip my hair out at the lack of compassion for fish.

Either rip your hair out or smack them on the back of the head lol!

 

[jetajockey]

Or get a new job.

 

[chrismiller21]

One time I had to snip at a lfs employee for trying to "correct" me in front of my children with false information. My 5 yo was looking at some catfish and asked if they where sharks. I told him no and and corrected him. He then asked if he could get one. I told him no, our 75 gallon tank is about finished and we didn't have room for something that will get that big. The store employee buts in and says if you have a 75 gallon you could fit him no problem and that they don't get that big and that he could get him. Of course my son lights up and says yes in excitement. I had to tell him no and that this person is wrong. While looking straight at the employee, I tell my son that this fish gets over 2 feet long and will eat everything in the aquarium and asked him if he wanted all his fish to be eaten. He said no and was all bummed. I had to explain that we had just the right amount of fish in the tank and only room for a few more small ones. I told the employee to go away and complained to the manager.

 

[Boogety48]

One time I had to snip at a lfs employee for trying to "correct" me in front of my children with false information. My 5 yo was looking at some catfish and asked if they where sharks. I told him no and and corrected him. He then asked if he could get one. I told him no, our 75 gallon tank is about finished and we didn't have room for something that will get that big. The store employee buts in and says if you have a 75 gallon you could fit him no problem and that they don't get that big and that he could get him. Of course my son lights up and says yes in excitement. I had to tell him no and that this person is wrong. While looking straight at the employee, I tell my son that this fish gets over 2 feet long and will eat everything in the aquarium and asked him if he wanted all his fish to be eaten. He said no and was all bummed. I had to explain that we had just the right amount of fish in the tank and only room for a few more small ones. I told the employee to go away and complained to the manager.

That's just wrong. I always try to make sure I know what is going on before I pipe in. I see kids all the time trying to get fish and parents saying no we don't have the room. That just shows how little that employee knew about tanks.

 

[bettaowner]

I like to ask customers what they're looking for and see how much they know about fish. Then I know if I'm sending the fish off to good homes.

 

[huma-huma]

I guess i landed on the lucky side of things. I work at a family-owned pet store that specializes in fresh and marine fish. We dot sell a single fish without inquiring all the basics. Ive even discussed similar situations with the owner and he said that if a customer is showing gross negligence, we can deny them. Also ive noticed that peoples bad experiences with larger, less educated fish stores have led them to actually trust and believe us. Therefore usually if im helping a customer and i say "id recommend not going with this fish because xyz," they listen a majority of the time.... Except for the genius customer that bought 2 golden algae eaters for his 5.5g tank today.... Against my recommendation

 

[bigbanker]

Many stores, retail giants included, can refuse a return as well...

 

[chrismiller21]

That's just wrong. I always try to make sure I know what is going on before I pipe in. I see kids all the time trying to get fish and parents saying no we don't have the room. That just shows how little that employee knew about tanks.

Yeah and that's what got me. I am in a convo with my son, trying to teach him about fish and someone just butts in. It was very rude and inappropriate. That's like me going into a toy store and telling a kid you can have a toy after the parent said no. I am at the point that I have a person at every store I go to that I really talk to. If they are not there, I usually just tell them I will get them when I find the fish or supplies I want. Beyond that, I have no communication with them. I won't even answer there questions so I don't have to hear most of their false dribble lol. If I see something interesting, I will make a note in my phone and research it when I get home. I love sites like these for that reason. So much experience and a wealth of knowledge.

 

[Jesselav1233]

Had a girl tell me discus were brackish and they only enjoyed high ph water and high temps. I told her everything I've learned about them she got 1 out of 3 right there lol. She got all pissed and walked off. I walk over to the owner of the store I'm like "this is the first I'm being told these are brackish and enjoy high ph!" he looks at me says "what the discus?" I say "yeah that's what your girl just told me" laughing. He shakes his head and says "no there not." then he tells me everything correctly low ph high temps def not brackish so it just goes to show you it's all who you talk to. But I almost never trust LFS I just come on here if I have questions lol honestly this forum helps me more then anything else.

 

[aaronjohn20]

Many stores, retail giants included, can refuse a return as well...

Not if there's a warranty. That's illegal!

 

[huma-huma]

Not if there's a warranty. That's illegal!

Its all in the wording of the warranty, usually theres a provision that states something to the effect of "if its determined the cause of death was due to customer error, warranty is mull and void"