Funny A Day In The Life Of An Lfs Associate

Yeah I got the manager to not put them in the tanks to they aren’t constantly being hit with currant.

 

Yeah I got the manager to not put them in the tanks to they aren’t constantly being hit with currant.

Good for you! The bettas are probably thankful

 

Just go to a boat launch facility, where people spend 10,000`s of $$$ for a boat and can not back it up without jack knifing the trailer or hitting the finger pier.

 

I think we generally agree that humans are the smartest species on earth yet I meet people every day that make me doubt this statement

 

Anyone have other recommendations that are within an hour of Flint? Detroit, Ann Arbor, Lansing, etc.? My fiance would go nuts if I wanted to go more than an hour away for "just fish" right now.

If you are in visiting in Waterford, you could check out Highland Tropical Fish & Bird Haven in White Lake. It is pretty close to Moby Dick. I don't frequently go but lots of people like it.

I usually go to Farmington and Livonia but that is too far from your locations.

 

The interactions mentioned here are comical and sad at the same time. Agree, once I took the time to do some research and with the help of forums like this, have become more knowledgeable then most. But on occasion you will find some very knowledgeable and caring people working there. Ultimately, the LFS and its workers are salespeople in it for the $$'s.

ETNsilverstar Piaelliott
Have you visited:
Home - Moby Dick Pet Store, Inc.
Happened to stop in when I was setting up a tank for my son and his wife. Good selection, appeared to be well run.

Yes, I have gone there several times, mostly for driftwood, rocks, plants, etc. Nice place.

 

If you are in visiting in Waterford, you could check out Highland Tropical Fish & Bird Haven in White Lake. It is pretty close to Moby Dick. I don't frequently go but lots of people like it.

I usually go to Farmington and Livonia but that is too far from your locations.

Farmington and Livonia aren't too bad. As long as it's not rush hour. lol

 

If you are in visiting in Waterford, you could check out Highland Tropical Fish & Bird Haven in White Lake. It is pretty close to Moby Dick. I don't frequently go but lots of people like it.

I usually go to Farmington and Livonia but that is too far from your locations.

Weird seeing my LFS mentioned here. It's a pretty good place with good fish. The owner has been around 30 years, and mostly seems to know what he's doing, but I've also had him make some pretty weird stocking recommendations that I would never do.

 

First, the "Midwest" is a rather large region of the country to be making blanket statements about no healthy fish. Quite often an hour or two drive will get you to a good store. I can go to Chicago, Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Metropolitan Detroit (a little further, like 3 hours) and find great fish stores with healthy stock. I also know of good places in downstate Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Missouri.

Second, I have worked part time in a few stores, particularly one in Florida. A friend had a source of inexpensive, good size young (2") Oscars. People would come in and want to buy an Oscar, and he would tel them it needs a large tank. "It won't need that right away though, right?" So he would sell them a 29 gallon setup, and almost like clockwork, inside of two months they'd be back and buy a 55. He did not sell larger tanks, no normal retailer did back then; they were special order. But for every Oscar he sold, he made sure he had 55s available within a couple of months.

I said Midwest because I didn't feel like sharing where I lived. The cities you mentioned are all about a 6 hour (or more) drive from my home. Not really worth it for someone who keeps small freshwater tanks for a hobby.

 

Ooh! Ooh! I have a story. I went to pet smart and took photos of all the little name tag things because I'm thinking that when my betta passes I'll add a different type of fish. I was looking at some gourmis. And a lady came up to me and asked finding everything okay? I decided to test her out. I said "yeH but can you tell me what fish can I put in my 10g.
Pointed to a goirami(Idk how to spel) well if you use the inch per gallon rule and if that's about 3 inches you can put him in a 3.5 gallon
(In head) WHAT THE DJJDNDJFFJRDJFHDKOAPDJFE

 

Boat ramp is just great entertainment. Had a boat and seen many an act. Many times out of sheer frustration I’d walk over and ask to put there boat in. Years back watched a guy back a boat in with his vet. Put it in neutral pulled the emergency brake stepped out and the boat pulled his vet right in up to the engine.
. NyQuil everyone knows you have to use robitussin

 

Boat ramp is just great entertainment. Had a boat and seen many an act. Many times out of sheer frustration I’d walk over and ask to put there boat in. Years back watched a guy back a boat in with his vet. Put it in neutral pulled the emergency brake stepped out and the boat pulled his vet right in up to the engine.
. NyQuil everyone knows you have to use robitussin

Yep, some funny stuff goes on there,especially on the week ends.

 

I don’t work at my lfs (sadly) but I have had my fair share of inexperienced people coming up to me like they know exactly what they’re talking about. One of my friends bought a calico ryukin after his betta died (no surprise there since he hadn’t cycled its tank). He then proceeded to ignore all of my warnings and advice and put it in a 3 gallon tank. I tried to tell him that the ryukin needed a least a 30 gallon tank, preferably bigger, but he refused to believe me, stating that “that’s impossible, there’s no way they get that big”. This was one year ago and the ryukin is still surprisingly alive, but it’s barely grown and I think it’s best the end of its rope. Thankfully though my friend has upgraded it to a larger tank. Another time was when I was looking at the bettas in my local petco and this 50 something year old guy came up behind me and started spouting his opinions on how to breed them. He was convinced that bettas thrives in unfiltered, unheated water and that for the fry to be able to survive, there would need to be a thin white layer of film on the surface of the water. I was angry to say the least. Some people just shouldn’t have pets.

 

Alright everyone, considering I last edited this thread a month and a half ago, I think it's time for an update.

These are just some of the scenarios I've been in since Aug. 15 of this year, Happy Storytelling/reading!

The Killer Couple
A couple comes into the fish room and tells me they're looking to buy more Fahaka puffers for their fish tank...because the turtle that they have in their community tank 'really likes' eating the Fahaka puffers. I questioned why they had an aquatic turtle in their community fish tank and they tell me that the tank is meant for the turtle, and the community fish in the tank are his 'feeders' but instead of buying regular *feeders* he'd rather use community fish because 'they keep the tank looking more lively, and he doesn't mind losing a few tetra every day'...I told them the ONLY thing they should be trying to feed their turtle live are feeder fish meant for the purpose, not rare puffers that other customers LOOK for every time they come into the store (we only get fahaka's maybe once a year, and this guy wants to feed em to his turtle...).....They still came in to add something different to their tank so they continued to look around. They first asked about putting an axolotl in the tank.....I fought hard to negate that purchase as well....They made it to the cichlid isle and ushered me over to them and asked 'will this albino socolofI kill the fancy guppies in my tank', I literally answered them with "Well, we feed them feeder guppy here soooo".....they then moved over to another tank where we have very small african cichlid fry and asks me the same question, I tell them "No, not at this time, but later on definitely" They replied with "Okay! give me 2 of them!"....No understanding for stocking conditions what-so-ever....

Killer Couple Cont.
The couple came back in at another time and was looking at redtail sharks. They call me over to the tank and ask if I can show them how to sex (about an inch long) young redtail sharks. I say that I can't even sex them when they're adults, let alone now, sorry. They say that's fine and have me grab 2 of them (likely going into the turtle tank). As I get to the bagging table he asks me, "are redtail sharks live-bearers?"....I tell him redtail sharks are egg layers, and he starts talking on about how he hopes this sharks breed...xD. HA...Ha, hahahaha. They might but, def not in your turtle tank friend. xD.

"Hi, can I help you with anything" -"yeah, I need the lid to my tank, and the LED light that goes with it"
While at the register, I had a customer come in looking for an LED light strip to replace his broken one. He didn't quite know the name of the product he was looking for, he just needed the LED plastic top and light. So they needed an LED hood, great. I walk them over to where we keep those and look, but we're out of stock for the size hood that they need. So I'm asked "Well, you're out of stock of what I came here for so, what can you do for me?" (famous last words-I swear I get tude from older guys because I look young and am female, I swear). I showed him his options between the LED light and glass canopy or a Flourescent hood. The price difference was too much for him so he broke down and went with the flourescent. As we're getting to the register, he asks me if I can open the box to measure the product to ensure it's the right size for his tank. (the tanks it's compatible with are listed on the outside of the box, plus, I've worked here 3 yrs...I know what fits and what will not..) But I obliged him anyway, knowing it was the right fit as he struggled trying to read the mm units on the yardstick.

I need a tank magnet
Customer comes to the register with a similar situation, except he tells me he's looking for a magnet for his tank. I ask "A mag-na-float?" which is a magnet with scrub pads on the outsides, a scrubby for dry hands. He tells me "No, for inside the filter" I said "you mean the impeller??" He says "Yeah! that!" So I ask him for the brand and model of his filter. He says "Oh, I don't know that, uhmmm, it's one of those!" pointing to the marineland penguin filters that we have close by the register....*facepalm* "does it have 1 biowheel or 2"..."Oh, just 1"....*goes over to bio wheels that're behind the register* "Is it closer to this size, or this size"..., just know what you come into the store for. Love when customers make US guess their filter type. xD. Happens all too often.

Johnny wants african clawed frogs, Sally wants fancy guppies and Meg is going to cry her eyes out if she doesn't have these tiger barbs.
A large family came into the fishroom (3 adults, and 4 children) looking to stock their new tank. When asked the size of their aquarium, the adult man with them said it was 150G, but he also mentioned that a friend of his thought it was 75G, but he swore it had to be larger than that. (i.e. he didn't know the size of the aquarium, and it was probably much smaller than he was assuming). They went around the store allowing their children to pick the stock of the aquarium. Each time a child would pick a fish, they would ask, 'is it compatible with what we have already picked out?'. Majority of the time, the answer to that was no. I went back and forth with them, had caught fish and then put them back because the children had changed their minds twice...and to top it off, they were unaware of the nitrite cycle...

Irrelevant, but the adults in this group were also found picking up and shaking our tarantula cages. We keep them in small, plastic enclosures until they're sold. And these elders thought it was an awesome Idea to pick the enclosure up, and shake them back nd forth....

Size definitely matters
Had a customer come into the fish room wanting a large pleco. I walked up to him and asked "how can I help you" he gestured at the large (8-10in) pleco and I said "yes, that's a common pleco, hes $14.99" the customer nodded and said "I want him". After getting what I needed to catch the pleco out of his tank, I asked the customer what size his aquarium was. No answer. Turn around and he's talking and video chatting on his phone. Awesome. So I wait until he's off of his phone before bagging the poor fish up. I asked a total of 4 times before he actually answered me with "55G". Already annoyed and upset at this point, I tell the customer "Well, this pleco has already outgrown the size of your aquarium and there are dwarf options you could've chosen from instead but...." I shrugged, handed him the bag, and he walked away unphased. It's irrelevant, but the gentleman didn't speak english well, if at all. That pleco was probably donated to us from someone with a 55G who wanted to give him a better home, and this jack couldn't care less.

Hi, I'm Janice. You're the associate willing to help me? Great! Here are your shackles, now dance monkey!
Had a lady call into the store looking for African Grey Parrots. We sell exotic birds, but not those types of exotic birds. So, she says that an employee at a chain store recommended us, I tell her that we do not sell African Grey Parrots, but that I can (be very helpful) and ask my manager (who has owned exotic birds in the past) if he knows of a place where she could go to find an African Grey. I put her on hold, transfer my line over to my manager and I say "Hey, I know its against our policy, but I'm really trying to help this lady out, is there a local store that you know of that might have African Grey Parrots?" He tells me, "you know I can't give you any names, 1 its against store policy (which I knew full well-but decided to try to do the right thing for this lady) and 2, my manager doesn't know if the other store HAS any african greys in stock at the moment, so he couldn't say anyway. He told me to tell her to try looking up local aviary stores on google. So I go back onto line 2 to relay this information. When I tell her that my manager said to try looking up 'local aviary stores' or 'aviary specialty stores' she questioned "Aviary?! what the **** does that mean?" (, so you're looking for one of the smartest, rarest birds out there, but you don't know what aviary meansss???? I have 6 parakeets and would LOVE to have an african grey, and this lady doesn't know what aviary means but "I want this bird soo bad" she was telling me. . So, after I explain that aviary means 'having to do with birds' and told her what my manager told me, she then gets irate and says "so you mean to tell me that your manager couldn't go onto his computer and look that up FOR me?! Like, he's a manager, as a manager he couldn't have done that for me, the customer?!" I tell her "Ma'am, our computer's are not set up like that, we can't just browse the internet whenever we want, they're our cash registers." she fires back with, "so, if I google "local aviary stores" you can guarantee that I'll find the store you're talking about??' She was just...Lazy, entitled, ignorant, spoiled rotten, uhm....downright demanding...she was just something else to try to help. xD. She legit wanted us to do the dirty work to find her this bird. I don't get paid enough, sorry lady. Actually, they couldn't pay me enough, lemme rephrase that. xD

I can only imagine how she shops for toilet paper.
A lady came into the fish room looking to stock her 10G tank. We have literally 300 freshwater tanks to choose from, and this lady had told me that she wasn't sure which fish she wanted to add because she didn't know what was compatible with what. I tell her to look at our little compatibility chart (things with smile faces are community, things with frown-y faces are not). I tell her you can put anything that has a smiley face with any other fish that has a smiley face (within reason, and I would've stopped her otherwise) and they will get along just fine. She still couldn't figure it out. She went back and forth between the isles and says "I just don't know what I want and what I can put with it, you guys know what's compatible and what not because you work here but, can you just recommend me fish that're compatible with each other" I thought to myself, well, I can, but you might not like the fish I like and we'll be here for days. Finally, she got tired, and told ME to pick her stock for her. I was like "srsly lady...this is the best part of having a fish tank....". I sent her with mollies and platies because she liked the 'colorful fish'.

They're looking for 'Colorful' Fish.
Walked up to a customer standing in front of our painted glass-fish tank and asked them if they needed any help. They said yes, and that they were looking for colorful fish to add to their aquarium. I said okay, are you looking at these? which colors did you want? They told me their colors, and then asked me if the color on them was natural. So I went on and told them No, that these fish are actually dyed this way and the color will likely fade. When I said that their faces changed (at this point I've already caught the ones they wanted). The lady asks "how long before the color fades" and I say anywhere from 2 to 3 months. At that point I felt the vibe change from the guy customer and he says "Well that's pretty F***** up if you ask me" "That they dye fish like that and the color doesn't even stay on for that long" (in my head I'm thinking to myself, did you even look the fish up before you had me catch it????? of course you didnt) I walked them over to the Glo-fish tank and told them the difference between them. they bought 4 glofish as well, along with just 2 neon tetra.

Know your fish BEFORE you purchase!!!
Had a customer come into the fish room wanting fruit tetra. They wanted 1 of every color, so I so graciously caught them a rainbow of fruit tetra, 7 or 8 different colors. They went home happy, a few days later they came back into the store and purchased a total of 6 gouramis, 3 neon dwarfs and 3 gold gouramis. The next day they had came back with a rainbow of fruit tetra dead in a bag and 6 gouramis, still alive in another bag. The lady was complaining and swearing up and down about how 1 employee (who was actually my mom [woooo, fish store family! woooo]) sold them the gourami and lied to them about their aggressiveness. (lol). The lady had claimed that the gourami had killed all of her tetra and that they were back for a reimbursement. We helped her the best we could but.....nobody lied to her. Pretty sure she dumped those 6 gourami into a 20G tank and they either killed her tetra over territory, OR she had an ammonia spike that killed the more delicate tetra. Just another example of a customer blaming us for their loss.

Why is that Frogfish not moving? I think it's dead.
Had a customer in the fishroom concerned about our saltwater frogfish, she was concerned because it 'wasn't looking good' and was 'just sitting there and not moving'....Irate, I began explaining to her the nature of a saltwater frogfish and WHY they 'just sit there' as I was opening his enclosure to bother him so that he'd move so the customer could stop accusing us of housing sick fish......gotta love it.

Let Them Rest!!! If its early in they day, They're likely acclimating.
Similar to another example where....we had just received a saltwater shipment. When our saltwater fish just come into us, they're very stressed out and majority of the time will just lay on the bottom of the tank. A customer had passed by a wrasse that was doing just that, and exclaimed to me about how 'he's really not looking good' and 'maybe you should do something about him'...So I did. I picked that poor stressed wrasse out of his tank and did what we're supposed to do with 'sick' fish. I brought him back into our salt quarantine tanks. He passed within 10min of the transfer. So, thank you, uneducated customer. Without the move, he probably would've acclimated just fine.

I didn't even have my name tag on...
I was walking back into work after my break, I had a fast-food soda cup in one hand and was holding onto my purse strap with the other. I walked passed a customer and my mistake was making eye contact with her. She stopped me and asked me what fish eats the white fuzzy stuff that appears in the bottom of her tank. She pointed to one of our tanks that had it (x.x) for further example. I told her "oh, noooo, well, this tank here is in desperate need of a water change, there is no animal that will eat that." So she asked "well, how do you get rid of it." I replied "with a hydrovac" this convo had taken me about 5-7 minutes so I was late coming back from break. I told her to hold on for just a moment, that I was going to go put my things away, clock in, and be right with her...........So I come back to her, I bring her over to our hydrovacs, explain to her how to use em, all that good stuff. Turns out, she didn't realize she was supposed to be doing water changes with a hydrovac.

 

I love reading these, please continue to post them!

 

Yes please they are fun to read. I see a lot of my encounters in it. The same thing happened to me except they were looking for an umbrella cockatoo. Told them look up breeders as I knownlike 5 Avaian breeders in a 30 minute drive. Got my parakeets from a good one. It just frustrates me that people randomly walk into the store and then want to put a jack Dempsey or a Texas cichlid in with community fish because they’re “pretty”. I have neve impulse bought a fish and I always recommend researching any animal that they buy. I also recommend this site for people starting in the hobby. Have seen a few of them post here too so it’s worth the people who don’t listen.

 

So a worker at my LPS actually suggested I get my betta another "friend" when I was checking out with him lol. I was so dumbfounded I didn't even have words. I can only imagine my face lol

 

I sent her with mollies and platies

For a 10G?

 

For a 10G?

Yeah, We have 300 tanks and she couldn't pick 1 fish that she liked specifically. She wanted Glolite tetra but I told her they do better in schools and she didn't want JUST tetra for her tank. She liked the color of the platies and mollies, and to be frank. Were the only fish she liked that would've fit in a ten gallon. I could've sent her home with 3 blue gourami. But I didnt.

Edit: I mean, what would you have recommended for a 10G that's also colorful. The lady literally couldn't make up her mind either. Theres nothing wrong with 2 platies and 2 mollies in a 10G tank. I even made sure they were the same sex so they wouldn't overpopulate. .

 

Yeah, We have 300 tanks and she couldn't pick 1 fish that she liked specifically. She wanted Glolite tetra but I told her they do better in schools and she didn't want JUST tetra for her tank. She liked the color of the platies and mollies, and to be frank. Were the only fish she liked that would've fit in a ten gallon. I could've sent her home with 3 blue gourami. But I didnt.

Edit: I mean, what would you have recommended for a 10G that's also colorful. The lady literally couldn't make up her mind either. Theres nothing wrong with 2 platies and 2 mollies in a 10G tank. I even made sure they were the same sex so they wouldn't overpopulate. .

Mollies just have a very high bioload that can quickly overwhelm a 10 gallon. Plus the sailfin variety can reach 5 inches. I don’t see anything wrong with ballon bodies mollies in a ten as they are already naturally stunted. Also nothing wrong with paltues as they stay small they just also produce a lot of waste. I would’ve suggested endlers or guppies. And told her that we could take them in when they breed as feeders or if she choose an N class endler then she could actually make money. And pair it with neocardinal shrimp like red cherry shrimp and a pair of horned or red nerite snails. I am just assuming you have these but you may not have the N class endlers or the red nerites as these can be rare.

 

All three of us know good and well that there’s only so much pursuading and helping people who don’t listen to you, at least we try to send them home with something decently appropriate. I’ve sold Mollies to people with 10 gallons because of the tradeoff. For example, someone was set on either a small Gold Dust Molly or Rainbow Shark, so obviously I got them to pick the Molly.

Truthfully, a lot of customers are ignorant, irresponsible, and if I didn’t have to help them I wouldn’t give them the time of day. On the flip side, if you’re polite, friendly, and at least try to understand what I say then I’d go to the moon and back to help you get your aquarium perfect.

 

All three of us know good and well that there’s only so much pursuading and helping people who don’t listen to you, at least we try to send them home with something decently appropriate. I’ve sold Mollies to people with 10 gallons because of the tradeoff. For example, someone was set on either a small Gold Dust Molly or Rainbow Shark, so obviously I got them to pick the Molly.

Very true most people wouldn’t want to drop the money that it takes to set up a proper nano fish tnak. But I agree, stocking a ten gallon could’ve turned out a lot worse. I’m glad that it’s actially possible to keep the nitrates down in the 2 platies 2 Molly’s and their wouldn’t be aggrression issues unless their is a dominant molly. My thing hat I said would be the best case scenario but almost all people would just want a tank full of tiny but colorful and expensive fish.

 

My pity for you. I don't think I would have the temperament to deal with some of that.

 

My pity for you. I don't think I would have the temperament to deal with some of that.

Sometimes I don’t, even on here, there’s a certain point where people need to know how to do their own research before trying to explain more to them, otherwise it’s just frustrating. I’m not the type of person to snap or be rude though.

 

It would be nice if people did even some basic research on what they want in their tank, especially the people that are new to aquariums. I saw a couple the other year at Walmart load up a shopping cart with a 10 gallon kit with all the accessories for it and a pair of baby Oscars. I told that associate that the baby Oscars needed a 55 gallon tank as a temporary home and a 125 when grown. The key to it being Walmart.

 

Alright everyone, It's been quite awhile since I've posted and I've experienced quite a bit since I last posted. Sit back and enjoy this third installment of A Day in the Life of an LFS Associate! Remember, as stated in the first portion, these stories are not intended to embarrass, name, or criticize anyone in this hobby. I post these as a venting mechanism for myself, but also to give everyone here an idea of the crazy stuff your LFS associates probably deal with on a daily basis. Enjoy!

I'll Start with Stumpy, the Pickle Jar Comet
A customer came into the store with a small comet goldfish for donation. This fish was about 2In long. In conversation we found she had kept this goldfish in a small jar for almost a Year and was now replacing him with a new comet goldfish. One of our associates tried to talk her out of buying another, saying "those goldfish need more swimming space than a jar, it's going to die living long term like that" to which the customer snapped "I've had him (pointing to stumpy) in a jar for over a YEAR and He's doing fine" Of course we appeased the customer because that's what you do, but protocol for small comet goldfish donations is that they go to the feeder bin if they're not very large. None of us had the heart to dump the stunted yearling back into those bins...So I now have him with my other goldfish 'rescues'. His snout/mouth area is more rounded than my other goldfish, and he's also vertically more 'fat'. poor guy.

I need that specific fish.
Alright so this is a love/hate kinda post and if the people who I help ever read this I hope they understand. I love the people, I don't love how they took advantage of my service in the past. I'm the type of associate who will catch a specific fish for a customer. You want a specific clown loach? The difficult part is me finding and seeing it too, once I spot it, I can generally catch it, no problem at all. Might take me a second but I'll get it and that's not a problem, because I like specifics when I buy fish too. BUT.....these customers had me picking out specific pea puffers from a tank after we had JUST gotten a shipment of them (which was absolutely fine)...but then they'd changed their minds on some, and had me putting puffers back and forth from my jar to the tank, still not sure when ones they wanted for sure. It took about 20 min for them to decide. Which, generally...is annoying but also fine. where it gets hairy...is that I was the only associate in the fish room and I had 3 other customers staring me down by the time I was finished with them. They were sweet and did let me leave them for a moment to help another customer who was extremely impatient and unrelenting...but....I kinda don't blame him when the only associate is forced to be bent over at a tank watching another customer ho and hum over which adorable puffer they want to take home...like, I was just standing there but I had to cuz it's my job. That was a bit frustrating.


I had a customer, as I was getting/bagging his fish. Tell me he had a dwarf gourami (flame varient) get about 5In long (that we sold it to him as a flame and told him it wouldn't get that big and it did), and that his kuhlie loaches were voracious hunting fish that would kill and eat his other fish. I asked him "are you sure it's a flame gourami and not another type" of course he said yes. When I tried to explain to him that kuhlis have downward facing mouths and could not physically take nips out of other fish to kill them, he continuously said "Oh, well mine can".....Can you please just listen to the girl who knows what shes talkin about, I have 10 kuhlis and I can tell you mine have never killed another fish. and by the physical nature of them, they can't really physically do any damage to other fish and why are we still having this conversation....they're bottom feeder scavengers, one of your fish probably died in the tank, you saw your kuhlis doing their job trying to clean it up and made a silly assumption, lets move on.


I Don't Believe You...
had a customer looking at maroon clowns in saltwater, said he had a moderate to smaller sized tank (I wanna say between 29-55G) and was going to add one. He had me catch one. Then he says "I think I'll take the other one too" to which I interrupted and said "If they're going in the same tank you really don't want to add two", he asked why and I explained to him that we keep them in separate tanks here because they're territorial with other clowns and will fight. Earlier, he was walking around and speaking with one of the owners of the store (who comes in ONLY to feed in the mornings, he does not help customers bec that's what he pays us to do, so when customers take it upon themselves to gravitate towards him, it drives us all insane...-the owners love their customers and do everything to help them, but again, they're paying US to do that work, they're very busy people, they're business ownersss) So....rather than taking my word for it, he says "would you mind if I asked the other gentlemen how they'll do together"....as if that wasn't an insult to me....so he walks over and asks the owner, and sure as sh** the owner says the same exact thing I did minus "if one is bigger than the other then you may have a pair"....The customer decided to try it anyway. Saying his tank was big enough for the both of them...The next day he brought one of the maroons back, alive and well. but because the other maroon was beating him up...I told him so....before he had to undermine what I was saying...I encourage customers to get multiple opinions from associates bec we all have difference experiences, but with something like that, he just didn't wanna believe what I was telling him.

Why Did You Want To Return This Item?
I've had some odd returns in the past, but this one took the cake. A lady had an aqueon heater that she wanted to return. She claimed she had purchased it awhile ago and had never used it-didnt need it anymore but did not have a receipt. As protocol requires, I called a manager before going any further (we don't return items without a receipt, manager discretion) So my manager comes up, lady tells him her situation. He goes to pull the heater out of the box. and its CLEARLY used. Algae all over it. Her story changes, she bought it awhile ago but she doesn't need it anymore. The lady straight tried to scam us, and then stood at the counter for 15 mins arguing with my manager as to why he couldn't take it back as a return.

 

I had a customer call and ask me "Do you know if you still have that snake fish in stock? it was in the isle with the goldfish, towards the end of the row"....I said "Bichir? Dojo Loach? Ropefish?...they said "I don't remember what it was called but it was by the goldfish and it looked like an eel....Are you actually kidding me. lol. like, At least know what you're calling about...another pet peeve of mine, when people want us to guess the type of fish or filter they have (or need help with) by describing what it looks like to us....xD, We need to see it or know what it is to really be of any service...brand nd model number or at least a name is all we need. lol. Drives me nuts when people don't remember how big their tank is too.

Irresponsible Parents
In the fish room we also keep arachnids, scorpions, millipedes and other creepy crawlies...A family of somewhat routy customers came into the store (3 adults and 2 children) and were carrying on in the fish room...First thing that happened...the father figure in the family thought it'd be hilarious to pick up a stripped knee tarantula and chase his 5yr old daughter down the isle with it. I was on the register when this happened but I heard the child screaming and running from the front of the store. An associate had to scold the man a bit...if that thing got loose there is no catching it....at least, few associates that're willing to try to catch it. Anyway, after that minI fiasco, the parents continued to browse while our associates babysat their children. The little boy in the group had to be stopped from crawling underneath our 75G (on metal stands) tanks that were full with stock fish...When they got to the register, the boy and girl started chasing eachother around our small animal enclosures, I had to 'ask' them not to run at least 2 times right in front of their parents who continued to do nothing about it...

Just Chillen
I was in the fish room helping the pea puffer customers (it actually happened while I was trying to pick out the perfect one), I peer inbetween the top and bottom level of tanks to see 3 teenagers looking down into our feeder bins. As I'm watching, one of them decided to stick their hand into the water with the fish, when she did so, her sleeve got wet so she decided to wring her sweater sleeve out back into our goldfish bin....If I could've been incredibly rude and chased them down I would've but I was the only associate in the fish room....To that teenage girl, you could've contaminated and killed that entire bin of fish, get your hands out of our tanks, omg. Afterward, I spotted the group chillen on the couch in our waiting area, 3 teenagers, just sittin on our couch. I asked if they needed anything and they say "nah, just chillen"...Well dears, those who 'just chill' are also those who are watched with hawk eyes because this is a retail establishment and people don't come here to 'just chill'...Maybe just to browse but, they weren't even browsing...xD. Then when they did finally leave, I found a pack of dog treats on the couch??? Like, were they buying things afterall, were they trying to thieve some dog treats???? Idk but unless they have any pets we can help them with I hope they don't come back....

I Want The Darkest Ones
Had a customer call the store wanted to put a few SPECIFIC freshwater fish on hold for the next week...not just a few of this kind, specific ones out of the tank that they saw when they were last in. We only hold things for 24 hrs, the customer was willing to try to pick em up within 24 hrs, so my manager accommodated them and had us pick the specific ones out and put them in another tank for holding, person called back a few hours later and canceled the hold....said they'd try for next week and hope they were still there...well at this point you've had us stress em out a bunch for nothing so, yeah who knows........


How Do You Avoid Nitrite?
Had a guy come through my register line with a sponge filter and a nitrite/nitrate filter media pad. He first asked me how the sponge filter worked bec the picture showed the filter just below the water, but the filter was only 8In tall and his tank is much taller. I said that's fine, that's just the graphic they use to show the filter should be completely under water. (had to reiterate a few times cuz he didn't quite understand, I didn't quite understand his question at first either tho) and then....he gets to the nitrite/nitrate pad and asks me "How do you keep that out of the tank, how do you maintain 0 nitrite/nitrate" is basically what he was asking me now that I'm thinking about it (and I explained the nitrite cycle so, I did answer his question)...but, he asked me how does a tank go without getting nitrite or nitrate and my answer was "It doesn't......nitrite/nitrate occurs in the nitrite cycle and your tank is going to have to go through that cycle so, you'll have to wait until everything balances out" long story short...I hope he understood what I meant, can't ask me these types of things while I'm running the register. Should've asked an associate in the back......Cuz I would've given him a super in depth answer but....then my line will be 10people long bec this guy waited until he got to the cashier to have all his questions answered...

Random Rant: Why do customers WANT to disregard compatibility measures so much? I suppose the answer is " they want what they want", but...I have customers every time I go into work who, when I tell them "this fish wouldn't do great with the fish you have or the fish you're looking to add" etc, they start to try to negotiate. Like, "if it won't work with this fish, will it work with this fish?"...like...it's basically 50/50 if you're trying to add a predatory fish in with non-predatory fish, and I can't predict when, but eventually the predator will take care of all it's prey. Like, it's not a matter of choosing the 'right' community/predator combo...a predator is a predator and a community fish is a community fish, they just shouldn't go together, negotiate all you want, those "slightly bigger" community fish are still going to be food at some point down the line...I don't even try to negotiate anymore, I used to but now I'm straight honest and say "technically no, they shouldn't go together but could you put them together for awhile until the one gets too big for the other, yeah, sure" and they're usually like "alright, lets do it" and I'm like "you poor soul" to the community fish as I'm bagging him up to go with eels or knife fish or cichlids. Now, you know, I don't let customers make drastically terrible decisions, I'm always honest with them, but it's hard to convince people sometimes.

 

I just wanted to post a few brief stories from an experience of mine from a few days ago. Please enjoy my venting.

Please, Please, Oh Pretty Pleeaasseeee.

A lady comes into the fish room and asks us what other fish we recommend to put in with a goldfish. I tell her other goldfish work best. She cries out "Noooo, I don't want to put other goldfish" (in a whiney, that's what everyone keeps saying and I don't wanna kinda tone).

She tells me she has a goldfish and a pleco. I tell her there are a variety of other, colorful and different looking goldfish that she could add (KEYWORDS) depending on the size of her tank. She CRINGES and then tells me in a quieter voice....10 Gallons.

She KNEW that the size of her tank was too small for what she already had. She KNEW she shouldnt be adding anything else. AND SHE KNEW she shouldnt put tropical fish in with goldfish but she STILL came into a fish specialty store to ask "what kind of fish do you recommend" Ultimately, it's her fish tank, and to be truthful, she can add whatever the heck she wants to. But I can't recommend something that shouldn't go in with something else. I can bag it and send it home, but I won't recommend it.

They'll Be Fine In 10G, Right?

On the same day, I had another gentleman come in with two boys asking about the smallest turtles we had. The smallest we CAN sell is 4IN, the ones we have in stock are about 5-6In long in diameter (yellow bellied sliders). As soon as he sees the turtles he tells me he wants two of them and asks how long they'll live in a smaller tank before they can go outside into the pond (red flag number one).

I say that depends on the tank and what they're eating and I ask what size tank they were going into. The guy says he's going to get 'one of those 10G that we have on sale over there'. I stop him right there and tell him that the two of them would do better in something like a 20L but a 40B would be ideal, then I mention filtration and basking/heating spots and the guy interrupts me and says "Well, I'm only looking to spend about 150$ on this, its just a little thing for my boys"....Well sir, you're also looking to care for 2 yellow bellied cooter turtles, do you even care that these are animals with care requirements? Not toys for your 2 boys? The turtles cost 39.99 ea, the tank costed 50$ (and he went with a 20L), the filter was 20$, you can imagine where that left him for all of the health related equipment for the turtles (like lighting, calcium, basking lamps...)

He purchased the filter, food, water conditioner, a 20L tank and some rocks.
He did not purchase a top for the tank, a lighting lamp OR a basking lamp.

Didn't care that without a basking spot, these turtles could get shell rot, didn't care about a pyramiding shell, didn't care about water quality. Didn't care. OH and to top it all off, at the end of the transaction as they were being rung out, the customer asks me "how long will the turtles be okay in the box for? my boys and I were going to go out to dinner"...(its bad enough they don't even have an enclosure yet) I looked at him dumbfounded and said 45minutes....

In Closing, These types of customers drive me absolutely bonkers. Do the research, and plan accordingly. Its always okay to make mistakes, its never okay to knowingly disregard the care requirements of fish or animals. Thanks for reading.

 

I for one appreciate you sharing these experiences, and trying to steer people towards better decisions concerning pets. It is so sad and frustrating that in this age of most people having easy access to huge amounts of information just can't be bothered. Or think in terms of what they want versus what the right thing is to do. I never worked in a pet or fish store but I have been in them enough to have heard conversations between customers and store employees that were eerily similar to what you posted. Like just because an animal is small or not expensive that it somehow does not count as a living little being that, I might add, is at our mercy (or lack of) for everything. If people aren't willing or able to spend enough to make sure that animal is being taken care of then it is pretty darn simple, DON'T BUY IT!! Find another option that is within your budget. I wish pet and fish stores would post a info sheet with each type of pet listing care requirements for that particular animal. People should definitely do their own research but maybe it would stop some of these people from buying a pet they are unwilling to properly care for. But that probably isn't good for the bottom line, but seems like there should be a better way...You got me all fired up Fishgirl! Just kidding.

 

Animals are accessories and fish are furniture.

Most people display a shocking lack of empathy towards their pets.

 

Not a surprise to me. I work at a veterinary clinic and most of our clients are lovely, but then there’s the other ones.

 

Sad but true in many cases. It's weird you have some people that are so fiercely protective and loving with their pets and then others which don't seem to care at all. I saw a quote somewhere a while back that said something like "I don't care how rich, popular or important you are. How you treat animals tells me all I need to know about you"... Yup that about sums it up for me

 

I just wanted to post a few brief stories from an experience of mine from a few days ago. Please enjoy my venting.

Please, Please, Oh Pretty Pleeaasseeee.

A lady comes into the fish room and asks us what other fish we recommend to put in with a goldfish. I tell her other goldfish work best. She cries out "Noooo, I don't want to put other goldfish" (in a whiney, that's what everyone keeps saying and I don't wanna kinda tone).

She tells me she has a goldfish and a pleco. I tell her there are a variety of other, colorful and different looking goldfish that she could add (KEYWORDS) depending on the size of her tank. She CRINGES and then tells me in a quieter voice....10 Gallons.

She KNEW that the size of her tank was too small for what she already had. She KNEW she shouldnt be adding anything else. AND SHE KNEW she shouldnt put tropical fish in with goldfish but she STILL came into a fish specialty store to ask "what kind of fish do you recommend" Ultimately, it's her fish tank, and to be truthful, she can add whatever the heck she wants to. But I can't recommend something that shouldn't go in with something else. I can bag it and send it home, but I won't recommend it.

They'll Be Fine In 10G, Right?

On the same day, I had another gentleman come in with two boys asking about the smallest turtles we had. The smallest we CAN sell is 4IN, the ones we have in stock are about 5-6In long in diameter (yellow bellied sliders). As soon as he sees the turtles he tells me he wants two of them and asks how long they'll live in a smaller tank before they can go outside into the pond (red flag number one).

I say that depends on the tank and what they're eating and I ask what size tank they were going into. The guy says he's going to get 'one of those 10G that we have on sale over there'. I stop him right there and tell him that the two of them would do better in something like a 20L but a 40B would be ideal, then I mention filtration and basking/heating spots and the guy interrupts me and says "Well, I'm only looking to spend about 150$ on this, its just a little thing for my boys"....Well sir, you're also looking to care for 2 yellow bellied cooter turtles, do you even care that these are animals with care requirements? Not toys for your 2 boys? The turtles cost 39.99 ea, the tank costed 50$ (and he went with a 20L), the filter was 20$, you can imagine where that left him for all of the health related equipment for the turtles (like lighting, calcium, basking lamps...)

He purchased the filter, food, water conditioner, a 20L tank and some rocks.
He did not purchase a top for the tank, a lighting lamp OR a basking lamp.

Didn't care that without a basking spot, these turtles could get shell rot, didn't care about a pyramiding shell, didn't care about water quality. Didn't care. OH and to top it all off, at the end of the transaction as they were being rung out, the customer asks me "how long will the turtles be okay in the box for? my boys and I were going to go out to dinner"...(its bad enough they don't even have an enclosure yet) I looked at him dumbfounded and said 45minutes....

In Closing, These types of customers drive me absolutely bonkers. Do the research, and plan accordingly. Its always okay to make mistakes, its never okay to knowingly disregard the care requirements of fish or animals. Thanks for reading.

Honestly not sure what people are expecting. I would love to hear more of these stories. XD

 

Can you physically put an animal in a small tank or enclosure? Yes, you can. But is it ideal? No, not at all.

 

this is why I don't want to work at a pet store or lfs as much as my mother says I should. no matter how much I would try to educate people, or just keep my mouth shut, in the end it's their choice and the ultimate goal is to make a sale. I would just feel awful about it. I don't want to go through that all the time.

 

I wouldn’t last a single day at a pet store. The owners should give you the right to deny customers that know their doing wrong and even the ones that want to learn. I would have personally told the guy with the kids I’m not selling you the turtles end of story sorry just my opinion

 

It's really nice to hear the "other" side of a lfs story.

I've been in some places where the associate tells customers no they can't have a fish because of one reason or other..tank size or other fish already in it. I get so tired of hearing people bash some stores, and in my mind I know they either misunderstood the advice they were given or just out and out ignored it.
They go ahead and get a fish that's either ill or just not a good fit for their tanks and first thing they will do is blame the pet store...

I'm not saying the pet store isn't at fault in some cases but knowingly "adopting" as most people like to say when they are actually BUYING, an ill fish and then turning around and blaming the store is just silly in my opinion.

Ok off my soap box now.

Thank you for sharing the "other" side of a pet store story

 

I was in Petco one day when a customer was making a huge scene because the sales person had “upset her child.” Apparently, the child was upset because she couldn’t have 2 guinea pigs in just a “hermit crab” home.

The sales person kept trying to explain that 2 animals required much more space than the crab enclosure provided. To which the customer kept accusing her of trying to just make more money from her. After several minutes of showing her... um... butt, the sales lady finally said, “you know what? I’m not selling you the guinea pig. Our concern is for the safety and health of the animals, not trying to take your money” and proceeded to take the guinea pig box from the customer and walking away with it.

I shop there more often now.

 

I was in Petco one day when a customer was making a huge scene because the sales person had “upset her child.” Apparently, the child was upset because she couldn’t have 2 guinea pigs and just a “hermit crab” home.

The sales person kept trying to explain that 2 animals required much more space than the crab enclosure provided. To which the customer kept accusing her of trying to just make more money from her. After several minutes of showing her... um... butt, the sales lady finally said, “you know what? I’m not selling you the guinea pig. Our concern is for the safety and health of the animals, not trying to take your money” and proceeded to take the guinea pig box from the customer and walking away with it.

I shop there more often now.

Kudos to the Petco sales person!

 

I would never last in any retail job or customer based job. I hate people. Lol. Well hate may be a little strong. I couldn't put up with them.