Employees at Petco

[PrObLeM_ChIlD]

I went to petco yesterday with my mum and fiance to see if they had gotten any dwarf puffers in, cause i want to add 2 more to my tank and i ran into quite an intresting employee when i asked about them having puffer fish in... he told me over and over again that they were brackish water fish, which i have looked up and read about her and he would not belive me that they were not... not only that but he told me about how he hates dwarf puffers, cause he cannot keep them alive.. it really made me look down on petco... sorry just had to vent!

 

[one-envy]

gotta love petco employees, ive come to realize that no one knews didly scwat about stuff there, youre better off find a different lfs.

 

[Xenity7]

I didn't realize there were any freshwater puffers. However the employees at Petco do not know jack about fish. I ask a question, and I get duhhhhhhh,maybe. I'll stick with a fish store that has employees with an IQ above that of a butterfly.

 

[cichlidmaster]

Time to play "Devils Advocate"!!

You can't really blame the "emplyee" so much as the chain itself!!

The employee can and will be only as good as the training they receive!!

I manage 35 employee's for the hospital I work for and they receive extensive training....not only from me personally, but from my assistant managers as well.

Once the initial training period is over all employee's receive refresher training periodaclly.

Please be kind when speaking of the staff that work at these chain stores as it is really not their fault!!!

CM

 

[Alien Anna]

I personally use three LFS's. I have to travel some considerable distance to use two of them but I do so because they really know about fish and will answer questions (for free) when I have problems. Another LFS, my nearest, is very good in terms of fish care (for instance, they checked that my tank was cycled and that I had appropriate tankmates before allowing me to buy a betta), but tend to have only the most popular species and we have differences of opinion over some issues (they sell danios for cycling new tanks).

In these good shops I find that all the employees either know what they're talking about, or will always go and find out if they're not sure. And don't be put off by their youth - some young people know more than some of the older people sometime! OTOH, I sometimes wonder if these assistants are working for cash, or fish

I think once of the tasks of a newbie is to find a reliable LFS. No one's infallible, but if they take care and know what they're talking about 99% of the time, that should be OK. The advantage is you know the stock is healthy and you are unlikely to be sold totally incompatible species.

If an LFS or pet shop isn't like that, you could buy fish that carry all sorts of diseases that you'd introduce to your tank, you could be supporting a business that is inhumane towards fish (mentioning no names!) and you could even be supporting a business that is not so careful about importing rare species illegally!

 

[kevy]

"The employee can and will be only as good as the training they receive!!"

I completely agree with cichlidmaster there. I've had my share of bad experiences with employees, so I'm just always sure to know about what I'm buying. And try not to stereotype, I'm sure there are some people on here who work at chain stores (Petco, Wal-Mart, which ever) and know everything there is to know about what they're selling.

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

well, most puffers except for dwarf are brackish fish (hey, that rhymes)

 

[Inchworm]

It's all about money, PrObLeM ChIlD.

The chain stores do not care about the fish, they just want to sell things. A fish is just another product that they sell. To them it's no different than a fish tank or a dog collar. If a fish dies it just gets written off as a loss. Simply put: they don't care.

They don't care about their employees very much either. If they did they would hire experienced people and pay them more.

They don't care about the customers either. They advertise heavily; if you don't shop there, someone else will.

You would be better off searching out an independant fish store. Then make the effort to get to know the proprietor and the employees. These are people who are serious about fishkeeping and who have knowledge and experience with the hobby. And they care about you; they want your fish to live and they want you to enjoy the hobby.

When you shop at a chain store you are taking money away from the people who tend to advance the hobby and giving it to a bunch of stockholders. If we do not patronize the independant businessmen and women, the day will come when all that is left are the big chains like Petco. And that would be a shame!

 

[fuman_chica]

I will NEVER shop at PetCo ever again. Because of their mistreatment of all of there animals in general. Click here to see what I mean.

 

[smb]

I always try to stay out of "hot" topics for the most part and maintain a neutral attitude because maybe 1 or 10 stores in a conglomerate is bad, but I will say one thing...

Petco is an abomination and I will never ever go there no matter what. I think that place is the worse it gets!

I have been to a couple and it honestly makes me sick to my stomach. That's not a phrase. I mean literally.

I am being truthful when there was a couple times I actually thought about taking an animal from there that was in such bad shape and running to try and get away with it.

Petco is a sick company and I cannot ever have an ounce of any respect for anyone who works there.

 

[pondfreak4365]

Wow! I shop at Petco locally and the aquaria employees are knowledgeable. I'm not sure if this store is a fluke or what, but they will not sell you fish w/o a water sample and complete description of the tank and it's other inhabitants. Almost all of my fish came from that store.

 

[fish&chips]

my local fish store

also would not sell me any other fish but 5 danios
2 barbs as he asked how long was tank going i sed rnd 10 days

so he said sorry but im not selling you any other fish go to another store

as alien said age means nothing this person was 15 and I GIVE HIM MOST RESPECT his mother has been in the trade for 30 yrs
meening he has grown into it from a child ..and well wot better advice can you get then from a kid

every 1 knows wot a kid is like with patiants but gettng info from 1 1st makes you think