Good fish shop, bad customers

[Alien Anna]

Today I was in my LFS when I overheard a conversation between a shop assistant and a daft, bimbo customer who should have had a licence to keep fish.

She bought 6 guppies, and then after the assistant had bagged them up, she told him she had a real problem with nitrates in her tank and that her fish kept dying! (we think she said nitrAtes, but from the way she was talking, it could easily have been nitrItes). Then she demanded "some of those chemicals to take out the nitrate".

The assistant told her they didn't have any, and anyway, it was probably far better to do regular water changes. He also ofered to test her water before she did anything drastic that might make the problem worse.

For some reason, this drove her crazy and she was really off-hand with him, and the other assistant. She marched up to the counter and demanded to know their refund policy if her fish died. The other assistant explained they they required a receipt and a sample of the tank water. The customer seemed to think this was totally unreasonable (after all, they'd "refused" to sell her Nitrasorb which could, she believed, save the lives of her new fish).

With that, having paid for her new fish, she marched out the shop. I think we all had to restrain ourselves for running out and confiscating those poor doomed guppies!

 

[whacky]

What lfs is that Anna, im down your way fairly often in search of a better lfs.

Sounds like they know their stuff although if i was them i might have tried to disuade her from buying more fish, or just refused to sell them, but i suppose in that instance it wasnt really possible.

You know like shops have a list of dodgy customers suspected of shoplifting or fraud, perhaps lfs could have a list of people not to serve.

 

[Alien Anna]

Hi,
it's Deepdale Aquatics and Pets in Potton, near Sandy, Bedfordshire.

I wouldn't say most of the staff are experts, and they do sell annoying things like fish bowl "starter kits", but that's because I don't think their boss is a fish man (and if he is, he's more likely into koi than indoor fish). I find them better informed than most, keen and never too proud to look something up or phone an experienced fish-keeper.

They do have quite a nice range of species and the fish are all superbly well cared for and appropriately housed.

The staff do try to discourage silly customers from killing their fish, however. For instance, I was admiring some baby oscars and they immediately informed me of the adult size of the fish (even showing me a large juvenile and saying "See, and he's not even full grown yet").

Also, they do second hand equipment and stuff that is mangy but serviceable, is out the back and they'll sell it to you for a song (for instance, if you need a hospital tank or breeding tank and don't mind if it looks a bit tatty).

Mostly, I like them because parking's easy, they let you take your time and most of them seem to genuinely love fish.

 

[Davy Reynolds]

Dumb ass :laugh:

Personally I wouldn't have let her out the shop with them

But what can you do, some people are just aff there heads :hehe:

 

[pete]

People like that should be banned from keeping fish for life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its that kind of irresponsible attitude to fish keeping that causes may totally unnessacary deaths of fish and could be avoided if people really gave a monkeys about thier fish!!!!!!!, if she had half a brain she wouldnt be adding fish to a tank that has pollution problems!!!!!!!!!!!

People like that make me sick!!!!!!!!!!