How Much Is That Fishey In The Window?

[live_the_wild]

Nice and interesting replies!

Thanks for your time.

 

[live_the_wild]

Personally I think bringing in the government would have a bad effect.
I do believe that stores should test competence upon hiring, or even before confirming the hire. In a specialty shop like most of our lfs are the employees should know their stuff. I understand that no one will ever know everything and so I always ask that employees are not head strong and rather make up a false answer than ask someone else in the store.

I recently left my part time job at my local fish store, and I prided myself on my ability to help people with the questions they brought me, and the fact that if I didn't the answer I knew my manager would know and I would make sure to ask them before giving our customer the wrong information. I stopped in last week and was talking to the guy they hired to replace me, and to give him a quick test of knowledge I asked him if he could grab me a female German blue ram... he told me that it was impossible to ever tell the difference, that males and females look exactly the same. When I asked, "are you sure," he said well... actually I think the males tend to be slightly bigger and they're color would be much much more vibrant then the females, that the females almost had no color. I just said really? no one can tell the difference, response, nope no one in this store could. I knew for a fact everyone else working that day could have picked a female out in a heart beat.

The reason this really saddened me was that when I was hired into that place, I was asked to take a test, and because I was going to work in freshwater, I was expected to know the most about that, then I was tested on salt water, and then there was farther testing on other animals we carried, I was still expected to know the basics for all of them but I had to score the highest on freshwater. I know its a subject that is talked about a lot but quality of employees can really make or break the local fish stores.

How ever the stores want to go about it, whether its weekly internal audits, testing for employees, or large posters and displays with lots of information, what ever the stores do the most important thing is to be communicating the correct information. Along with establishing a trusting relationship with the customers showing them that you know what you're talking about and that if they do ask a question that you are unsure of the answer you will not tell him a lie but you will do the work to find out the right answer for them. I think some times employees forget that being part of a fish store does not mean your only job is to sell fish but its helping better the hobby with well informed people.

Good point! Our own interpretation may affect the validity of the information. I 100% agree that the correct information needs to be out there and that one should not make up an answer to a question they are unsure of.

Thanks for your opinion on the matter

 

[live_the_wild]

2) Experince in aquarium keeping for staff (maybe 2 years or more).

This one is absolutely nuts -- the basics that need to be known can be known in 20 mins. Good help is already hard to find, if you limit your help to people who only have 2+ years of aquarium keeping, then chances are you'll find almost no one to work. And then there won't be fish stores at all.

Absolutely nuts!?

Lol, just kidding. I see what you mean. I did not really think too much of how that would limit your pool of potential employees, good point.

I was just trying to imply how experience itself can help solidify one's knowledge in a certain field. If I had a pair of expected employees to choose from; one that just studied/read about how to keep fish for 2 years and one that not only studied, but actually kept fish for 2 years; in my eyes, the second person would be more qualified for the job.

Thanks for your time and your response!

 

[live_the_wild]

I usually only go to those specialized fish shops, usually driving by 6 or more chain stores. I just don't think it is possible for a chain store to compete. I mean the stores I go to often have importers permits and 8,000+ gallons of tanks.

I don't really feel like it is the stores responsibility to teach you anything, I mean it is wonderful if they do. Usually the specialized stores are much better at this. I feel that any responsible owner should be doing their own research on their pets before they get them.

Good point! I also feel a responsible owner should also do their own research before they purchase any fish.

Thanks for your time!

 

[5teady_2012]

I think a test should be in place for people, just a basic one that would cover all a newbie would need to know to setup a new tank safely for fish.

When it comes to what fish you can keep with other fish etc, i think this is more for the customer to research themselves, but most places i have gone to have had staff who knows pretty much what can be kept with what, but there is also a lot they dont know what ive even had to correct them on myself.

Nobody is never to old/wise to learn something new.... but with basics in place, its good foundation to build on in my opinion.

 

[Bridie]

I don´t expect all staff in a store to have all the knowledge. There should be one or two who knows a bit more, which is certainly required to keep their display tanks running smoothly. E.g. if they test the water for clients, they should know what it is about. And the most important thing IMO is not to sell the fish on the same day as the tank. What they should not to is giving wrong advice, if they don´t know they should recommend a book, the internet, or ask a colleague.
I don´t expect everybody working in a fishshop to be an experienced fishkeeper or vet, but they should be honest with their knowledge.
Essential is the correct labelling of fish, in some cases young fish of different species can look very similiar, but grow to very different sizes (eg. common bristlenose and other, much larger Plecos). That might sometimes not even be the shops fault, but the importer/wholesaler´s who sold them under the wrong name. The staff at the gardencentre I bought my shrimps know their buissness, I am not so sure about the local designated fish only shop though, selling a lot of cripple bred goldfish dyed fish and Bettas in pintglasses

 

[GAB99]

I don´t expect all staff in a store to have all the knowledge. There should be one or two who knows a bit more, which is certainly required to keep their display tanks running smoothly. E.g. if they test the water for clients, they should know what it is about. And the most important thing IMO is not to sell the fish on the same day as the tank. What they should not to is giving wrong advice, if they don´t know they should recommend a book, the internet, or ask a colleague.
I don´t expect everybody working in a fishshop to be an experienced fishkeeper or vet, but they should be honest with their knowledge.
Essential is the correct labelling of fish, in some cases young fish of different species can look very similiar, but grow to very different sizes (eg. common bristlenose and other, much larger Plecos). That might sometimes not even be the shops fault, but the importer/wholesaler´s who sold them under the wrong name. The staff at the gardencentre I bought my shrimps know their buissness, I am not so sure about the local designated fish only shop though, selling a lot of cripple bred goldfish dyed fish and Bettas in pintglasses

well they can and usually do sell the fish on the same day, they just need to provide whether mature media or cycling info so that it doesnt die in a few days. but i aggree with you that if possible to avoid selling fish along with the tank.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Well, I worked in a chain store and we had to train on each type of animal (fish, reptile, etc.) with a book on each. Needless to say, the book had a lot of crap info in it. So in all honesty the test only works if the info is right. Which, when you have a company that may have obligations to other companies, it's kinda hard to do. Which is one of the reasons I think bottles of 'cycle' get pushed onto people.

Also, common sense. I was in a petsmart the other week and heard one of their fish people say 3 balas would be fine in a 30 gallon, after stating they get a foot long. Any normal person (I would hope) would realize that just by sheer number crunching that doesn't make any sense, volume or dimension wise.

I kinda expect my store to know what they are talking about, not so much the chain stores (although you think they could actually train people right), but definetly the smaller or fish-centric places. I think of it as any other sort of hobby/niche shop, they should know exactly what they are talking about. If I walk into a video game store, there should be people who know about consoles and games, computer store should know computers, fish store should know fish.

 

[Bignose]

I think of it as any other sort of hobby/niche shop, they should know exactly what they are talking about. If I walk into a video game store, there should be people who know about consoles and games, computer store should know computers, fish store should know fish.

And if this is important to you, if the employees don't have the level of knowledge you think they should, then you need to take your money elsewhere. There really is no other answer. Petsmart and the others have trained their employees to a level where their customers feel confident enough to hand over their money. Period. There is no incentive for Petsmart or the others (big or little) to do more than the barest minimum to convince you to part with your money. Training costs money, so training above and beyond only hurt profits. So, again, if you place value on the employees having knowledge, you will have to seek it out and vote with your dollar. That's really the only way.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Most of the time I do. I'm not saying I don't, and as I said in my post, I understand why big chain stores don't have as knowledgeable employees, but I do expect it from a niche store. I will go to chains places sometimes as a cheaper alternative (if they have a sale on what I need), because the only local small store is not the best in terms of price, and the place I like to go to is too far away