Lfs Grrrrr

[shrimply]

Just a bit annoyed by my local LFS and wanted to share.

Usually they are ok although I sort of lost faith in them after an argument about a hygrometer I knew was faulty and they refused to refund me.

I am also a reptile keeper and have a local reptile shop who is perfect they can get anything and will the same week if I ask.

Recently though my LFS has just been getting on my nerves, maybe I am a difficult customer.

Anyway First there was the bogwood where I was told that they were unable to get any as it was nearly impossible to get hold of, this was clearly rubbish just about every fish shop under the sun stock it all the time.

Then they refused to order in aquatic mosses for me because it was messy stuff that ended up floating all over their tanks. Well I suggested they tied it down and got a look as if to say I was stupid.

And finally this weekend I asked about the pufferfish in one of the tank and the way she told me that all the info was above the tank like I was to stupid to read it just really annoyed me. Obviously I had read it and just wanted a bit more information. The actual expert on fish is usually alright and he has ordered in cherry shrimp for me in the past but the woman seems to think that since i am 16 i am too young to take seriously. I mentioned once I hoped to start up a planted aquarium and you could tell that she thought i was crazy when I told her the amount of lighting I hoped to fit and about injecting Co2.

I hate people that think they are the only source of information and do not take into account the amount of info someone my age can learn online.

Well sorry about my little rant.lol

 

[smurfyy_2k3]

unfortunately thats the way alot of lfs are

i managed to get mine to take me seriously when i start walking around correcting fact sheets, and members of staff hate it when you correct them when there with a customer
im only 16 too so i know just how you feel

 

[fenwoman]

Just a bit annoyed by my local LFS and wanted to share.

Usually they are ok although I sort of lost faith in them after an argument about a hygrometer I knew was faulty and they refused to refund me.

I am also a reptile keeper and have a local reptile shop who is perfect they can get anything and will the same week if I ask.

Recently though my LFS has just been getting on my nerves, maybe I am a difficult customer.

Anyway First there was the bogwood where I was told that they were unable to get any as it was nearly impossible to get hold of, this was clearly rubbish just about every fish shop under the sun stock it all the time.

Then they refused to order in aquatic mosses for me because it was messy stuff that ended up floating all over their tanks. Well I suggested they tied it down and got a look as if to say I was stupid.

And finally this weekend I asked about the pufferfish in one of the tank and the way she told me that all the info was above the tank like I was to stupid to read it just really annoyed me. Obviously I had read it and just wanted a bit more information. The actual expert on fish is usually alright and he has ordered in cherry shrimp for me in the past but the woman seems to think that since i am 16 i am too young to take seriously. I mentioned once I hoped to start up a planted aquarium and you could tell that she thought i was crazy when I told her the amount of lighting I hoped to fit and about injecting Co2.

I hate people that think they are the only source of information and do not take into account the amount of info someone my age can learn online.

Well sorry about my little rant.lol

Next time you are in and they say about moss or bogwood etc, just mention casually that you will start shopping online since there are many excellent sites to buy allkind of fish stuff, from plants, to equipment to live fish. Mention that prices are good and service is generally good too and that you can see how small businesses go out of business when they are unable or unwilling to stock what customers want. Stand your ground. It is your money after all and they should be bending over backwards to keep your custom.
Personally I am on good terms with the 2 local lfs near me, one of which also sells birds, and general pet supplies. The latter gets a lot of my custom because they are friendly, knowledgeable and will order anything in for me even if it's something that not many people want, like soya meal (for the chickens).
With friendly service like that, they are assured of my continuing custom and since I spend around £150 a month on animal food with them, they recognise that if they lose my custom through bad service, one of their competitors will be £150 a month better off.
Poor customer service = no customers.

 

[Erised]

Poor customer service = no customers.

Amen to that.
Some lfs people really do think too much of themselfs. I just absolutely love how around here they often have certificates on their wall to prove how fantastic and great they are. Ofcourse, you're absolutely wrong when you tell them it's not ok to keep 2 male bettas in the same tank with 7 female bettas. After all, you didn't have a signed certificate with me proving that you know more than they do.
It could be worse though, they didn't stop you on your way out and asked 'Are you sure you're not forgetting to pay for anything?'. It really is worth paying a couple of pounds a trip more and get good service rather than putting up with crappy lfs personel.

 

[YoungFishBreeder]

I hate people that think they are the only source of information and do not take into account the amount of info someone my age can learn online.

I've had the same problem, Although i have found a nice fishstore that will 'Take your word for it'.

Smurfy, Your Lfs has fact sheets all the ones round here have just the names and prices

 

[MegTheFish]

My problem is kind of similar but its the other way around, I work at a petstore and because I'm 15 I've had some people who won't listen to my advice but my boss and coworkers are great and they always back me up Atleast they know that I am knowledgeable and thats all that matters to me.

It could be worse though, they didn't stop you on your way out and asked 'Are you sure you're not forgetting to pay for anything?'.

Oh I hate that, how some shop owners/employees will watch you like a hawk when you shop, I understand that they need to do that as you can't trust some teenagers but sometimes they take it too far! And me and my friends while shopping are usually told to "leave our bags at the front", however not all shops do this.

 

[Marshall..]

Tell them to shove their fish shop up their a**e.

 

[Darkmoon Bettas]

unfortunately thats the way alot of lfs are

i managed to get mine to take me seriously when i start walking around correcting fact sheets, and members of staff hate it when you correct them when there with a customer
im only 16 too so i know just how you feel

Just my 2c as a LFS employee--one who started fishkeeping at 8 and remembers WELL how frustrating it can be to be young and not taken seriously.

Generally, you'll get taken more seriously if you politely, quietly, and privately bring a mistake to their attention when they're free. I personally don't mind being corrected at ALL, there are a lot of fish I've never kept personally, and I'm quite willing to say "as far as I know, XYZ is true" or "I believe ABC, let me double check that for you". A customer that's polite about me being wrong gets a LOT of respect from me. One that goes "Hey, it didn't do any harm because that other guy didn't buy that angel for his 20 gallon, but angels really DO grow too big for that tank because they grow vertically as well as longer, so they really need at least a 29 tall for a single or a mated pair, and a 55's better for a shoal" will be remembered and appreciated.

A customer who barges into my conversation with another customer to interject loudly how wrong I am gets on my nerves, particularly because those "correctons" are often themselves wrong--i.e. "Naw, she's just trying to rip ya off, you don't need a filtered TANK for goldfish, and they certainly don't need 10 gallons. I had a goldfish for a YEAR in a little bowl. She's just trying to sell you extra stuff!!11!!" or "OMG, plecos don't grow over a foot, she has no idea what she's talking about, mine always stayed little in my 2 gallon tank!!" *ignores the 16-inch long pleco in the tank BEHIND ME*

Customers who come up to interrupt me with someone else to correct me (or the store's information) on something totally off topic, "just so I know", like correcting a care sheet, bother me equally as much--it's not relavent to the immediate task at hand (netting some guppies for another customer) and it's interrupting. The customer I'm helping waited his turn, you can wait yours.

A customer who overhears me giving incorrect, immediately harmful advice to another customer as regards the current customer's current purchase and corrects me politely, is quite fine by me. This one's from my early days--"Hey... I heard her tell you it was probably OK to put this clown trigger with your current Niger trigger... I don't think that's a good idea or very safe for your fish, since triggers can often be pretty aggressive to one another". That, I honestly didn't know at the time, and appreciated, and the current customer who then knew not to buy incompatable fish also appreciated it.

 

[Rhiannon]

How bout change LFS?

 

[smurfyy_2k3]

I hate people that think they are the only source of information and do not take into account the amount of info someone my age can learn online.

I've had the same problem, Although i have found a nice fishstore that will 'Take your word for it'.

Smurfy, Your Lfs has fact sheets all the ones round here have just the names and prices

yeah but there are mistakes all over them e.g. common plec can thrive in a 20 gallon tank?

unfortunately thats the way alot of lfs are

i managed to get mine to take me seriously when i start walking around correcting fact sheets, and members of staff hate it when you correct them when there with a customer
im only 16 too so i know just how you feel

Just my 2c as a LFS employee--one who started fishkeeping at 8 and remembers WELL how frustrating it can be to be young and not taken seriously.

Generally, you'll get taken more seriously if you politely, quietly, and privately bring a mistake to their attention when they're free. I personally don't mind being corrected at ALL, there are a lot of fish I've never kept personally, and I'm quite willing to say "as far as I know, XYZ is true" or "I believe ABC, let me double check that for you". A customer that's polite about me being wrong gets a LOT of respect from me. One that goes "Hey, it didn't do any harm because that other guy didn't buy that angel for his 20 gallon, but angels really DO grow too big for that tank because they grow vertically as well as longer, so they really need at least a 29 tall for a single or a mated pair, and a 55's better for a shoal" will be remembered and appreciated.

A customer who barges into my conversation with another customer to interject loudly how wrong I am gets on my nerves, particularly because those "correctons" are often themselves wrong--i.e. "Naw, she's just trying to rip ya off, you don't need a filtered TANK for goldfish, and they certainly don't need 10 gallons. I had a goldfish for a YEAR in a little bowl. She's just trying to sell you extra stuff!!11!!" or "OMG, plecos don't grow over a foot, she has no idea what she's talking about, mine always stayed little in my 2 gallon tank!!" *ignores the 16-inch long pleco in the tank BEHIND ME*

Customers who come up to interrupt me with someone else to correct me (or the store's information) on something totally off topic, "just so I know", like correcting a care sheet, bother me equally as much--it's not relavent to the immediate task at hand (netting some guppies for another customer) and it's interrupting. The customer I'm helping waited his turn, you can wait yours.

A customer who overhears me giving incorrect, immediately harmful advice to another customer as regards the current customer's current purchase and corrects me politely, is quite fine by me. This one's from my early days--"Hey... I heard her tell you it was probably OK to put this clown trigger with your current Niger trigger... I don't think that's a good idea or very safe for your fish, since triggers can often be pretty aggressive to one another". That, I honestly didn't know at the time, and appreciated, and the current customer who then knew not to buy incompatable fish also appreciated it.

i do correct politely and i complained to the manager twice, and i only correct when im absolutely sure that im right.

 

[shrimply]

Thanks people. I know that really it is a pretty good shop and the information tends to be correct but sometimes you just wish their attitude was a bit better. It is my only shop within about 30 miles so I don't have a lot of options about going there.

I don't mind being given the wrong information but down right lies I hate.

 

[fenwoman]

Thanks people. I know that really it is a pretty good shop and the information tends to be correct but sometimes you just wish their attitude was a bit better. It is my only shop within about 30 miles so I don't have a lot of options about going there.

I don't mind being given the wrong information but down right lies I hate.

It doesn't sound like a good shop if it treats customers as potential thieves, offers wrong andvice and is rude. If your next nearest is 30 miles away buy online or go to the next nearest once a month to stock up.

 

[shrimply]

I just have to correct you there, I never said they treated anyone as potential thieves that was a comment by someone else and if I was ever accused of stealing from a shop I would not go there again.

Just wanted to clear that up as although the shop annoys me somtimes the people aren't that bad

 

[Josiah]

I've quit going to my not so local LFS, because the only person that gived a flip and helped you and talked to you doesn't work there anymore, the rest stare at you blankly with a dumb look on their face and say "I only know saltwater"(which is a lie by the way the owner who is the worse helps ADULTS with freshwater) idiots. Sorry I've been irritated with them for awhile.

 

[kribensis12]

I am 13 so I get treated like I dont know sh*t when they are the ones who tell me that gold fish are pirahhnas! I know alot more than me give me credit for an I can awnser alot of questions that they themselves cant awnser and I correct them, thier fact sheet and even have to tell them that there fish are sick and actually saved there entire tank of angel because thier inground filter is clogged an that there other angels had ich also. That was just petsmart, but we have a homeowned petstore called superpets and I can never find anything wrong there and they all treat me with respect an d listen to me and take my advice. I am very impressed and tell everyone I can about them. They also dont treat thier fish like crap and they also give them properly sized tanks which are each 20 gallons. I wish every petstore was like them. They also do what they can to take care of there fish and I know that they value my oppinion and they even went to my grandamas car one time and told her that I know way to much for my age. I also started fish keeping when I was 4 and I have a natural gift for it.