cheeky chappie
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2011
- Messages
- 56
- Reaction score
- 0
i'm not going to mention LFS names as this is only my opinion but i'd be interested in what other forum members think. it's a tale of 2 quite different LFS. i used to go to a LFS that has shut down, they always had a good selection of tropical, marine, cold water fish for sale and the usual accessories, tanks, substrate, meds, food, decorations etc etc. shop was also spotless and the numerous tanks likewise. one thing i always noted when i shopped there is you would be asked a few questions e.g. 'what size of tank do you have?', 'what other fish are in there already if any?' that kind of thing. if you said or requested something that was basically wrong from a fish welfare point of view e.g. wanting to buy x amount of fish when you'd already stated you had quite a few in there, or wanting to put agressive fish in with timid they weren't shy to say 'no you can't do that' even if ultimately they didn't get the sale.
now i frequent another LFS (as i said the above one closed down) and they also have a wide selection of fish but truth be told the place isn't nearly as clean as the (now closed) LFS and the numerous tanks not quite as well kept, always see more than a few dead fish here and there as you walk around. where they also differ is they appear to be quite happy selling you x amount of fish with little or no questions about the 'home' the fish will be going to. last time i was in a dad was walking around the shop with his young son, it appeared that anything the son was wanting the dad was buying so all i heard was along the lines of '2 of those please ... what are they?? oh yeah and 4 of those things there. what's that jimmy (son's name changed for legal reasons ) you want some of those as well? can i have 3 of those please ... what are they?? and emmm 5 of those ...' and so it went on. now i grant you the gent possibly has a massive tank or numerous smaller ones but tbh he didn't strike me as being in that bracket. and not once did the assistant question if he had tank space for the numerous fish he was buying, and i mean numerous! granted the assistant maybe knows him and his setup but again i kind of doubt it. when i buy not once do i get asked anything however in their defence a bit if you ask a direct/indirect question they will answer e.g. i asked about a particular fish last time and the assistant said 'it grows BIG so you need a big tank' although i don't know if they'd have stopped me buying it.
so as i say it's a tale of two different approaches to the business of selling fish. the one we'd maybe consider better / more professional has closed down and the other remains open and has been for years. perhaps the former sealed their own fate by being too picky over what and how many they sold whereas the latter doesn't appear to care as much.
in short, maybe fish welfare doesn't always create a successful revenue stream so, from a business perspective, who has it right? the (now closed) LFS that cared more or the still open LFS that doesn't? remember i mean from a business not fish welfare point of view. would be interested in your thoughts.
now i frequent another LFS (as i said the above one closed down) and they also have a wide selection of fish but truth be told the place isn't nearly as clean as the (now closed) LFS and the numerous tanks not quite as well kept, always see more than a few dead fish here and there as you walk around. where they also differ is they appear to be quite happy selling you x amount of fish with little or no questions about the 'home' the fish will be going to. last time i was in a dad was walking around the shop with his young son, it appeared that anything the son was wanting the dad was buying so all i heard was along the lines of '2 of those please ... what are they?? oh yeah and 4 of those things there. what's that jimmy (son's name changed for legal reasons ) you want some of those as well? can i have 3 of those please ... what are they?? and emmm 5 of those ...' and so it went on. now i grant you the gent possibly has a massive tank or numerous smaller ones but tbh he didn't strike me as being in that bracket. and not once did the assistant question if he had tank space for the numerous fish he was buying, and i mean numerous! granted the assistant maybe knows him and his setup but again i kind of doubt it. when i buy not once do i get asked anything however in their defence a bit if you ask a direct/indirect question they will answer e.g. i asked about a particular fish last time and the assistant said 'it grows BIG so you need a big tank' although i don't know if they'd have stopped me buying it.
so as i say it's a tale of two different approaches to the business of selling fish. the one we'd maybe consider better / more professional has closed down and the other remains open and has been for years. perhaps the former sealed their own fate by being too picky over what and how many they sold whereas the latter doesn't appear to care as much.
in short, maybe fish welfare doesn't always create a successful revenue stream so, from a business perspective, who has it right? the (now closed) LFS that cared more or the still open LFS that doesn't? remember i mean from a business not fish welfare point of view. would be interested in your thoughts.