Lfs Will They Sell You Anything

[Torrean]

whip in that situation I would tend to trust the person who stands to make money from the transaction.

 

[Synirr]

if people dont ask its not for them to preach.

I agree with FBF on this. Further, I don't consider it a shopkeeper's business to ask what I plan to do with anything I buy from him or her. It's nice to be able to make a little small talk about my tanks, but if anyone started questioning my qualifications to have anything in his store, I'd soon find another place to shop.

Ditto. I like employees who let you know what the fish needs, but I don't want to be interrogated. Just slipping in the information as they net the fish out for me is a lot better than eyeing me and asking my tank size.... which has happened to me on occasion, but thankfully that employee now knows me and it won't be happening again

 

[Torrean]

Synirr you made me think about this a bit. Your right it is all about how the employee talks to the customer. Giving information out while bagging the fish seems like it would sit better with me than asking me about what I've got for the fish. I wouldn't mind either but I think that telling the person what it needs beats asking what they've got.

 

[Tolak]

A couple of the better shops I deal with will sell you the fish, but void the 3 or 5 day guarantee if they have any questions. This usually involves the customer having to bring in a water sample before the fish is sold with a guarantee. This keeps the screwballs with a 10 gallon from buying an oscar, as they rarely return with a water sample. I have seen them flat out refuse a sale after a few questions, if the water test/guarantee deal doesn't work. They are not selling a rump roast or a Chevy, they are selling a living creature, and feel morally responsible, laws or no laws. They are a couple of the best shops in the area, this is one of the reasons.

I feel the same way, there are shops I will not sell my fish to, and some that I am hesitant, as the quality of their setup and care is either constantly horrible, or varies greatly. I scope them out first, the same way a quality shop would scope out a new customer. If I don't like what I'm seeing, I leave. So don't feel bad about the shop who sells anything, no questions asked. There are people like me who won't sell to shops like that.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Gold stars to my small privately owned lfs (unfortunately not the most local), who tactfully managed to sandwich in the information that certain fish need to go in a mature tank! There are ways of doing this that don't make a customer feel rubbed up the wrong way- and as somebody mentioned, bagging fish is a good time to make informative conversation. You can ask people conversationally about what tanks they have without sounding like the Grand Inquisitor.
I do feel uncomfortable when I see certain people selling goldfish bowls and goldfish for same bowl in the same sell, without ever mentioning certain obvious facts. But a good shop owner who enjoys talking about fish will get my custom again!

 

[Saedcantas]

A lot of you would hate to come and buy fish from me then!

The vast majority of my customers on the weekend are actually regulars whose tank setup and knowledge base I already know, it is only new fishkeepers or experienced fishkeepers new to my shop who get quizzed. It is usually very obvious from the things these new people say or are looking at that gives away whether they are in the know or not.
I dont lord it around acting like it's fun to refuse people a sale, I just make it clear to every customer that I get paid the same at the end of everyday whether I sell anything or not, so all that matters to me personally is the wellfare of the animals I care for.

I have been working in the aquatics and reptile trade for 6 and a half years now and I can honestly say that in all that time, the only people who have even acted slightly offended about my asking them some basic questions, were people who already knew that they didnt have the means to care for their intended purchase but didnt care anyway.

Seasoned Malawi cichlid keepers that I just havent had the pleasure of selling to before only chuckle at the implications when I check that they do have a cichlid only tank, they dont huff and puff and take their business elsewhere because I implied that they might be one of those idiots with a tankful of neons who wants to buy a yellow lab.

If you visit UK forums, one thing you will read most when people are discussing their LFS's is that if a shop assistant who has never even seen you before does not even query the three basics, what volume tank do you have, what stock is in it and how long has it been running, then you should probably not buy anything there that day as it does not bode well.

I guess it's just a cultural difference really that we'll have to agree to disagree on

 

[clareriley]

What happens when I try to buy a fish that I know I can properly house, and the shop owner disagrees?

Why would they? unless you have a history of lying just to get the fish like a customer in my lfs then he would sell to you.