Not so Smart @ Petsmart

[Grey Legion]

Well took the afternoon off work and was heading home when I decided to stop by my local Petsmart to pick up some food for my fish. Walked in and it was a quiet day so I thought I would look around, saw some nice fish and the water looked good so I decided to pick up (2) White skirt Tetra's and get some snails for my loaches ( snails are free ). I have been wanting to set up a Dwarf Puffer tank for some time and saw that they had some in stock so I was pleased as the girl bagged up my fish and snail I made the mistake of making small talk, I asked "how do you filter all your tanks?" she replied "we have one large filter for all the tropical fish and a seperate filter for the feeders" which made sence. I told her about wanting to start a Dwarf Puffer tank and she replied "They are Brackish water fish you know"...I said "actually most puffers are Salt water then a few breeds are brackish but dwarf Puffers are actually fresh water", "well every book I read says puffers are brackish" so now she was cheesing me off with her smug attitute so I reply "well, if they are indeed brackish water and you just told me all your tanks share the same filter how do you keep that tank brackish?" not understanding I just caught her in a lie she states ( with a straight face ) "we add salt"... I could not believe my ears, they must have been brain dead at birth. I stood and starred at her, turned and walked away...

man oh man...I guess I just stick to buying cat litter there

 

[jimmy teabags]

i went to "pets at home"

there we thick in there too

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Grey Legion

It's too bad you got an employee who only knew part of the story...........

The next time you go to that store, try talking to someone else. You never know, but you might be pleasantly surprised. Then again, maybe not.

For the best answers to your fishy questions, usually the biggest variety of choices, and probably the healthiest fish, you cannot beat the independent lfs. It's there you will find long term employees who are serious fishkeepers themselves and understand not only the basics of the hobby, but a lot more.

OK, the fish might cost a little more, or you might have to travel out of your way a bit, but IMHO, it's more than worth it.

 

[dartos]

On a similar note, I went into my local Petsmart to buy some live plants for my tank. As the lady was bagging up the plants we made small talk and she told me that she couldn't have live plants. I said "Oh really, why is that?"
"Because I just got an 8" pleco and he has pulled up all of my plants."
"Wow, that's a big fish. What size tank do you keep it in?"
"I have a 20 gallon. I have three other plecos with it, but I think that I am going to have to get rid of him because all he does is thrash around the tank."
"Oh... well thanks for the plant."

I turned around and walked to the register. I suppose that I could have said something, but I don't like to tell people what they should and shouldn't do until they ask for help. This woman and another that work in the fish department do not seem too knowledgable but there are others that work there that I know I can take their advice.

 

[plecoperson]

Do we really need hundred of these posts all the time? We all know many people regard them as stupid in chain pet shops but I used to work for Pets at Home and trust me, we are NOT all that thick.

That girl in Petsmart didn't make a mistake through stupidity, it is a lack of knowledge which shouldnt be slammed - the fact the girl reads books on fish should tell you she has the right idea. She is clearly trying to learn and you probably made her feel about an inch high. Even if she was being snobby, she must be used to people who think they know all (I am NOT putting you in that bracket - i mean the people who want a 1g bowl for 4 goldfish and wont take no for an answer ) I hate those customers. Not that i work at PaH any more. couldnt stand the lack of trainin the other staff DIDNT have

Cant we focus on the good parts of fishkeeping and good experiences of fish shops?

 

[Grey Legion]

Do we really need hundred of these posts all the time? We all know many people regard them as stupid in chain pet shops but I used to work for Pets at Home and trust me, we are NOT all that thick.

That girl in Petsmart didn't make a mistake through stupidity, it is a lack of knowledge which shouldnt be slammed - the fact the girl reads books on fish should tell you she has the right idea. She is clearly trying to learn and you probably made her feel about an inch high. Even if she was being snobby, she must be used to people who think they know all (I am NOT putting you in that bracket - i mean the people who want a 1g bowl for 4 goldfish and wont take no for an answer ) I hate those customers. Not that i work at PaH any more. couldnt stand the lack of trainin the other staff DIDNT have

Cant we focus on the good parts of fishkeeping and good experiences of fish shops?

You could not be more off, look up my posts and you'll see that I do not make it a habit of making people feel stupid, they do that all on there own...what she said was silly I never called her stupid and did enjoy 99% of my time there..how could she not know that one brackish tank filtered along side 100 FW tanks would be pointless...no training is needed to know that

I am not trashing petsmart nor am I trashing the girl that works there I was pointing out just how bad info can be out there, after owning fish for 15 years I claim to know nothing and love to sit and listen and learn...but dear god imagine all the new people that go there to start there hobby..all I am saying is that people don't even hear what they are saying...I have never had a problem with petsmart and I will continue to shop there...it is just sad that they lack the knowledge that would make a good store great...

I guess I could have made my post longer and said how she scooped out the dead fish that I had to point out and she did look sad at the fact they died...the betta's looked good and healthy ( though I know nothing on them ) also we chatted about how they no longer sell dyed fish which was good but her info on them was so way off...I never once told her she was wrong nor did I confront her on any points that she was incorrect on..

and yes we do need 100 post like this so people can at least learn...don't believe what you hear until you have all the facts !!!


Research is the key to good fish keeping...

 

[Bloo]

and yes we do need 100 post like this so people can at least learn...don't believe what you hear until you have all the facts !!!


Research is the key to good fish keeping...

mmm well are you not preaching to the wrong crowd here ? Those of us here, are learning already. I don't see any PetSmart, Pets at Home, Wallmart staff here (ok there are a few exceptions, but they don't send their staff here for training).
Reiterating to us how ignorant those people are, add nothing to our own knowledge. And those of us who are here, know that "Research is the key to good fish keeping... " that's why we are here

 

[Inchworm]

You could not be more off, look up my posts and you'll see that I do not make it a habit of making people feel stupid, they do that all on there own...

...I never once told her she was wrong nor did I confront her on any points that she was incorrect on..

Hi Grey Legion

It's too bad you just stood back and gave her the opportunity to make an error so you could come here and make her (and the company she works for) look like fools. Chances are she know little more about fish than what she learns in this labor intensive, minimum wage job. The fact that she tried her best to help you says a lot more for her than it does you.

It would have been nice if you had taken a moment to share your years of experience with her on this matter.

 

[Discomafia]

Uninformed pet store employees are not a new thing, so why so many threads about it?

 

[dartos]

I understand that not everyone likes all the negative posts when talking about inexperienced lfs employees, but I have to ask why we cannot talk about them here. The title of this forum, afterall is Tropical Chit-Chat: Post general non-urgent freshwater tropical fish help as well as fish 'tails' here and aquarium chat.

If we cannot share the stories that Grey Legion and I have shared here, then where can we. They are simply "tails" we have from fishkeeping.

 

[Paul_MTS]

if you want to read stories about bad fish shops etc so a search, half of the posts on here are about them

i think the lady did alright atleast she wasn't going to sell a brackish fish for freshwater, even if it is freshwater!! and maybe you should of shared your wisdom with her Greylegion, if she was thinking about getting rid of them then you could of persuaded here to go through with it.

 

[MegTheFish]

Uninformed pet store employees are not a new thing, so why so many threads about it?

Because these threads are interesting to read, its funny listening to people making a fool of themselves (not the author, the person at the petstore).
I could say:
Why are there so many people making post saying "What should I put in my 10 gallon" when there are already probably 100+ with that same question?
But I don't.
It really really really iritates me, but I don't want to be rude, so I keep my mouth shut.

 

[Grey Legion]

You could not be more off, look up my posts and you'll see that I do not make it a habit of making people feel stupid, they do that all on there own...

...I never once told her she was wrong nor did I confront her on any points that she was incorrect on..

Hi Grey Legion

It's too bad you just stood back and gave her the opportunity to make an error so you could come here and make her (and the company she works for) look like fools. Chances are she know little more about fish than what she learns in this labor intensive, minimum wage job. The fact that she tried her best to help you says a lot more for her than it does you.

It would have been nice if you had taken a moment to share your years of experience with her on this matter.

Of course I tried to explain, but sadly some people think they know better..I am not willing to stand in petsmart and argue with an employee of there fish keeping skills...and I also make it a habit not to help those that don't ask for it...that makes me look like a know-it-all

The entire point of my thread was I found it funny and a bit odd that a person would tell me that ALL there tanks use the same filter, then try and tell that ONE of them is Brackish and then when I pointed out the fact that it was impossible to have 1 tank brackish if it shares the same filter as 99 freshwater tanks that it would be a freshwater tank...

I was just making chit chat as this forum allows, I broke no rules and if you don't like my post then choose to not reply...at least I got people to read it, hoe many posts do I have to read about betta cruelty and we should organize a fish saving group...bla

my story was meant to give people a chuckle as it did for me...after I thought about for a bit..

so let's lighten up

Inchworm - my reply is in no way trying to disrespect you or your knowledge, I simple used it as the starting point for my reply..

 

[wrs]

some people at petsmart are so stupid! I went to one in mass to get some hermit crabs, and I was charged for the painted ones when they were not painted, and the stupid girl thought they were. How can you not tell the diffrence. Then she said they came in with the painted ones, I'm sure she unloaded them. And the fish were bad as well.

Thankfully my petsmart people are very good at knowing stuff. There was a rude and dumb girl, but they fired her.

 

[sylvia]

I think it's quite amusing - I mean surely she didn't think before she said that?