Pets At Home Policies

[jelliebean]

angels are liable to eat guppies or neons so I would suggest that it is a good policy. likewise guppies and neon's are both weak fish and should not be added until a tank is mature, just because you have fishless cycled does not mean the tank is mature, personally i would not recommend adding either to a tank until it's had 6 months of problem free running.

it is not fishless it has neons and a male guppy in in already [which they sold to me]

 

[Miss Wiggle]

well obviously if they'll sell you something one week and not sell you it the next week there's clearly an internal communication problem over what is acceptable.

If the tank isn't yet cycled then you definatley shouldn't be adding neon's or guppies, they're weak fish and don't stand a very good chance of making it so I would support their decision to not sell you any of them (but they shouldn't have sold you them in the first place either).

If you haven't read them yet then hop over to the new to the hobby forum and read the pinned topics on cycling with fish, one of them 'what's cycling' is linked in my sig.

 

[tenohfive]

I think we should be commending PAH for at least attempting to ensure their fish go into a suitable environment.

Seconded. Anything that means P@H are making an effort to keep fish alive once they leave the store is a good thing.

 

[tibby25731]

I have always been told at my local PAH that guppies need a mature tank and they always ask how long my tank has been set up. Good idea I think. And a PAH that won't sell you a fish that eats your other fish? Amazing! Sounds like they have done their homework for once!

 

[kreacher]

It's this a good sign from PAH? Its nice to see that they don't care about the profit and want to make sure they live.

As i have said before on this forum, I use PAH in Great Yarmouth a lot and I have seen the same thing happen there with people with Goldfish tanks and no filters or a small space and i welcome it in everyway. People are so quick to jump on the store for giving bad advice when the fish dies but half of the time the people buying the fish don't bother to look up what they are buying so imo are just as much to blame.

At the end of the day i only use GY store so don't really know what the other stores are like but if its like GY then I don't see what is wrong.

 

[Weimster]

My Pets at home are great! I went in one day to buy some fish (4:30pm) and they were releasing some new fish and the lights were out etc. She refused to sell me anything in case it stressed out the new fish. I must admit to feeling a bit annoyed but deep down I knew she was right.

 

[munchies]

as long as the tank is cycled properly then they can be added after 5 - 7 weeks.....[have owned and run a fish store for over 40 years...]

 

[orange shark]

my pets at home is crap!

 

[tenohfive]

People are so quick to jump on the store for giving bad advice when the fish dies but half of the time the people buying the fish don't bother to look up what they are buying so imo are just as much to blame.

People expect their LFS staff to know what they are talking about, and as such trust them to stop them making any mistakes. Yes, we all know thats a naive expectation-but is it an unreasonable one? That someone selling fish actually knows about fish? I don't think thats too much to ask.

People who get duff advice from an LFS do one of two things:

1) quit the hobby
2) do their own research - and end up in places like this.

Personally I think these forums are great-not just a mine of information, but generally an interesting read. But for those people who just want to set up a small tank and have some fish live peacefully, I don't think its unreasonable to expect an LFS to give advice that will keep those fish alive and stop said person making any stupid mistakes.


Realistically though, LFS advice is hit and miss-some places/people give sensible advice, others talk through their backside. I don't think anyone who comes on these forums has an excuse for complaining when they trust their LFS and it goes wrong, as they should know better. But someone new to the hobby? I think its arrogant to criticise them because we know better.

 

[lizi006]

i've posted on a few threads like this today!- i was told the exact same thing when i wanted to buy cloud minnow- by some bloke who clearly didn't know what he was talking about! they definately need to train their staff in customer services!!!

 

[tenohfive]

They're making an effort to keep fish alive. Thats a good thing. I'd sooner someone tell me I can't buy a fish because theres a risk (to which I can say I've done my research, prove that and see what they say) than them letting people who don't know any better kill their fish through ignorance.



And no, P@H policies aren't causing me sleepless nights-I do shift work (for the benefit of the more observant ones.)

 

[RedeyesUK]

The problem with P@H is consistency.

Sure, there'll be a few stores around that happen to have knowledgable, caring staff - but I think that's more a happy accident than due to any particular hiring policy from management. P@H are in business to make money, pure and simple. To make this money, they're not going to be able to pay their shop floor staff too much money, therefore it's going to be staffed by a lot of people that aren't really experts in the field. Jobs in places like this are fairly easy to find, so they tend to attract a lot of college/uni students, people that are just looking to earn some money and so on, rather than dedicated career types. This is unavoidable, and also means staff turnover will be relatively high.
The upshot of all this is that it's impractical and unrealsistic to put all the staff through the rigorous and lengthy training required for them all to become the experts we'd all like them to be. So it seems that instead, they've developed a few policies and rules that, while they may seem bizarre and stupid to people that know better, do actually help to prevent people new to the hobby to make mistakes, and are easy for the staff to learn and enforce. Surely that's a good thing?

Personally, I'd like to see rules such as this applied more rigourously at all P@H stores (and in fact, a lot of other LFS) - with the one caveat that, if you disagree, there should be someone around that does know what they're talking about and can make a proper decision.

I'm not bashing P@H here (although to be honest, I prefer to buy my fish elsewhere) - I'm just trying to point out why they do what they do. It's the business model they've set that allows them to make the most money (and nothing wrong with wanting to make money - the benefit to us is cheap prices on equipment etc!), and isn't without its drawbacks.

You can see this sort of thing in most retail sectors - I used to work in IT, and had a hobby of going into PC World and asking their clueless staff about complex stuff, just to hear their answers. I got some right howlers from there!

 

[LauraFrog]

I do that with fish shops. It's actually useful though, not just funny. If I want to suss out a new pet shop, I go in and say 'I set up a 20 litre (about 5-6 gallon) tank yesterday, it's all working really well, I just want to know when I can put fish in it. I was thinking about three or four angels and a few mollies'.

Usual response from good LFS: The tank will take several weeks to be ready if you fishless cycle it. If you choose not to you will have to start adding fish one at a time, again the process will take weeks. The tank would be a comfortable size for a male betta or a small school of tetras. Mollies and angels are totally unsuitable. Mollies need brackish water.

Usual response from crap LFS: If everything's working you can get fish today, sounds great!

Usual response (2) from crap LFS: *picks zit* hmmm... dunno. You want the fish? *starts texting boyfriend*

 

[andywg]

The upshot of all this is that it's impractical and unrealsistic to put all the staff through the rigorous and lengthy training required for them all to become the experts we'd all like them to be. So it seems that instead, they've developed a few policies and rules that, while they may seem bizarre and stupid to people that know better, do actually help to prevent people new to the hobby to make mistakes, and are easy for the staff to learn and enforce. Surely that's a good thing?

Indeed it is. Also, anyone who encounters their new marine sections will see how the new training and staffing rules are better (such as only trained people are allowed to sell marine fish and livestock as well as increased training for the staff dealing with the fish section).

Personally, I'd like to see rules such as this applied more rigourously at all P@H stores (and in fact, a lot of other LFS) - with the one caveat that, if you disagree, there should be someone around that does know what they're talking about and can make a proper decision.

But we are talking about advice and opinions. One's opinion is not always the right one, despite what one might think.

You can see this sort of thing in most retail sectors - I used to work in IT, and had a hobby of going into PC World and asking their clueless staff about complex stuff, just to hear their answers. I got some right howlers from there!

Gosh, I bet you felt really cool doing that as well! I expect those staff felt really bad that some uber nerd came in and proved that they are only working in PC World as a stop gap to get some money for more interesting pursuits. How strange you accept that people cannot be trained to be experts, and then try and make fun of people at their work for not being the experts.

I think there is a great forum for people who like to do this sort of thing at www.getalife.com

 

[Miss Wiggle]

honestly, i just think so many people have been really down on PAH and other similar places for not knowing, they've obviously taken some steps to change this and improve on things, OK it may not be the perfect solution, they may not all be instant experts, but at least it's a step in the right direction and I'd much rather that they refused to sell me something because the believed it was the right thing to do (irrespective of weather that decision is correct or not) than to just not care at all.

sometimes it's a bit damned if you do, damned if you don't on this forum.