Pets @ Home In Wrexham

[[email protected]]

the pets @ home in wrexham is a right mess. the set up for the tanks is good but the fish keeping side of it the people dont have a clue. the tanks and well and truely over stocked and nearly very tank has at least 2 dead fish in. i go in just to have abit of a nose and it is shameful. feel sorry for the fish. it is also well known that if people buy fish from there they are 8 times out of 10 have some sort of a decease or when you get them home they die with a day or 2. wish they would look after the place abit better.

 

[Liam50]

should do what i did get a job there and i am only a saturday sales assistant but if i see something going on that shouldn't be i stealthy point them in the right direction, i mean thanks to me we got external filtration on our oscar tank! with the over stocking part the fish generally don't stay in the tank for more than a week before someone buys some.

 

[doresy]

Hi, I'm not getting at you but it does annoy me a little when people just decide to have a go at some LFS without doing something about it.

Most fish shops have the odd dead fish in their tanks which can be excused. Some fish are bound to be stressed out by transportation, especially wild caught specimens.
As far as overstocking is concerned this is acceptable if you understand the situation. As mentioned by previous poster these holding tanks are a temporary habitat. Also the filtration systems for these combined tanks are huge and consist of hundreds (thousands sometimes) gallons of water.

My experience of this chain has, on the most part, been very good. I like to listen to advice given to people that wish to buy fish and it seems to me that they have a check list that they use. The questions are sensible and direct and sound like they could now be company policy (any P@H employee's wish to confirm this?)
If this is so then you need to report your local branch to their head office with your complaint rather than just airing your views here.

 

[[email protected]]

please read this thread. someone else moaning about pets @ home but in a different area

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=133835

 

[doresy]

please read this thread. someone else moaning about pets @ home but in a different area

<a href="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=133835" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=133835</a>

quoting a 3 year old thread and 'jumping on the band wagon' doesn't change MY views, it only strengthens them

Did you actually take in any of my comments

 

[Ace Of Spades]

Pets at home isnt a LFS and never will be a LFS. It sells items for all pets and just dabbles in a bit of everything, While yes they should be keep their fish to a high standard, Id be more worried if it was the rabbits etc that were being treated badly

 

[hollanda88]

please read this thread. someone else moaning about pets @ home but in a different area

<a href="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=133835" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=133835</a>

quoting a 3 year old thread and 'jumping on the band wagon' doesn't change MY views, it only strengthens them

Did you actually take in any of my comments

And here i am, A pet at home employee

Your right pets at home have a policy of filling out a little slip of paper (a scribe) for evey customer. On this piece of paper it should have the age of the tank (which should tell you if its cycled), the type of tank (community...), the size of the tank, if they have a filter, if its heated, when they last added fish, the number of fish in the tank and if they have live plants.

This scribe tells me as a seller whether i should be selling these animals to you or not and the answers you give me gives me an idea of your compitance in fish keeping.

I personally like the way pets at home handle the fish sections as i have new at any other store been asked about my current stocking levels and i have bought fiah all over the place.

Pets at home also offer som much training and wont let you sell pets until you have completed the nessesary training (6-9 months of it). And then they offer you supplier courses such as OATA...

There are some exceptions where members of staff aren't as clued up as other but i know (at least at my store) that theres always someone who specialiss in that perticular area.

I think pets at home do quite well seems as the staff also have to know as much as possibl about all the other animals and all the products for these animals aswell as the fishy side

Not saying there perfect but better than a lot!

Andrew

 

[doresy]

AAAHAAA!

I see my thoughts were right on the money!

Thanks for confirming, hollanda88

It seems that things are changing at P@H.

If there are pockets of stores that are not following company policy then as I suggested they should be brought to the attention of the head office and not just grizzled about just to make a posting

 

[hollanda88]

AAAHAAA!

I see my thoughts were right on the money!

Thanks for confirming, hollanda88

It seems that things are changing at P@H.

If there are pockets of stores that are not following company policy then as I suggested they should be brought to the attention of the head office and not just grizzled about just to make a posting

Yeah if things are not to your standard ask for the manager who might be able to explain things or at least tell you a bit more, if that isn't a satisfactory answer ask for head offices address, or if you don't want to sound like a complaining old man head offices address is on the back of the recipt

andrew

 

[momo33]

I wasn't going to say anything to this thread, but I am as someone said P@H gives their staff training blah blah, so now I feel I have too. I don't doubt some stores have good staff and practice if the staff are the "right" team. However my experience of this chain store is far from "dazzling".

I stopped going to them many years ago when their tanks were no more than a lot of old open topped boxes on legs around one end of the store and every tom dick or harry and his kids were running around putting their hands in chasing the fish. Recentley however I went back into it too find the tanks were a lot better, I ended up purchasing some fish, a guppy a platy and a fighter, I got them home and within 3 days they had died, so I took them back and got some replacements, this time I ended up putting the guppy into my main tank rather than 2' singles, I ended up with ich and fungus and a lot of dead fish.

I went back to P@H and spoke to the staff, one of them seems to have done a course and is very knowledgable, so we had a good natter, I was looking around the tanks at the same time and noticed a lot of dead fish in the tanks as well as unhappy looking fish, one being a large Oranda that had obvious fungus growth and was listing to its side too, I told another member of staff who acted unsure what this growth was and what too do untill I told him to get it out and move it into a hospital tank fast, I also told him the tank it was in was way too small, 18" for two 6-7" fancy fish is not my ideal. I also told him every tank that had dead fish in and told him he needed to remove them, I was told " I have only just cleaned the tanks" and off he went to look. More recentley I had to tel them the oscar they had in a 10" tank did not look very healthy either, it was listless and laying on its side, so I told the staff to move it to their hospital tank as well, I was told they didn't think they had room and then he took it away to what fate I don't know.

Every time I go into the store I see dead fish in most tanks, I see fish with diseases and have to point it out politely, I see fish that have died and are rotting or being eaten by others.

When my fish started dying I went back to the store and kicked off politely, one of the staff asked the manager if they should do a water test and was told yes, they did it in front of me and the nitrate test went through the roof, I mean it didnt stop going deep red.. and so she then went and turned round all the tickets to take the fish of sale, that member of staff was admonished for doing the test in front of me, I was warned by other staff that P@H do not like test being done in front of the public, that says a lot to me. I was then informed ( like it wasnt obvious this was coming ) that the test was old and out of date and therefore unreliable, untill I told them that I was not dumb and had done a test on their water myself at home, they looked at me like I was a liar and how had I got their water, they forgot they sent it home in the bag with the fish I purchased that day, and on my new test kit it went mental as well, I still have a freezer with a bag of dead fish in it should they want them back.

Their staff as a whole from my personal experience of this one store seems to have a culture of let the public point out problems before doing anything, and to blame the customers for the problems the fish they sell have or the deaths, your waters wrong, your food is wrong, your heaters too low/high, blah blah blah, as for the little bit of paper you fill out, their as much use as a bit of toilet paper, lets be honest, you can tell them anything and they write it down and thats the truth of your capabilitys or tanks at home, sure mate, I have 8 six foot well planted tanks cycled for a month and no fish in any of them, I am here to restock. Which member of staff is really going to call the customer a liar and refuse to sell the companies profit margin to them, or go round to check you haven't lied, its no more than a liability "get out of jail free" form.

Incidentaly I still have their emails to my problems and the fish. They paid me handsomly in fish and bits for "happy customer" relations. As people I dont have a problem with the individual staff, their a well presentable nice polite bunch, as company people they need to learn a few things, like removing the dead fish and sick ones fast and seeing the standards are made better than barely acceptable. Theres more to a job than the company, the minimum level of acceptability and a smile for the customer.

Conversely, I visit maidenhead aquatics in Newbury ( thatcham ) often, and I never find any ill or dead fish anywhere, I buy as often as my tanks have space to support the fish, and their honest as well, not one of their fish has ever given me a problem in a tank or died etc after getting it home. Ace of spades hit it on the head, their not an LFS, their a jack of all trades and master of none, the only time I perceive them as getting it right is if a member of staff is a particular specialist and keeps the pet they are selling at home themselves, then they may go the extra yard to see the section they look after is a bit better than normal, but even then with a large company, profit and a wage packet only give you so much pride or the customer any reliability.

 

[Jonny3shoes]

Personally i think that the little piece of paper is a great idea. Surely if you are an experienced fish keeper then you wont want to lie and put unsuitable fish in you tank.... and if your not an experienced fish keeper then you wont know what there looking for and will therefore either look incompetent or write down what you actually have.. either way the fish wouldn't be sold.

I think its better than not being asked anything. If it stops a few people every so often from making a mistake its better than none.

 

[hollanda88]

Personally i think that the little piece of paper is a great idea. Surely if you are an experienced fish keeper then you wont want to lie and put unsuitable fish in you tank.... and if your not an experienced fish keeper then you wont know what there looking for and will therefore either look incompetent or write down what you actually have.. either way the fish wouldn't be sold.

I think its better than not being asked anything. If it stops a few people every so often from making a mistake its better than none.

Too right, i personally don't know why every LFS doesn't ask what you already have, or advise not to take cirtain species. for example gibbiceps, why do all LFS stock them when most people can't house them?!?!?!

I can't speak for P@H as a company but i know that my collegues know their stuff and if they don't they ask the individual memberof staff that know that extra ammount on which ever animal it is.

Like i said if you experience any problems tell a manager not a member of staff, and you might aswell inform head office if its not delt with or if you believe it requires that action.

I have had bad experiences of many LFS including a few maidenheads and have to tell them things about fish keeping but they do change things.

In my opinioin they are doing more that a lot to ensure that these fish are going to the correct places. If you bring your water in we test it for free using liquid based test kits (API) and obviously wont sell the fish if you have problem readings. I haven't seen free water test adverts in other LFS but i haven't asked as i always test my own water.

andrew

 

[karigupi]

I've had a mixed experience with Pets@home, but on the whole they have been pretty good.

The one at Northampton I found a bit upsetting, we got there as they opened on a Sunday morning & the lights hadnt been turned on in the tanks yet & no checking carried out (I thought they would have done all of that before the shop opened) I stood at the tanks with my two young children & asked for the lights to be turned on, when they did, there were sooooooo many dead fish One tank of tetra's were all dead, about 20 fish I would say & the other tanks all had bodies in, several had half a dozen at least.

The one at Wellingborough,Northants, I actually really like, it can be difficult to get a member of staff to serve you with the fish, but when they do they are very knowledgeable & let you know if they think you are making a mistake. One man in particular was great & helped us with our first ever fish, showed us how to tell the sexes, how to choose strong, healthy fish, which plants they liked best & why, took ages with us & didnt seem to mind one bit.

I like the idea of the forms, although I guess you could lie?

I would really like to see the addition of a leaflet or maybe a kit you could buy with ammonia & test strips to do a fishless cycle though, but thats the same for all fish shops, we were advised by pets@home to come back for our fish after the tank had been set up for a week, thats what we did cause we didnt know better



Just to add, we visited Maidenhead aquatics at Northampton over the weekend after hearing rave reviews & we were really disappointed, very low amounts of stock, although those they had were healthy.

Going to plan a trip to the Peterborough one this weekend to see if its better.

 

[hollanda88]

I've had a mixed experience with Pets@home, but on the whole they have been pretty good.

The one at Northampton I found a bit upsetting, we got there as they opened on a Sunday morning & the lights hadnt been turned on in the tanks yet & no checking carried out (I thought they would have done all of that before the shop opened) I stood at the tanks with my two young children & asked for the lights to be turned on, when they did, there were sooooooo many dead fish One tank of tetra's were all dead, about 20 fish I would say & the other tanks all had bodies in, several had half a dozen at least.

The one at Wellingborough,Northants, I actually really like, it can be difficult to get a member of staff to serve you with the fish, but when they do they are very knowledgeable & let you know if they think you are making a mistake. One man in particular was great & helped us with our first ever fish, showed us how to tell the sexes, how to choose strong, healthy fish, which plants they liked best & why, took ages with us & didnt seem to mind one bit.

I like the idea of the forms, although I guess you could lie?

I would really like to see the addition of a leaflet or maybe a kit you could buy with ammonia & test strips to do a fishless cycle though, but thats the same for all fish shops, we were advised by pets@home to come back for our fish after the tank had been set up for a week, thats what we did cause we didnt know better

Yeah thats one thing thats really annoying because tank makers show loads of fish in their tanks on the boxes we have to honour that

People can lie when we ask them question but i try not to just go through the questions on the paper and make it more of an informal chat therfore they are more likely to tell the truth and i can advice appropriately. If they lie thats their own problem and i can't help them . About the tanks, i don't know what they didn't have the lights turned on we make sure everythign is done before opening the store.

I like p@h as a company as they are good for training, and thats why they have won employer of the year

andrew

 

[Macko1968]

Im no fan of P@H, the Darlington shop is poor with numerous dead fish but the Teesside Park one is just shameful. A recent visit found 13 dead fish in the tanks, including one where rigor mortis had set in. Plus, at least double that number clearly ill but still for sale.

I complained to the manager who made some lame excuse about not having had time to remove the dead stock or identify any ill fish & take them off sale (they had been open an hour at this stage).

I wrote to P@H and complained. Three weeks later I got a rather mealy mouthed response from them, assuring me that they had high standards and would rectify the issues I raised. I followed this up & revisited the shop the following week &, to their credit, things had improved – not to the point I would of bought from them though.

I called in again yesterday &, lo & behold, the slide has already started with dead & ill fish to be seen left, right & centre once again. My next step is a letter to the local authority to seek suspension of P@H’s licence under the 1956 pets act.