Although some have written about Aberdeen already, i thought i would give me 2 cents worth!
Acorn Pet Centres - Aberdeen
Quality of Stock - 2/10 - i went in for the first time last week. Only one tank was disease free! All the others had signs up.
Service 0/10- Cant say i am super critical of staff having worked in a shop for 5 years, but when the shop is empty, and not one person came to speak to me, i cant even give one point!
Variety Of stock 3/10 - Nothing special, all the usuals. But, i am giving lower points as they don't have them in species only tanks (not that it makes a difference), but they have a good 10 species in each, so the number of each is small. i.e. 3 danios, 4 guppys etc. Not much choice if you want to get a few!
Other comments - none
Dobies - Aberdeen
Quality of Stock - 8/10 - Only once have i had any problem from them. Tanks are all super clean and clear
Service 5/10- Sometimes a bit of a wait to get served, but get there eventually. The staff are hit or miss with knowledge, a guy there always talks rubbish to me, and before i learnt to do my own research BEFORE turning up to a shop and asking, he sold me an aggressive fish telling me it would be fine. After killing 6 fish in my tank over night, i brought it back with the facts i learnt from my research. I was told "Oh yeh, i forgot they were aggressive!"
Variety Of stock 8/10 - Normally have good stock, a fair range, and always worth admiring the marine fish
Other comments - none
A1 - Aberdeen
Quality of Stock - 8/10 - Despite the rumors, i have never once had an issue with this place!
Service 7/10- Now, when i first started coming here, i was a little put off. They are quite abrupt, and like others have mentioned, can be very condescending. However,I believe this is an Aberdonian trate. I soon learned to ignore that part, and now have some good chats with them! I also own a couple parrots, so we chat about them and the fish. I get good advise from them. I can understand why people are put off, but all i can say, is dont be!
Variety Of stock 7/10 - Depends what day you go in. They get weekly deliveries, so if you time it wrong, they wont have much. However, they get a lot of bonus points from me as if you want a fish, they will source it for you!
Other comments - none
WaterWorld - Aberdeen
Quality of Stock - 5/10 - Been in a couple times, multiple dead fish in every tank!
Service 2/10- I may look to contradict myself after comments about A1, but i find the staff here to be rude! First off, i was ignored, not a hello or anything despite walking right past the desk. I had to wait, and then interrupt the staff chatting about their last ngiht out to get help, and then got one word answers before they continued their stories to each other.
Variety Of stock 7/10 - They did seem to have a fair amount of stock
Other comments - After being ignored each time i went in, i have not been back and have never actually bought fish from there.
Pets at Home - Aberdeen
Quality of Stock - 5/10 - Sitting on the fence here. At times, they have multiple tanks closed for sale due to disease. See my notes!
Service 7/10- Have to wait and hunt down staff when they are busy. Some staff are, despite the general Pets at Home reputation, VERY knowledgable. I have found that generally if they dont know, they will ask someone else. Better than giving BS! Once i got a rainbow shark, which got huffy with my other fish. After chatting for half an hour with an employee, she gave me lots of advice about rearranging the tank in certain ways etc, which solved my problem straight away.
Variety Of stock 7/10 - The usual, but normally plenty of it
Other comments - I once got a fish which had a disease, it quickly killed off half my tank! I went marching in and had words with the manager. He was great. Gave me a refund for the fish, and also my evaluation of the fish that i lost! Spot on! I found out that they quarantine their fish for a matter of hours before going on sale - no wonder they get ill and stressed! So i wrote to Head Office and expressed my views on the matter. I got a letter in reply stating they follow all laws relating to the welfare of animals etc, so not much more to say i guess
I do still shop there though as i know, if something does go wrong, they will fix it! Unlike a lot of other places! I'm just super careful about what i buy
Hope this helps
Acorn Pet Centres - Aberdeen
Quality of Stock - 2/10 - i went in for the first time last week. Only one tank was disease free! All the others had signs up.
Service 0/10- Cant say i am super critical of staff having worked in a shop for 5 years, but when the shop is empty, and not one person came to speak to me, i cant even give one point!
Variety Of stock 3/10 - Nothing special, all the usuals. But, i am giving lower points as they don't have them in species only tanks (not that it makes a difference), but they have a good 10 species in each, so the number of each is small. i.e. 3 danios, 4 guppys etc. Not much choice if you want to get a few!
Other comments - none
Dobies - Aberdeen
Quality of Stock - 8/10 - Only once have i had any problem from them. Tanks are all super clean and clear
Service 5/10- Sometimes a bit of a wait to get served, but get there eventually. The staff are hit or miss with knowledge, a guy there always talks rubbish to me, and before i learnt to do my own research BEFORE turning up to a shop and asking, he sold me an aggressive fish telling me it would be fine. After killing 6 fish in my tank over night, i brought it back with the facts i learnt from my research. I was told "Oh yeh, i forgot they were aggressive!"
Variety Of stock 8/10 - Normally have good stock, a fair range, and always worth admiring the marine fish
Other comments - none
A1 - Aberdeen
Quality of Stock - 8/10 - Despite the rumors, i have never once had an issue with this place!
Service 7/10- Now, when i first started coming here, i was a little put off. They are quite abrupt, and like others have mentioned, can be very condescending. However,I believe this is an Aberdonian trate. I soon learned to ignore that part, and now have some good chats with them! I also own a couple parrots, so we chat about them and the fish. I get good advise from them. I can understand why people are put off, but all i can say, is dont be!
Variety Of stock 7/10 - Depends what day you go in. They get weekly deliveries, so if you time it wrong, they wont have much. However, they get a lot of bonus points from me as if you want a fish, they will source it for you!
Other comments - none
WaterWorld - Aberdeen
Quality of Stock - 5/10 - Been in a couple times, multiple dead fish in every tank!
Service 2/10- I may look to contradict myself after comments about A1, but i find the staff here to be rude! First off, i was ignored, not a hello or anything despite walking right past the desk. I had to wait, and then interrupt the staff chatting about their last ngiht out to get help, and then got one word answers before they continued their stories to each other.
Variety Of stock 7/10 - They did seem to have a fair amount of stock
Other comments - After being ignored each time i went in, i have not been back and have never actually bought fish from there.
Pets at Home - Aberdeen
Quality of Stock - 5/10 - Sitting on the fence here. At times, they have multiple tanks closed for sale due to disease. See my notes!
Service 7/10- Have to wait and hunt down staff when they are busy. Some staff are, despite the general Pets at Home reputation, VERY knowledgable. I have found that generally if they dont know, they will ask someone else. Better than giving BS! Once i got a rainbow shark, which got huffy with my other fish. After chatting for half an hour with an employee, she gave me lots of advice about rearranging the tank in certain ways etc, which solved my problem straight away.
Variety Of stock 7/10 - The usual, but normally plenty of it
Other comments - I once got a fish which had a disease, it quickly killed off half my tank! I went marching in and had words with the manager. He was great. Gave me a refund for the fish, and also my evaluation of the fish that i lost! Spot on! I found out that they quarantine their fish for a matter of hours before going on sale - no wonder they get ill and stressed! So i wrote to Head Office and expressed my views on the matter. I got a letter in reply stating they follow all laws relating to the welfare of animals etc, so not much more to say i guess
I do still shop there though as i know, if something does go wrong, they will fix it! Unlike a lot of other places! I'm just super careful about what i buyHope this helps
from buying guppies from them. I went back to the store and saw infected fish. I tried to report the problem to them over the phone and they never got back in touch!
