I am so annoyed about what happened today that i have to let off some steam about it. Being Christmas eve i went for a look about some of the local shops to see if there was any fish i might like to treat myself to with the money from my Christmas bonus. The first 3 shops i visited had nothing of interest so we took the long way home and popped into the Syon Park branch of Maidenhead aquatics to have a look around and straight away a nice sized flag tail prochilodus in one of the sump tanks marked up at £45 caught my eye, "thats the one" i thought.
I approached the kid standing behind the counter and said i'd like to buy a fish, "which fish" he asked, "the flagtailed prochiodus in the second sump tank" i replied, "oh we dont sell fish from the sump tanks on weekends" he said.
This seemed a little strange to me so i asked why and how long that had been a rule for since i had purchased many fish from the sump tanks before and on weekends, "its because we are really busy and i'm the only person here right now" he said, i took a look around the store and other than myself there was just one couple browsing the tanks, "its not that busy right now, surely you can just net one fish for me" i asked "no he said, management has said that when we are alone we cannot serve from the sump tanks as it leaves the rest of the store unattended, there are signs on the tanks explaining that".
I didnt recall seeing any signs so i went for another look and as i thought there were no signs so i went back to the counter to find the kid serving the other customers using a tall step ladder to reach a high shelf (funnily at that moment i could have just served myself far more easily than i could if he was netting a fish from a tank at floor level).
He finished serving the couple and i asked him if he would be able to net the fish for me as i was now the only customer in the shop, i also mentioned that there were no such signs on the tanks, "there are signs" he said in a sarcastic tone, "i'll show you" and stomped off around to the tanks pointing to the non existant signs, as soon as he realised there were no signs he made some excuse about customers removing them so i asked again "can you net the fish for me now please". "ok but you will have to wait for another member of staff to return" he said. This seemed a little stupid but was better than nothing so i waited, and waited, and waited until finally after some 20 minutes or so two girls returned from lunch and he got a bag and net to catch the fish (which i had to assist with as the net was too small and he caught the fish before filling the bag with water so i had to fill the bag myself because he didnt have a free hand) and then took the bagged fish to the counter, "thats £75 please" he said, now this came as a shock since the card on the tank clearly said £45, "err no, it says £45 on the tank" i exclaimed. The kid and 2 girls whispered ammoungt themselves for a moment before turning back and saying "sorry but thats a mistake on the card and the actual price is £75, you can take it or leave it"
Well to say i was furious by now would be an understatement but instead of following my natural instinct and shaking the little runt until every bone in his body was broken i asked if we could make a deal and that i would be willing to pay £55 for the fish which as being it was their mistake and i had been waiting for nearly an hour now seemed fair, but they refused so the poor fish had to be tipped back into the sump because there was no way i was going to pay £75 for a fish that certainly wasnt worth that ammount.
As soon as Christmas is over i am going to be writing a letter to the MA head office to complain about the service (or lack of) in this particular branch and wont ever be taking my custom (and i spend a lot on fish) or recomending that any one else shop there again.
I approached the kid standing behind the counter and said i'd like to buy a fish, "which fish" he asked, "the flagtailed prochiodus in the second sump tank" i replied, "oh we dont sell fish from the sump tanks on weekends" he said.
This seemed a little strange to me so i asked why and how long that had been a rule for since i had purchased many fish from the sump tanks before and on weekends, "its because we are really busy and i'm the only person here right now" he said, i took a look around the store and other than myself there was just one couple browsing the tanks, "its not that busy right now, surely you can just net one fish for me" i asked "no he said, management has said that when we are alone we cannot serve from the sump tanks as it leaves the rest of the store unattended, there are signs on the tanks explaining that".
I didnt recall seeing any signs so i went for another look and as i thought there were no signs so i went back to the counter to find the kid serving the other customers using a tall step ladder to reach a high shelf (funnily at that moment i could have just served myself far more easily than i could if he was netting a fish from a tank at floor level).
He finished serving the couple and i asked him if he would be able to net the fish for me as i was now the only customer in the shop, i also mentioned that there were no such signs on the tanks, "there are signs" he said in a sarcastic tone, "i'll show you" and stomped off around to the tanks pointing to the non existant signs, as soon as he realised there were no signs he made some excuse about customers removing them so i asked again "can you net the fish for me now please". "ok but you will have to wait for another member of staff to return" he said. This seemed a little stupid but was better than nothing so i waited, and waited, and waited until finally after some 20 minutes or so two girls returned from lunch and he got a bag and net to catch the fish (which i had to assist with as the net was too small and he caught the fish before filling the bag with water so i had to fill the bag myself because he didnt have a free hand) and then took the bagged fish to the counter, "thats £75 please" he said, now this came as a shock since the card on the tank clearly said £45, "err no, it says £45 on the tank" i exclaimed. The kid and 2 girls whispered ammoungt themselves for a moment before turning back and saying "sorry but thats a mistake on the card and the actual price is £75, you can take it or leave it"
Well to say i was furious by now would be an understatement but instead of following my natural instinct and shaking the little runt until every bone in his body was broken i asked if we could make a deal and that i would be willing to pay £55 for the fish which as being it was their mistake and i had been waiting for nearly an hour now seemed fair, but they refused so the poor fish had to be tipped back into the sump because there was no way i was going to pay £75 for a fish that certainly wasnt worth that ammount.
As soon as Christmas is over i am going to be writing a letter to the MA head office to complain about the service (or lack of) in this particular branch and wont ever be taking my custom (and i spend a lot on fish) or recomending that any one else shop there again.
