Thanks For Closing My Thread Mods

[Gilli]

Apparently my thread on me having a rant against a local fish shop has been closed because one of the Mods (in their opinion) thought I had behaved improperly??? May I remind that mod that we do have freedom of speech in this country - but apparently not on this forum even though I was protesting against cruelty to fish! I have every right to question shop assistants that are giving out lousy advice that is going to make fish suffer and result in their death, and the manner in which I chose to do this is also my choice!

 

[aly_starh]

Yes, but this is suppose to be a friendly forum. And everyone ranting and raving wont really help.

best thing to do, if you dont like a fish/pet shop is to not go back there.

 

[BackToTheFishes]

My opinion (I could be wrong) it got closed because it could be seen as promoting having a go at shop workers,who,lets face it,have no clue what they are doing most of the time and only going "by the book" for the shop.Even though the book they use is totally wrong

 

[Gilli]

How can anyone be offended at me complaining about cruelty to fish?? Surely if we all complained and questioned shop assistants who are giving out bad advice there would have to be changes made? there are hundreds of fish keepers on here - why are we all standing by and letting it continue?

I have no intention of going back there but my not buying a tub of fish food there every 3 months is not going to make a difference to them is it?
There are lots of shop assistants who give the right advice, but those who dont are killing fish!

 

[BackToTheFishes]

I totally agree,and the big shops dont care most of the time because dead fish = more sales,because the people who follow the "advice" that the workers give have no experience and assume they have done something wrong themselves,so,just go back for more fish to dump in the tank and hope for the best.Like someone said (maybe you Gilli in the other thread) if fish were fluffy and cried when they were hurting,maybe more people would care and actually do something

 

[ian]

I am 100% with the mods on this one. I wouldn't feel
bad though gilli, if you search ' pets at home ' in the search function, you will
see other p@h thread that have been closed. To be fair you can't just blame p@h for this kind of treatment, every lfs in the country will give you the same advice, whether it be p@h or ma or any other local buisness.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Its not the assistant that neds yours and our grievance, its the managers at all levels in a national chain like Pets At Home. It is them at the top that set store policy on what the minimum wage (or close to) assistants are expected to say to potential purchasers of fish.

The assistant may completely disagree with policy regarding how soon fish can be added to a new tank, but in the interest of keeping their job and likely "mystery shoppers," they have to abide by policy.

 

[Gilli]

I totally agree,and the big shops dont care most of the time because dead fish = more sales,because the people who follow the "advice" that the workers give have no experience and assume they have done something wrong themselves,so,just go back for more fish to dump in the tank and hope for the best.Like someone said (maybe you Gilli in the other thread) if fish were fluffy and cried when they were hurting,maybe more people would care and actually do something

Totally agree! It all boils down to hard cash , and fish shops are making a nice big profit from customers continually replacing dead fish because of bad advice they are giving out. They are getting away with it with no consequences and billions of more fish are due to die in the future.

 

[scotty]

i'm behind you on this one Gili,you were only expressing your views and opinions,if people don't like them they don't need to read them.closing the thread was a bit harsh.

 

[Gilli]

Shops that are not doing there job should be named so we can avoid them! Shop assistants that dont agree with policy and give out bad advice should stop killing fish and get a different job!

What gets me is we all feel the same but we all let it happen - im making a stand and im going to do it every time I hear someone giving out bad advice in a fish shop.

 

[ian]

Where you gonna get your fish from then gilli?

 

[Carlovel1]

In a short sentence, the thread should have remained open

 

[Curiosity101]

Where you gonna get your fish from then gilli?

Are you implying no shops give good advice and therefore gilli wont be able to buy from any shops? I know of 2 in Sheffield I would happily buy fish from as they balance the need for correct information with making money well. They're not as thorough as I wish they were, but if people get sent home with fish for their new tank, they also get sent home with a bag of filter mulm.

There are however plenty I wont go to.

Tbh I don't think you were out of line Gilli, if this has been a thread about a furry (cat, dog, rabbit etc) then I feel opinions would've been very different. I understand what it's like for pets at home workers, but in every store with an aquatics department there is an 'aquatics manager' and people are hired to the 'aquatics department'. They're not all just general store workers. They also have to read quite a bit of material that has been given to them by 'leading vets'. I've had a close family memeber who went for a job in the aquatics department and there was someone on here who got a job at pets at home and told us all how mis informed staff were.

At the end of the day, whether they know better or not (which they don't), the only way they will know better is if you tell them. And you DID stop that lady from going home that day and ending up with dead fish.
The employee will get over it, and may think twice about whether the advice he's giving out is correct.

Yes they need to 'toe the company line' infront of the manager and such. But many managers are still real people, and most are approachable. I reckon most people would care enough if they were told correct advice, and once you've 'converted' the manager then it's likely the staff's knowledge will be updated.

Edit: Also they used to keep bunnies and guinea pigs together at pets at home. Something which has proven to be fatal for plenty of guinea pigs. People campaigned and campaigned and eventually pets at home updated their practices and put a dividing fence in the encolsures. The same could easily happen for fish, but not if people don't ever say anything.

 

[shroob]

I agree with Curiosity101, if things like this were happening to hamsters or puppies, it would be a national scandal and in every newspaper. The sad fact is that fish are just fish to some people.

While being confrontational may not have been the best approach, I can understand in the heat of the moment how tempers can flair. P@H doesn't have a good reputation with regards to fish welfare, however you expect the staff to have basic knowledge of how to keep fish. And contrary to what ianho said, not every LFS in the country will give the same advice. Every P@H may give similar advice, but theres a world of difference between them and an a reputable independant fish shop.

That said, I will also say that there can be some people who work at P@H who know their stuff, I believe some people on this forum used to work there. Though they were in the miniority.

 

[ian]

what i was saying most LFS (unless) independent, will sell you bacteria in bottles or ball shape form (seen last week in MA, being sold to a family). Independent LFS are on the decrease at the moment (due to financial climate) and the majority of people will use MA, i just don't see many threads slagging MA on this forum. Not that i have anything against MA.