Thoughts On Why Lfs Employees Are So Bad?

[MBOU]

Bah. I get sick of seeing threads slating all LFS staff and lumping them all under the 'useless' heading, I know a lot of knowledgeable staff of are real enthusiasts! The trouble is, the longer you work in the trade, the less you want to deal with the fish keeping hobbyists. They are all horrible

Well no, that's lumping them all together... most of them are horrible!
 
People seem so have lost common sense a long way down the line...
 
Might start a thread titled 'why are fish keepers all so sure they are right all the time?'...

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Might start a thread titled 'why are fish keepers all so sure they are right all the time?'...

 

 
I'd love it!

 

[JenJ]

Bah. I get sick of seeing threads slating all LFS staff and lumping them all under the 'useless' heading, I know a lot of knowledgeable staff of are real enthusiasts! The trouble is, the longer you work in the trade, the less you want to deal with the fish keeping hobbyists. They are all horrible

Well no, that's lumping them all together... most of them are horrible!
 
People seem so have lost common sense a long way down the line...
 
Might start a thread titled 'why are fish keepers all so sure they are right all the time?'...

Because they read it on a forum somewhere...

 

[DrRob]

People seem so have lost common sense a long way down the line...

 
The problem with common sense is that it isn't very common.

 

[b3cca]

Fist I went to was rubbish, told me to wait 24 hours and then put fish in, also told me cherry barbs like to be kept individually and not in groups and to use harlequin rasbora to cycle my tank as they didn't mind high ammonia or nitrites..
 
Now I found a good one who wouldn't even let me buy some cories as my tank had only been running a few months they said wait at least 6 months till it is matured and stable to give the cories a better chance and a better enviroment etc.
Even offered to come around in their own time free of charge and check my tank, plants, tap water etc to advise a good stocking list for what i had set up

 

[Shelster]

Fist I went to was rubbish, told me to wait 24 hours and then put fish in, also told me cherry barbs like to be kept individually and not in groups and to use harlequin rasbora to cycle my tank as they didn't mind high ammonia or nitrites..
 
Now I found a good one who wouldn't even let me buy some cories as my tank had only been running a few months they said wait at least 6 months till it is matured and stable to give the cories a better chance and a better enviroment etc.
Even offered to come around in their own time free of charge and check my tank, plants, tap water etc to advise a good stocking list for what i had set up

Was he a young lad B3cca? teasing!

I would stay a customer at that shop, sounds like you've found a good one!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

There are some good stores. But to be good you have to charge more. To quarantine your stock before selling you have to charge more. To stock a big variety of fish, you have to charge more.
 
I know where the good places are. I just don't like paying that much. I do occasionally trade my fry for store credit at a place or two.
 
So what I would ask, to paraphrase one of the above statements, is: "How much more are you willing to pay for your fish and supplies to get the best advice along with them?"

 

[Renahastetras]

Well, our local LFS are great. I say this, even if we lost fish. They were very patient with us, very, very much so, I asked every stupid little questions and they answered. Fortunately, all of them have tanks at home, shared stories about their fish and when we needed medication, they gave the right one on the spot. ( yes, our fish healed! ) . I always wondered how they do keep the water crystal clear all the time if they don't have central settings.
 
Also this kind of fish store sels painted tetras, fortunately, not our local one! 

 

[ReddSamurai]

you can slate me if you want but i work at my lfs, from experience i can say the majority is because of customers most of them just dont care..."they are only fish" and it pisses me off when a person comes in to buy a tank and fish at the same time. trying to explain to them how to cycle a tank can be a nightmare, ive had people asking can i just have goldfish then i can put them straight in... no no you cant, and then the whole thing about goldfish from fairs start.
 
you say about people at your lfs not selling fish responsibly, but personally i think customers should buy responsibly but this doesn't happen 9 times out of 10.
 
and last thing people lie and its obvious but i cant do anything about it again they just dont care, they will make up how long the tanks been up how many fish they got etc.
 
rant over  

 

[CJH0825]

I personally will only do business with one LFS. He has been in business for 40+ years, Dealing only in freshwater. The wisdom this man has is unbelievable. He is putting up a 8 foot long tank right now, That I can't wait to see the finished product of! He will not sell anything to you unless he tells you about the fish and knows what you have in the tank. He is not there to sell, sell, sell. 

 

[tomtomtom1230]

It's fairly well known that you can trust at most a tenth of what a LFS employee tells you. What I'm curious about is why the LFS employees are so bad. Why don't people who are passionate about fish keeping work at aquarium shops? It makes sense for the chain stores like petco and petsmart, but I am confused about why fish specific shops don't have better training. Anyone know..? If you could, would you work for an LFS?

I take this quite personally since I work at a brand new chain-store-to-be in the UK based in the West Midlands.

Why don't people who are passionate about animal welfare work at pet stores? They do. I do, at least and I like to think I can give some Stella advice. If I don't know something I tell them that I'm not 100% sure and direct them to do some of their own research and by that, I direct them here as a starting point.

I don't feel I'm paid enough (minimum wage) for the crap I have to deal with, seriously, I have to clean an entire fish house for an unrealistic deadline AND deal with customers every day on my own that are liable to jump down my neck with a lit firework in their hands! But I think pay rates are a sore subject in the UK right now. Especially for people doing shift work.

Most people where I work are young women who only concentrate on the care for small mammals (hamsters, chinchillas, rabbits, dogs etc) whereas just myself and one other male colleague deal with fish and reptiles. A lot of the staff members seem to forget that both fish and reptiles are still just as dependant on us as the gerbils are.

Pet stores in general (in the UK) can train somebody with an OATA qualification but it overs only the bare basics of the nitrogen cycle and basic, well known fish compatability. What's more is that my managers at work know nothing about fish. Other than expanding my knowledge of animals and fish, a particularly tricky hobby to get right for somebody that's only just realised a filter is a necessity for 99% of aquaria.

Does this help some? I still take my work and advice very seriously mind you, I love it.

 

[ReddSamurai]

It's fairly well known that you can trust at most a tenth of what a LFS employee tells you. What I'm curious about is why the LFS employees are so bad. Why don't people who are passionate about fish keeping work at aquarium shops? It makes sense for the chain stores like petco and petsmart, but I am confused about why fish specific shops don't have better training. Anyone know..? If you could, would you work for an LFS?

I take this quite personally since I work at a brand new chain-store-to-be in the UK based in the West Midlands.

Why don't people who are passionate about animal welfare work at pet stores? They do. I do, at least and I like to think I can give some Stella advice. If I don't know something I tell them that I'm not 100% sure and direct them to do some of their own research and by that, I direct them here as a starting point.

I don't feel I'm paid enough (minimum wage) for the crap I have to deal with, seriously, I have to clean an entire fish house for an unrealistic deadline AND deal with customers every day on my own that are liable to jump down my neck with a lit firework in their hands! But I think pay rates are a sore subject in the UK right now. Especially for people doing shift work.

Most people where I work are young women who only concentrate on the care for small mammals (hamsters, chinchillas, rabbits, dogs etc) whereas just myself and one other male colleague deal with fish and reptiles. A lot of the staff members seem to forget that both fish and reptiles are still just as dependant on us as the gerbils are.

i Agree 110% 

 

[MBOU]

Well that makes three of us then

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Honestly, I think this thread has run its course.  I don't think this was intended to offend. 
 
 
As with any group, LFS employees cover a spectrum.  Some are very good and passionate about the fish.  Others are there to collect a paycheck and not much more.  The most important thing, I think that everyone needs to remember, the responsibility resides squarely with the individual who purchases the fish, not the LFS.

 

[MBOU]

Agreed, I also think this thread has run it's course and hopefully people have learned something from it. Not all LFS employees are bad, some are just trying to survive on basic wages and others are just trying to survive on basic wages and keep the hobby going for your benefit.
 
If you are unhappy with advice or customer services, write a letter to the shop FAO Store Manager so they have it in writing (makes it easier to discipline staff then) and the problem can be resolved. If you have issues with the health of the fish or their care, firstly... talk to a member of staff, if you don't get the answers, ask to speak to the manager about it. If that doesn't help, every shop that holds a Pet Shop License has to have it on display to the public, on the certificate is the name and address of the council who allocate the license, if you write a letter to them, they will get out to the shop to check any claims and ensure that any problems are corrected.
 
Bear in mind this is a severe step and is not a route to go down if all you want to complain about is algae in the tanks or because you don't like how the staff work, but if you feel the shop environment is a hazard to customers of the animals, you are within your right to complain.
 
Here is a very good article on the INJAF (It's Not Just a Fish) website that covers when, where and how to deal with concerns about pet shops:
http/injaf.org/articles-guides/raising-your-concerns/
 
Hopefully this can help.