Went Into Pets At Home (formally Petsmart In Uk) For A Larf!

[raptorrex]

Just want to say that I went into my very local Pets At Home (formally Petsmart in UK I Think) today (it is stuck between Mataland and Comet so I was passing anyway).

Petsmart get a lot of flac on this forum so for this particular store I would like to offer a

No dead fish, very clean tanks and good guidance was being given out to obvious novices that I heard.

So OK, they still sell a lot of garish c**p and very some very unsuitable tanks but there again they have too being a chain store.

They also have medications, buy 2 for £6 which is an incredible over other LFS (Whoops, didn't mean to advertise )

Anyway, well done that store and others in that chain should take note

incidentally i think pets at home were called petcity, prior to the name change, well the central Leicester one was anyway. and i have posted before on how i feel about that shop, it has its problems but i have always had good stock from them. they do very nice crayfish, at a good price, the newts i got from there are top notch too. a real pain in the ass to get served though.

 

[Gill]

I went to the one nr work after work to see if they still had the gorgeous Abino Paradise Fish and Was told they will only sell fish every 7 days so not to overload the filtration, even if you have multiple tanks.
Was a little annoyed by this, but shows good practices are in place in some stores.

 

[JellyPi3]

well i work at a PAH store (not telling anyone which one) and since i have been there i have made some changes to the way they do things in regards to fish.

some of their systems aren't great, i'd admit that, but from what i have heard, half the horror stories aren't true.

if you get someone who knows what they're talking about, its ok in there.

And as said earlier, they are going through a renovation, and the policies are changing.

 

[hollyp0p]

well i work at a PAH store (not telling anyone which one) and since i have been there i have made some changes to the way they do things in regards to fish.

some of their systems aren't great, i'd admit that, but from what i have heard, half the horror stories aren't true.

if you get someone who knows what they're talking about, its ok in there.

And as said earlier, they are going through a renovation, and the policies are changing.

that's nice to hear!!! is this in regards to all the animals...not just fish?

 

[raptorrex]

well i work at a PAH store (not telling anyone which one) and since i have been there i have made some changes to the way they do things in regards to fish.

some of their systems aren't great, i'd admit that, but from what i have heard, half the horror stories aren't true.

if you get someone who knows what they're talking about, its ok in there.

And as said earlier, they are going through a renovation, and the policies are changing.

what a refreshing attitude hope it goes well.

 

[bronzecat]

We picked up a rather nice male betta today from our local P@H. This store is very good, clean, healthy fish and helpful staff

They have just introduced a questioaire that they fill in before selling you the fish. It asks about the tank size and water quality the fish will be in. What other fish are in the tank. Then they give information about the fish you want.

They have done this for the small animals for a while, but have now extended it to the fish. They are also sent on courses to learn about tropicals, so that must be good.

Cheers

 

[bunjiweb]

As another pets at home employee it is interesting to read the mix of comments about other stores around the company. I work in one of P@Hs new dedicated aquatics centre and we have been striving to make sure that the quality of the fish, the advice being given as well as the range of products available is to a high standard. We also sell marines, which I myself look after and hand-pick from TMC. I would love to hear any comments from anyone who has visited any of P@Hs new dedicated aquatics centres. They are in Cheltenham (mine!), Brentford, Hemel Hampstead and Crayford that I know of!

Ben

 

[raptorrex]

As another pets at home employee it is interesting to read the mix of comments about other stores around the company. I work in one of P@Hs new dedicated aquatics centre and we have been striving to make sure that the quality of the fish, the advice being given as well as the range of products available is to a high standard. We also sell marines, which I myself look after and hand-pick from TMC. I would love to hear any comments from anyone who has visited any of P@Hs new dedicated aquatics centres. They are in Cheltenham (mine!), Brentford, Hemel Hampstead and Crayford that I know of!

Ben

sadly i live nowhere near any of these. could you perhaps pass on the comments from members, to some of the staff from the shops mentioned? the positive ones i mean, the fact that the work these people are doing is not going unnoticed, may spur all to keep up the quality. it may even drive the less well run shops to improve! but pleas ask them to put more people on the tills!!

 

[shelaghfishface]

i went to pets at home and got some beautiful plants for my tank, i asked lots of questions the tanks were ok they were having a water change while i was in,the girl i spoke to seemed to be doing her job ok,store,i havent had a bad experience with this chain, but from what i have heard on here ,pleanty have so its nice to hear something nice about them

 

[bronzecat]

I think its safe to say that amongst any chain of shops there are going to be good and bad. Doesn't matter what the shop is, beit pets@home or a big supermarket.

To a certain degree you cant blame the workers in the store but any critisism should lie with the management.

I think its a much bigger crime for a dedicated independant lfs to have poor tank conditions and/or dead fish in tanks. We have all been in them, but as P@H are nationwide its easier to compare.

Cheers

 

[bunjiweb]

All comments will be passed on. We take customer criticism and also praise very seriously and staff are rewarded for it. Criticism is always constructive and helps us keep an eye on areas that we need to focus on.

Ben

 

[m4rk]

Mine Are 2 Different .
The one near work is brilliant and the staff ask all the right questions and talk with customers about the fish. Wife bought me fish from there on thursday and not 1 single fish has died.
I also went back to have amlook and chatted witht the 2 fish guys who are into fish in a big way. i have them looking into better types of fighters.

The one near home is a laugh, Hardly anyone knows what they are doing and they Are having there Bird License Revoked because of complaints logged with RSPCA and the Council.

They haven't sold birds for over a year now......and you don't need a special bird licence as they are covered by a normal pet shop licence.

Nice to see that you have good stores near you though. My nearest stores are very good (I think that one is the same as yours doresy - Eastleigh?) and I haven't had any issues in them.

Hope they continue to improve

 

[dwarfgourami]

The one in Southampton (Shirley) is also not bad; they have a guy who is specially interested in cichlid breeding and the fish look quite healthy.
And the really crappy one in Soton city centre closed down. Though I have to say they always had nice plants.

 

[LolaLouie]

Bunjiweb...

I have been to the one in hemel.. and i was really shocked. The staff are very knowledgable... one person wouldn't sell me African Dwarf Frogs because i had Angels, until I told her that i was setting up a tank for them on their own!

I got 2 Bolivian Rams from there who i have had a month and are doign really well. They also have a great range of HEALTHY looking fish... However the one nearest me in London is the most horrible place i've ever seen.. so looks like those that have been revamped have done a good job of it!

 

[Kevstir]

my local pets @ home in Falkirk (Scotland) is shocking, every time we are in there their is at least 5 or 6 dead fish, wouldn't take any fish from there even if they paid me.

Kev