Why L.f.s. Workers Are Crazy

[Ragtatter]

As I've mentioned before, I work at a LFS (well, technically it's a huge pet store, and my specialty is the little furry animals, but I also work quite a bit in the fish department and am learning). You would be amazed at some of the things we get asked, not to mention some of the things that customers will do. As a sanity-saving measure, in the back room where I work we've got a "quote board" where everyone posts insane, humorous, and stupid customer questions/comments/whatever. I've collected some of the better fish-related ones and posted them here for your enjoyment.

• "Do the snails come with the shells?"
• "How many of those Tiger Oscars can I fit into a 1/2-gallon?"
• "What kind of fish is that?" (repeated at every tank)
• "Do fish like beer?"
• Customer was caught licking the glass. When questioned, claimed that you could tell whether or not a fish had ich based on their reactions to it.
• Customer listened to detailed explination of how big Pacu grow, their eating habits, aggressive tendancies, ect., then requested to buy six of them for a 20 gal.
• Customer attempted to shoplift four mollies by stuffing them into her pocket. Fish were recovered, only one survived.
• Customer went into 15-minute rant after I suggested some anacharis for his 20 gal, claiming that adding plants to a tank causes algae.
• Customer was setting up a new tank, and followed the instructions on our guide on how to do so, then was livid when her entire tank died. Later it was discovered that instead of using water conditioner, she used hair conditioner.
• Customer attempted to reach in and grab a featherfin catfish, and ended up with a lacerated hand. Threatened to sue.

In short, people at the LFS are crazy because the customers are crazy.

 

[dthoffsett]

Those were great! I feel your pain, I too work retail, well part-time anyways, and we get really interesting people at times.

 

[looksrshady]

Lmao this post made my night tnx

 

[funkyhoney]

I've got a few off-hand from my work (some not entirely fish related) I feel your pain Some people are just thick.

- Customer bought a tiger oscar, next day came back and bought a blue dolphin, when I asked if they were for the same tank she said "Yeah, it's a 2ft, that's big enough right?"

- Young girl came in with a LOT of piercings, (full back corset, tounge, cheeks, eyebrows, every ear position imaginable etc.) was bitten by a rat, "had to get a tetnis shot" and threatened legal action due to the trauma of "suffering an injection due to fear of needles".

- "Neons don't need heaters!"

- "Angels don't need heaters!"

- "My barramundi is fine in his 3ft!" (For reference barras can get up to 2m in the wild)

- *Explains concept of cycling and is greeted with blank stare*

- Customer who was giving free advice to other customers was proud of his "African Chi-Chi-lid" tank.

- "These dogs are too expensive! I'm going to a pedigree breeder!".

- Customer moved a 4ft tank about 200km with it attached to his car roof with occy straps.


That's all I can remember off hand but I sure do meet a lot of dumb people balanced out by about 1/20 people who are normal.

 

[Luketendo]

"African Chi-Chi-lid"

Made me laugh.

 

[Ragtatter]

To be honest, the most common pronunciation I run into is "Chick-Lid".

Oh, and at least three times a day I get a customer asking "Y'all carry any of them pee-ran-has?"

 

[Darkstar]

Between the lfs staff and the buyer, one is more entitled to know nothing about fish....and it isn't the lfs staff.

I do find it funny though that lfs staff seem to make light of comments made by customers....as imo it's nothing compared to comments I've heard from lfs staff.

One asks a dumb question, the other gives dumb, downright wrong information.....I know which one I think has the potential to cause far more problems.

 

[phil2m]

That reminds me of a time I got a call from one of my customers (I'm a gardener, sorry its not fish related) she told me that since I had last cut her grass, the whole lawn front and back had gone brown and crispy. It turned out that she wanted rid of her dandelions so she had watered the whole lot with sodium chlorate weedkiller. She said 'but its weedkiller and my grass isn't a weed!' She then got me to returf it all.

 

[Straydum]

[*] Customer was caught licking the glass. When questioned, claimed that you could tell whether or not a fish had ich based on their reactions to it.

that is sick!

 

[the biffster]

i have seen and heard thing that would make your hair curle

like lung fish in with butterfly fish it was feeding well on the and that was in a lfs
overheard a shop assistant tell a customer that she could have up to 6 gold fish in 18"x18"x12" tank with no filter
people looking at marine fish hoping to put the with there guppies
and of course me silly bugger put a pair for convicts in with a pair of Oscars later that night found the Oscars cowering in the corner of the tank scared of a three inch male convict you lean by your mistakes

 

[pauly]

Great stuff

 

[the biffster]

Great stuff

oh by the way the Oscars were over 10" big softies there names were Ronnie and Reggie

 

[connorsbala]

Wow, your customers are sooo strange!
Ours arent too bad, but you get some idiots at times!
-"Can i put nemo in with my goldfish?"
I reply by saying, "Where did nemo live in the film?"
They say, "The sea?"
"There you go then! Do goldfish live in the sea/ do they need salt to live?"

-"Can i put discus/guppies in with my 12" Oscars and JDs?
-"Will this fish be alright with mine?" You get asked this question by certain customers when they look in every tank! By the end of the day you've got a sore throat!
-"My filter wont work.." So they bring in their filter. You open it and you cant imagine how mcuh crap is in there due to them never cleaning it! YOu get someone like this at least once every 2 weekends!
-"My fish died..." What do you want me to do about it, kiss it better! Then you go into asking did it have any injuries, whitespot and stuff. Did you add dechlorinator? Did you get the fish from here? They say no, petsathome (UK version of walmart). We say thats why they died then!!!!!!!!!!

See how stressful a day is being a weekend worker at a LFS?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

[*] Customer was setting up a new tank, and followed the instructions on our guide on how to do so, then was livid when her entire tank died. Later it was discovered that instead of using water conditioner, she used hair conditioner.

God, i can't believe how stupid some people are !


Reminds me of an incident my fiance was talking to me about the other day at work; a customer phoned in one day saying that the chainsaw the company sold him doesn't work. When my fiance further enquired about what happened, it turned out the guy had put petrol into the chainsaw not realising that it was an electric chainsaw! (Duh, surely the wire with the plug attached to the chainsaw was a clue that it might be electric!)

 

[the biffster]

it takes allsorts nowt as strange as folk