PetSmart, or PetCo Employed?

[Aquaman_95]

Two days ago, made four months with PetSmart. So far, I thoroughly enjoy working there. The most frustrating thing I deal with on a daily basis, are the customers who have done no research, and simply do not care for the lives of their fish. I would not consider myself the "average employee." When someone asks me to get them a fish, I question them like a border guard over their setup, their existing fish etc...and in complete honesty we have many customers who come in now that only want to talk to me. But, I have to say a great deal of the knowledge I have for fish, came from this very site.

 

[Zoodiver]

For the mislabled fish comments - there is the legal end of it a company has to keep up with. If they get fish X shipped to them as fish Y, they have to sell it as fish Y to match the invoices and keep the paperwork in line. Otherwise it would appear as though they were creating fish and selling them for profit with no documentation. IRS doesn't like that at all.

As for the question of mortality, most stores shoot for under 30% mortality (death) when comparing what sold vs what they brought in. Good stores will get that number under 20%.
Even in the public aquarium world, 5-10% is the goal. There are factors outside of the end keepers control (age, conditions transported in etc...). You will never get to a 0% loss. Shipped fish going into over stocked retail tanks, then add the stress of constantly having nets chasing them around, constant introduction of new pathogens etc... Retail fish tanks are nothing like the nice stable tanks we keep at home. Imagine how upset you'd be if someone came into your house, chased your fish around five or six times a day with a net (stirring up the bottom, knocking decor over), then twice a week dropped in new fish from various sources. Kinda makes you think, huh?

 

[SumoNinja]

if they received fish x as fish y, and have to sell as fish y

do they have to sell at the price of fish y? or can the price be the cost of fish x?

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

Cost has to stay the same or you're creating discrepancy in the book keeping.

Basically the items come in with a set of numbers to identify them and a price. Every time ones rang up, it's taken out of inventory (the book). Everyone one that dies is "written off" or rang up to take them out of inventory. What's left over in inventory but can't be physically verified is theoretically stolen (inside the company or petty theft). Some companies have ways to adjust the prices in the inventory lists but it's really not worth the hassle. That's for big box stores. I don't know how mom and pop shops work


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[SumoNinja]

so the sale price changes. meaning fish x is being sold at fish y's cost

but what do they do about the amount they (the business) paid for? because they paid for fish x

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

so the sale price changes. meaning fish x is being sold at fish y's cost

but what do they do about the amount they (the business) paid for? because they paid for fish x

No, fish y would physically arrive as fish x but it would've always been fish y from the time It was shipped to the store and checked into inventory (on the books, computer, etc) You'd likely have paid the price of fish y the whole time.


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[ballinouttacntrol]

For example, a buyer orders laker gear in a Cali store for a set price. The item arrives, gets checked in but instead it's LSU gear (same colors as laker gear). You'd still sell that LSU gear as laker gear despite NCAA apparel maybe being cheaper then NBA gear. What likely happens is since few people care about LSU in Cali, it sits and sits until the price is lowered and the store sells it for a loss (same would happen if you had a $2 fish with the label and price of a $49.99 fish). Meanwhile in the fish keeping scenario that fish might be there for 3-6 months with everyone and their momma bashing the big box store for being so stupid for mislabeling a fish...but they already know that

You'd contact the higher ups (corporate office and buyers) and let them know about the screw up and the next batch will either be true laker gear or cheaper LSU gear at the right inventory numbers.

So I guess if you're asking what happens with things before they're ship to the store, they just eat the loss or the gain but in store you just let it be most the time




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[SumoNinja]

gotcha, thanks for the explanation

 

[Aquaman_95]

For the mislabled fish comments - there is the legal end of it a company has to keep up with. If they get fish X shipped to them as fish Y, they have to sell it as fish Y to match the invoices and keep the paperwork in line. Otherwise it would appear as though they were creating fish and selling them for profit with no documentation. IRS doesn't like that at all.

As for the question of mortality, most stores shoot for under 30% mortality (death) when comparing what sold vs what they brought in. Good stores will get that number under 20%.
Even in the public aquarium world, 5-10% is the goal. There are factors outside of the end keepers control (age, conditions transported in etc...). You will never get to a 0% loss. Shipped fish going into over stocked retail tanks, then add the stress of constantly having nets chasing them around, constant introduction of new pathogens etc... Retail fish tanks are nothing like the nice stable tanks we keep at home. Imagine how upset you'd be if someone came into your house, chased your fish around five or six times a day with a net (stirring up the bottom, knocking decor over), then twice a week dropped in new fish from various sources. Kinda makes you think, huh?

This was one of the best explanations on pet store fish I have ever seen.