Working for Petco.......
- Thread starter DCOWBOYS
- Start date
Petco tries to pass off diseased fish as a made up species (oscar with HITH crator head oscar) and just simply lowers the price.
God this pet smart by my school would only feed their tanks weekend feeders. How messed up is that.
We have a couple of stores we hit. We have a Big Al's about 35 minutes of driving through the city. We spend lots of time there. They have a manager who is amazing and always very helpful. He is honest about what he thinks we can and cannot have in our tank and knows us well enough to ask about our fish. We don't have to tell him anything he just knows if we are looking at fish that he feels would work or what supplies we need. There is another store called Pisces that I thought would be good but we stopped by to fill out our demasoni to a recommended level and they had none. They tried to sell me saulosi as a "female" Demasoni. I explained I felt they were different fish and a bad addition for our tank, but they were certain I was wrong. Two of their employees told me I was wrong and I wouldn't get a better price for their demasoni and walked away. I don't think they are a big chain store but they definitely don't have the most aware staff. We don't shop their anymore.
On the other side, closer to our house we have a Petland and Petsmart that we frequent. Years ago the Petland had great staff but turnover has eliminated that, the fish generally look not very well. We stopped using that store for fish but they have a great range of other supplies. There is another petland 10 minutes away that has a really great fish guy. The Petsmart by our house has this amazing guy, one of the best, the fish stock isn't great but he regularly knocks a couple of bucks off for us. He comes to us when we get in if he has an demasoni (they are hard to find here). He always has good advice and when he isn't sure he calls some of the enthusiasts he knows for advice. He called three people one day to answer a question for us. He was right at first but he wanted to double check. Just an amazing pet smart. When are demasoni reproduced, the mother was one of the fish he sold us. My wife took pictures of our little friends and had me drive straight over to pet smart to show our sales guy. He was excited and said if we needed a place for them he could work something out so we got some credit. Great guy, really knowledgeable and always trying to help other guys working there learn so they can be as good.
I think management at a specific store is the key but also coming from small business I understand there are many factors that could affect a managers outlook. Shouldn't be an issue as fish that live happily will breed long term customers but some business owners and managers are a little short sighted.
On the other side, closer to our house we have a Petland and Petsmart that we frequent. Years ago the Petland had great staff but turnover has eliminated that, the fish generally look not very well. We stopped using that store for fish but they have a great range of other supplies. There is another petland 10 minutes away that has a really great fish guy. The Petsmart by our house has this amazing guy, one of the best, the fish stock isn't great but he regularly knocks a couple of bucks off for us. He comes to us when we get in if he has an demasoni (they are hard to find here). He always has good advice and when he isn't sure he calls some of the enthusiasts he knows for advice. He called three people one day to answer a question for us. He was right at first but he wanted to double check. Just an amazing pet smart. When are demasoni reproduced, the mother was one of the fish he sold us. My wife took pictures of our little friends and had me drive straight over to pet smart to show our sales guy. He was excited and said if we needed a place for them he could work something out so we got some credit. Great guy, really knowledgeable and always trying to help other guys working there learn so they can be as good.
I think management at a specific store is the key but also coming from small business I understand there are many factors that could affect a managers outlook. Shouldn't be an issue as fish that live happily will breed long term customers but some business owners and managers are a little short sighted.
Petco is a joke. The one in my town has tanks but no fish in it for a very long time. Good riddance.
The only good thing about the Petco near me is that they have a great animal rescue group that comes in on weekends.
My Petco is alright compared to the others. The employees are at least somewhat knowledgeable in fishkeeping, some are even too picky in letting people buy fish. Once I tried to buy an angelfish, the guy asked what I had in my tank. The tank I intended to put it in was my 55 gallon community with some tetras and platies, yet the employee didn't let me. He said, "Platies require different pH than angels." I do have soft water at around 6, but I've bred platies numerous times in that water! I didn't want to argue so I left.
The local Petco's tanks are okay, but there are times where you see dead fish in the tanks. I once bought two banjo cats. As the employee went to catch one, we found it was dead
Petsmart is similar, though the tanks are larger and there are more selection of FW fish. The problem with Petsmart is some of the labels for the fish are inaccurate.
Red-Bellied Pacus apparently have a minimum tank size of "75 gallons"! Balas, Clown Loaches and Tinfoils need a "40 gallon minimum", and Pangasius need a "75 gallon minimum". Terrible advise, I can imagine people buying a group of Pangasius and a trio of Pacus for their 100 gallon!
Also, another bad thing about my Petsmart, they sell Columbian Catfish (Arius jordani), without making sure people know they are brackish water fish.
The local Petco's tanks are okay, but there are times where you see dead fish in the tanks. I once bought two banjo cats. As the employee went to catch one, we found it was dead
Petsmart is similar, though the tanks are larger and there are more selection of FW fish. The problem with Petsmart is some of the labels for the fish are inaccurate.
Red-Bellied Pacus apparently have a minimum tank size of "75 gallons"! Balas, Clown Loaches and Tinfoils need a "40 gallon minimum", and Pangasius need a "75 gallon minimum". Terrible advise, I can imagine people buying a group of Pangasius and a trio of Pacus for their 100 gallon!
Also, another bad thing about my Petsmart, they sell Columbian Catfish (Arius jordani), without making sure people know they are brackish water fish.
I am younger than 16. I do not have a job. i have about 200 gallons in aquariums. i do have occasional problems. but I could work maintain all there tanks if I worked there at this age. I would clean the tanks for free if they do not require cleanings. Most kids who work there just want money. i would want money but also costumers with nicely stocked tanks and a good piece of mind. You did the right thing.
