Favorite LFS "CUSTOMER" STORIES ...

[Mr.Geoff]

Wish I would have added to this thread when i could remember some. After working in LFS and petsmart for a combined 5 years, you get LOTS of stories.

Some favorites i remember, guy trying to trade me a bag of weed for some coral. Seriously. who does this...IN A PUBLIC PLACE!!

another guy who was killing SW fish like it was his job, wanted the orante batfish we got in, i told him it was $300, shoulda seen his face.

people that say oh i have a HUGE tank, how big is it? like 30 gallons or so. well...sorry but thats small.

the general confusion between an ACTUAL 30 gallon and a 29 gallon. this difference here is key.

 

[superemone]

PS - I loved at petco when people would ask me to get one specific guppy out of at least 75 in the 90g "show" corner tank...

After 10 minutes they are getting what's in my net and they can help wring my shirt out.

I'm sorry, but what's wrong with picking out the exact fish that you want. People work hard for their money, and they deserve to get the fish they want. It may be an investment for them. I would hate to stare everyday at a fish that I didn't really want because the employee was too lazy to get the one I wanted.

I'm the type of guy that would stare at a tank for at least 15-20 minutes before picking out a fish. Annoying may it be, but I take pride in my fishkeeping.

Sorry to get off track. Now back to the show!

 

[inssane]

I'm sorry, but what's wrong with picking out the exact fish that you want. People work hard for their money, and they deserve to get the fish they want. It may be an investment for them. I would hate to stare everyday at a fish that I didn't really want because the employee was too lazy to get the one I wanted.

I understand, but saying that I was lazy is far fetched.
Have you ever tried to catch a single guppy amongst that many, in a dark (cause the strip has to be removed) bowfronted corner tank with people pointing at the fish?
Not as easy as it seems.

edit - and I am the person that would feed the pufferfish and eels for the kids on the weekend, so of everyone at PetCos everywhere, I cared the most

 

[Carefree_Dude]

I had a recent funny story... I found out my test kit may be bad, so i brought my water down to a pet store. the manager isnt' very knowledgable about fish. I gave her a water sample of a cycling tank. She first tested ammonia. It was at 0ppm. she tested nitrate at 7ppm. "OMG YOUR NITRATES ARE OUTRAGOUS! THEY NEED TO BE AT ZERO! YOUR WATERS SO BAD!" She then tests Nitrite. It was at 1ppm. "Nitrite isn't too bad."

I didn't have the heart to tell her she had nitrite and nitrate confused. oh, and she didn't shake the nitrate bottles or do the test properly in general. I bought a new test kit, and my properly done nitrate test was at around 5ppm

 

[paracichlid23]

i have one as a customer. Some gal at the Petsmart by my house helped me get a marbled pleco and when the girl at the register greeted me she asked oh, do you have a fish tank at home? i looked at her shocked and said WHAT?? i need a fish tank?? I figured i'd tie this bag around my rear view mirror so i could watch him while i drive. She didn't find it very funny

 

[NCStateFisher]

i have one as a customer. Some gal at the Petsmart by my house helped me get a marbled pleco and when the girl at the register greeted me she asked oh, do you have a fish tank at home? i looked at her shocked and said WHAT?? i need a fish tank?? I figured i'd tie this bag around my rear view mirror so i could watch him while i drive. She didn't find it very funny

 

[BellycrawlerJaws]

So my lfs had some customer come in and tell them he had some fry of a newly created fish to sell them that he dubbed a "Red tiger dovii" - it was a cross between a male dovii and a female red terror.

Stupidly the manager (she knows very little, the assistant manager knows his stuff tho) said of course. He brought them in, and she put them (about 1" each) into a 20high with 3" blackbelts... Needless to say none of these abominations lived long enough to be sold. The blackbelts decided they needed to die.

 

[_Jessica_]

the general confusion between an ACTUAL 30 gallon and a 29 gallon. this difference here is key.

Omg...I have this conversation on a weekly basis, and it usually takes about half an hour to get it through people's heads what I'm trying to tell them. They are usually looking at hoods or stands...I can't believe they don't just measure the tank before they go looking for this stuff. I want to hug people that come right up and say "I need a 30x12 hood please". I want to double hug and squeeze and people that say please and thank you, as well.

 

[mshill90]

i have one as a customer. Some gal at the Petsmart by my house helped me get a marbled pleco and when the girl at the register greeted me she asked oh, do you have a fish tank at home? i looked at her shocked and said WHAT?? i need a fish tank?? I figured i'd tie this bag around my rear view mirror so i could watch him while i drive. She didn't find it very funny

Maybe she was asking because it could have been a gift.

 

[smithj427]

going along with the "annoying to pick out a specific guppy" situation, which I don't find that bad, may take a while but I agree with superemone, but anyways...
I once had to pick out a specific cardinal tetra from a fresh shipment of ~300....not fun

apparently they had a male and wanted a female which are supposed to be rounder. So I would net about 30-40 at a time and selectively release them based on if the customers thought they were female. I think the one they took just ate a little more that morning but to each their own.


So yes I think when choosing fish, if theres a distinguishable difference in the fish such as the tail colours/patterns of guppies etc... then its acceptalbe to want to choose one. But when they all look virutally identical such as many tetras...seriously?? But I do my best to accomodate...and that's my rant