How about for later today?
Pretty good stories... Some people just need to be slapped across the face.
Pretty good stories... Some people just need to be slapped across the face.
Favorite LFS "CUSTOMER" STORIES ...
- Thread starter Miles
- Start date
MadBob;3502675; said:
Well done sir! You make me proud
(I'm so in the wrong job)Anyways, onto a story (sorry, i can go on a bit, and now i read it back it's not that funny, but i'm not deleting my efforts, you're all to suffer it.)
Lately i've noticed a few 12"+ rtcxtsn hybrids being returned to a few lfs in my area, all strangely being sold on for £30 by the different shops (sorry, tangent time: They're getting these fish returned for free then trying to sell them on for £30 which is fair enough as they're running a business. Chances, as admitted by a couple of store owners, are those fish are going to be in a display tank for a good few months if they're not bought straight away, taking up space of more easily sellable fish and eat more than £30 of food in their time there. But surely if someone comes in who can much better accomodate a cat like that it would be more financially beneficial to the shop to ask them to take it off them for the same price they got it in the first place? (plus most of them do have a contact number for me if things like this do need a rehome.) Just a thought, lfs employees feel free to flame. Back to the story)
A couple of days ago I visited a lfs at a garden centre i'd only been to once before (i spent more time pricing up hot tubs than looking at the fish the first time as well) and they seemed to have a fairly decent selection of fish, they all looked healthy, it was clean, there was a few large display tanks one of which had a pair of rays in which is rare sight around here. All good signs of a good store with knowledgable staff.
In one of their display tanks i saw a big whisker poking out from an ornament, which caught my interest. Tried to find a better angle to view what this lurking beast might be but with no luck, all i could see was a bright white belly and a dark back. My girlfriend saw a label on the end of the tank saying 'Shovel Nose Catfish - £30' Which meant strong chance it was a hybrid but wanted a better look at it to confirm it wasn't going to be bargain of the year.
With the standard of fish at this place i thought there was a strong chance of an equal high standard of knowledge from the staff, but i think (i hope!) i must have been there on the wrong day. I asked a girl working there if she knew what type it was or if she could give it a little prod to get it out of its ornament to which she appologised and said she normal worked elsewhere in the garden centre and didn't know but she'd send the fish manager over. Over came the manager.
I asked him the same question, conversation roughly as follows: (this does loose a lot as tone of voice and visual situation can't really be written, just try and remember i had a life sized cuddly Old English Sheep Dog under one arm and was feeling slightly mischievious, and nothing seemed to overwhelm, concern, or excite this guy
)Me: Do you know what kind of catfish is in there? i can't quite see it properly and the sticker only says Shovel Nosed Catfish
Him: yes, it's a shovel nosed catfish.
Me: Yes, but what kind?
Him: A shovel nosed one. That's what the guy that brought it back told us it was.
Me: ok, but there's several different kinds of shovel nosed catfish and i wanted to see if it's one i already have or something different. I think it's a rtcxtsn hybrid but can't see properly.
Him: It's a shovel nosed catfish.
Me: I know of several different species of shovel nosed catfish, could i get a better look at him please?
Him: Ah, ok, i'll just get a net and try and get him out in the open.......(comes back with a net only big enough for tetras and not very long)...... The guy that brought it said it'd get a bit large, 4 feet or so i think?......(said as if a 4' fish was a daily occurence and nothing out of the ordinary)
Me: Yeah that's about right for a hybrid
(fish refuses to come out of it's ornament, small net can't even reach the bottom of the 2' deep display tank)
Him: this isn't working, i'll try and get him out of there with my hand but a bit worried about the puffer in there having a nip at me.....(cue grumpy looking 10" puffer appearing from behind a plant, also not scared of the net, he physically has to push the puffer with the net to get it to go to the other end of the tank, but it doesn't want to stay there)..........
Me: do you want to give me the net and i'll hold the puffer fish down here?
Him: ok, good idea
And so he picks up the ornament and a rather annoyed looking hybrid falls out the bottom of it. I say thank you (a little disapointed it wasn't something else) and he wanders off.
My girlfriend persuades me not to impulse buy it, and we go and choose a couple of African Cichlids for her. Same original girl comes over with a net, she's only 4'6" (i may be exagerating) tall and says she'll have to get another member of staff to get them as she can't reach. Someone new to the story then appears!
My general rule of thumb with the shops i enjoy is the longer the hair on the employee then the much higher the chance they know a thing or two about fish (this is a rule appling to the guys, not the women!) and a guy with very long hair walks over! I think 'ah, here's the knowledgable one that's keeping the shop in the amazing condition it is in because it obviously wasn't the manager.'
The rule of hair failed. He said very little. Didn't even ask what setup the Africans were going into (he was also only about 5' tall and needed steps to get to the top of the tanks, same as the girl would have.) I left feeling slightly let down. Also extremely curious, someone's obviously putting a lot of time and effort into that little corner of the garden centre but there just seemed to be no sign of them. weird. I left giggling though, i think you really had to be there.
Sorry to have used 5 minutes of your life you'll never get back.
bogy where are your stories????
and Satan's Goldfish, sweet story lol but its good you held it together. i would've burst out laughing when i saw that tiny net.
and Satan's Goldfish, sweet story lol but its good you held it together. i would've burst out laughing when i saw that tiny net.
Satan's Goldfish;3512162; said:
The guy who got all my cool fish and ordered cool stuff had a buzz cut
So this girl (19-21 years) asks me for some fish basic tank questions. Here's the story
Her: its about this size (10gal)
Me: what fish do you have in there now
Her: only one other fish
She leaves for a minute so I ask her mom thinking (she'll tell me the real story...oh did she ever)
Me: What fish does she have in her tank
Mom: it's a ten and she's got a Pleco and few of these fish....
Me: Ok, when the pleco gets too big i'd suggest moving it to a pond or a bigger tank
Mom: Well I have my tank I'll put it in there
Me: (Acting very inquisitive) how big is the tank?
Mom: (Snooty tone) Big enough, and there's two plecos in there and can I get 6 Neon tetras
Me: How often do you do WC?
Mom: As often as I want
(by this time I'm biting my lips trying to prevent me getting pissed)
Me: (Very kindly) When those plecos get bigger you'll probably want to find a friend or someone with a pond....
Mom: They're fine in there its not a small tank
(I stopped talking as this lady didn't care about fish just for herself....)
Another lady 10gal+3 Goldfish+Pleco=Her not caring for life
Me: That pleco will grow about 8" and need at least a 55gal
Lady: It probably won't live that long it's only a school tank
Bad Apples, are grown from bad trees
Her: its about this size (10gal)
Me: what fish do you have in there now
Her: only one other fish
She leaves for a minute so I ask her mom thinking (she'll tell me the real story...oh did she ever)
Me: What fish does she have in her tank
Mom: it's a ten and she's got a Pleco and few of these fish....
Me: Ok, when the pleco gets too big i'd suggest moving it to a pond or a bigger tank
Mom: Well I have my tank I'll put it in there
Me: (Acting very inquisitive) how big is the tank?
Mom: (Snooty tone) Big enough, and there's two plecos in there and can I get 6 Neon tetras
Me: How often do you do WC?
Mom: As often as I want
(by this time I'm biting my lips trying to prevent me getting pissed)
Me: (Very kindly) When those plecos get bigger you'll probably want to find a friend or someone with a pond....
Mom: They're fine in there its not a small tank
(I stopped talking as this lady didn't care about fish just for herself....)
Another lady 10gal+3 Goldfish+Pleco=Her not caring for life
Me: That pleco will grow about 8" and need at least a 55gal
Lady: It probably won't live that long it's only a school tank
Bad Apples, are grown from bad trees
likestofish;3512219; said:
The exception that proves the rule? I think i'm just grasping there.
Darth Scohin;3512414; said:
Great, so not only does she think that fish are completely disposable and don't matter, but she's also passing that attitude on to all the kids that see that tank!
