Favorite LFS "CUSTOMER" STORIES ...

[Bottomfeeder]

Not an lfs story, but an animal ignorance and human stupidity story.
I was at the Staten Island Zoo yesterday. They are very big on Rattlesnakes, and are very respected for their research on Rattlesnakes. I was looking at some Reptile and I hear "Mommy look a giant worm!!" I turn around, and it was a 10 year old kid who said it! Even more hilarious, he was pointing at a 5 foot Western Diamondback Rattlesnake that's bigger around than my fist.

Also a few weeks ago in the same wing of the zoo, I saw someone looking at the Dart Frog exhibit. One of the species we have is the Dyeing Poison Dart Frog, "Dyeing" as in it looks tye-dyed. A redneck and his young son stop by the Dart Frog tank, and the father reads the label: "Oh look, a Dyeing Poison Dart Frog. Aw look, it's dying!" He said it with such sympathy and sadness

 

[RedBellyRhen]

zo my god.... i think i could have slapped her.

i put in a complaint about her hopefully they wont let her near the fish again

 

[poly-nomial]

I was at petsmart a couple months ago (before i learned about the wonders of shark aquarium and pets place) and was browsing the selection. so there was this kid in his early teens with his dad. He was about to buy an oscar.
Me: oh i had an oscar once, it got really big
kid: oh how big?
me: around 14" if it's healthy
kid: wow
me: what size tank ya got?
kid: 10g i think
me: oh.. whatcha got in it
kid: some of those (pointing at bala sharks and clown loaches)
me: well your gonna need a huge tank
kid: 10g is huge

the dad was pissed. i left before he got more mad

 

[Bottomfeeder]

Poor Loaches

 

[Jonergin]

The other day I was helping a friend that is new to the fish world out at one of our two lfs. I go walking in the tank area to check the stock out and there is a very annoyed looking employee and two ladies standing right in the way (its a narrow hallway). One lady is screaming about how they "sell poor quality clown loaches" and that "they always die in three days". She proceeds to tell the employee about how EVERYONE she knows who buys fish here has problems with them dying too. The other lady is telling the first lady to quiet her voice, that she'll scare people away. The employee, who I know pretty well, knows her stuff and is sort of a calm "don't mess with me" manish-type woman. She starts asking her questions and it went something like this:

Em: Do you have a heater?
1st Lady: No, they told me I didn't need one.
2nd Lady: Well, that was only for the goldfish remember. The clown loaches and tetras you have are tropical.
Em: Exactly right. You need a heater. If your tank is by a window it gets too cold at night for them still. Let's go get you one. <takes the ladies to the heaters and helps find an appropriate one>
Em: Do you do water changes?
1st Lady: Yes I do, of course! <looks annoyed>
Em: Do you use water conditioner?
1st Lady: What's that?
2nd Lady: That's the NovaAqua stuff you have.
1st Lady: Oh, yeah, but I stopped using it 'cause it wasn't working. You see, the fish were still dying.
Em: Ok, well you need to use it still. Have you got any left?
1st Lady: <nods>
Em: Do you test your water?
1st Lady: No.
Em: Well, we need to get you some testing kits. <Explains nitrogen cycle>
1st Lady: Well, now that you've got me buying all this stuff... is there anything more you need to push on me? You still sell poor quality fish that are just going to die anyways.
2nd Lady: Oh quit it.

This proceeds to go on for a while, eventually the lady has a filter, filter pads, a heater, some Melafix, some water testing kits and some assorted odds and ends. And.... the employee managed to convince the woman to get all this stuff and keep her from buying more fish. I could have hugged the employee for having such patience with her and playing detective through the whole process. I would have rolled my eyes and walked away 30 seconds into the conversation.

I worked at two different lfs in Cali when I was in my teens. I had to walk away from both of them before I became neurotic. Selling fish is bad but if you want something really terrible, sell dogs. Aweful aweful, I'll never do it again.

 

[swordtales]

Went to petland to see my buddy and get some stuff using his discount. He wasn't there, but still decided to get my stuff. So one day, while waiting in line to pay for my items. I overhear two guys (clearly a couple) talking to the dude @ the register (holding up the line-big time). They ask, Yeah so we bought this Fluval and it just wont work can you show us how to properly set it up? They take the new 404 out of the box and proceed to open up the side clamps. Splash, 1/2 gallon of water spills onto the registers table. So 5 mins, few apologies & a 1/2 a roll of Paper towels later, they cleaned it up. They emptied the remainder of the water in the canister. They now start taking out the media baskets. The first one has the prefilter, in it's convenient mesh bag supplied by Hagen. The second basket had the carbon. And the 3rd some more prefilter ceramic thingys.
Cool, except that the carbon was still in the plastic bag.
When we all say theres your problem....
Guy1 says all flamboyant "I told you"
Guy2 says in his best Richard simmons tone. "You let me put it in that way"
Guy1 that ain't all I let you put in.

Needless to say I left...couldnt take no more. I got my merch next day from my buddy on discount. I told him and he knew exactly who I was talking about. He calls them the Flame tetra boys. I fell out

 

[Ghost9001]

Haha Ive been reading this thread for god knows how long, Im sad that Im finally at the end.

Ive got a customer story, well more of a friend story, it isnt that great but here we go:

So my friend wanted to start "fish keeping". I told her to start with a ten gallon and guppies, but no she didnt want to spend so much money, so she got a bowl and asked me what she could put in it. I told her nothing, she wouldnt take that as an answer so I said she could try a betta. Again she wouldnt listen to me and got two goldfish (of course). I told her how messy goldfish were, how big they got etc. She said shed get a tank eventually. Two weeks later were hanging out and her roommate calls and tells her that both her fish are dead. We go over to her room and I look at the tank, the water reeks and is almost completely white. I asked her whens the last time she cleaned the bowl, and she goes "oh I havnt had time to" so they were in the same water for 2 weeks. I tried explaining to her about ammonia levels etc to tell her why they died. We drive to the closest lfs, which is petsmart, most the people there are pretty knowledge actually, but there was a new guy there who had no idea what he was doing. He told her that the goldfish should have been fine, and that they died because there wasnt enough oxygen, so he had her buy a live plant to put in the bowl and an air pump, and she bought two more goldfish. I told her they were gonna die again. She wouldnt listen. This was about 3 months ago, somehow one of them is still alive. I dont get why people dont listen.

 

[Bottomfeeder]

Haha Ive been reading this thread for god knows how long, Im sad that Im finally at the end.

Ive got a customer story, well more of a friend story, it isnt that great but here we go:

So my friend wanted to start "fish keeping". I told her to start with a ten gallon and guppies, but no she didnt want to spend so much money, so she got a bowl and asked me what she could put in it. I told her nothing, she wouldnt take that as an answer so I said she could try a betta. Again she wouldnt listen to me and got two goldfish (of course). I told her how messy goldfish were, how big they got etc. She said shed get a tank eventually. Two weeks later were hanging out and her roommate calls and tells her that both her fish are dead. We go over to her room and I look at the tank, the water reeks and is almost completely white. I asked her whens the last time she cleaned the bowl, and she goes "oh I havnt had time to" so they were in the same water for 2 weeks. I tried explaining to her about ammonia levels etc to tell her why they died. We drive to the closest lfs, which is petsmart, most the people there are pretty knowledge actually, but there was a new guy there who had no idea what he was doing. He told her that the goldfish should have been fine, and that they died because there wasnt enough oxygen, so he had her buy a live plant to put in the bowl and an air pump, and she bought two more goldfish. I told her they were gonna die again. She wouldnt listen. This was about 3 months ago, somehow one of them is still alive. I dont get why people dont listen.

Reminds me of this one http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179112

 

[Ghost9001]

anyone have anymore stories?

 

[marth]

Two days ago, my husband managed to talk a young couple out of getting a third oscar for their 30 gallon...they thought that each fish needed 10 gallons, like the clerk told them. OF course, they still had their other two, 10 neon tetras, and like "a bunch" of those little glo light fish. When I came out of the bathroom, he walked over to me and was so proud to tell me that.
Unfortunately, this is the same man that wants me to get a pair of iridescent sharks for my 30 gallon when I set it back up...trying to talk him into some smaller species...