petsmart...

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
sandtiger said:
While I agree with Ornatapinnis I think that buyers need to beware. Many people half-ass things like this, they go to a store, see a fish and buy it. These are not true hobbiest. A person with a passion for fish and who wants to keep them healthy will research before they buy, anything less is lazy and they don't deserve fishkeeping success. The ones who really suffer are the fish.
Click to expand...


I agree 100%. NONE, and i mean that literally. NONE of the people that walk into my store know anything about fish. THey keep commenting on how fish die, etc. I haven't seen one serious fishkeeper in a month+ of working there.
 
Ornatapinnis said:
Big chain stores suck! Be it petsmart, petco or what ever. These places ruin the pet hobby for many people by selling unhealthy animals and giving out bad advise. They will just about hire anyone with out serious if any knowledge about animals. These unknowladgable people are now the "experts" that novice people go to for help. It is freeking pathetic.

Even the rare truly knowladable employee can't be as helpfull as they would like to. It will hurt sales when you tell people to not buy a fish or don't buy (insert what ever product) because it won't help.

It is such B.S. the garbage I hear just about every day that the local chain store in my area tells people to do. THings like, "your water quality is bad, buy this product and it will fix it" or If you add this product to your aquarium, you will only need to do one water change per year" (i really do hear that) or 1 fish per gallon. All these things help the stores sales, none of these things help the customer.

Did I mention I hate these places?
Click to expand...


You are correct about most chain stores, but there is always an exception to the rule. Dont bash every chain store there is, because i know there are a lot of employees that go against the rule and speak the truth, not the corporate truth. Would i rather go to a LFS?? yes for sure, but if i can go get AC filters and community fish cheap im going to take advantage of it. Most corporate stores dont give a rats ass about what they sell, be it petco, petsmart, or walmart, but in some cases the people that work there actually give a damn and go agains the corporate "customer first" BS and only sell what a person can keep (well). I'm not against going into any store that sells fish, animals, or any other product...i make my decision when i go into the store. If someone doesnt know what they are looking for it wont matter if it is a local store or a corporate store. Ive seen nasty versions of both. I totally agree that some petsmarts/petcos are horrible...but some arent all that bad, and i have seen local stores that are much much worse..
it all depends on the paticular case and the staff as far as i am concerned.

in no way is this post meant to be offensive, I guess it is more defensive:)
 
rallysman said:
Most corporate stores dont give a rats ass about what they sell, be it petco, petsmart, or walmart, but in some cases the people that work there actually give a damn and go agains the corporate "customer first" BS and only sell what a person can keep (well).
Click to expand...



:D, we try
 
Ive been pleasantly surprised by how nice the nearest petsmarts are,even the petco was very clean with healty fish on a recent visit only one lfs within 40 miles of my house they are very nice but small,for variety I have to go into the nearest city 50 miles and the petsmarts are about all that is left.
 
Ornatapinnis said:
Big chain stores suck! Be it petsmart, petco or what ever. These places ruin the pet hobby for many people by selling unhealthy animals and giving out bad advise. They will just about hire anyone with out serious if any knowledge about animals. These unknowladgable people are now the "experts" that novice people go to for help. It is freeking pathetic.

Even the rare truly knowladable employee can't be as helpfull as they would like to. It will hurt sales when you tell people to not buy a fish or don't buy (insert what ever product) because it won't help.

It is such B.S. the garbage I hear just about every day that the local chain store in my area tells people to do. THings like, "your water quality is bad, buy this product and it will fix it" or If you add this product to your aquarium, you will only need to do one water change per year" (i really do hear that) or 1 fish per gallon. All these things help the stores sales, none of these things help the customer.

Did I mention I hate these places?
Click to expand...
:iagree: Not to mention how they dont really help the local economy like a mom an pop FS would.If the big chain doesn't do the buisness that they expect they do not hesitate to close, where as the mom an pop need the community to survive.Support your local fish store ( if they deserve it ).
 
Eh, to be honest, atleast in my case, my lfs is lame. I've given them countless opportunities to give them business but its like they keep on refusing it. I first asked them if they would special order, but they gave me an insulting response saying that their supplier won't provide them with the fish i wanted. They charge, 2/3 times as much for things like filters, pumps than Petsmart, etc. They completely ripped me off the first time i went in there as a noob, but giving me stuff I didn't need. Their selection is pathetic. They literally only have 10-11 tanks with bread and butter fish. I wouldn't mind of they went out of business. Mom and pop stores aren't always the best.
 
Perhaps I was a little harsh. It is not fair for me to say that all chain stores are bad. I have not been to all of them and I'm sure that there are some good ones out there. I don't think to highly of the ones in my neighborhood though.

The statments on this thread about amatures shopping at these chains are true, they mostly don't know anything and buy foolishly. YOu wanna know why? Because thay are shopping at a business that dosn't know "Jack schmidt" about the hobbie either. The beginners are not taught what they need to know and eventually become discouraged with the hobby and get out of it. I realise that there are some people that just plain out don't listen, I get those too. But by and large, these chain stores are why so many people have a disapointing experiance with thier pets. Not just fish either. How qualified is the average teenager you see at these stores to offer advise about your new puppie or your Reptile or bird.

I'm aware of many cases where people's pets have died because of the advise offered at some of these stores, not just fish either. Yeah, the pet owner should have contacted thier vet but look at it from the novice point of veiw. THese pet shops are the "experts" surly they know what they are talking about. When people call me for advise on thier sick animal, I got a list of specialty vets by my phone and tell them who to call and why.

Just one guys opinion though.....
 
yeahh, i know what you mean. I hate when they stick me with reptiles and small animals, because i dont know anything about them. Yesterday, i was bitten hard, by two hampsters :swear:. laugh away people. it hurt really really bad. stupid little buggers
 
I hate hampsters too, I have been bit by those dumb A** things several times when I was younger working at a pet shop. They don't even make good reptile food either...worthless.... to much hair and they can harm your herp biting it.

I really hate those stupid siberian hampsters, talk about a mean little animal.

It's funny how when a fish bites me I don't end up hating it.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom