Recently there have been a number of threads posted about PetSmart, most being quite negative. The purpose of this thread is to rebut some of the statements. I asked for, and was given, permission by a mod to do this as long as it was kept civil. I will try to address all the statements made that I can recall. Yes I work there. Some of these issues I agree with, some are not company wide, and some are off base. This is not intended to insult or argue with anyone, just my perspective after four years there.
1) There are only kids working there who don't know anything and don't care.
On this one I disagree with parts. Yes, there are alot of young people who work there, that happens in a retail industry. They do not care. Maybe true in some stores but not in all. My "kids" all try to give the best advice they can based on what they know and are told by the customer. The fact that they are young does not mean that they do not have knowledge, or does that mean anyone on this site under a certain age is also an idiot. And if they paid to get "qualified" help that everyone wants, then the prices would go up accordingly. You have to find a happy balance.
2) They are only interested in a profit, not the welfare of the animals.
There are policies in place regarding the sale of all pets. A sale can be refused if it is deemed detrimental to the wellbeing of the animal, including fish. Unfortunately this is not always practiced. It does depend on the individual store and management team. If it is done in a professional manner and upper management backs you it works. If they don't then all it takes is a call to corporate with a complaint. It gets kicked down to the store director to handle. If you handled correctly and are backed it works. If on the other hand the only concern is the complaint, not the facts, then they get an apology and a gift card. Once again, goes by the store. If an individual makes a bad sale it could be the way the store is run or it could be the tenth customer of the morning who know everything and doesn't want to listen. It does get disheartening somedays listening to the cavalier attitude some have because they are only fish.
3) I was refused an animal that I wanted to feed to something else so they are jerks.
Sorry, this is company policy. We do not sell any live food other than goldfish, minnows and insects. If you really must buy more expensive fish to feed yours to, shut up about it. I would have refused you too. Not only is it against policy, but I would have a problem with it myself. The high cost notwithstanding, my opinion is that for the most part, it's all about the coolness factor in watching your fish chase and eat something else. I know that this is what happens in nature, and that a few fish will not eat anything but live so this is not bashing anyone who does feed live. This is my personal opinion and observation from talking to a large number of people who feed live.
4) They have no knowledge. Sorry this was partialy covered in 1.
Once again I have to disagree. We have 13 habitats of reptiles, 17 of small and furry, and 10 of birds. We are expected to answer any and all questions posed on the animals we carry and on alot we don't. In addition there are 100 tanks, most with 2-3 species each to take care of. So on top of care, maintenance, stocking, cleaning and customer service, you want to complain that we don't meet your accepted level of knowledge on a particular fish. This one I have a problem with because most of the people making these comments are the ones also asking alot of questions on this forum, some pretty basic. So if you have to ask so many questions, why would you expect someone working at a store, of any type, to know everything. I personnally have been given bad advice many times from the experts at the LFS. Depends on the individual.
5) The literature and data cards are crap.
I got to give you this one. Alot of the info is wrong, but complaining about it on hear will not change anything. Contact the corporate office but don't do it with off hand remarks and rudeness. Offer detailed info, pics of measured specimens, hard data. If enough people do this it might make some difference. Then again it might not.
6) They mismark the fish.
All fish come in from one supplier. We get them marked as to species id. I have yet to see any outright mistakes(I keep hoping) but some that I question.When the trimacs came in I was quite excited, having never seen one live. I don't know if I have yet. Looking at pics of some on here from reputablr dealers they look like some but not like others. So we sell what we are sold as we were sold it, unless there is an obvious labeling error. Then again I have seen alot of "ID this fish" threads so not everyone knows every fish.
That is all for now and to any who actually read through this, I thank you. Even if you completely disagree with everything I said, thank you for your time. If you have anything to add please feel free to do so. Please keep it civil so it doesn't get instantly closed. If you have a problem with one of my statements and wish to discuss it in a less than civil manner, feel free to pm so it can be discussed without turning the thread into a flame fest.
1) There are only kids working there who don't know anything and don't care.
On this one I disagree with parts. Yes, there are alot of young people who work there, that happens in a retail industry. They do not care. Maybe true in some stores but not in all. My "kids" all try to give the best advice they can based on what they know and are told by the customer. The fact that they are young does not mean that they do not have knowledge, or does that mean anyone on this site under a certain age is also an idiot. And if they paid to get "qualified" help that everyone wants, then the prices would go up accordingly. You have to find a happy balance.
2) They are only interested in a profit, not the welfare of the animals.
There are policies in place regarding the sale of all pets. A sale can be refused if it is deemed detrimental to the wellbeing of the animal, including fish. Unfortunately this is not always practiced. It does depend on the individual store and management team. If it is done in a professional manner and upper management backs you it works. If they don't then all it takes is a call to corporate with a complaint. It gets kicked down to the store director to handle. If you handled correctly and are backed it works. If on the other hand the only concern is the complaint, not the facts, then they get an apology and a gift card. Once again, goes by the store. If an individual makes a bad sale it could be the way the store is run or it could be the tenth customer of the morning who know everything and doesn't want to listen. It does get disheartening somedays listening to the cavalier attitude some have because they are only fish.
3) I was refused an animal that I wanted to feed to something else so they are jerks.
Sorry, this is company policy. We do not sell any live food other than goldfish, minnows and insects. If you really must buy more expensive fish to feed yours to, shut up about it. I would have refused you too. Not only is it against policy, but I would have a problem with it myself. The high cost notwithstanding, my opinion is that for the most part, it's all about the coolness factor in watching your fish chase and eat something else. I know that this is what happens in nature, and that a few fish will not eat anything but live so this is not bashing anyone who does feed live. This is my personal opinion and observation from talking to a large number of people who feed live.
4) They have no knowledge. Sorry this was partialy covered in 1.
Once again I have to disagree. We have 13 habitats of reptiles, 17 of small and furry, and 10 of birds. We are expected to answer any and all questions posed on the animals we carry and on alot we don't. In addition there are 100 tanks, most with 2-3 species each to take care of. So on top of care, maintenance, stocking, cleaning and customer service, you want to complain that we don't meet your accepted level of knowledge on a particular fish. This one I have a problem with because most of the people making these comments are the ones also asking alot of questions on this forum, some pretty basic. So if you have to ask so many questions, why would you expect someone working at a store, of any type, to know everything. I personnally have been given bad advice many times from the experts at the LFS. Depends on the individual.
5) The literature and data cards are crap.
I got to give you this one. Alot of the info is wrong, but complaining about it on hear will not change anything. Contact the corporate office but don't do it with off hand remarks and rudeness. Offer detailed info, pics of measured specimens, hard data. If enough people do this it might make some difference. Then again it might not.
6) They mismark the fish.
All fish come in from one supplier. We get them marked as to species id. I have yet to see any outright mistakes(I keep hoping) but some that I question.When the trimacs came in I was quite excited, having never seen one live. I don't know if I have yet. Looking at pics of some on here from reputablr dealers they look like some but not like others. So we sell what we are sold as we were sold it, unless there is an obvious labeling error. Then again I have seen alot of "ID this fish" threads so not everyone knows every fish.
That is all for now and to any who actually read through this, I thank you. Even if you completely disagree with everything I said, thank you for your time. If you have anything to add please feel free to do so. Please keep it civil so it doesn't get instantly closed. If you have a problem with one of my statements and wish to discuss it in a less than civil manner, feel free to pm so it can be discussed without turning the thread into a flame fest.
) from the "experts" at the "real"
