curiosity

[exhumed07]

I decided to send petco a complaint email today. i know it will do 0 good cause i'm sure they do not care but i am wondering what the response will be. this is what i sent:
I have a complaint about the employees in your stores. I've been an avid fish keeper for about 12 years. I help alot of people on several forums and i hear the same things over and over again. people going to your stores and buying fish for the first time and employees giving no information for the nitrogen cycle and recomending fish that do not belong together. I went to the moline and davenport stores today and pretended i was setting up my first tank. in moline eployees tried to sell me fish with ich. unhealthy fish that should be quarentined were trying to be sold to me. thats not good practice. in davenport employees were trying to sell me african cichlids to go with neon tetras and guppies. africans would kill all of them within a couple days. I belive that your company needs to educate your employees ALOT better. It's no wonder so many people get discouraged when trying to get into the hobby when they get bad information. your employees need to educate the new fish keepers with proper stocking of tanks as well as the nitrogen cycle as well as not trying to sell sick fish.

so how many people think i will get an email back saying they will take my comments into consideration?

 

[Thyra]

I believe you will get a comment back and they will probably use the word "consider" and "attempt", but they pay minimum wage and they sell a lot more than fish - in fact I am pretty sure fish are not where their profit is at all. The expensive of that tank system and overhead is high as is the 14 day guarantee which they are quick to honor, no questions ask. As you may have noticed, people don't read. Newcomers here ask the same questions over and over and it is apparent they don't even look at the issues that have already been addressed so that they could refine their questions. Most don't sound like they have read any of the other Threads and answers. Also there are some really good elementary books and pamphlets available that could be used to start. I have a couple published by Animal Planet that were very inexpensive and were helpful for starters.

 

[exhumed07]

oh i agree thyra, i realy do. but i belive in order to sell things u shoudl know about them. goes with fish, dogs, cats, computers, cars. if u intend to sell them u shoudl know about them. i have gone to best buy and asked about what ddr3 ram chips they had and it took 4 people to finially get someone who knew what i was talking about. I understand that u need to start somewhere and i would be the last person u would want to ask about things like clothing. i am absolutly unqualified. and i belive that should be part of the hiring process. i think u should have some knollege of what u are trying to sell. be it questions of the application or the actual interview. the petsmart around here seems like people get put into thier own departments. it may be a managers choice or what not but the same people seem to be at the fish spot as the same people seem to be over by the dog stuff and so on. so before hiring i belive they should get people with a background in the thing they are trying to sell.

I know i kinda ranted but i'm just so tired of innocent people getting bad or no informationa and then absolutly struggle to get a tank to survive. if they could get basic information at those stores they could then go home and get more info instead of completly blindly looking for the information they need. just tired of so many people failing or struggling at the start up and getting discouraged.

 

[Thyra]

That's what we are here for - to help all those innocent people. lol Before buying or doing almost anything, I do some research - be it a car, clothes, book or a trip. As many of the participants on this forum know, many people blunder into this hobby with absolutely no info except fish look pretty. The problem a good manager has is training every employee to do everything and know where it is all located. Minimum wage people are more likely to "call - in" IME and then you have to rotate around and the person that knows about dogs, winds up in the fish department, etc. As you may have noticed the turnover in places that pay minimum wage is high and they are constantly training and training costs money. A consumer needs to protect themselves by research IMO. And I, personally don't like to get the info from the person trying to sell me something.

 

[exhumed07]

u make very valid points thyra and i don't disagree. i research as well but i would like to see more educated staffs at places like that. if they were willing to pay me what i make now and let me do all the fish tanks i'd do it in a heartbeat. but we all know that aint going to happen lol

 

[Thyra]

if they were willing to pay me what i make now and let me do all the fish tanks i'd do it in a heartbeat. but we all know that aint going to happen lol

Ah Ha! There in lies the problem! If those employees knew that much they would seek out a higher paying job. What stores need is some older retired people who have fish for a hobby and aren't depending on their wages to support a family. It would be a start, but I don't see any older people in those stores for the most part - probably because they'd have to be on their feet all day and also lift 50# of dog food. The other thing - most of those stores only hire part timers and sometimes they even do split shifts. People with obligations can't make a living that way. I just am polite and appreciate they are trying not to be on welfare and don't expect critical info from them.

 

[exhumed07]

well i got an email and a call today. the email was from HQ apologising to me and letting me know they contacted the stores. the call was from the moline store. I talked to the manager and they had a training meeting this morning making sure thier employees ask costomers if this is thier first tank or if they are experienced and will give proper info about the nitrogen cycle if they are new fish keepers. they also made sure all thier employees know about ich and other problems and know if they see it to quarentine the tanks they see the issues in as well as treat the tank to get rid of the issue. so maybe at least this one store will be a little better prepaired. they also offered me a $50 coupon for my next visit.

 

[Thyra]

That's great! I figured there would be a response.

 

[FreshyFresh]

well i got an email and a call today. the email was from HQ apologising to me and letting me know they contacted the stores. the call was from the moline store. I talked to the manager and they had a training meeting this morning making sure thier employees ask costomers if this is thier first tank or if they are experienced and will give proper info about the nitrogen cycle if they are new fish keepers. they also made sure all thier employees know about ich and other problems and know if they see it to quarentine the tanks they see the issues in as well as treat the tank to get rid of the issue. so maybe at least this one store will be a little better prepaired. they also offered me a $50 coupon for my next visit.

That's quite impressive!

WAAAAY beyond what I assumed their response would be.

Especially since I'm pretty sure you've said a bunch of times you'll "never set foot in a Petco". They sure did right to you.

Given that, are you going to forgo or give away the $50 coupon? (I'm kidding)

I wish we could go back to the days before big box too, but I don't see that happening any time soon no matter how many times one claims to refuse to do business with them.

 

[Thyra]

Really, I believe the truth is they make most of there money with the cat and dog lovers. Its not just the food either - there's cloths, ramps, doors, trailers, carriers, toys, grooming, training, and a host of meds and remedies. We have a chain called, "Mud Bay" out here and my husband visits it because he feels the dogs like certain ones of their treats, but I also know he falls for the fancy names on the food too - duck, venison, ostrich, rabbit, etc. I am sure the dogs really don't care. Its the name on the can - sort of like how females buy lipstick or haircoloring! lol

 

[FreshyFresh]

Probably the exact reason there's so few LFS left these days. Has to be impossible to survive selling fish alone. The equipment and (mostly) supplies are easier to mark up.

 

[Thyra]

Yep! Plus another thing. I was in two LFS in this past year - both seemed to be occupied by young entrepreneurs - both seemed to have friends helping them clean tanks etc. - don't know whether they were paid or not. Have no idea who was leasing the building, but it was immediately apparent to me they had not idea of running a business and it was doomed - within a couple of months they were gone. Their heart and knowledge of fish might have been in the right place, but business knowledge was not their game. I have always been concerned when an acquaintance says they "want got go in business" (with something they enjoy) and my first thought is - do they understand the records, taxes, and over head) all costs that come first?

 

[exhumed07]

I was rather impressed as well. and i will probably use that coupon for dog food or something to that nature. i've had issues with their fish in the past. i've finally got my tanks for the most part how i want them and i don't want to screw them up with unreliable fish or anything to that nature. and as for the lfs thing, i've got 2 of them here that are 80-90% fish only. we have Roes which is owned by the Roe family lol. but they have a few guinea pigs and hampsters and some basic dog toys and cat things. but thats all in one isle. the other 5 isles is just fish tanks, deco, lighting and then a case with filters and heaters and such and a big room with 6 isles with back to back fish tanks. thats my primary fish store. and they deal in only fresh water. they will order saltwater fish but u must pick them up on day of delivery and they do not guarentee them. then my other lfs is primarily salt water. they have probably 40 saltwater tanks with fish and 2 500 gallon display tanks with the corals for sale in them. and maybe a dozen freshwater tanks, each freshwater tank is only about 30 gallons. then they have a small room where they sell a few lizards and snakes. then we have a garden center place that sells everything from saltwater and freshwater fish to tropical birds, and from cats to horses. those places are the locally owned places i can go for all my pet needs. they seem to do pretty well. they seem to get steady money through the week as i always see people there. and they are always packed on the weekends. thing is though besides the saltwater store the others have had a foothold in the area for over 20 years. before petco or petsmart ever came in so they have a loyal following. I would not want to try and start a new pet store. i think it would be nearly impossible to compete. there was a small dog only pet store that opened up last year and it lasted about 3 months before she shut down. very few stores can be successful specializing in only one thing. so with that aspect thyra i totally agree with u that petco probably does not make much money on their fish. it's probably made on as u said the dog and cat supplies. also their is more repeat business with dogs and cats then fish. once a tank is setup thats pretty much it. dogs and cats wear out toys or clothes for those poor animals that get dressed in them.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Yep! Plus another thing. I was in two LFS in this past year - both seemed to be occupied by young entrepreneurs - both seemed to have friends helping them clean tanks etc.

Yep. Brings the new LFS by me to mind. I was unimpressed with his selection, pricing and lack of staffing last weekend, but it was a weekend so I can understand that. He started in November 2012. We'll see how he holds up over the spring and summer months.

The other LFS I have about 12 miles away is not fancy, real clean, nor in a lovely area, but maybe that's the perfect combination! They've been there for like 30yrs. They sell birds and little furry critters too though.

There's another LFS about 25 miles from me that I don't believe I've ever visited.

 

[Jbass88]

Im a computer tech inside of a local pet chain (they have 3 stores in my area) and have noticed the same thing here. They are a little better at my location (again not a petsmart or petco just local) and do treat the tanks and have a not for sale being treated sign on the tanks. As for knowledge I think they should just have to know what fish are compatible with what and what size tank they require... other than that it should be the hobbyist job to research how to do things the proper way. what you experienced was unacceptable but I do believe your expecting a little much out of people. Even the most knowledgeable person doesn't know everything.

The reason I belive it should be the hobbiest job is take me for example... I didn't know **** about my goldfish and researched and reasearched... different people told me different things... different sites had different info.. so I took the most common answer and called that the truth since unless your a marine biologist you don't actually know and all you can do is take educated guesses and hopefully learn from others experience (thus why I love this site and the peeps on it!!!)