Beat This: Chain Store Offers Good Advice!

[dgwebster]

I was at my local Dobbies chain store last weekend (i know, late on replying but another recently thread inspired this) and was almost shocked to hear good advice from their staff. they had an older member untill recently who was known for his good advice, so the new younger guy was a breath of fresh air too.

A couple was in with their daughter and asked for assistance. They pointed to a tank (couldnt see properly, but believe it to have possibly been a glass catfish) and the store attendant said: "so how long have you had the tank running now?"

They advised 2 weeks.
he asked about existing fish (none) and the size of the tank (with which they replied back with a particular one the store sells.)
He then went on to point out that a fishless cycle would be best, but can understand that the kid may not be that patient. As such, the fish she wants is unsuitable for her tank right now, but recommended the Leopard Danios he had there.

He also (at this point i wandered off) started to talk about water tests and led them to the equipment section.

He was talking to them for another good 5 minutes (i know because by this point in time I wanted some help) before they left with a small shoal of danios.

I was rather taken back by this show of knowledge and care this person put in and given the amount of stick that chain stores normally get, I thought I would share this experience of a decent chain store (one that I will be happy to return to in future, so long as that guy works there.)

Has anyone else recently had an experience that can put maybe some of the individual chain stores on the "board of pride" for their service and advice?

 

[Durbkat]

When I first started keeping fish again I had a school project that required 5 goldfish for it, so I got a 10g kit that only came with a UGF, a crappy heater, and a hood and light and I went to the pet store and said I wanted 5 goldfish and the guy said what size tank do you have and I told him it was a 10g and he said that they wouldn't be happy in it and recommend black widow tetras so I then got a real filter and heater for the tank while I was their and that was a couple years ago and those 4 black tetras I got are still alive except one that got some kind of orange crusting over an eye and died (guess it died since these fish cycled the tank and it lowered its immune system).

 

[Matty]

thats pretty good! My local superpet or petsmart doesnt have anything nearly as good. They still try to convince people that you can keep a school of ID sharks in a 30g fully grown. Big Als has amazing advice, but they're more of an LFS chain, like Wildwoods in the UK i guess...

 

[superjalami30]

I think it depends on the employee you talk too at any pet store.

Some dont give a rats a$$, some do.
The ones that care enough generally give good advice.
At least thats what I've found here where I live frequenting the 4 fish/pet stores we have.

 

[Jen]

This is what happens when someone who is a fish keeper gets a job at a fish store. They know what they are talking about.
Most people know the basic things you need to keep cats and dogs healthy, but fish are different. There is so much science behind keeping them alive. I'm not saying other pets are easy, but, well, you all know.
Its too bad there isn't more involved in hiring staff to work in the different sections of a pet store. I think if I owned a store, and were hiring staff, I would want them to fill out an application along with the resume asking about the kind of pets they own, and then if they were to be considered for the job I would give them a test for each section they were going to work in asking about the basic care of the animals.
Its also too bad that more stores dont have some sort of a hand out... a basic guide to caring for fish. That would have been very handy when I was starting out.

 

[dgwebster]

I agree on the handout.

Then again, I work for an ISP, i wish they would give a handout in the welcome packs that explains the basics of phishing scams, firewalls, AV software etc. Simple basics on what they are, why they are important to have and know how to use your particular ones and the do's and do not's of internet surfing and emails.

I even designed one, wrote it up and handed it to them saying "please" but they wouldn't do it.

 

[rosene]

| work at a Petsmart and I can tell you that myself and the other people in the pet care department really care about the advice we give out. Myself, along with another coworker, were named "Aquatics experts" for the store. Having never had anything other than bettas or goldfish, I do A LOT of research, and I learn tons and tons of new things every day, either from fish magazines and books I read on my breaks (and at home, on my own time), and of course, from experienced customers. I've held this position for 10 months now, and it is facinating to me.
I only wish I could afford a tank of my own (I'm a uni student = poor).
If I could, I'd start off with a 29 gallon community tank.
Anyhow, what I'm really trying to say, is that there are some people who actually care.
And FYI, we give 2 information sheets to people setting up a new tank.

P.S. Finding this website has been a great help!!