LFS Advice

[Angry_Platy]

SO....I was at the LFS today. And a person was buying their first tank. So I strategically followed them around wondering what advice they would get...

Q. What are some good starter fish?
A. Well you need to start with pretty fish to keep your interest. Discus are good and they are liked by kids as well. Platies are good but tend to die if the water is bad .....

Q. I have heard that those canister filters are good. What should I buy?
A. Well canister filters are great but they are a bastard to maintain. The best thing a tank can have is an undergravel filter. It is easy to run and doesn't need cleaning Plants grow really well with them too

And then the LFS guy mentioned pH. He said "you should always match the pH of your tank to suit any new fish. We have kits to do that"

Q. How about these fish (pointing at clown loach tank) for my tank?
A. Well your 2ft tank would be great for them They are a very entertaining fish.

Q. Would I be able to have a nemo fish with the others I have asked about?
A. Well I wouldn't recommend it but it can be done. Most saltwater fish readily adapt to freshwater given time

Q. When can I add fish?
A. If you set the tank up today you should be right to add fish tomorrow. Just make sure the water is clear first.

JUST a sample of what I heard. Then when I was at the counter with my fish, the guy had the 2ft tank, UGF, gravel, heater (blah blah).....leaving...saying "I'll be back tomorrow to buy thoise loaches"

AAAAAKK!!!

You are probably wondering why I buy from there. Well, I only buy fish there, the choices here are very limited (ask Aussie_Star)...the equipment prices are CRAP...some of the staff are OK....and their fish are healthy and well-looked after (no nemos in with guppies and all )

 

[The-Wolf]

OMG, I would've pointed the customer straight and said "that guy is talking out of his backside" or words to that effect.

Then I'd call the manager and relay what has happened and get the dumb a$$ fired!
Geeze what a total, total, utter......
There isn't a word invented yet, but when it is he is a total and utter one of them.

 

[rvm]

Q. Would I be able to have a nemo fish with the others I have asked about?
A. Well I wouldn't recommend it but it can be done. Most saltwater fish readily adapt to freshwater given time 

That has to be the worst bit of advice I have ever heard. That bloke should be sacked!

There isn't a word invented yet, but when it is he is a total and utter one of them.

Believe me, I could think of several words to decribe him!

 

[Discomafia]

So you just let all this happen without saying anything? You didn't try to set the newbie straight?

 

[Discomafia]

Q. Would I be able to have a nemo fish with the others I have asked about?
A. Well I wouldn't recommend it but it can be done. Most saltwater fish readily adapt to freshwater given time

That has to be the worst bit of advice I have ever heard. That bloke should be sacked!

There isn't a word invented yet, but when it is he is a total and utter one of them.

Believe me, I could think of several words to decribe him!

The guy shouldn't be sacked, he should be sued! What nonsense, makes me really sad to hear of such things...

 

[FishDan]

The guy shouldn't be sacked, he should be sued! What nonsense, makes me really sad to hear of such things...

While I agree (wholeheartedly) that the advice/answer this person gave are misleading and/or just plain wrong, I have a better solution: Educate them. Those of us that get on our high horses about someone who doesn't know what we all know are (IMO) worse than the people who give bad/wrong information. Many of these people simply do not know. If every person were fired from their jobs because they didn't know something, and consequently making something up or just not bothering to find out the facts, I suspect their would be a much larger percentage of unemployed people. If the person did/does know better, and lied, then they should be disciplined or fired.

Do you really think that if this person were to be fired, that someone any (or much) better would be hired in their place? I doubt it. As it has been pointed out, about 12 million times, those of us who took the time and have the desire to learn about properly caring for fish can't readily go work in a fish store. They pay is simply generally not high enough. I learned a great deal since I started this hobby. And I got bad advice before from pet/fish stores. I don't think people should be fired necessarily, they should be educated. Then fired if they continue giving this type of "advice" or (mis)information.

\Dan

 

[rvm]

The guy shouldn't be sacked, he should be sued! What nonsense, makes me really sad to hear of such things...

While I agree (wholeheartedly) that the advice/answer this person gave are misleading and/or just plain wrong, I have a better solution: Educate them. Those of us that get on our high horses about someone who doesn't know what we all know are (IMO) worse than the people who give bad/wrong information. Many of these people simply do not know. If every person were fired from their jobs because they didn't know something, and consequently making something up or just not bothering to find out the facts, I suspect their would be a much larger percentage of unemployed people. If the person did/does know better, and lied, then they should be disciplined or fired.

Do you really think that if this person were to be fired, that someone any (or much) better would be hired in their place? I doubt it. As it has been pointed out, about 12 million times, those of us who took the time and have the desire to learn about properly caring for fish can't readily go work in a fish store. They pay is simply generally not high enough. I learned a great deal since I started this hobby. And I got bad advice before from pet/fish stores. I don't think people should be fired necessarily, they should be educated. Then fired if they continue giving this type of "advice" or (mis)information.

\Dan

Whilst I agree generally, a LFS employee could be forgiven for not knowing certain things about specialised fish, but to say that a marine fish could adapt to freshwater shows that he knows less than nothing about fish and should not be working there in the first place.
To work in any shop you should have a general degree of knowledge of the product you are selling otherwise you should not be working there in the first place. Maybe this guy would be better at McDonalds!!

 

[Discomafia]

Education = More $ spent on employees = Never going to happen. You said that

"those of us that get on our high horses about someone who doesn't know what we all know are worse than the people who give bad/wrong information."

rvm said it the best

"To work in any shop you should have a general degree of knowledge of the product you are selling otherwise you should not be working there in the first place."

Imagine this same person working in an electronics shop or something like that, where misadvice can have serious consequences. Now you know why I'm not going to waste my time trying to educate him.

Where is this knowledge that he has about the aquarium hobby coming from? Surely he can't just pull this info from out of thin air? But obviously, that's what he is doing.

One word for that. Incompetence.

If he really wanted to be educated about this sort of stuff, he would have done it beforehand.

You also said that

"If the person did/does know better, and lied, then they should be disciplined or fired."

Why would a person lie about such a thing? Sales is the only reason I pressume.

"If every person were fired from their jobs because they didn't know something, and consequently making something up or just not bothering to find out the facts, I suspect their would be a much larger percentage of unemployed people."

In every job you do, you train for it BEFORE you start, not during, not after... You gather info BEFORE you start, and not any other time. Because by then, it would already be too late.

I'd rather just shut my mouth than give bad advice, or try to pass it off like I'm giving good advice. But that's just me...

JMHO.

 

[FishDan]

"If the person did/does know better, and lied, then they should be disciplined or fired."

Why would a person lie about such a thing? Sales is the only reason I pressume.

Of course for sales. And this is why I feel that the person should be fired.

"If every person were fired from their jobs because they didn't know something, and consequently making something up or just not bothering to find out the facts, I suspect their would be a much larger percentage of unemployed people."

In every job you do, you train for it BEFORE you start, not during, not after... You gather info BEFORE you start, and not any other time. Because by then, it would already be too late.

In every job I have been in, my education has been a continuous prospect. Of course I am trained before hand. Does that mean I won't learn anything new? So a person who opened a fish shop in the 1980's should ignore all the information that came after that? The undergravel filter example mentioned in the first post would be a perfect example. If fish shops only went by training they got BEFORE they started, they'd all be touting UGFs as the best filters. No. Education in all things is a contunous experience. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just wrong. People who think they know everything generally don't know anything. It is never to late to learn anything, and there will always be something new to learn.

Furthermore, maybe he was trained. Trained wrong. He may think he is giving the proper answers based on what he's been told. If no one corrects him, and educates him, he will always give out the wrong information. This I have seen dozens of times.

I'd rather just shut my mouth than give bad advice, or try to pass it off like I'm giving good advice. But that's just me...

Most of us would do this. If I don't know something, I either say nothing, or give my opinion or relate my understanding of the topic, and make sure to say "I am not sure" or "I don't know for certain, but here is what I think..." or "I could be wrong". Of course this is the best way to do things, but not everyone does things the best way.

 

[fufanu360]

i think that to work in a fish store/ pet store, u should not only have general knowledge, but u should have experience with keeping fish, especially if your a sales person for fish. like theres this lady at my lfs, she does not know her fish very well at all, but she is the nicest lady every and does NOT give you stupid advise. like seriously how could anyone be so pathetic that they say SW can adapt to FW

 

[yvez9]

When I got my tank last month, the owner of the store i went to told me a bala shark would be fine in a 10 gallon as long as he's alone Also that as soon as the temprature had settled, it was fine to add new fish. Luckily, the girl I saw the next dfay at the store told me guppies were preferable to break in a tank and add no more than 4 to start off with.

But seriously, I'm glad I found out about this place. Like pretty much anything, you can't fully trust a salesperson unless you know them personnally, let it be cars, electronics, pets...

I learned lots of things just surfing the net and googling up info on fish species i wanted to keep. I was disappointed I couldn't keep bala sharks in my 20 gallon but I found many different fish I can keep. I also found an amazing store that take awesome care of their fish. They even quarantine them a few weeks before putting them in the display tanks.

I had no clue what the nitrogen cycle was either.

Seriously, the expertise you find on the "internet" is much greater than one you will find from a 16 year old working part time at a pet store because he likes dogs and birds...

Unfortunetaly, most lps employees like pets, but know very little about them.

As previously stated, pat stores pay very little for a full time job. They are mainly student jobs.

However, I find it unacceptable that owners sell something they know nothing about... anyway

 

[plecoperson]

This thread makes me very annoyed. as many of you probably know by now, Im one of those dumb-@$$ employees of Pets at Home. I wasnt trained before I got there I hated fish and couldnt understand why anyone would want to keep them. Now I have 3 tanks in my house and endeavour to learn everything I can. But the best way to learn is to experiment, and thats one reason why I bought a tank.

Perhaps the "dumb-@$$" customers should do their own research first so they can learn what is fact and what is fiction.

In the store where I work I would say there is three or four employees (including myself) who give sound animal advice...I pride myself on my livestock and product knowledge. But If someone came to me and said I was giving wrong information when I thought I was right, if they were being reasonable I would take on board what they said and check it out. But if someone told me I should be sacked for a wrong piece of advice about fish, I would not be at all happy. this guy may have been conviincd he was giving correct advice in which case it comes back to education. Get off your high horses everybody - we all start somewhere and like some people, I began in a fish shop with no knowledge of fish.

 

[enchanted]

I read through this and I am of the opinion that he either need to be educated or let go. I read what you said plecoperson, but I also have to think of the customers. You say for them all to go out and do their own research and that is a BS answer because people depend and rely on the responses they get from their pet stores. That is the reason people go to places like Fish Stores and pet stores instead of places like walmart.

Now, whether he is educated or whether he is let go is not a decision we should make, but the decision that can be made is to bring this to the attentoin of the manager or store owner. Then they can decide which to do based off their financial abilities.

Personally, having been a business owner I would tend to educate a person if I expected them to stay with me a while. If I thought they might be gone in a month or 6 months then I would probably just let them go.

This is why the best we can or should do is simply bring the issue to the attentoin of the manager and stop the customer involved so they get proper informatoin. We can't control the world but we can do our own little things to help when we can.

 

[gale]

Perhaps the "dumb-@$$" customers should do their own research first so they can learn what is fact and what is fiction.

But shouldn't a dumb a$$ person expect to get correct advice from a fish store? Wouldn't going to one and asking questions be considered research for someone who wants to keep fish for the first time?? Where else would he get it from if he didn't have internet (I know, inconceivable but I know people who don't get online). I can't find any good fish books in my area. I found goldfish books, frog books, but no tropical fish books. I finally ordered one but if I had wanted fish, I would go to the fish store fully expecting that what they tell me is what I need to know.

Which is what I did but thankfully shortly after I found these forums.

 

[SailfinGirl]

I would just like to point out how many times people on THIS FORUM are told to do research before getting fish. "Research Balas, reasearch bettas" etc. Now people are also saying that the customer shouldn't research. When you lot know everything about fish, criticise.