Might Be Applying For A Job This Summer At A Chain Store?

[GAB99]

ok well if anyone has done this what can i expect from either petco/petsmart/petland in US when i apply?

since they are for the most part bad and if i do apply to a bad store what can i do when giving advice on cycling? i was thinking to refer to a fish-in cycle with the advice of test kit and water changes to keep both the store and you guys happy?

also what other jobs do you think i might be running?

just want a breif description on what might happen?

 

[kelly528]

Never worked there, but I will tell you that you are most likely to get any summer job if you apply a few months before schools out. That way you don't have to compete with other kids looking for summer jobs. You can work minimal shifts until the summer, then you have a few months of senoriy under your belt which will help CONSIDERABLY in an economy where shifts are scarce.

 

[GAB99]

thanks for the info.

 

[Assaye]

I want you to remember one thing:

Being knowledgeable about aquatics and working in a pet store will not suddenly make you the saviour of the fish. You will almost certainly be forbidden from giving certain (good) advice, you may well not be allowed to refuse sales based on tank size, you probably end up hitting your head against the managers' opinions and restrictions. You may well have to make sales you think are immoral and you will probably end up repeatedly replacing fish that died while cycling for a customer that refuses to listen to what you say. Some larger chain stores also have a "all returned fish must be euthanised" policy.

If you are tough and ready for an uphill struggle, do it. But we get a lot of people saying "I hate my local Petsmart! I wish I could get a job there and actually start giving out good advice". Generally, those people get sacked.

 

[drobbyb]

I want you to remember one thing:

Being knowledgeable about aquatics and working in a pet store will not suddenly make you the saviour of the fish. You will almost certainly be forbidden from giving certain (good) advice, you may well not be allowed to refuse sales based on tank size, you probably end up hitting your head against the managers' opinions and restrictions. You may well have to make sales you think are immoral and you will probably end up repeatedly replacing fish that died while cycling for a customer that refuses to listen to what you say. Some larger chain stores also have a "all returned fish must be euthanised" policy.

If you are tough and ready for an uphill struggle, do it. But we get a lot of people saying "I hate my local Petsmart! I wish I could get a job there and actually start giving out good advice". Generally, those people get sacked.

Unfortunately this is true. For big chain stores, it's all about the profits. Personally I would rather give good advice and earn a customer's business instead of giving bad advice and turning the customer off to fishkeeping altogether, but that's me.

 

[kelly528]

Yupp unfortunately they cut a far greater profit margin by selling 100 'low maintenance' betta bowls than they do convincing 10 customers to invest in a 10g setup.

 

[skiltrip]

Good luck. I hope you get it. I was in petco the other day and I WISHED I had someone who knew what they were doing help me. Not that I needed information or really had questions, I just wanted someone who knew how to properly net fish and bag them without letting them fall on the counter.

 

[GAB99]

Good luck. I hope you get it. I was in petco the other day and I WISHED I had someone who knew what they were doing help me. Not that I needed information or really had questions, I just wanted someone who knew how to properly net fish and bag them without letting them fall on the counter.

may be outta luck ther lol i take forever to catch my fish (only did it once though)


and yeah, this is what i was meaning that it all cant be JUST being orced to hand out bad info.

they really sometimes have a euthanise policy?

and with the cycling simulation, wouldnt that be bad to just keep replacing dead fish? the chain loses money that way, i think that the manager would help out with that one.

 

[Assaye]

Good luck. I hope you get it. I was in petco the other day and I WISHED I had someone who knew what they were doing help me. Not that I needed information or really had questions, I just wanted someone who knew how to properly net fish and bag them without letting them fall on the counter.

may be outta luck ther lol i take forever to catch my fish (only did it once though)


and yeah, this is what i was meaning that it all cant be JUST being orced to hand out bad info.

they really sometimes have a euthanise policy?

and with the cycling simulation, wouldnt that be bad to just keep replacing dead fish? the chain loses money that way, i think that the manager would help out with that one.

Don't get your hopes up. I've beaten my head against the same issues. There is policy and I have to stick to it or lose my job. You can do some good but not as much as you'd hope.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

I can tell you right now if you work at petsmart you will be trained according to their specs in regards to animal keeping. They have books you will be required to study and you are supposed in turn use this knowledge with customers. You will also be told to 'forget everything you know and go by the books'.

They will be selling inappropriate fish to customers who don't know better (an ex: petsmart carries dragon gobies, which can get 15 in long, require special feeding, and are brackish as an easy to keep freshwater fish). They often suggest underground filters as the best, and their idea of stocking can be an absolute joke. I really wish I had kept the training books so I could post some of the info (which is actually a breach of their employment contract now that I think of it) after I quit but I just moved and downsized my belongings.

Honestly, if you need the money by all means go for it, but just know that you may grow very jaded and unhappy while working at any chain in general, and that you may risk your job by giving out decent advice. I worked for Petsmart and wasn't even able to work with the animals until almost a month in (job I was hired for, mind you), and I couldn't make it to two months without getting fed up and quiting. I wish I could of stayed with the job, as I really enjoy helping people figure out their tanks, but I just could not put with their company policies and issues with management (at least at my store).

 

[GAB99]

im completdly avoiding petsmart as the one that im at:

1. employees are just a bunch of giggly girls that talk ALL the time

2. manager is like a rock

3. as you said bad advice ALWAYS given

ill be going with a petco or if i move early petland as i have had better expeirence in both places