My Pets At Home Complaint What Do You Think?

[mrshunt90]

I am writing to complain as I am not hapy at all with the service I have been given from your chesterfield store. I went in last week and after speaking to a member of staff I explained I was a complete begginner at fish keeping and knew asoloutly nothin about it and asked for advice and help.
I was told that in the 20L tank I was purchasing would be able to have two Malawis. I was told to go home with my new tank and leave the filter on for 4 days and come back to get the fish.
I was about to leave the store when I realised I needed to ask a fewmore questions, I asked about water temp, what water to add etc ect... I was then told that I needed dechlorinater. Had I not asked I wouldnt have known and the fish would have gone in normal tap water.
I then left my tank for 4 days and went back to the store to get some fish I had been adviced on two Malawis previously, I was then told that I couldnt keep malawis in a 20L tank and they like to be in groups of 4+ anyway. I was then told that I could keep 6 guppies or 2 mollies and 4 guppies, We decided on just 4 Male guppies. He also tested my water and said the PH was too high and sold me PHdown.
When I put the fish in the tank at first they were fine. After a few hours they were just swimming on the surface and their gills were flapping extreamly quick. I then decided that I should do some of my own research.
I have now found out that my fish are getting poisoned by the ammonia they are producing as my filter hasnt had time to mature enough to deal with their waste. I have also found out that a 20L tank is far too small for 4 male guppies. My male guppies have started to fight which no one explained to that without some females it may happen.
After doing my research I have been having to do 15% water changes twice a day to just keep my fish alive and they seem alot happier after the water changes. The first time I went in to the store I was told I would only need to do 10% water changes once a week and the second time I was told to do 20% water changes once a week which shows too me that half your staff havent got a clue what they are talking about, (I now know that when the filter is mature I onlyneed to do a 20% water chane weekly)
I also found out that insted of using the PHdown I could solve the problem better by using an air pump/oxegen tablets/live plants. So now I am stuck with a bottle of tank additve that I have no intention of using ever again.
If I had done my research before I went to your store I would ave known to do a fishless cycle insted of adding fish to my uncycled tank and risking their health. I am going to bed every night thinking that I am going to wake up to find my fish have died, which will be very distressing or my young children.
My frst shopping experience with Pets at home has not been very pleasent and at the moment I wouldnt reccomend anyone to you.
I am now needing to buy a larger tank to house my poor little guppys that are being poisoned by their own waste, I am only glad that I chose not to have 6 of the poor guys.
Thank you for reading and I am sorry that this couldnt of been a complement instead.

 

[kylealastairlove]

always make sure you research the fish you want to keep first, and not everything you are told in a pet store is true.
all tanks should be cycled before adding fish, a lot of people dont know this when starting in the hobby, me being one of them, so i had to look up fish in cycles, and eventually got through it
you can find articles on this forum explaining the cycling process and everybody is here to help if you have any questions too

 

[Jakey02578]

Well written complaint. I hardly ever go to chain stores. When I have I have nothing bad to say really, but it seams a lot of people think the same as you and that it isn't the best store. Well written though!

 

[moochy13]

threads bashing pets at home usually get closed pronto, but at least instead of whining to a load of internet buddies, you're being proactive and complaining to the people that matter. let us know what they say. just remember, this doesnt mean all pets at home shops are pants, just your experience in this particular one.

good effort.

 

[rousell]

I've been into the chesterfield p@h. I thought they had a good selection of fish. It's just a shame that the staff are not up to the job. I don't specifically blame these staff but the people in suits that employ them without training etc... Such a shame because the fish looked quite healthy from what I saw when I went in.

 

[StandbySetting]

It would be worth your while correcting the spelling errors if you want to be taken seriously, but personally I think it's partially your fault, you should have researched prior to keeping them, you wouldn't go and buy a cat without researching proper care first, why should fish be any different? The staff at Pets At Home have to follow the protocol set by their manager, it's a franchise operated company so dealing with the store manager would be a better port of call.

Hats off to you though for being one of the very few who actually acts on something instead of coming on here to ***** about a store.

 

[mattyeatsmatts]

Hope your fish pull through.

Try a different pet store, is there a Maidenhead Aquatics near you? I've found them to be much more helpful and knowledgeable.

 

[balajake]

Best thing you did really was sign up here. i've been in fish shops where ive heard staff tell customers not to worry about ammonia and i ve literally had to bite my lip off not to intervene, they probably heard me tutting loudy though. its hard to step in those situations in front of staff as you don't want to come across as an insufferable know it all. i have to count to 10

 

[mrshunt90]

I dont blame the staff either, I blame the store for not giving them proper training. I honestly thought that when I got fish I would just need a tank and water and away I go Just hope that by complaining to them the store will give more training. And yeah thanks, spelling isnt my strong point x

 

[moochy13]

im not sure. unless you're buying some expensive, pure bred feline, cats are cats. they need a bed, they need some jabs, they need to be trained, and they need some food. normal cats dont need any particularly involved care. i dont know anybody with a cat who has researched 'keeping a cat' to the level that which people on here research keeping fish. so many more parameters to consider when keeping fish, i dont need to find out what temp to keep my cat at, or if i need to dechlorinate its water, or what other pets i can have with it, or what sort of bed it needs.

i agree some research should be done, but the ease at which this person was told a load of b*****s smacks of staff ineptitude, and management not doing what they should be. the staff may just be innocent messengers of the tripe fed to them in their 'training days'.

 

[phoenixgsd]

i would correct your spelling before sending it, but i will say, thousands of similar letters have gone before yours, not just about the fish and bad advice, but about the general lack of knowledge about all the animals they sell, as far as i know most letters are binned, the staff it seems dont like to be told they are wrong..... as i found out as i was escorted from the shop

 

[jenjen_82]

Well said i refuse to shop there anymore and unfortunately this happens in more pet shops other then pets at home!

 

[Qwatch]

My P@H had one of those bichirs in with an otto, apparently it was a weather loach . poor thing, there was an otto hanging out of this mouth. I told them twice that is was a bichi but they were certain that is was a WL. could of smacked them!

 

[Aqua Tom]

Very clear & consice letter, it addresses the issues very well.

Good luck.


Tom

 

[FishBlast]

im not sure. unless you're buying some expensive, pure bred feline, cats are cats. they need a bed, they need some jabs, they need to be trained, and they need some food. normal cats dont need any particularly involved care. i dont know anybody with a cat who has researched 'keeping a cat' to the level that which people on here research keeping fish. so many more parameters to consider when keeping fish, i dont need to find out what temp to keep my cat at, or if i need to dechlorinate its water, or what other pets i can have with it, or what sort of bed it needs.

i agree some research should be done, but the ease at which this person was told a load of b*****s smacks of staff ineptitude, and management not doing what they should be. the staff may just be innocent messengers of the tripe fed to them in their 'training days'.

For all my cats that I had I didn't do any research. The longest living cat I had ate what I ate. It seemed easy but... a problem happened: when he was around 8 years old, he got a bad ear parasite and I took him to the vet. The vet was a total noob and screwed his ears up bad. Then the poor kitty got a bad infection and it progressed to ear / brain cancer and he died in my arms when I was just a 10 year old kid. And no, they didn't euthanize pets in that place either so we had no idea about that. We kept that cat at home and I was home alone when he died.

That cat's son seemed to have inherited the cancer gene. He got stomach cancer too but I might blame the cheap food the pet shop recommended us to buy, which totally ruined his liver. He was in such a bad state that I had to take him to intensive care at the vet and he died there over night at the age of 7.

And my last cat died in 2010, only lived about 5-6 years, died of FIV/ cat AIDS which allowed pneumonia to develop. Seems he was born with that virus (which means that's why he kept having stomach problems ever since he was a kitten and he was most of the time very thin).

I've had bad luck with cats.