Went Into Pets At Home (formally Petsmart In Uk) For A Larf!

[SuperColey1]

I have loads of complaining post on here about both of my P@H.

They were Pet City in Lincoln too before the became Petsmart and then became Pets at home.

All I will say is meds at 2 for £6. They are a shop that needs to sell meds because..............you fill in the ending.

I don't need meds as the fish I buy from my seller don't get sick!!!

I do buy the odd Tropica Plant from there, if it is the same day as they were delivered (or they are on their way to death already)

The latest laughable joke of a form they have to fill in asking for details is just a customer relations exercise trying to look good.

I heard a chap ask what type of tank she had (i.e. species, community) She replied community
He then asked how many fish she had to which she replied 22.
How long has it been setup to which she replied 3 weeks.

Then he said 'Sorry about that it's just a stupid form that head office are making us fill in now'

Yes he was right, It is a silly form because the type of tank, number of fish and how long cycling are of no use without the size of tank, filtration, planted, and the type of fish? etc.

Well done P@H. You look like you are doing something for the novices but people who know their fish will still only use you if they are absolutely desperate.

p.s. Food is cheaper and better online, as are most of the items P@H sell.

Andy

 

[guppy_man]

We picked up a rather nice male betta today from our local P@H. This store is very good, clean, healthy fish and helpful staff

They have just introduced a questioaire that they fill in before selling you the fish. It asks about the tank size and water quality the fish will be in. What other fish are in the tank. Then they give information about the fish you want.

They have done this for the small animals for a while, but have now extended it to the fish. They are also sent on courses to learn about tropicals, so that must be good.

Cheers

yes, same happened to me the other day when i couldn't resist a male VT i don't think ive ever been more supprised lol

I agree with most, Pets At Home can only be as good as who ever works there, if the staff haven't been trained in all aspects of their job then there will be some problems.

The pets at home near me have changed the layout of the shop competely. They have also trained some of the staff, and introduced questionairs and leaflets that they hand out before you purchase an animal, which i think is great.

They even turned away a customer when i was in there, he was trying to buy an 4inch tiger oscar for a 15gallon tank, which they didn't allow.
I remember the days when i used to go in there and they would sell anything to anyone, just to make money


Looks like things are changing for the better ................. about bloody time i say

 

[stej-1986]

Went to my local Pets at Home the other day and asked for some advice. The girl working in the fish section told me that she had only been keeping fish for 2 weeks, so she couldn't help me. Is this really what you want when you go to buy anything. I fix trucks for a living. If someone walked in and asked me something and iI gave them that reply I'd get sacked.
By the way, don't buy Malawi Cichlids from there. They are all kept in the same tank and chances are that some of them are hybrids.

 

[andywg]

As another pets at home employee it is interesting to read the mix of comments about other stores around the company. I work in one of P@Hs new dedicated aquatics centre and we have been striving to make sure that the quality of the fish, the advice being given as well as the range of products available is to a high standard. We also sell marines, which I myself look after and hand-pick from TMC. I would love to hear any comments from anyone who has visited any of P@Hs new dedicated aquatics centres. They are in Cheltenham (mine!), Brentford, Hemel Hampstead and Crayford that I know of!

Ben

I believe the Southend P@H is as you describe (with one person purchasing fish by hand from TMC and having a marine section).

I found it very good. The downside was that he picked up a moorish idol, which really shouldn't leave the sea, but I guess Finding Nemo has affected many. Also, he was brave keeping a couple of frogfish, a clown and a couple of lionfish in one tank, but then most people aren't aware of quite what damage to a tank's stocking a frogfish can do.

The new system looks good, there's a great selection of fish and I for one think it is great. The staff could potentially know more, but I accepted many years ago that lfs staff will not be marine biologists (unlike many on this forum) so I prefer to be happy at the amount they do know. I could sit here and bemoan that they had a Histrio histrio frogfish labelled up as Antennarius maculatus, but I know from experience that almost every frogfish imported by TMC is given the scientific name of A. maculatus and frogfish ID is not a mainstream lfs ability. It was also heartening to find out that only certain staff can sell marine fish.

It isn't quite good enough to turn me away from my not so lfs, but then I have built up a relationship with him and his prices don't differ by too much (and he hand picks from TMC too). I was massively pleased with the new centre and will often nose around at the stock looking at the SW oddballs in there. To perfect the place I would recommend less cleaner wrasses, no moorish idols and perhaps fewer anemones. Other than that, top form and muh praise from me.

 

[orange shark]

i went into my local pets at home a few days ago and the staff seemed knowledgable for once and the tanks we're clean and free of dead fish...

thumbs up to them

 

[tyyrlym]

Unfortunately chain stores by virtue of being chain stores can pick up a bad reputation in their entirety for something wrong with only one or two. A bad LFS holds its bad rep entirely within its walls.

Petsmarts have a bad reputation here in the US and I typically go to bat for them when I see them being bad mouthed on US forums. I don't doubt there are some awful Petsmarts but to categorize them all as awful is just ridiculous. I have three Petsmarts within five miles of my house. While they aren't my go to place for fish I'd have no reservations about purchasing fish from any of the three if my LFS wasn't carrying what I was looking for. The tanks are clean, well kept, and disease free. Deaths are usually few and far between, and lets be honest. When you have fifty tanks on display with easily approaching 1,500 fish seeing two or three dead ones in the entire display isn't bad. The workers were up to what I would consider fish shop snuff. They might not be experts but they know about cycling, though they push bottled bacteria or fish like platys to cycle with. They are no worse or better than your average fish netter at any LFS.

Went to my local Pets at Home the other day and asked for some advice. The girl working in the fish section told me that she had only been keeping fish for 2 weeks, so she couldn't help me. Is this really what you want when you go to buy anything. I fix trucks for a living. If someone walked in and asked me something and iI gave them that reply I'd get sacked.

The girl did exactly the RIGHT thing. If she doesn't know the answer she's better off telling you she doesn't know rather than BSing you and potentially giving you awful advice. If you have a problem with that then tell the manager to get his people some training, don't lambaste the girl for being honest rather than lying.

 

[degsod]

I went to the one in Stockport yesterday, and I give it 10/10, as soon as I walked in I was impressed, there was a vetinery practice open 7 days a week, a dog grooming parlour and a fish section to die for. All the tanks where spotless, no dead fish, and there was one utterly fantastic marine display tank. I carnt wait to go back again

 

[hunter001]

I try not to buy from my local P@H if i can help it. Everytime i go in there i seem to see plenty of dead fish, i usually go in get so angry with the state there fish are in and end up having to leave. I did buy some cory's from there a while back as i just felt sorry for the state of tank they were in. Ok, they have survived but i doubt they would of if they had stayed there much longer. When i went into my lfs i made a point of saying i liked it in there as the tanks are always clean and very very rarely i'll see a dead fish. The responce of the guy.... well there tanks are like a normal shops front window. If they look bad people arent going to buy from there, it made so much sence to me. P@H could of had loads of money out of me as there just round the corner, but as they cant look after there tanks properly im not prepared to give the any of my money if i can help it.

 

[momo33]

out one in basingstoke is a bit of a dump although its better in the last 6 months. still not great.

the one in newbury is a lot better. clean and no dead fish. also they offered a replacement opaline when my other one passed for no reason. Selection is not great but for run of the mill stuff. as to meds and food they have it all and at ok prices so i get most of my food here.

Muahahahahahaa I nearly fell of my chair, you must of gone in wearing sunglasses or on the only day they cleaned the tanks and removed the dead fish. I go in there a lot and everytime theres dead or diseased fish, fish too big for the tanks, and as I said in another thread they paid me handsomely for ruining my tank stocks and their diseased fish, I still have the emails they sent me too. yep their doing ok.

 

[maplethistle]

Pets at Home in Renfrew, Scotland are knowledgeable about fish and give some good advice

 

[mrbudgie]

Mine Are 2 Different .
The one near work is brilliant and the staff ask all the right questions and talk with customers about the fish. Wife bought me fish from there on thursday and not 1 single fish has died.
I also went back to have amlook and chatted witht the 2 fish guys who are into fish in a big way. i have them looking into better types of fighters.

The one near home is a laugh, Hardly anyone knows what they are doing and they Are having there Bird License Revoked because of complaints logged with RSPCA and the Council.

the one by your work gill is that the canley one as they seem to be getting better lately. Popped in to get sand the other day and came out with some natural green kissing gourami's which I aint seen any where in a while (shame the girl serving me didnt know what kind of fish they were though lol as none of the labels matched the right tank )