Yyyyeeeessss!

[Luketendo]

Good Luck, I am 14 too and I want to get a job in my fish shop soon.

 

[kribensis12]

Thankyou!

 

[angel-al]

im 30 and still working with fish. Have done since I was 17 and will probably retire doing it. I love everything about it..But you know what the absolute best thing about it is. Guiding misinformed customers down the correct road of fishkeeping and following their tank progress as they catch the bug.

 

[kribensis12]

I know! That would be fun if i could experince that, but most people dont listen to 14 year olds.

 

[cheesy feet]

Lol Krib good luck, unless your reallllly annoying, people will listen to you, after all if they don't co-operate you don't have to get the fish for them...

 

[kribensis12]

That what i figure. Example:

Person: Can i put a Auratus with my guppies?
Me: No, Auratus are real aggressive and they need a big tank
Person: My guppies are real aggressive! They attack eachother all the time!
Me: Yeah, but the Auratus would just eat them, no doubt about it
Person: Besides my tank is Huge! It's a 10g tank!
Me: Yeah, maybe huge for guppies but not for theese fish
Person: I know what im talking about when i tell you this stuff! Im older than you and i've kept fosh for 2 weeks!
Me: Yeah, but if you know what your talking about( kinda pissed)
Person: well i want 5 Auratus anyway!
Me: Yeah you cna have them if you buy a big tank and let it cycle for 4 weeks, but first go to another sotre and tell them what you have and then ask for 5 Auartus. They wont give them to you. You cant keep them in that tank. Besides it isnt cycled.
Person: Yeah it is! I let it sit for days
Me: ( walks away to help a coustomer that actually will take my advice)

I'd like to think im not anoyying, so they should listen to me. NOTE: Example above never happend in real life. That was just a scenario in my head.

 

[LauraFrog]

So you got it? (sorry bad connection, can't get the other pages to open)
Sweet!

My poor LFS gets some real obnoxious people in there. As in somebody who wanted to put an electric yellow (currently an inch long) in a 30 litre (7 gallon) tank. He was shouting at these poor people because they refused to sell a cichlid with the potential to get quite large to this incompetent noob.
It's a good way of sussing out an LFS though. Go in there and mention that you set up a 10 gal yesterday with tap water (untreated) and ask for some utterly incompatible fish. A sus guy will try to sell you six different water treatment products and then get out his nets and plastic bags. A good one will tell you that a) your tank is too small b) those fish are incompatible c) you can't use tapwater and d) you need to cycle your tank before you put fish in it.

This backfired on me once though... he was a good one, refused to sell and told me to go and do some reading before I killed a heap of innocent fish. So I laughed and told him what I actually had (cycled setups etc) and he wouldn't believe me - thought I was lying to get the fish! I had to go back and bring photos of my setup before I could convince him that I knew what I was doing. Then he totally cracked up at my 'proprietor testing strategy'. It was so funny - and I got the fish.

 

[cheesy feet]

If that happened to me I would get a paint ball gun and make him dance ...I'm not planning to work at a fish store because plain and simple I wouldn't be able to put up with some people, unless the shop had descent signs saying don't bang on our glass.Please read this leaflet if its your first aquarium etc, its not that hard, and paper isn't exactly expensive.I can't believe how some people don't look into fish further then what they see.With any animals, even dogs and cats you must research there needs, invertebrates as well...But when it comes to fish some people do nill research.I figured out when I was 10/11 I was doing something wrong with a 2ft tank crammed with new world cichlids...At the time I researched, to an extent, in some books, but also believed what the fish shop employee would say.
It amazes me how easily manipulated some people can be.

 

[kribensis12]

I will ask if i can advertise this site if i get the job. If not i will ask if i can pass out leaflets.

 

[FeroX]

Of course you can advertise...I tell people to just google _____ whatever they're looking for, as it would save me a ton of time trying to explain it to them and have them forget it all in 2 hours.

That whole auratus thing you can handle differently though. If #### like that happens you try and do the right thing, but eventually as you work there longer you just can't fight with people anymore and just void the warranty, clearly telling them they've made a poor choice. Also, referring them to another store is not generally recommended, especially by your bosses.

You've got some learning do to, socially. On the internet you can say w/e you want and tell people to do all sorts of things...but when you're face to face you have to remember you're in retail. You're in customer relations. You have to be kind to them, you try your best to point them in the right direction. The right direction being other suitable fish, or bigger tanks, or whatever the case may be. The right direction is not out the door directed at the next LFS. If you tell them to beat it, they will, for good. Also, they'll go into the other LFS and complain ______ wouldn't give me ____ fish! Well now this LFS see's this as an EASY sell and an easy customer to please: you simply get them their fish, be extra nice, and they'll come back!

All I'm saying is it's different irl, you can't be as staunchy there as you can on here. Trust me, you get tired of telling people who DEMAND certain fish it won't work. At my work we just void the warranty and make it clear their new fish won't work. Don't be snippy with customers either, or they'll think you're an arrogant prick and not shop there again, or shop their less often.


OH! LMAO, and GOOD LUCK trying to sell someone the whole "fishless cycle". I'll tell you right here and now, it's not gonna fly. One bit. People want something to look at, some nice FISHIES in their "aquarium fish tank", they don't want to pour some random chemical in (actually, I'll get back to that) and watch an empty tank for weeks and STILL have to do those oh-so-annoying water changes! Just point them to the guppies.

Back to the whole dumping random chemicals in their tank, you'll get that a lot too, probably especially since you're dealing with Americans who tend to be super lazy P). You'll get all sorts of people that come in looking for substitutions to a water change in the form of some bottle they can just pour in the tank. They'll be looking for stuff to get rid of ammonia easily, in the form of some random bottle, they'll be looking for stuff to get rid of algae too in a bottle. Your store probably has some, but honestly, they're useless.

I can't wait for you to start. report back regularly plz.

 

[kribensis12]

I can explain to people, but only really bother doing it when i know they want to learn. If they dont i am just like whatever. I can usually tell when people want to learn, as they will be excited. I've seen poeple at Superpets Void warrnties when people wont listen to them. Its kinda funny as i've seen poeple bring the fish back 2-3 days later and have the poeple be like: im going to sue you because you didnt let me keep my warrenty or they'll yell that it's not fair. What i find real funny is when people try to return feeder goldifsh. It's absolutley hilarious!

 

[FeroX]

You can try to explain it, but if they won't take it, you still have to deal with them. They're still your customer. I'd LOVE to see you walk off on multiple customers you deemed too stubborn or stupid to deal with and keep ANY job. Like I said:

All I'm saying is it's different irl, you can't be as staunchy there as you can on here.

We've had people bring in feeders, mind you larger ones at around 6" for credit. Pretty funny trying to explain to them that EVEN THOUGH their fish is bigger than the ones in the basin, it's still a feeder. We sell them (at that size) for 30 cents, and we don't give credit, EVEN IF YOURS IS THE BIGGEST AND ORANGEST! Some people you just have to hold it in and vent/laugh about it later. You can't just be like "whatever" to people that don't want to learn lol. Unless by whatever you mean giving up your feeble attempts at education and just getting them what they want and out asap.

 

[kribensis12]

I'll learn to deal with them. At 14, im not exactly too educated about explaning things, as im still learning alot, and im not to good at explaining things( i'll learn). I wont ever walk out on them, i would just be kinda pissed. I would be like " it's a feeder either way you look at it. If they wouldnt leave me alone, i'd be like fine, i'll give you like 1 ct credit. THne see what they say.

 

[FeroX]

In cases like that, customers will definitely NOT appreciate having a 14 year old being snotty with them. If a customer is a ####, get your manager or another senior employee to help you explain the situation. One thing I learned it don't go around giving random credits, bossman hates it =D

 

[kribensis12]

lol, thanks for the advice. I am usaully pretty nice to poeple, sometimes people say too nice. But now i have an idea of how to handle coustumers! Thanks!