Acceptable losses at LFS?

[anarchtech]

I went to my LFS Sunday. I use to go there a lot but for some reason or another the 2 fish people quit and they have some terrible looking tanks, diseased fish and rancid corals. It was sad. Ick had run a muck in the fresh water tanks. The salt water ones were covered in algae.
30 more mins away are 2 beautiful fish stores with tons of good advise for a beginner like me. I took my girl friend with me and she was in awe.
I wish the one real close to me hadn't gone down hill so fast, 6 months maybe.

 

[LionfishFinatic]

I know of a couple of good stores near me but not many. the number one store that i love to go to is very small, very far out into the country and has lots of dedicated employees so not every LFS just hires because they need help. i have yet to see a dead fish there and they drip acclimate all of their fish. and yes the big ones are killing them. the most reliable stores are the small and self owned businesses is what i have come to expect. the other good store is fintastic. Fintastic is killing all the smaller companies and not even a Petsmart or a Petco will even carry SW fish due to competition with Fintastic and other big companies and also all the work and lack of knoweledge. back on topic.....yes every store has it's losses and i aggree it is mostly because of the trip to the LFS's. but some of it is just because of lack of knoweledge and they get sick or are bullied on buy fish in the tank that they were put in and die of stress.

 

[semiaverage711]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8529113#post8529113 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ALittleSalty
Since relocating to the Muncie I have come to realize that a well stocked, well kept and personable Fish store is something that is a real desire for me. I originally in lived in Lafayette, home to a local store called Aquarium World. They had the best display tanks I have ever seen and there stock was always clean, dead fish were removed immediately (they had a staff of at least 5 or more at all times) and live stock was always top notch. They always offered great advice and offered different ways to acheive the same end result. Perhaps the one thing that made me really enjoy walking in through the front doors, was that they could remember what tank you had and some of the livestock you had purchased. Plus the owner usually there and he too was a walking book of knowledge. I too was tempted to order online a few times, but after looking at shipping costs, the need to be home when the package comes, and the uncertainty of the livestock arriving alive, I realized that the price was actually a little more to order online, and at least if i purchased it at the lfs I could bring it back in to see what happend. I would often spend my lunch breaks in the store just looking at the fish and watching the tanks.

So now that I am two hours away, where will I go?? After checking out some of the local shops, and looking at my options in Indianapolis, it looks like i will making the 4 hour round trip drive back to Lafayette to purhcase my livestock. Jon

I agree. Aquarium World is wonderful. The tanks are awesome! And they do know alot. They have alot two! Everytime I go there, there is always new livestock. Nothing stays there too long!

 

[JamesJR]

Well, I used to work for what I think is an excellent fish store and even we had a few losses. A few losses wouldn't necessarily bother me. It is how the majority of the tanks look that is most important to me.
Sometimes things happen beyond the employees control like delayed flights, tears in the bags and improper packaging practices that don't have much of anything to do with the quality of the store or their abilities as hobbyists. But if they notice you looking at them they should stop you from buying them and tell you to try and get them when they are better.
That aside, a good store shouldn't have many losses. The store I used to work for had over 300 tanks and I remember having days where we didn't lose even 1 fish even after a shipment. sometimes it would be 10 or so fish but when you factor just how much we had that really isn't very much at all.

 

[gotboostedvr6]

james is right

 

[wds21921]

LOL this has been posted many many times over the last few years and it simply comes down to reasonable satisfaction by you.

No one likes losses, I dont' care if it's a big chain store OR your local mom and pop store (LFS). The effect is felt faster in a LFS but the end result is a dead animal and a lost sale. That's the business aspect like it or not. Petco losing one fish isn't going to close there doors but it's still a loss. Mom and pop losing one fish has a bigger impact, I agree.

Now choosing a store is relatively simple but is akin to shopping for a doctor (a sad truism these days).
Part of what sells me is customer service. Do they make a real effort to help me and answer my questions correctly or at least find out if they don't know? Are they willing to give me an honest deal and not simply size me up when I walk in the door? Are they or were they, once fish hobbyists also/still? Are they pleasant and treat customers like friends? Is the shop clean and tanks well maintained?
Your going to see dead fish no matter where you go. How long that dead fish remains in the tank to me is a big deal. That shows not only good business but pride in your store and respect in your customers eyes. Being busy is no excuse for not removing a dead animal, period. It takes seconds.

I've worked for 3 LFS and have a little experience. I'm not claiming to be an expert by any means.

There's a whole line of questions you can ask yourself or the store owner. If they meet your expectations then fine, if not find one who does.

I'm not wholeheartedly on the big chain bashing bandwagon because each store is an individual according to whoever is running it. I prefer to shop at LFS and support them mostly but I won't disregard a good deal at a local Chain if I see it.

The bottom line is it's my money and "I" will decide where and when I spend it.
The pros and cons for and against LFS and Chain Stores has been and will be hashed out for years to come.

I've debated everything from the moral and ethical aspects to the business and customer side. I agree that large chain stores in general hurt small businesses. At the same time while you avoid Petsmart, Petco, do you also boycott WalMart? Most people don't because it's a place where they can afford to shop. If you want to talk about morals and ethics do a little investigation of your own on WalMart and tell me they help America (ns).

The LFS is not going to completely disappear because of the large Chain stores. Yes, some will close because they cannot compete pricewise, but it's proven the large Chain stores CAN be beat because what they ALL lack is personal and GOOD customer service.

It's the old argument of buying a Japanese or an American car. Different merchandise but same principle. You support who you believe in or who you can afford to do business with or who gives you the best deal or. Many reasons that only YOU can decide. It's your money and your principles.

 

[thecichlidpleco]

The only part i will disagree on is that chain stores cannot compete with livestock. They mostly get little variety in tanks and when they do get a good number of species in, they die within a few days. I also worked at one, the supplier we ordered from was garbage, segrest farms is terrible. Fish always came in dead,too many to a bag, or mixed species that should not be together. I would hate to see the few lps in my area go out of business since they are the only reliable source for information. When I tell someone I want the two ocellaris, I dont want then to stare at me and need me to point to the tank so they can so, "oh the clownfish." If you do go to the chains to get supplies I guess that is fine, but realize what wds21921 said. Chain stores can get by without 1 persons money, a LPS may not.

 

[cinematek]

I just found another nice lfs near my place. I now have two lfs that I like and they seem to have one thing in common... clean floors. No, seriously. All of the other lfs have dirty floors, which probably says something about the amount of detail they pay attention to in their tanks.

These stores have the cleanest tanks and the healthiest looking fish. Not sure if there's a direct connection, but it made me think.

 

[vtrider]

I don't really buy any equipment from the LFS because I can get it for half price online. However,I like to support my (dolphin pet village) with most of my livestock,food and coral purchases. I just wish their equipment prices wew closer to online pricing. A $200 difference is huge to me,I can barely afford this hobby as it is

 

[Racso]

I used to manage a LFS. It was ridiculously awesome. It was truly designed for the hobbyist. We had over 200 FW tanks and over 75 SW tanks. Plus 16 display tanks that totaled over 3500 gallons. The whole store itself was just a little over 10,000 square feet. Anyway, we had about 15 to 20 different vendors we could order livestock from. Some were good, some bad. Generally we narrowed it down to the good ones and ordered from a select 4 or 5. I would say about 100 to 200 fish total would be dead between the day of and day after receiving fish (when you factor in that we ordered Danios in by the 100’s, its really not that much). But that was, say… 3 guppies, 5 danios, 4 white clouds, 6 neon tetras, 1 pleco, 4 blue damsels, a royal gramma... Etc, etc. You have to figure with that many tanks; we are BOUND to miss some.

Now with a small store, its harder to miss a fish if some is looking around real well. Find out when the store gets its shipments. If it is the day of or day after, expect some dead. If not, look at how dead the fish are. If they look like they are fresh, (just died that day, still have decent color, not really rotten, still has form) then oh well, not that bad. If the bodies are rotting, snails all over it, already half eaten, then I would pass. Another thing to look at is how many in each tank. Say you go in, and a bunch of neon tetras are floating at the top. But that’s it; nothing else in the whole store is dead. And again, they look “fresh,” then I wouldn’t worry too much. Those fish may just be crashing. But if you go in and there are 3 dead fish here, 2 there, 5 over there, and a whole tank full somewhere…. well, you know what to do.

 

[Racso]

Also, support your good LFS. The store I worked at closed because we were loosing too much money. Our employees were well trained (thus higher paid), so our prices were a little higher than the other stores around us. Generally, we competed great against other LFSs with animal care and overall appearance, however, big chains killed us merchandise wise.

One reason online is so much cheaper than brick and mortor is volume. Online sells the the whole country, if not, more. Your LFS only sells to the city. Thus, online buys direct from the manufactorers, where LFS have to go through distibutors, thus one more price increase. Also, online generally doesn't have to have too much knowledgeable staff. Yes, good customer service, but thats it. They don't need to worry about displays or making sure the store looks neat.

I don't work retail anymore, but I will still support my good LFSs. BTW, retail is HARSH. Odd hours, generally low pay, you have to deal with horrible customers.

 

[vtrider]

I really like dealing with foster smith for equipment

 

[thecichlidpleco]

Foster and smith do have great prices on equip, $40 for refractometer, <$30 for tub of salt(reef crystals)!

 

[Jesse-KT]

James is right also. But if I were you, I would pay more attention on what the other fish look like, not the dead ones.