i now work for a LFS, and as entertaining as this thread is, every time you talk bout a p'd off customer, and how some of you give them a bit of an attitude, the end result is they are leaving the store which employs you, and they are not spending a dime... that is not why your boss is in business... as a customer service and retail employee, it is your JOB to have patience and BE KIND TO ALL, unless the owner decides otherwise... i cant even imagine how much in sales many, NOT ALL, have cost your companies in income due to ****ing off customers who may not be as "smart" as you think you are... again great thread, and highly entertiaining, and not all fish should be sold to every customer, but most of you have people leaving all upset... this doesnt help what so ever
ATTN: LFS employees
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
Just wait till you've been at it awhile. You'll learn there are some customers that are simply not worth having as customers, other than getting a good story to tell 
Had one customer that kept putting soft water loving fish into highly alkaline well water and wanting to know what was wrong my fish that they died in his tanks, as it couldn't be his perfect quality artesian well water from Westhampton Beach. He expected me to replace the fish with the same types, despite my explanation of the problem and suggestion that he go with livebearers or African Cichlids that would like his water. Obviously a money loosing situation to just replace the fish and make him happy. Never was less than polite with him, but he absolutely refused to believe my explanation about pH, water hardness and fish. Tried the easy peasy layman's explanation first, then gave up and went for the chemistry textbook explanation. He decided I was just BS'ing him and left in a huff. Had he bothered to actually listen to me, I could have made him a happy customer, but the only thing that was going to make him happy was only going to kill fish.
Then there was the guy that called me a racist and wanted to fight me out in the parking lot because I didn't stop helping the girl I was already helping when he came in
One of my favorites, guy comes in asking where's my 99 cent goldfish. Didn't have any fancy goldfish in stock under $1.99. So he starts getting loud and belligerent (one of the girls working for had the phone in hand ready to dial 911 he was so out of control). Keeps yelling about the sign outside saying "99 cent goldfish", I point out that it does not specify 99 cent goldfish but only says we have a selection of fish on sale for 99 cents with specifying what kind. So I point out that I do indeed have a number of fish on sale for 99 cents, just not goldfish. This is totally lost on him and keeps going on about me trying to scam him with false advertising. At this point I slap my forehead, call myself an idiot and tell him I forgot about a batch of goldfish I just got in that day. He's now pleased that he has me over a barrel, and I proceed to sell him a dozen feeder goldfish for 99 cents each
He left happy that he got his 99 cent goldfish, and I laughed at his foolishness :lol:
Had one customer that kept putting soft water loving fish into highly alkaline well water and wanting to know what was wrong my fish that they died in his tanks, as it couldn't be his perfect quality artesian well water from Westhampton Beach. He expected me to replace the fish with the same types, despite my explanation of the problem and suggestion that he go with livebearers or African Cichlids that would like his water. Obviously a money loosing situation to just replace the fish and make him happy. Never was less than polite with him, but he absolutely refused to believe my explanation about pH, water hardness and fish. Tried the easy peasy layman's explanation first, then gave up and went for the chemistry textbook explanation. He decided I was just BS'ing him and left in a huff. Had he bothered to actually listen to me, I could have made him a happy customer, but the only thing that was going to make him happy was only going to kill fish.
Then there was the guy that called me a racist and wanted to fight me out in the parking lot because I didn't stop helping the girl I was already helping when he came in
One of my favorites, guy comes in asking where's my 99 cent goldfish. Didn't have any fancy goldfish in stock under $1.99. So he starts getting loud and belligerent (one of the girls working for had the phone in hand ready to dial 911 he was so out of control). Keeps yelling about the sign outside saying "99 cent goldfish", I point out that it does not specify 99 cent goldfish but only says we have a selection of fish on sale for 99 cents with specifying what kind. So I point out that I do indeed have a number of fish on sale for 99 cents, just not goldfish. This is totally lost on him and keeps going on about me trying to scam him with false advertising. At this point I slap my forehead, call myself an idiot and tell him I forgot about a batch of goldfish I just got in that day. He's now pleased that he has me over a barrel, and I proceed to sell him a dozen feeder goldfish for 99 cents each
He left happy that he got his 99 cent goldfish, and I laughed at his foolishness :lol:They are irrational and yes I hate conversational narcissist, problem is the main stream population that have this is a good 80-90% of society and they are annoying as hell and what is sad is that they are not even aware of it, even if you tried to explain it to them they will not understand because they are simply not aware.
Everyones Hero
New member
I love how people get PO'd when we don't have specific information on a specialty animal. Some old lady got mad because I didn't know about the different macaw foods. I told her I wasn't really a bird person & that I was more into aquatics. I offered to call up another employee to give her advice & she got all huffy & indignant & said "Well, what is there to know about fish? It's not like they're special." I wanted to punch her in the throat & tell her the difference between foods was just the ratio of nuts in them.
-"Actually, it can get pretty in depth. Aside from making sure my tank is at the right salinity I have to measure the amount of magnesium, calcium, & alkalinity in my tank so my corals stay healthy. I get to build an own ecosystem & pretty much play god. Plus they're nice & quiet & don't make a mess all over my floor."
She walks out & the lady behind her says "God, what a b****."
---
Or the people that ask "Do you know anything about such & such?" Usually it's a type of dog food or shampoo or shock collar or something along those lines.
-"A little. What exactly did you want to know?"
"Oh, I don't know."
I mean, if you have a specific question about a product I can tell you or I can find someone that can tell you. If you don't have an actual question to ask I don't know how to help you. I mean- I could start by telling you that that specific dog food comes in 5, 17.5, & 35lbs bags. It's considered a premium brand, it's a grain free food, it's brown, it smells & tastes like dog food, ect.
-"Actually, it can get pretty in depth. Aside from making sure my tank is at the right salinity I have to measure the amount of magnesium, calcium, & alkalinity in my tank so my corals stay healthy. I get to build an own ecosystem & pretty much play god. Plus they're nice & quiet & don't make a mess all over my floor."
She walks out & the lady behind her says "God, what a b****."
---
Or the people that ask "Do you know anything about such & such?" Usually it's a type of dog food or shampoo or shock collar or something along those lines.
-"A little. What exactly did you want to know?"
"Oh, I don't know."
I mean, if you have a specific question about a product I can tell you or I can find someone that can tell you. If you don't have an actual question to ask I don't know how to help you. I mean- I could start by telling you that that specific dog food comes in 5, 17.5, & 35lbs bags. It's considered a premium brand, it's a grain free food, it's brown, it smells & tastes like dog food, ect.
username in use
Sciencing Daily
Wow, you're committed to your job if you know the tastes. Kudos:thumbsup:
Everyones Hero
New member
Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. Ask a blanket question & you should expect a blanket answer.
BrokeColoReefer
Hermit
This entire discussion could apply to retail in general. I have been in and out of retail for years and there are plenty of people that i would rather not do business with then make the profit on the item im selling them. You know your this person if you walk in the door to the store and the employees all bail out and you get to break in the new hire, or, if no new hire is present, you simply get ignored.
I've compared notes with friends working in restaurants, they have quite similar stories. The amazing thing is how many people will be complete and utterly rude idiots to people serving them food that they don't actually see being prepared :lol:
BTW, the best thing I ever did after about 20 years of retail was get out
BrokeColoReefer
Hermit
Food service and retail do have lots of similarities. Im with you bill, i dont miss retail one single bit. I had about a 12 year stint in retail and that cured me for life.
Everyones Hero
New member
I've compared notes with friends working in restaurants, they have quite similar stories. The amazing thing is how many people will be complete and utterly rude idiots to people serving them food that they don't actually see being prepared :lol:
BTW, the best thing I ever did after about 20 years of retail was get out
People have no idea what happens in the kitchen. If you treat the waiter/waitress like a POS all they have to do is go into the kitchen & say "This person is being a d***" & you might as well have ordered spit soup. And honestly- having your food spit in is the least you should worry about.
It gets frustrating with how so many people would prefer to stay ignorant instead of taking the time to learn. You can try to educate someone but if they don't want to listen then you're just wasting your time, time that can be spent with other customers that are waiting to spend their money. The more time you spend with the jackasses the less money you are going to make.
Everyones Hero
New member
Oh man, if you want to be frustrated on a daily basis work in a place that combines retail, live animals, & minimal training. IE- PetCo.
Our full time aquatics person has been out sick for over a month, I've only been working weekends, & the other aquatics person is only part time as well.
On Monday I picked up an extra shift because my other job is slow right now & out of habit I checked the salinity (well, specific gravity) of our salt water tanks. One was fine- about 1.019. The other was at 1.012. I went asking questions to figure out *** had happened.
Apparently my GM told one of the employees that's been there for a couple of months to fill the sumps, which is a very straightforward process of just adding freshwater with a hose. Instead he started taking water out of the tanks & when they caught him doing that they told him he was just supposed to fill them with freshwater, which he did. Nobody bothered to check the salinity & add more salt to compensate for the partial water change.
I started to use a combo of premixed water (that was mixed to 1.030!) and straight salt to try to slowly bring the system back to at least 1.017 before I left when the GM pitched a fit because she wanted me to cover the register so another employee could go put up ads instead of fixing the tank. Just food for thought- they lost $35k in freshwater fish & $11k in saltwater fish last year.
---
EVERY time I work with the assistant manager & he does aquatics I always catch him adding salt & water to the tanks every time he tops off the sumps at the end of the night. I try to explain to him that the salt doesn't evaporate out but I'm just wasting my breath.
---
We've been loosing a ton of fish lately in the FW dept. Come to find out they've been using hot water with the filter system so the top-off water is coming out at 90+. Then they can't understand why the tanks are nearly 90* & so many fish are dieing.
Our full time aquatics person has been out sick for over a month, I've only been working weekends, & the other aquatics person is only part time as well.
On Monday I picked up an extra shift because my other job is slow right now & out of habit I checked the salinity (well, specific gravity) of our salt water tanks. One was fine- about 1.019. The other was at 1.012. I went asking questions to figure out *** had happened.
Apparently my GM told one of the employees that's been there for a couple of months to fill the sumps, which is a very straightforward process of just adding freshwater with a hose. Instead he started taking water out of the tanks & when they caught him doing that they told him he was just supposed to fill them with freshwater, which he did. Nobody bothered to check the salinity & add more salt to compensate for the partial water change.
I started to use a combo of premixed water (that was mixed to 1.030!) and straight salt to try to slowly bring the system back to at least 1.017 before I left when the GM pitched a fit because she wanted me to cover the register so another employee could go put up ads instead of fixing the tank. Just food for thought- they lost $35k in freshwater fish & $11k in saltwater fish last year.
---
EVERY time I work with the assistant manager & he does aquatics I always catch him adding salt & water to the tanks every time he tops off the sumps at the end of the night. I try to explain to him that the salt doesn't evaporate out but I'm just wasting my breath.
---
We've been loosing a ton of fish lately in the FW dept. Come to find out they've been using hot water with the filter system so the top-off water is coming out at 90+. Then they can't understand why the tanks are nearly 90* & so many fish are dieing.
Everyones Hero
New member
To bring it back from the dead:
Sunday a lady came in to stock a 14g she got for her daughter. I made some starter fish suggestions & she told me to tell her when to stop. She wanted a pair of fish & a pair of frogs. I told her that was a good start & would wait a week or two before adding more.
She goes "I always fully stock a tank when I first get it. I've been doing this for years so I know what I'm doing." At that point I went from "informative fish guy" to "you point & I bag the fish."
After about 7 bags & 30 fish later she goes "Do you think that's enough?" I said "Personally I think it's ways too many." She gets nasty & says "I told you to tell me when to stop." I replied "I did." At which point she leans into her friend & whispers something in her ear. She then gets another 7 fish, 2 of which were clown loaches. Yup- a fish that can grow to over a foot in a 14g tank...
I was off today but I'm willing to bet my next paycheck that every one of those fish died, her kid's room smells like death, & she's going to be PO'd because we sold her "sick" fish.
It burns me up that I'm not allowed to tell customers "No" & that I can't have their warranties voided.
Sunday a lady came in to stock a 14g she got for her daughter. I made some starter fish suggestions & she told me to tell her when to stop. She wanted a pair of fish & a pair of frogs. I told her that was a good start & would wait a week or two before adding more.
She goes "I always fully stock a tank when I first get it. I've been doing this for years so I know what I'm doing." At that point I went from "informative fish guy" to "you point & I bag the fish."
After about 7 bags & 30 fish later she goes "Do you think that's enough?" I said "Personally I think it's ways too many." She gets nasty & says "I told you to tell me when to stop." I replied "I did." At which point she leans into her friend & whispers something in her ear. She then gets another 7 fish, 2 of which were clown loaches. Yup- a fish that can grow to over a foot in a 14g tank...
I was off today but I'm willing to bet my next paycheck that every one of those fish died, her kid's room smells like death, & she's going to be PO'd because we sold her "sick" fish.
It burns me up that I'm not allowed to tell customers "No" & that I can't have their warranties voided.
acropora1981
New member
you can't void the guarantees?!?! At my old job (I no longer work at an LFS but did for many years) we were allowed to void the guarantee at our discretion. If we warned the customer against something, and they did it anyway, we did it without hesitation. As long as we had a good reason and informed the customer, it was open season on voided warranties. You should talk to your boss, not voiding warranties for idiots is a terribly policy. If you start voiding the guarantee 75% of customers back off and accept your advice, and you don't even have to void it, you just say 'ok...well...unfortunately I'm going to have to void the guarantee on these, because likely they'll die on ya', and that just about does it; they want the guarantee. The only folks who don't are either a) actual experts, who have a good plan (RARE), or b)hard headed jackasses that can't be helped anyway. See its not even really about voiding the guarantee most of the time, its about leverage, and getting the point across that 'this is not going to work out for you' lol
acropora1981
New member
yeah i can't imagine not being able to void the guarantee...thats crazy talk!
Everyones Hero
New member
It irritates the hell out of me. I guess we're "allowed" to by company policy- but our boss won't let us.
epic.exposures
New member
After reading thorugh this thread im realy appalled at how many people will sell a fish and let them walk out the door knowing their going to be dead. I personally feel this is inhumane and should be illegal. I also think that if your company has a policy for profit without a balance of ethics it should fail miserably.
My LFS will flat out ask you what tank you have, the conditions of the water and the inhabitants. If it doesn't feel kosher to you, she won't sell the fish no matter how hard you beg.
I did go to my local Petco once for a couple hermit crabs because the LFS was out. When the girl asked me how big my tank was (8 gallon established for over a year, beautifull nano cube) she denied my purchase because "no one can manage a saltwater tank under 50 gallons succesfully."
With that being said, alot of LFS and Petco representatives feel that they are "god" because they think they are "right" and work in the store as a "professional" (like the lady in the freshwater fish dept at petsmart). In my opinion the only saltwater professional is a marine biologist, everyone else is just trying hard.
I also don't think it's appropriate to try and upset a customer, you can win more people over with gentle words than scorn.
As far as this thread goes, it doesn't appear that anyone is the above, and I really enjoy reading it. Keep posting I love the stories. I'm just trying to bring up the fact that there are two sides to every story. A lot of people have a basic mentality of "a fish goes in water, like I saw at the lake", and they lack on the principle of fish diseases and water chemistry.
Thats my two cents
goldmaniac
New member
I would bet that the sum total of "bad" LFS employees do more damage to this trade than the sum total of "bad" customers.
acropora1981
New member
After reading thorugh this thread im realy appalled at how many people will sell a fish and let them walk out the door knowing their going to be dead. I personally feel this is inhumane and should be illegal. I also think that if your company has a policy for profit without a balance of ethics it should fail miserably.
My LFS will flat out ask you what tank you have, the conditions of the water and the inhabitants. If it doesn't feel kosher to you, she won't sell the fish no matter how hard you beg.
I did go to my local Petco once for a couple hermit crabs because the LFS was out. When the girl asked me how big my tank was (8 gallon established for over a year, beautifull nano cube) she denied my purchase because "no one can manage a saltwater tank under 50 gallons succesfully."
With that being said, alot of LFS and Petco representatives feel that they are "god" because they think they are "right" and work in the store as a "professional" (like the lady in the freshwater fish dept at petsmart). In my opinion the only saltwater professional is a marine biologist, everyone else is just trying hard.
I also don't think it's appropriate to try and upset a customer, you can win more people over with gentle words than scorn.
As far as this thread goes, it doesn't appear that anyone is the above, and I really enjoy reading it. Keep posting I love the stories. I'm just trying to bring up the fact that there are two sides to every story. A lot of people have a basic mentality of "a fish goes in water, like I saw at the lake", and they lack on the principle of fish diseases and water chemistry.
Thats my two cents
If it was my store, certainly, I would refuse if I thought the animal was doomed - but it wasn't. It was a chain, and all I could do was remove our financial responsibility from the situation. That being said, removing the guarantee, as I said, was a powerful tool to get stubborn customers to listen to my recommendations. As an aside - this didn't happen often - maybe 1-3x per month, working full time. And I certainly had no qualms about ruining or reducing a sale in order to safeguard the livestock.
I never thought I was God - and always admitted when I didn't know something; not only that, my usual course of giving advice was and is much less definite saying things like 'that MAY not work' or 'its possible, but I've never heard of that' or 'it may work, but I have my doubts' etc.
zachfishman
Active member
I also think that if your company has a policy for profit without a balance of ethics it should fail miserably.
...
Thats my two cents
I'll go out on a limb and say that there are a great many individuals that wish companies (pretty much all of them, not just fish and pet stores) would behave more ethically. "Business ethics" continues to be an oxymoron in most cases
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