ATTN: LFS employees
- Thread starter littlefish72
- Start date
- Status
Dante_JoseCuerv
New member
Lockhartia
-LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!
-LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!
ReefEnabler
Premium Member
I think most of the people using tap water in reefs are also using a dechlorinator.
although there was once a great tragedy when Steve Weast made up an emergency batch of SW using tapwater and some OLD dechlorinator! tank crash....
although there was once a great tragedy when Steve Weast made up an emergency batch of SW using tapwater and some OLD dechlorinator! tank crash....
LessThanJaker1
Member
I used to work at my LFS and i once had an older lady, prob in her 50's, ask me where we stocked our chlorine tablets. I told her that we didn't have it and she asks me, "why wouldn't u guys carry chlorine?" so i ask her, "why WOULD we carry it?" "To keep fish tanks clean!!!" she says. So then i tell her that chlorine is bad for fish and she stares at me for like 3 secs and says, "OH dear" and bolts out the door. The End.
museumguy
Active member
I once saw a little girl who couldn't have been older than about 4 or 5 years old point to a hosting ocellaris clownfish and say "NEMO!" Her grandmother corrected her and said "No honey, its A-ne-mo-ne" the little girl just looked really confused and walked away. I chuckled.
There are seven LFS within an hour of me and I got a confused look at six of them when I asked for an overflow box. Those same six had never heard of a veggie clip. A few asked why I'd want to do that? One said, oh that's a marine thing isn't it? I said I also feed cucumber to my plecostomus - another surprised look.
phish guy
New member
i had a lady come in the other day complaining that all the fish we had sold her the day before died. so i go through the ussual, how bigs the tank did you test the water blah blah. i finally get to "well how many fish did you add" she says 30. this lady added 30 gold fish to a , any one wanna guess how big the tank was?
6 gallons.
yeah 30 fish in a 6 gallon tank.
now we sell lots of feeder gold fish, so when she bought them im sure no one asked if she was goin to keep them or feed them.
6 gallons.
yeah 30 fish in a 6 gallon tank.
now we sell lots of feeder gold fish, so when she bought them im sure no one asked if she was goin to keep them or feed them.
I am decently late to respond but havent checked back on this thread in a while. back on page 36 theres an argument going on about the "responsibility" of the LFS worker to make damn sure that the person can take care of the fish before selling it to them. even if they refuse to cooperate and demand the fish.
I think that im pretty safe in saying that the people saying its the DUTY to do that havent ever worked retail at a pet store before.
People are dumb. period. end of story. they cant read, they dont listen, and they dont know anything. you can give them all the best information but 90% of the time it just goes in one ear and out the other.
I have a customer that has been coming to the store for like 16 years. hes always had high end freshwater and crazy goldfish setups. He is 60 something and recently decided to set up a 55g saltwater fish only tank.
I talked to him for weeks before he set it up and helped him pick everything out to set the tank up. told him how to cycle the tank etc w/o damsels... how long to wait, offered to test his water and walk him through it.
2 days later he buys 3 cardinals and a tang.
3 more days later he buys some other fish.
i havent been back to work yet but im pretty sure either A hes about to kill them all or B theyre all dead.
I spent countless hours talking to him about the tank, gave him books magazines and websites to read, and TOLD him he cant get the fish yet.
i walk away after he says ok, and see him leaving the store 10 mins later with 2 bags of stuff. asked the other worker what he got, (duh its gonna be....) the same fish he asked me for.
Theres just no helping some people. so its not our fault, our duty not to sell them things. its their responsibility to stop being so stupid.
I think that im pretty safe in saying that the people saying its the DUTY to do that havent ever worked retail at a pet store before.
People are dumb. period. end of story. they cant read, they dont listen, and they dont know anything. you can give them all the best information but 90% of the time it just goes in one ear and out the other.
I have a customer that has been coming to the store for like 16 years. hes always had high end freshwater and crazy goldfish setups. He is 60 something and recently decided to set up a 55g saltwater fish only tank.
I talked to him for weeks before he set it up and helped him pick everything out to set the tank up. told him how to cycle the tank etc w/o damsels... how long to wait, offered to test his water and walk him through it.
2 days later he buys 3 cardinals and a tang.
3 more days later he buys some other fish.
i havent been back to work yet but im pretty sure either A hes about to kill them all or B theyre all dead.
I spent countless hours talking to him about the tank, gave him books magazines and websites to read, and TOLD him he cant get the fish yet.
i walk away after he says ok, and see him leaving the store 10 mins later with 2 bags of stuff. asked the other worker what he got, (duh its gonna be....) the same fish he asked me for.
Theres just no helping some people. so its not our fault, our duty not to sell them things. its their responsibility to stop being so stupid.
It must be frustrating 
I'll admit my problem is that I'll go into a LFS and see something that I haven't researched yet, and I'll want it. I know I probably shouldn't but I really want the assistant to say it's OK to get one right or wrong.
Still though if they say no, I won't. Furthermore I can respect being told no as this prevents me from running a morgue rather than a tank. I will go back regularly to an LFS that says no when it's necessary, as long as they recognise that I do know some things. It's boring and pointless to talk about things that I've moved beyond and some assistants just love to talk about cycles.
I'll admit my problem is that I'll go into a LFS and see something that I haven't researched yet, and I'll want it. I know I probably shouldn't but I really want the assistant to say it's OK to get one right or wrong.
Still though if they say no, I won't. Furthermore I can respect being told no as this prevents me from running a morgue rather than a tank. I will go back regularly to an LFS that says no when it's necessary, as long as they recognise that I do know some things. It's boring and pointless to talk about things that I've moved beyond and some assistants just love to talk about cycles.
littlefish72
Member
been a busy week.........got two new ones
Guy calls in and says his water is cloudy. I ask is it a milky cloudy or a green cloudy. He says "Well part of it is a green cloudy and part of it is a milky cloudy."
Guy and his wife come in and complain that the three cleaner wrasses they bought from another store had died. LFS Employee says that cleaner wrasses are hard to keep and they need parasites to live. The wife asks "Well can you sell us some parasites?"
Guy calls in and says his water is cloudy. I ask is it a milky cloudy or a green cloudy. He says "Well part of it is a green cloudy and part of it is a milky cloudy."
Guy and his wife come in and complain that the three cleaner wrasses they bought from another store had died. LFS Employee says that cleaner wrasses are hard to keep and they need parasites to live. The wife asks "Well can you sell us some parasites?"
scaryperson27
New member
It's hard to just not sell a customer a fish regardless of whether or not you think they can take care of it.
I just make it obvious that it isn't the right decision to get the fish.
Say someone wants a yellow tang to put in a 29 gallon tank. I'll tell them about the fish and how in the wild they usually live throughout an entire reef and that keeping them in captivity alone can shorten their lifespan...
I'll also tell them that putting them in a 20 gallon tank is going to have a even more severe impact on their health, and that such a small tank can only act as a temporary home, until they can get it back to the store in healthy condition or find it a larger home.
If they still want it, I take them straight to the smallest one possible saying it's the one most fit for their tank, and it's the cheapest since it is small.
There is only so much you can do.
I just make it obvious that it isn't the right decision to get the fish.
Say someone wants a yellow tang to put in a 29 gallon tank. I'll tell them about the fish and how in the wild they usually live throughout an entire reef and that keeping them in captivity alone can shorten their lifespan...
I'll also tell them that putting them in a 20 gallon tank is going to have a even more severe impact on their health, and that such a small tank can only act as a temporary home, until they can get it back to the store in healthy condition or find it a larger home.
If they still want it, I take them straight to the smallest one possible saying it's the one most fit for their tank, and it's the cheapest since it is small.
There is only so much you can do.
I thought that we agreed that we were going to drop the argument and get on with the real point of the thread?
Since i'm already typing, i think my initial "how can you sell those fish to someone who is going to kill them" was because of the volume of fish i see compared to that of a fish store.
I've only had 3 salt water fish die under my care...ever. so when a local fish store has loads of fish coming in and going out and dying they get desensitized to it. so selling a fish to someone so they will kill it isn't that big of a deal when the 3 other fish that came in with that one died in QT
Since i'm already typing, i think my initial "how can you sell those fish to someone who is going to kill them" was because of the volume of fish i see compared to that of a fish store.
I've only had 3 salt water fish die under my care...ever. so when a local fish store has loads of fish coming in and going out and dying they get desensitized to it. so selling a fish to someone so they will kill it isn't that big of a deal when the 3 other fish that came in with that one died in QT
seafansar
Active member
I DO agree! Get back to the funny stuff! Ethics are important, but if you really want to talk about them just make your own thread about them. You've just sucking the fun out of this thread.
Anyway, a long time ago my dad worked in his father's hardware store. They had set up a saltwater aquarium up front. One day a couple walks in and starts staring wide eyed at the tank. After a while my dad walks up to them to ask if they need any help. The woman points to the lighting conch crawling across the bottom and asks, "What kind of motor is running that shell?"
Anyway, a long time ago my dad worked in his father's hardware store. They had set up a saltwater aquarium up front. One day a couple walks in and starts staring wide eyed at the tank. After a while my dad walks up to them to ask if they need any help. The woman points to the lighting conch crawling across the bottom and asks, "What kind of motor is running that shell?"
- Status
Similar threads
