ATTN: LFS employees

[D to the P]

I like when they call them "Chick-lids" like the gum.
But speaking of being PC, we normally have people that are very reluctant to say Niger Trigger. They always look around first.

 

[mat167]

^On the note of PC... Our tank room manager speaks English as a second language, and on several occasions I've had to correct his spelling on the Niger trigger tank... :eek1:

 

[jasoncampbell83]

I'm not a LFS store employee but the one I visit the most has mostly men working there, on this day there was a lady I had never saw there before, she waited on me, dipped me out a couple fish and then I picked out a feather duster I wanted, she stuck her hand in the tank and when she touched the duster it went inside, she screamed and jerked her hand out. Trying not to laugh I asked what was wrong, she said it tried to bite her... I ended up getting it myself and laughing the whole way home!!! That was the first and last time I saw her in there... maybe that biting feather duster was too much for her!

 

[es1887]

these are pretty dang good! i worked at my lfs for years a few years ago. this guy walks in and goes to the display and says " wow thats a cool tank" looks at me, i say "yeah it is", he says is "is it salt water" i say "yes, yes it is" he looks at me puzzled and say "really? the whole thing?"
at this point i am speechless all i can say is "yes? yes it is?" some people

 

[Snakebyt]

great post, many great stories in here

 

[Everyones Hero]

I recently started at a chain store. I'm starting to think that the reason the fish die so quickly isn't because of the way the stores handle the fish- it's the people that buy them.

I had to explain that the 15 or 20 clowns in the display tank (it was delivery day, there is always die-off) wouldn't work that well in a 20g setup. Had to explain that you shouldn't keep that many clowns together & that there's actually a lot more water volume in our system than what the tank shows. Then I showed them the sump & explained how it worked.
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Had a lady pick out 7 or 8 FW fish. When I asked her what sized tank she was putting them in she pointed to her friend, who was carrying an all-in-one 29g tank setup. I tried to tell her she should really set everything up & let it run for at least a week prior to buying fish & she really shouldn't put that many in at once. "But there's a 14 day warranty on them. I'll just bring them back." "Umm, you also have to bring us a sample of your tank water."
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Had a customer bring in a water sample... with the dead fish in the container.
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I really love the customers that go tank to tank pointing out the dead fish. "Ya got a dead one thar!" And the people that let their kids stand in front of the tank they want you to get the fish from, then let them run around under your feet while you're trying to get them bagged up.
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Or the lady that wants THAT neon tetra.
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And the goldfish. Holy cow- I never would have thought there were that many different goldfish. Apparently the store layout says that the manager of the fish department should put all similar looking fish in the same tanks. I really can't tell the difference between the $2 goldfish & the $15 goldfish.
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The real kicker though- inconsiderate dog owners. Most dog parks/neighborhoods/ect have the "pick up after your dog" rule. Do you think that because you're in a pet store you can just leave it where it lands? One day I'm going to bag it up & give it back to them.

One day a dog crapped next to a table that some vet group had setup. The owner didn't pick it up. Everyone after them just sat down & pushed the chair through it, smearing it all across the floor. The only part of it that was worthwhile was watching them stand up & slip around in it, then look around like they're surprised that dog **** is slippery.

 

[fishsince3]

At work one day get a call

Lady (crying): My fish died and I had a question about it...
Me: what kind of fish was it
Lady (lightly sobbing): I had a kissing gourami.
Me: ok shoot
Lady (balling eyes out): Is it safe to eat my fish so I can stay with it for good?
Me (dumbfounded as my training didnt cover this lol): i dont see why not mam
Lady (light sob again): really? how should i cook it
me (mouth open on phone): mam idk i'm in culinary school but just put it in a frying pan
Lady (now ****ed off): fine i'm never coming in again! *click*

I literally dropped the phone didnt put it on the hook and walked away

 

[JamesJR]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15552703#post15552703 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by D to the P
I like when they call them "Chick-lids" like the gum.
But speaking of being PC, we normally have people that are very reluctant to say Niger Trigger. They always look around first.

I have never liked that name for this species. I wish people would use its other common names like red-tooth triggerfish or blue-triggerfish.

 

[Lockhartia]

Here's one to keep the thread going:

Had a customre win a Biocube 29 in a raffle the store was having. It was an older couple who were really nice, but the kind of people that would ask questions and then when they got an answer they didn't like, choose to defy them.

Fast forward a few months, a lot of questions, and one overstuffed biocube, the gentleman comes into the store with a bag of xenia and a frown. He tells me that the xenia crashed his tank. He said he saw it spewing brown stuff after he removed all his rock, and the brown stuff killed his tank.

I stop him and ask "Um, you removed all your live rock?" He says yes, it was "Dirty" and he didn't like it all purple, so he threw it out and bought new rock at a different store. He said the next morning he woke up to find the xenia spewing the brown stuff, and all his fish (minus a yellow coris smart enough to bury in the sand during the crash) dead, and he wanted to get rid of the xenia.

I try to explain that his tank crashed because he just "threw out" all his biological filtration, not because the coral was pooping! He doesn't believe me, and wants to buy more fish! I tell him the tank's not ready and he needs to wait for it to cycle...again. He says to me, and I quote "If I buy these fish and they die, THEN I'll know I have a water quality issue!" I refused to sell him any fish.

I wonder if that poor coris made it....

 

[Everyones Hero]

Had a guy come in & tell me that he has an algae problem. Said he's been fighting it for months. I asked about lights- they're new. In front of a window? One is, the other's in the basement.

Go through this process & the guy is constantly interrupting me. I finally say that all I can think of would be to test his source water. He said he took it to Waste Management & the only thing in the water that would cause algae is chlorine. I said "Chlorine is used to kill everything." "I know. I work for Waste Management, I know what it's for & it causes algae."

At that point I just said screw it & shook my head in agreement. He took up 20 minutes of my time & didn't want to hear anything I had to say (don't you love selective listening?) I had a line of customers that needed help anyway.

Can anyone confirm or deny that chlorine causes algae? I always thought that the pucks & shock were used to help keep the pool clean & clear.

 

[Everyones Hero]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15554659#post15554659 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishsince3
At work one day get a call

Lady (crying): My fish died and I had a question about it...
Me: what kind of fish was it
Lady (lightly sobbing): I had a kissing gourami.
Me: ok shoot
Lady (balling eyes out): Is it safe to eat my fish so I can stay with it for good?
Me (dumbfounded as my training didnt cover this lol): i dont see why not mam
Lady (light sob again): really? how should i cook it
me (mouth open on phone): mam idk i'm in culinary school but just put it in a frying pan
Lady (now ****ed off): fine i'm never coming in again! *click*

I literally dropped the phone didnt put it on the hook and walked away

I love those phone calls. "My fish is lethargic. What should I do?"

Sounds like he's tired, let him take a nap. :hammer:

If you're going to call & ask a blanket question either have some supporting information or be prepared to watch your lethargic fish continue to be lethargic.

 

[Servillius]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10177347#post10177347 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LobsterOfJustice
For all you non-LFS employees: I know you think LFS employees are bad. I'm sure most of them are. But trust me. There are WAY more idiot customers than idiot employees. Obviously none of the people on these forums are idiot customers, or idiot employees. But next time your in the LFS, hang around close to some other customers, just mosy around for 30 minutes or so, you will be astounded!

Perhaps, but the customers aren't being paid for their part in the transaction

My best guess is there are almost exactly the same percentage of stupid people, stupid customers, and stupid LFS emplyees.

 

[tkimmons85]

I have been laughing non stop keep em coming !

 

[luther1200]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15556126#post15556126 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Everyones Hero


Can anyone confirm or deny that chlorine causes algae? I always thought that the pucks & shock were used to help keep the pool clean & clear.

I know that its used in pools to kill algae, and in municipal water to kill and control algae. I never heard of it causing algae, I think the guy had it mixed up.

 

[Everyones Hero]

Thanks. That's what I thought.

I had a couple customers that made me look like a tool in the reptile section today.

There was a guy that needed some information on Iguanas. I really don't know anything about them, but being in aquatics you have to take care of reptiles too.

There was also a lady there with her boyfriend/husband that wanted some info on Leopard Geckos.

Well, it turns out that the lady's boyfriend had kept iguanas for years & knew a lot about them. So I was listening to the guy ask questions & the other guy answer them for him. They went off to look for a light & I went to help the lady.

Well- there was another lady that had come by to get food for, you guessed it, her Leopard Gecko. So the 2nd lady is answering the 1st lady's questions about Leopard Geckos.

After everything was done I told the BF that most of what I knew was more SW related & if you work in aquatics you pretty much have to deal with the reptiles too. The three of us ended up talking about our SW setups for about 30 minutes.

They actually asked me if I wanted their wrasse since they don't want it. I'm going to do some research first & if I see them again I'll see if the offer still stands.

 

[widmer]

I don't see how you looked like a tool?

Self confidence: pass it on :beer: :lolspin:

 

[Everyones Hero]

Lol. Thanks.

Maybe not so much like a tool but I was like "Damn, these people know a lot."

I took it as an opportunity to learn some really useful information, especially since the training was pretty much "Well, here are the fish. You have a salt water tank so I assume you know what you're doing."

Oy!

 

[JJ21]

never going past page 4

 

[Servillius]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15556126#post15556126 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Everyones Hero
Had a guy come in & tell me that he has an algae problem. Said he's been fighting it for months. I asked about lights- they're new. In front of a window? One is, the other's in the basement.

Go through this process & the guy is constantly interrupting me. I finally say that all I can think of would be to test his source water. He said he took it to Waste Management & the only thing in the water that would cause algae is chlorine. I said "Chlorine is used to kill everything." "I know. I work for Waste Management, I know what it's for & it causes algae."

At that point I just said screw it & shook my head in agreement. He took up 20 minutes of my time & didn't want to hear anything I had to say (don't you love selective listening?) I had a line of customers that needed help anyway.

Can anyone confirm or deny that chlorine causes algae? I always thought that the pucks & shock were used to help keep the pool clean & clear.

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert here, but it pays to remember the difference between waste water treatment (or effluent treatment, where I have a bit of experience) and maintaining a fish tank. Chlorine does not "cause" algae and in our tanks and the addition of chlorine will likely just do nothing until there is too much, then kill our stuff... getting to the "too much" point requires very little in most fish tanks. In a waste water treatment plant though, if you take the insanely filthy water they are dealing with, the oxygen level in that water is very low, potentially low enough to inhibit or prevent algae. The addition of a chlorinator, such as hypochlorite can increase the disolved oxygen content of the water enough to allow the algae to grow. Under these circumstances, the addition of "chlorine" is in fact causing algae. That's my best guess.

 

[JohnL]

This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1692836