ATTN: LFS employees

[LobsterOfJustice]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13193508#post13193508 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by abulgin
Just a question for all you LFS employees. Do your shops have computers connected to the internet or similar reference materials that hobbyists/customers/employees can use to research potential purchases? I think this would be a fantastic idea.

Yes, books, almost all shops have them. I'm convinced half my customer's can't read though (how much is this fish? point to tag. How much is this one? Point to another tag. What kind of fish is this? Point to another tag. How big does it get? Point to area on tag that says "Max Size: 6".).

It's really more of an issue that the common person isnt in this for a hobby. I explain the nitrogen cycle to every dang person I sell a tank to, and probably 1/3 of them still leave the store with 5 fish that day (I'm talking about small freshwater, but still). They'll say something like "oh, well I HAVE to get fish today, I told each of my kids they'd have a fish, if they die I can just get more." The most I can do is write NO GUARANTEE on the bag, but when it's a cheap little FW fish, that doesnt even matter...

 

[barnett8]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13157131#post13157131 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SteveJakubiec
Well, I'm 14 years old

Always a great thing to find another young reefkeeper. I'm 15, and while I've never had an experience quite that bad, but I can't believe how underestimated we are. Especially since I know substantially more than most of the adults working in the LFS's I've been to...

 

[abulgin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13194060#post13194060 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LobsterOfJustice
Yes, books, almost all shops have them. I'm convinced half my customer's can't read though (how much is this fish? point to tag. How much is this one? Point to another tag. What kind of fish is this? Point to another tag. How big does it get? Point to area on tag that says "Max Size: 6".).

It's really more of an issue that the common person isnt in this for a hobby. I explain the nitrogen cycle to every dang person I sell a tank to, and probably 1/3 of them still leave the store with 5 fish that day (I'm talking about small freshwater, but still). They'll say something like "oh, well I HAVE to get fish today, I told each of my kids they'd have a fish, if they die I can just get more." The most I can do is write NO GUARANTEE on the bag, but when it's a cheap little FW fish, that doesnt even matter...

The duty is yours to make sure they don't walk out of your store with 5 fish. If you lose a sale, so be it, but you're not doing anyone a favor by selling them a fish when you know they're not ready for it. It's that simple.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

I do what I can, but I'm not a manager.

 

[abulgin]

I hear you.

 

[JJ21]

This thread should be made a sticky.


Well, a week or two ago, a lady came into the store. She wanted to buy some saltwater fish. I was busy helping another customer so another employee that doesn't usually work in saltwater helped her. After I'm done with my customer, I look around and see that the lady left. I ask my fellow employee how it went and he said she bought a moorish idol and a lionfish.

*facepalm facepalm*

At this point, I realized that this possibly could not end well, realizing the abysmal survival rate of moorish idols in captivity.

Few days later she comes back in to get her water tested, saying that her fish died. We test the water and it is TERRIBLE. Ammonia and nitrites are through the roof, as well as having a very low pH. Another employee asked her how long the tank has been set up, "a week" she responded.



I had to just walk away.

 

[D to the P]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13193508#post13193508 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by abulgin
Just a question for all you LFS employees. Do your shops have computers connected to the internet or similar reference materials that hobbyists/customers/employees can use to research potential purchases? I think this would be a fantastic idea.

I see where your coming from. It would be a great thing for the customer. But the reality is that there would probably many many people that just try to find that exact product online for cheaper and then tell you that you should meet that price. I'm sure people with iphones and the like will start doing stuff like this more often.

Where I work we do have books and papers that we recommend for the customers. The papers are free and usually just tell them about the nitrogen cycle or something like that.
I know myself, if it's a saltwater tank, I always try to make them purchase The Conscientious Marine Aquarist, and I write RC's address on a piece of paper so that they can go on and do even more research.

 

[phish guy]

ditto, i tell them about whatever they are thinking of purchasing and point them to books. if someone is serious about starting a tank and not just asking questions about a tank they will never set up, i tell them about RC and give them my name on here.

 

[A.T.T.R]

eah they go to rc

they see ppl buying stuff online and they never go back ro just go back for livestock


hate to tell ya.. most stores cant surrive on livestock sales alone

 

[mdrc]

ya they could, or we could, but thats another thread. are there anymore stories out there?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13209342#post13209342 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by A.T.T.R
eah they go to rc

they see ppl buying stuff online and they never go back ro just go back for livestock


hate to tell ya.. most stores cant surrive on livestock sales alone

 

[D to the P]

Nobody really has money to spend anymore
So nobody is spending in LFS as much anymore
So I know at least with me, I've dealt with less customers. Anymore it's just the usual customers looking for maintenance items (ie filter cartridges and food).
Hopefully the economy picks up so I can deal with more customers that make me laugh...I guess haha.

 

[phish guy]

i try to go to LFS, but yeah, ive been getting most my corals off of other hobbyist. asides from the usual, i.e. salt and test kits, unless i see somthing for a sweet deal i dont buy from stores. though i did just buy a mate for my clown from a LFS, wish me luck.

 

[just dave]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13195039#post13195039 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by abulgin
The duty is yours to make sure they don't walk out of your store with 5 fish. If you lose a sale, so be it, but you're not doing anyone a favor by selling them a fish when you know they're not ready for it. It's that simple.

I will have to respectfully disagree. His duty would be to follow the policies set forth by those that pay his salary. That aside his "duty" would be to make sure they know why it is not a good idea to get the fish. While preventing the sale may earn the customers respect it will more 'n likely cause the customer to become angry, leave, and go purchase them someplace else. At that time a moral victory may be claimed but a sale was lost and possibly a customer and fish still would have been purchased (some place else.) Fish still may have died as a result ( non-endangered, legally acquired fish.) The customer may have complained to management about it and he may have gotten in trouble and placed his job in jeopardy because of it. I understand your point but I don't think that approach should be taken unless the customer in question was his kid or store policy allowed it.
On the flip side. He does as he posted and the worst thing comes to pass and the fish die. The customer will remember that they were warned and one of two events may happen. The customer returns and seeks a better understanding of how to prevent it from happening again or they treat the fish like cut flowers and replace them when necessary. Let's face it. If the customer really cared they wouldn't have left with the fish after the warning.

 

[phish guy]

very true, very true. i have warned many, but they come back when someone else is working, or have gone to a different store and gotten what they wanted.

there was guy i was helping set up his tank, a 54 corner like mine, and he loved predators. I.E. green birtd wrasse, clown trigger, eels, puffers; to many for a 54G. i refused to sell him fish. but everytime i went over, he had a new fish. ya'll can guess what happened, the tank crashed. everything died. and yes after the warning and failure, he did it again, overstocked the tank.

so either way, people will get what they want.

 

[phish guy]

i forgot to include this guys livestock list, check it:

clown trigger
stars n strips puffer
flame angel
coral beauty
koran angel
snowflake eel
green bird wrasse
2 clowns
volitain lion
an angel i cant remember, i think majestic
flame hawkfish
a few blue/ yellow tail damsels
saddled toby ( hawaiian)
and at least 2 more

wow, over stocked much. but no one asked at any of the LFS he went to, IN A 54 GALLON TANK!!!!

 

[Everyones Hero]

The reason I got back into aquariums, let alone start a SW was because of a co-worker.

But I have to say that if there's anyone I know that has managed to half-*** anything it's her & her boyfriend's 55g.

This tank has maybe 10-15lbs of LR & an old school HOB filter.

She kept telling me about a fish that they had just bought. Then a few days or weeks later she'd tell me how it died. One of them was a Blue Tang.

I started reading & doing my research & she'd tell me about whatever fish they had just gotten.

She told me they picked up a Yellow Tang & I said "Isn't your 55 too small?"

"Nah, the fish isn't that big. It's awesome. It swims from side to side all the time."

Then she picked up another clown. I was witness to her & her boyfriend arguing over which one was the male. "Norm is the male because he's bigger." "No, Nemo is the male. The females are the bigger ones." "Well, they're asexual."

I had to stop them. "From what I've read the males are the smaller ones. And doesn't asexual mean that it can reproduce on it's own?"

Then I find out they went & picked up a 3rd clown, I think it was a maroon one. I just gave up.

"You still want to sell me that skimmer?"

"I can, but it's a SeaClone. They're pretty much considered to be POSs."

"Oh well. It's better than nothing."

 

[phish guy]

Seaclone = "poop". with some MOD's it worked OK for me, but then i built my DIY filter. as long as it's just fish, a MODDED Seaclone could work.

But wow, "asexual can reproduce on it's own", didn't they pass high school science.

 

[Reefing102]

I have one (i wasn't there for most of it but was told afterward, I have also inserted my point of view)

So I sold some of my extra rock to a coworkers sister of mine. She was just setting up the tank, and I gave her a good price. A few weeks later she comes in (I'm not there at the time, and she has a few small fish (mollies) in there already), and tells the fish manager that she has these worm like things with spikes on them.

Ok bristleworms.

My point of view - they're not all that bad, just don't touch them.
I'm not there to say this so she asked the fish manager what to do.

The fish manager then tells her not to touch them. (ok) She then procedes to tell that if you can't take them out with tweezers, then she's going to have to soak all the rock in freshwater (incase there is more) for about a week or so. (at this point I just give up on trying to the fish manager explain that they aren't as bad as she thinks and I just walk away. From that point foward, I tell anyone who I help to set up a tank to try and deal with me only (if possible) for saltwater help or to come online here. So that they don't have to basically restart their tank just because of a bristleworm.

 

[D to the P]

Nothing too exciting today.

Customer: Where are the filters?
Me: You're standing amongst them... these are all filters.

Customer: What can I do about my green water?
Me: Blah Blah Blah, how long to you keep your lights on?
Customer: We don't ever turn them off.

Like I said, nothing too wild. Just the usual.

 

[mahalamata]

hmm this has been a very entertaining read!some stories have had me in stitches!
I don't work at an LFS but I do work with the public (being a waiter and all) and I must say that I have seen and witnessed most if not all the symptoms of the general public,your average Joe if you like.."my pizza only has 28 slices of pepperoni,its discrasefull!(you actually sat there and counted them??????)","I have been waiting for OOOVVVVER and hour for my food!,actually madam its been 15 mins","The service is appauling and you should be ashamed!(you try serving 20 screaming kids on a 3k shift after a 50 hour week.....there are limits...).

Anyway I do frequent my two local stores a lot and hear loads of things...One is run by an old dude that still lives in the era of undergravel filters(for marine..)no need for skimmers and this will grow fine in tap water 'cos "it did so when I where a lad"(45 years ago..),"would you believe that I used to use water from the beach for my Sw tanks?"(yes before the navy and the commercial port where here,now you'd need shovel to move the water,if you don't get eaten by some new and interesting life form i.e. mutant sea guls)and the other that sells almost anything to anyone(even got me to spend over 100 bucks on a de-nitrifing filter when I was starting and didn't know my #$s from my elbow)

bottom line is I guess that having worked with the average person on the street (see above) I feel for all the employees out there.But consider this.
Once you have had your drink (for me its Mount Gay rum) and calmed down try and see the customers point of view.Whether they know about what they want or not it your job,if not your responsibility, to cater for them.Now comments like "well this IS the saltwater section"etc etc are not very constructive when your average person with no or little experience wears blinkers the size of my car and only notices anything the sparkles.Though it does make for entertaining reading!

Now there are always exceptions and this thread has done a marvelous job of bringing a lot of them to the fore,but as someone pointed out earlier think how many potential hobbyists could be discouraged. The more reefers about, the bigger and better this hobby becomes!

Just my 2 pence there...

BTW can anyone tell i've just finished my dissertation? (i.e. space filling)
lol