ATTN: LFS employees
- Thread starter littlefish72
- Start date
- Status
jefnalyssa
New member
good stuff plyr58
landragon
Premium Member
I used to work at a store. I came in when it was being reopened after 6 months or so of being closed. The prior owner had an interesting reputation to say the least. One thing I am sure of was his propensity for placing over-sized fillostobus in the lake out back of the store when customers would bring in these monsters in a bucket as a "gift". You could often see a 14" ple-cows-r-us grazing the bank of the lake.
So anywho, one fine Sunday a call is placed and a man inquires about our ability to house a large pillowsamus and if we'd give him some young tanganyikan cichlids as trade. Bring it in and we'll talk was our mantra. Less than three minutes later this guy rolls up on a bike with a five gallon bucket balanced on the handlebars. Indeed he has a rather large plecosaurus and it seems quite healthy. We agree on two juveniles as trade, and off he goes.
Fast-forward three weeks. I am relayed a story about a guy who came in with two large plagoremonsters and traded for a few young tanganyikans. "Hmmm?" I think. Being a card carrying member of Reef Central police according to some in my local forum, I put my deduction skills to work. We knew the lake was a breeding ground for stray plecarsaremouses, and we knew this guy seemed to arrive with them quickly. I had a theory.
A few Sundays later, and the call is made. I rush to the back door in time to see this guy actually cast netting the plecosores to bring to us from the same spot I had spent many ciggarette breaks watching those beauties at. Needless to say, he left unhappy that day.
Funny thing was, he could pronounce tanganyikan like a local. But it seemed noone could say plecostomus, including the ten speed bandit. And me when I started this hobby. I think I may have said "an-eneny" for a while to. Mea culpa.
So anywho, one fine Sunday a call is placed and a man inquires about our ability to house a large pillowsamus and if we'd give him some young tanganyikan cichlids as trade. Bring it in and we'll talk was our mantra. Less than three minutes later this guy rolls up on a bike with a five gallon bucket balanced on the handlebars. Indeed he has a rather large plecosaurus and it seems quite healthy. We agree on two juveniles as trade, and off he goes.
Fast-forward three weeks. I am relayed a story about a guy who came in with two large plagoremonsters and traded for a few young tanganyikans. "Hmmm?" I think. Being a card carrying member of Reef Central police according to some in my local forum, I put my deduction skills to work. We knew the lake was a breeding ground for stray plecarsaremouses, and we knew this guy seemed to arrive with them quickly. I had a theory.
A few Sundays later, and the call is made. I rush to the back door in time to see this guy actually cast netting the plecosores to bring to us from the same spot I had spent many ciggarette breaks watching those beauties at. Needless to say, he left unhappy that day.
Funny thing was, he could pronounce tanganyikan like a local. But it seemed noone could say plecostomus, including the ten speed bandit. And me when I started this hobby. I think I may have said "an-eneny" for a while to. Mea culpa.
landragon
Premium Member
Awesome story about that puffer, but indeed sad. WTPh was he doing a water change when he wasn't "straight" for? Wow. Reminds me of a time a couple of yutes came in one day to inguire about if they were to exhale their blunt smoke into their cichlid tank through air stones, would it mellow them out because they are "all like aggressive and stuff". I quicly informed them on my assumed negatives about the practice, as I dont think TFM or Advanced Aquarist has done that study.
customanimalart
Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11122213#post11122213 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
<i>"But I'm in a pet store - can't I pet it?"</i>
That being said and while I agree with you completely, if I had the opportunity and knew I'd live to relate the story with others, I'd love to hug a Bengal tiger one day.
Me Too! Me Too! It is amazing that such a large and powerful animal can look so cute and cuddly. Makes you forget that you could lose and arm.
I would love to do the same. We have a guy here who raises them and his oldest guy is "chuffer". He drives around and sets up his tiger on display for people to come see him. Although, I haven't seen them in a long while. The owner has a private park where you can pay to spend an hour with him (chuffer, not the guy LOL) and get photos taken and such. I still haven't done that yet. At 100.00 per person, I wonder why.
Sorry to change the subject. Back to the thread now.
kathainbowen
New member
:lol:
We had just recieved a monster sized pleco one day from an owner who was tired of it. When I say monster, I mean monster. This bad boy was 14" long! It barely fit in the bucket that my manager was acclimating it in, and it was so big that my manager had to daringly pick up in the fish with his hands to place it in the tank after acclimation (let it never be said my manager wasn't a far braver person than I).
This little boy walked up later that day and kept calling it a "plecosaurus."
*blush*
It was too precious, and, now, I can't help but call large plecos "plecosaurus." Ginormous plecos are "plecosaurus rex."
me = shamed!
weekend bump
mr pink floyd
New member
hows this... first day at work, first "can this live in a fishbowl?" question
second day at work, this guy is in the freshwater isle(i know nothing about freshwater, but i figured it see if i could help)
so i ask, can i help you? he goes, "can these fish live in a freshwater tank?" i say yes, these whole two rows are freshwater.
*Mind you, these are giant rows of tanks all connected, and larger tanks divided into sections.*
so he points to a tank in front of him,"this is freshwater?"..."yea"
points to the tank next to it "this one too?"...."uh... yea"
"so all of these are freshwater then?"
..... "yea... i said that..."
...oh....
then he walked away
this job is fairly entertaining. I love when people come in and actually are willing to take in what you tell them. Like yesterday this guy came in for food for his mandarin, saying he couldnt get it to eat frozen and blah blah blah, so we talked for a while, i gave him a few options for different frozen foods to try, he took it all in, asked some more questions, took in all the answers and wanted to make his tank work the way it should, not they way HE wanted it to. I even told him to check out RC and the local reef club... CTARS
it feels good to help people who want it
second day at work, this guy is in the freshwater isle(i know nothing about freshwater, but i figured it see if i could help)
so i ask, can i help you? he goes, "can these fish live in a freshwater tank?" i say yes, these whole two rows are freshwater.
*Mind you, these are giant rows of tanks all connected, and larger tanks divided into sections.*
so he points to a tank in front of him,"this is freshwater?"..."yea"
points to the tank next to it "this one too?"...."uh... yea"
"so all of these are freshwater then?"
..... "yea... i said that..."
...oh....
then he walked away
this job is fairly entertaining. I love when people come in and actually are willing to take in what you tell them. Like yesterday this guy came in for food for his mandarin, saying he couldnt get it to eat frozen and blah blah blah, so we talked for a while, i gave him a few options for different frozen foods to try, he took it all in, asked some more questions, took in all the answers and wanted to make his tank work the way it should, not they way HE wanted it to. I even told him to check out RC and the local reef club... CTARS
it feels good to help people who want it
thats one customer whos brain wasn't functioning
fishworm
New member
I worked for 3 years heading up the fish departments for a local chain of pet stores. I would always get the people wanting to start their first saltwater tank in something like a 10 gallon tank. luckily, I could talk most of them out of the idea, or better yet, talk them into buying a larger tank.
but fo a different story. we had a guy that came in to the store all the time. he was kinda fdown on his luck, living in some kind of boarding house. but he was a really nice guy. he had an aquarium set up and came in one day and bought some scats. I made sure to tell him they were brackish water fish. he bought them anyway and some salt. a few weeks later he came back in when I wasnt there and saw some nice small discus we had just received. he decided to buy two of them and the person selling them asked no questions. he put them in the same tank with the scats.
they didnt last long. the guy also had a big black emperor scorpion that he carried around with him all the time. it would freak everyone out. I wonder whatever happened to that guy...
and another time was completely my mistake. a guy came in with a large new aquarium and wanted to buy a bunch of our large african cichlids. the were all big mbuna selling for 20 bucks a pop. he ended up buying quite a few of them. I was glad to get the big sale. about a week or two later he came back and wanted to buy these big, expensive freshwater angelfish we had. me, being blnded by making another big sale, didnt stop to ask if they were going in the same aquarium. he came back a few days later with dead angelfish.
I felt really bad and gave him a refund.
and on a non-fish related note. we would end up with big burmese pythons all the time. they would get too big for the owners and they would give them to us, or someone would find them abandoned. we got a nice big pair in one time that someone found in a vacant apartment. an 8 foot and a 9 foot albino. I would tanke the albino and put it over my shoulders and walk around the store. had to laugh my butt off every time I walked out of the fish/reptile room, half the customers would move as quickly as possible to the other side of the store...away from me.
I am so glad that I was gone from the aquarium industry before finding nemo came out. that must have been hell.
but fo a different story. we had a guy that came in to the store all the time. he was kinda fdown on his luck, living in some kind of boarding house. but he was a really nice guy. he had an aquarium set up and came in one day and bought some scats. I made sure to tell him they were brackish water fish. he bought them anyway and some salt. a few weeks later he came back in when I wasnt there and saw some nice small discus we had just received. he decided to buy two of them and the person selling them asked no questions. he put them in the same tank with the scats.
they didnt last long. the guy also had a big black emperor scorpion that he carried around with him all the time. it would freak everyone out. I wonder whatever happened to that guy...
and another time was completely my mistake. a guy came in with a large new aquarium and wanted to buy a bunch of our large african cichlids. the were all big mbuna selling for 20 bucks a pop. he ended up buying quite a few of them. I was glad to get the big sale. about a week or two later he came back and wanted to buy these big, expensive freshwater angelfish we had. me, being blnded by making another big sale, didnt stop to ask if they were going in the same aquarium. he came back a few days later with dead angelfish.
I felt really bad and gave him a refund.
and on a non-fish related note. we would end up with big burmese pythons all the time. they would get too big for the owners and they would give them to us, or someone would find them abandoned. we got a nice big pair in one time that someone found in a vacant apartment. an 8 foot and a 9 foot albino. I would tanke the albino and put it over my shoulders and walk around the store. had to laugh my butt off every time I walked out of the fish/reptile room, half the customers would move as quickly as possible to the other side of the store...away from me.
I am so glad that I was gone from the aquarium industry before finding nemo came out. that must have been hell.
kathainbowen
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11156209#post11156209 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishworm
and on a non-fish related note. we would end up with big burmese pythons all the time. they would get too big for the owners and they would give them to us, or someone would find them abandoned. we got a nice big pair in one time that someone found in a vacant apartment. an 8 foot and a 9 foot albino. I would tanke the albino and put it over my shoulders and walk around the store. had to laugh my butt off every time I walked out of the fish/reptile room, half the customers would move as quickly as possible to the other side of the store...away from me.
My then-boyfriend, now-evil-enemy, used to love bringing my 3" ball python to work to visit. And Harlequin loved hats, particularly bowler hats. He would climb up, circle around the brim, and just chill up there, slowly trucking his way around. People would be chatting with us, realize Harley was real, and suddenly jump away, so I can only imagine the reactions you got with 8-9" burms!
littlefish72
Member
A 6-8 foot snake will certainly clear people out of you way.......on occasion when we have one that big in I like to walk around with it on a busy Saturday or Sunday
The stories are great everyone, keep them comming
The stories are great everyone, keep them comming
mr pink floyd
New member
all i have to say is WOW to todays event.
Kid comes in, says his fish died nad wants a refund. I'm mopping a spill, say im busy and direct him to the back counter where other employees. He says my beta fish died 3 days ago i want another. he is told that we need a water sample and to see the fish. He says he doesnt have a sample, and his fish jumped out of the bowl. He said this and the store OWNER, standing near by laughs and walks away, so he starts swearing and cussing and yelling at employees, when his girlfriend eventually goes "how would you feel if your puppy jumped out the window?" so an employee goes"well i wouldnt be stupid enough to bring it back to where i bought it from demanding a refund!" a few more words are exchanged and everyone kinda stormed off. 5 minute later we find out the kid took a betta fish that was in a bag on a box on the floor ready for acclimation, put an X on it walked to the counter and says its a refund, and walked out of the store, as the cashier had no idea what went down.
the kid couldnt have been more than 17 years old too haha, it was awesome, the owners even laughed about it when the kid complained about rude behavior haha
Kid comes in, says his fish died nad wants a refund. I'm mopping a spill, say im busy and direct him to the back counter where other employees. He says my beta fish died 3 days ago i want another. he is told that we need a water sample and to see the fish. He says he doesnt have a sample, and his fish jumped out of the bowl. He said this and the store OWNER, standing near by laughs and walks away, so he starts swearing and cussing and yelling at employees, when his girlfriend eventually goes "how would you feel if your puppy jumped out the window?" so an employee goes"well i wouldnt be stupid enough to bring it back to where i bought it from demanding a refund!" a few more words are exchanged and everyone kinda stormed off. 5 minute later we find out the kid took a betta fish that was in a bag on a box on the floor ready for acclimation, put an X on it walked to the counter and says its a refund, and walked out of the store, as the cashier had no idea what went down.
the kid couldnt have been more than 17 years old too haha, it was awesome, the owners even laughed about it when the kid complained about rude behavior haha
littlefish72
Member
I over hear a fellow employee talking to a customer and her 13 y/o daughter..........they are talking about gravel cleaners and the only reason i know this is because they are by the Python display (Python is a company that makes siphon gravel vacuums)..........now for those who don't know you can buy a gravel vacuum that you start yourself and empty into a bucket for about 10 bucks or buy the one you hook up to your sink for about 60 bucks........now just as I stepped into ear shot of the conversation I heard the woman say "That's o.k. I'll just suck on it."...........now what i wanted to do is erupt into laughter and say "Boy, you don't hear that everyday!!!" but her daughter was with her and I didn't want to be smacked.......I can only assume that he tried to sell her the one you hook up to the sink and she thought that was too much money thus opted for the one you can manually start by sucking on one end
yellowwatchmen
In Memoriam
Did you meen feet. Instead of inches.<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11159130#post11159130 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kathainbowen
My then-boyfriend, now-evil-enemy, used to love bringing my 3" ball python to work to visit. And Harlequin loved hats, particularly bowler hats. He would climb up, circle around the brim, and just chill up there, slowly trucking his way around. People would be chatting with us, realize Harley was real, and suddenly jump away, so I can only imagine the reactions you got with 8-9" burms!
daniel505480
New member
Priceless
- Status
Similar threads
