Country Critters- worst pet store on LI

W

wegotcrabs

New member
I hate to do this, but i think all my fellow reefers should be aware of how poor country critters has become. I have been to almost every fish store on long island. Country Critters is by far the worst. I have walked out five times in utter frustration. I went there over the weekend to give it one last try and to my surprise the same thing happened again. Lets start this story off with the staff, can you say *******s? These guys are not helpful and very rude. I’m not even sure that they want to sell anything. When I asked for a price on a coral, b/c there are no prices listed- this douche bag gave me such an attitude. Instead of dunking his head in the eel tank, I asked to speak to the owner. This guy was worst then the people he had working for him. Talk about Napoleon complex. lol. I my own business so I wanted to give him the heads up on his staff. I think its important as a business owner to be on top of customer service. So I began to explain to him that his staff sucks. He didnt care and instead he sat there with a little smirk on his face. I had to refrain from reaching over the counter and choking him. This pet store has so much potential but I will never go back. My business is customer service based, as are most. This guy has missed the big picture. All in all a bad experience. Bad attitudes and over priced, in my book country critters gets a negative 10.
 
It is very sad to see CC in that state. I went there for years; it used to be the only game in town when it was in its former location further north on rte 112.

Steve, the owner, really is/was(haven't been there in a while) a nice guy.

They always have such beautiful stock; unfortunately they haven't adjusted their prices to reflect the fact that CC is one of many avenues that hobbyists have to get livestock.

I also believe that the elitist attitude may be an unfortunate carry-over from former days.

Hopefully they will get the message; as you said CC does have great potential.
 
I agree with all of the above.....however, they often have fittings available in the store and they certainly have a wide selection of livestock. Still, I would prefer to go to Aqua Hut.
 
I also agree, their customer service and attitudes are terrible. They act like they are doing you a favor by letting you buy from them. Unfortunately, the problem is from the top down, so complaining to them about it doesn't seem to help. It's a shame, because they do have some nice stuff and they are very close to my house. However, I would go out of my way to go someplace else just not to have to deal with their attitudes. Buying something new for your tank is something that I for one get excited about, but instead of being excited I wind up walking out of there ****ed off due to their nasty attitudes.
 
I bring my son there for the eye candy, and usually buy some food or somthing cheap there to say thanks.

Otherwise, I've never found their fish to be in good shape, and we know about the prices.....

Here's a funny one - I need rowalith for my calrx. They only sell it by the pound (like a dime-bag?), and its like $8 a pound - so the tub came to $200+, I got it online for $65 delivered.
 
Unfortuantely, I think that they survive on taking money from the uninformed population that believes that they are a quality store simply based on the size of the operation as well as teh pretty displays.
 
I have been in this hobby over 30 years. CC has always had a arrogant nasty attitude with customers. They have always been the most expensive also.
One time I was there and a customer asked them about a getting low light corals for his saltwater tank. he told them he had N.O.flourescents. They said to him," come back when you have real lighting and walked away".
I gave the guy directions to aqua hut.
 
The reason CC is able to stay in business isn't due to crappy advice, attitudes or lousy fish. It's their maintenance.

They have some huge accounts that will pay top dollar for their service.
Plus, they make a lot of money selling dog food.

So, all in all, they act like they don't need our business because they don't. It's a shame really.

Aqua hut blows them out of the water when it comes to price.
Pets Warehouse beats them with price and service.
Fishy beats them with Service and selection.
 
Last edited:
Are there two stores called Country Critters?
My experience has been different.
Many of the prices ARE high (like half the other stores) and the lack of prices is annoying (like half the other stores) but I've found the staff to be no less friendly and helpfull than most other places.
They often have unusual specimens and I have had good luck with what I have bought there.
As for knowledge of the employees, anyone who takes advice from LFS employees as gospel was not only born yesterday, but spent the whole day in bed.

Clearly many others have had bad rotten treatment there, but untill I experience it myself they are still on my list. I hope they get their act together.
 
I also have been going there since they were the only game around on north 112. Seems to me there attitude change shortly after the time that they moved. I have also had employees be very abrupt with me and sometimes downright condesending. Ironic that the person I was talking to and giving me that ,you don't know what your doing look,might have been younger than my reef tank at the time. Aquahut may not have the flashy tanks that CC has but their attitude , customer service and prices makes it worth the extra time it takes me to get there.
I go to CC to look and AH to buy.
 
I've still never been to CC, might be the only one in driving distance i haven't been to. I think i might stop in just to see how bad it really is.
 
A good friend of mine used to work there. They make the majority of their money from the wealthy people on the east end that dont know any better and just bring their little annoying kids in and dump boatloads of money on crap that they either dont need or that wont survive in their tank, only to turn around, come back the next weekend and do it all over again. My friend actually got yelled at on more than one occasion by Steve for telling customers that they didnt need something. Steve would have rather just made the money than treat a customer right and have that customer for life.

I agree with everyone else. CC is good to go and look, then go to AquaHut to buy.
 
Are some days better than others to go to Aqua Hut? I went there about a month ago and was disappointed with the coral selection. There just didn't seem to be a lot there and what they had was not very good looking. I am pretty sure it was a Saturday if that matters. I also didn't like the lack of prices on things, kind of annoying to walk around looking at stuff and have no idea what it costs.
 
Honestly, Fishy seems to be the only one that has focused on corals. They're also one of the only LFS's that I've seen bring in Mystery wrasses.

CC will bring in a decent coral here and there, but it's rare if they have anything nice for sale. Well, it's been a long time since they have. Then there is the price...

AH doesn't usually have too many nice corals and the same goes for Pets Warehouse. They both have about the same selection when it comes to corals, but both usually have a good fish selection.
 
I was there once and won't return... Not a terrible experience but not great. I asked for purple epoxy the kid bragged that they were the only ones that carried it; then they ended up being out of stock...

For Corals I like mutt's and Butt's it's close and they have a decent frag tank with a few really nice surprises every so often. They even started a small frag tank under $15 with buttons, shrooms and other small frags.
 
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