Do you interfere?

[CHSUB]

As an animal advocate my entire life, I will always speak my mind for the benefit of an animal's health and well being over someone's selfish pursuits. I try to be as respectful as I can, but it isn't as if the animal in question has any say or control over its life.

There is nothing sadder than being politically correct and allowing animals to suffer without even saying a word. Just because some people refuse to take advice, doesn't mean we should stop trying to make a difference in this world.

true, but what makes you the judge and the jury??? some will say keeping any ocean life in a 40 gallon is cruel; are they wrong and your right? what if you were at the LFS buying a fish and someone said you should leave that fish in the ocean?

 

[AUFishGuy]

While i get the point you are trying to make and the angle you are looking at it from there is no reason to be a tool about it, thats my opinion and i am just expressing it

 

[KingTriton1]

To be honest, if you can't handle people that have an opinion in a fish store than you probably shouldn't be owning one. To sit there and act like everyone is just going to come into your store and agree with what you have to say is silly. I personally like a good debate because there are many times I actually end up learning something. The more knowledgable you are about the product you are selling the less likely you'll run into this situation. So if you really don't want to encounter this situation then I suggest you work harder on educating yourself on the job in which you are preforming.

 

[davocean]

I don't think I would shop most anywhere for anything if I were not allowed to ask questions or express my opinion, no soup nazi stores for me..."No fish for you, NEXT!

 

[heathlindner25]

questions ,debates, and opinions ,are all welcome where I used to work and at most fish stores I visited..that's not how the Op came across , it came across more like him telling other people what they shouldn't do.

 

[KingTriton1]

Opinion is very subjective , all I'm saying is if I was selling a Mandarin to a customer with a anemone and some nobody walked uptelling me I'm doing the wrong thing.....well let's just say you be leaving the store.

Good luck with having customers and owning a business. That isn't just directed to a LFS, but just about any business.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

true, but what makes you the judge and the jury??? some will say keeping any ocean life in a 40 gallon is cruel; are they wrong and your right? what if you were at the LFS buying a fish and someone said you should leave that fish in the ocean?

While there is a lot of subjectivity in this hobby, some things are just a given. You feel no obligation to say anything if someone were to want to buy a Yellow Tang for their 10 gallon tank and the LFS was all to eager to do so? Really?

I'm not saying I am the judge and jury. I'm saying if I have some knowledge on the subject and I witness something that has the potential to harm a living creature, I'm going to say something. I can't force anyone to follow my advice, but I'm not going to just stand idly by and not do anything.

We live in a world where too many people do nothing. What does that accomplish? Does that foster understanding?

As I said, I'm respectful and I state my case in as friendly a manner as possible. I'm only trying to help...the creature, the buyer and the LFS. I can't control whether anyone will accept that help. Typically I engage people by starting a conversation, not by being accusatory.

I used to manage two LFS's. I cared more about the living creatures that were being sold than I did people's self interest (including my own and the store's). I was always open to people trying to help. It fosters good relations as well as responsible animal husbandry.

 

[CHSUB]

While i get the point you are trying to make and the angle you are looking at it from there is no reason to be a tool about it, thats my opinion and i am just expressing it

not sure if you're addressing me or not, but all my posts come with a smilely face and are just friendly opinion:spin1:

 

[CStrickland]

not sure if you're addressing me or not, but all my posts come with a smilely face and are just friendly opinion:spin1:

I think it might be the exclamation marks? When things get a little passionate it's easy to read them as yelling!!! But it's just cause you are excited. Like WHEN PEOPLE USE CAPSLOCK!!!

Lol@ the fish nazi. That's one of the reasons I couldn't run a store, I'd be doing home visits before I let anybody buy anything like they do when you get a dog hehehe

 

[Dkuhlmann]

$199 for a hippo tang???? What is this magical land you live in? I'm in Kansas and just got one for $44.99

The difference though is you went into petco knowing what you needed to look for, how to judge the health of the fish, and already knew how to care for them. Anyone who goes to petco staff for advice needs to reassess their source

Very true, but they don't know any better.

 

[heathlindner25]

I don't think I would shop most anywhere for anything if I were not allowed to ask questions or express my opinion, no soup nazi stores for me..."No fish for you, NEXT!

exactly my point... I'll sell you anything you want, it's ultimately up to the buyer to do research. I would always try to steer a customer in the right direction because I am an animal lover but there are always" those "customers.....We use to call them fish killers,people with way too much money and won't listen to anything.
Always amazes me that people will buy Marine animals with absolutely no research involved...completely irresponsible

 

[mmittlesteadt]

I think it might be the exclamation marks. When things get a little passionate it's easy to read them as yelling!!! But it's just cause you are excited. Like WHEN PEOPLE USE CAPSLOCK!!!

Lol@ the fish nazi. That's one of the reasons I couldn't run a store, I'd be doing home visits before I let anybody buy anything like they do when you get a dog hehehe

When I ran the two privately owned stores, I always had a good dialog with customers about their purchases and even between the customer and others trying to help. Sometimes I even left the two talking between themselves. We had inexpensive books and informational pamphlets I gave out on basic care of the animals we kept (including aquatic life). I'm not unreasonable. I understand people will do what they're going to do. I try my best to help in any way I can.

The best course of action if you want to offer advice is to not be confrontational or authoritarian in responses. Simply strike up a conversation...like, "Really? I thought I read somewhere, where these (insert your creature of topic here) like/don't like, etc."

 

[davocean]

exactly my point... I'll sell you anything you want, it's ultimately up to the buyer to do research. I would always try to steer a customer in the right direction because I am an animal lover but there are always" those "customers.....We use to call them fish killers,people with way too much money and won't listen to anything.
Always amazes me that people will buy Marine animals with absolutely no research involved...completely irresponsible

Yeah I get that, it's gotta be tough running an LFS where you need to make money, and there is someone there wanting to give it you you, whether it's a responsible purchase or not.
I also preach researching before buying here or elsewhere.
But it is hard when you do see that total blind leading the blind moment at an LFS and not want to speak up, and to that I just do my best to do so in a respectful and or discreet way.

 

[heathlindner25]

Yeah I get that, it's gotta be tough running an LFS where you need to make money, and there is someone there wanting to give it you you, whether it's a responsible purchase or not.
I also preach researching before buying here or elsewhere.
But it is hard when you do see that total blind leading the blind moment at an LFS and not want to speak up, and to that I just do my best to do so in a respectful and or discreet way.

if you want to hear customer horror stories I got some...lol
one incident really struck me hard... A very rich customer came in wanting a white spot eel,knowing his 300 gallon system very well and knowing it had a very large zebra in it, we cannot express enough what a bad idea it would be.
yeah well he bought it anyways and came back 20 minutes later with its head ripped off ..... at some point you just want to throw your hands up in the air.....good news is that white spot lived...I was mad at that customer for a long time

 

[mmittlesteadt]

if you want to hear customer horror stories I got some...lol
one incident really struck me hard... A very rich customer came in wanting a white spot eel,knowing his 300 gallon system very well and knowing it had a very large zebra in it, we cannot express enough what a bad idea it would be.
yeah well he bought it anyways and came back 20 minutes later with its head ripped off ..... at some point you just want to throw your hands up in the air.....good news is that white spot lived...I was mad at that customer for a long time

I can totally relate. There were some customers who knew I cared, so they'd BS me about what they had for tanks, livestock, etc. I'd usually kind of call them on it. "When did you get the 220 gallon tank?" Didn't you tell me just last week that you only had a 29 gallon? Hmmm...maybe it was another customer I'm thinking of..." with a wry smile on my face.

All I can say is, thank God we carried supplies for dogs, cats and every other kind of animal. We didn't have to rely on aquatics to carry a profit, so we could take a little bit more proactive approach towards customers. Funny thing is, 9 times out of 10, the customers we talked out of impulse purchases ended up being very loyal customers who bought way more from us down the line because they were successful, happy and appreciated our honesty. All it takes is one impulse buy now, that ends up as an expensive death and you may lose a customer of the hobby permanently.

 

[johnike]

I don't care what kind of store/business it is, if I catch a liar or a cheat in the act they will be exposed.

 

[Nina51]

I'm respectful of the store...but if somebody is trying to buy something as wretched as a 'fish to cycle with' I will say something. If the shop owner seems reasonable, I'll talk to him and maybe suggest he recommmend RC as a source, because if I can convince him, I can save multitudes of fish---and he'll get customers who stay in the hobby.

this ^. i have taken a couple of people aside and explained why they shouldn't buy the flame scallop or the eel or the yellow tang and i've also pointed out fish in tanks that were covered in ich. i don't know if the advice was heeded but at least i tried.

 

[gone fishin]

Just to toss it out there. If one feels the need to offer some advice then make sure it factual.

I was "offered" some advice a few months ago on a fish purchase I was making. Needless to say the person became offended and upset when I told them they were wrong.

 

[Martini5788]

Just to toss it out there. If one feels the need to offer some advice then make sure it factual.



I was "offered" some advice a few months ago on a fish purchase I was making. Needless to say the person became offended and upset when I told them they were wrong.

Haha yes very true. Just out of curiosity, what did the person say that was wrong?

 

[CStrickland]

if it were me that was receiving your self-proclaimed expert advice, i would tell you to, "go save the whales, buddy!!!"

Hehe, I just got the joke about the hobby expert thingy in your avatar. That "self-proclaimed expert" irony went right over my head the first time, but I actually lol'ed just now. Self-deprecating is my fav humor