PetCo is terrible - Photos

[Nina51]

I wont interrupt the customer/employee engagement but I would confront the employee after and ask them about what they had said and why. :deadhorse:

PJ

i don't even bother any more because i was just peein' up a rope. however, if a customer has *the* discussion and says they will think about it, i will wait for the employee to be out of earshot and then i'll simply tell the customer that the fish he/she is looking at is very sick. you either get a "thanks!" and a request for more information, which i'm glad to give, or you get somebody who doesn't give a rat's patoot and buys the fish anyway.

It came in as advertised, Definitely not LA as far as packaging, but the fish looks good

hope he does well for you!

 

[that Fish Guy]

According to Glassdoor the average wage of a PetCo "Aquatic Specialist" is $11 an hour,They are not full time, working on average 34 hours a week. That's barely a livable wage let alone enough to support a Hobby like Reef keeping

People can rightfully complain about the treatment of the animals in these stores but don't forget to look at the employees as well who may also be "mistreated"

I read this thread and I noticed a pretty common story about how one store had great tanks and a fish expert who was on top of his game then he leaves and the store goes to hell. This is because someone who has the intelligence and motivation to keep a wall of fish tanks clean and healthy is the type of person who will not put up with being paid $11 an hour. He can find a new job much more easily.

The truth is these big box stores from Petsmart to Walmart all hire people with no schooling or skills and you get what you pay for. The ones they do hire who show motivation,aptitude and knowledge either leave for a better paying job or get promoted.

The employee turn over rate for retail in America is 67% and it costs $3500 to train a $10 an hour retail employee so companies will actually go out of their way to hire people who have little to no other options and will stay the longest. They are not hiring for the welfare of the animals in fact it's quite the opposite.

It's a fine line between hiring a drug addict who won't show up or steal from you and hiring a single mom who needs this paycheck so she will work overtime. Neither of them give two shits about the care of the animals they just need a paycheck.

Tldr; Shop Local anything if you can, People care when they have something invested, If you can't shop online..

p.s Sorry my first post was a rant It's nice to meet you all.

I know people that make less than that that are Reefers.

So yes, it can be done.

You do not need to be a millionaire to be in the Hobby even though that is the perception that many people have of this hobby.

 

[Reefer140]

I know people that make less than that that are Reefers.

So yes, it can be done.

You do not need to be a millionaire to be in the Hobby even though that is the perception that many people have of this hobby.

Yup, its all about patience and taking your time with it. If done slowly and correctly, this hobby can be managed easily

 

[mps0813]

Anyone who shops at the walmart of pet stores (petco/petsmart) are fools... I have a four legged friend and will go ANYWHERE other than those two shops for his needs. Wouldn't even consider them for even supplements for my tank..

 

[that Fish Guy]

I find it very hard to believe that some people are saying that their LFS is worse than PetCo.

Maybe I am in a Great Area or something.

I live in Michigan and have probably been to like 15 LFS and everyone of them is better than PetCo just based on the fact that they offer much much more than PetCo does.

Yes some LFS are better than others but Everyone that I have ever been to is better than PetCo.

P.S. I am not saying that the people that work there are good or bad (That depends on individual person).

Even if every person at PetCo is awesome they only cary like 15 Fish in Stock.

They simply do not offer anything at all for me to buy.

If I want say

Kessil LED
Reef Octopus Protein Skimmer
180 Gallon Tank
Acans
Acros
Chalices

I can get that stuff at any LFS I visit but I cannot get any of it from a PetCo.

 

[Nina51]

the petco that's the closest to me doesn't sell saltwater fish. they have salt and the usual API test kits but that's about it.

last time i was in the LFS, every single tank was smothering in cyano, couldn't even see the sand. and i'm pretty sure all of their tanks are on the same system. however, in the middle of the row of tanks, one was marked "hospital tank" with a sticker that said "fish not for sale". there were a couple of clowns in there with obvious ich.

 

[myram]

They simply do not offer anything at all for me to buy.

If I want say

Kessil LED
Reef Octopus Protein Skimmer
180 Gallon Tank
Acans
Acros
Chalices

I can get that stuff at any LFS I visit but I cannot get any of it from a PetCo.

My local Petco has Reef Octopus skimmers, acans, acros, chalices, and a complete separate frag tank system.

 

[banjowalker]

My local Petco has Reef Octopus skimmers, acans, acros, chalices, and a complete separate frag tank system.

+1 minus the frag tank. They sell almost all that and have a very good selection of fish and inverts in my local petco

 

[Reefer140]

Anyone who shops at the walmart of pet stores (petco/petsmart) are fools... I have a four legged friend and will go ANYWHERE other than those two shops for his needs. Wouldn't even consider them for even supplements for my tank..

Who are you to bash someone for being a customer? Crap on a retailer all you want... But to call someone a fool because where they shop is a rude statement.

 

[that Fish Guy]

My local Petco has Reef Octopus skimmers, acans, acros, chalices, and a complete separate frag tank system.

Every PetCo here in Michigan have none of that stuff

No Frag System (No Frags so Need for One)

They have like 10 to 15 Fish in 4 Tanks,
Snails, Hermits - That is it for Clean Up Crew
The Terribly Rated Tornado Skimmer (I think it is made by Instant Ocean).
No Power Heads (Not even Koralia or Marineland).
No T5HO, No Metal Halide, No Good Led (All they have is Fluval Freshwater LED).

And that is at the Ones that sell Saltwater.

50 Percent of the PetCo's here in Michigan do not have Saltwater so they have none of that stuff.

I guess the Rest of the Country is Spoiled.

But there are a lot of LFS here so I guess it does not matter.

 

[that Fish Guy]

Who are you to bash someone for being a customer? Crap on a retailer all you want... But to call someone a fool because where they shop is a rude statement.

You can look at it that way.

But in my opinion when you keep animals you are responsible for them.

Whenever I get a new Animal whether it is Fish, Coral, Frog, Lizard.

I get online and join the appropriate forum and learn all I can.

When you do that you quickly learn about LFS's and even more importantly Frag Swaps.

You get educated so that you do not go to Chain Stores.

Most people do not do that and in my opinion most people should not have animals at all because most people do not know how to take care of them. (Not the people on this site of course LOL).

You guys are the smart ones.

I mean when I was 8 Years Old I knew that Meijers, Walmart, etc. had sick fish. (This was waaaaaaaay before the Internet by the way too. All I had was books that I got from the Library - Another place that people should visit but don't).

If an 8 year old knows that why don't Adults?

It is common sense that even a child can understand.

 

[mps0813]

Call me rude. A responsible 'reefer' wouldn't ever consider a place like Petco for their reeding needs, IMHO.

 

[mps0813]

Oops reefing... not reeding.

 

[billsreef]

[flamealert]...

 

[Nina51]

Whenever I get a new Animal whether it is Fish, Coral, Frog, Lizard.

I get online and join the appropriate forum and learn all I can.

i hope you mean before you get a new animal...

while i do as much reading as i can prior to deciding on a new critter, i don't have time for a lot of forums so, if i find something i think i want, i ask snorvich.

 

[c0rocad]

I know people that make less than that that are Reefers.

So yes, it can be done.

You do not need to be a millionaire to be in the Hobby even though that is the perception that many people have of this hobby.

I didn't say that they could not be a reefer, They could live with their Parents/Breadwinner or have 4 roommates and take the bus and have a kick *** tank.

What I said was that people who have the motivation to do a good job at work and have the knowledge of a semi-complex system like multiple saltwater tank management tend to not gravitate towards low paying jobs for long periods of time. Those stellar PetCo Employees tend to skew towards students and young people who are still making that climb to a self sustainable career.

Having one Anecdotal experience of someone who owns a reef tank but living under the poverty line is useless and sounds suspicious.

 

[myram]

Every PetCo here in Michigan have none of that stuff

No Frag System (No Frags so Need for One)

They have like 10 to 15 Fish in 4 Tanks,
Snails, Hermits - That is it for Clean Up Crew
The Terribly Rated Tornado Skimmer (I think it is made by Instant Ocean).
No Power Heads (Not even Koralia or Marineland).
No T5HO, No Metal Halide, No Good Led (All they have is Fluval Freshwater LED).

And that is at the Ones that sell Saltwater.

50 Percent of the PetCo's here in Michigan do not have Saltwater so they have none of that stuff.

I guess the Rest of the Country is Spoiled.

But there are a lot of LFS here so I guess it does not matter.

After reading on here, I do believe my area is spoiled with some good Petco stores. There are a couple that are just nasty, and I avoid them. But there are 3-4 of them that are very good and have great selection of clean fish. It's a new corporate initiative to issue frag tanks to the magnet stores, they are a separate shallow tank with T5ho lighting. The frags finally looks healthy in them, they used to suffer in the fish systems due to lower salinity and crappy lighting.
One of the stores here has a 120 tank for bigger fish, and another one has a 120 full reef tank display system.

 

[accordsirh22]

ours here sucks. ich everywhere. frags of gsp for $50. its a joke

 

[that Fish Guy]

ours here sucks. ich everywhere. frags of gsp for $50. its a joke

HUH!!!

GSP is 10.00 here in Michigan.

Is it really 50.00 where you are at?

I feel very very bad for you if that is true.

 

[Reefer140]

HUH!!!

GSP is 10.00 here in Michigan.

Is it really 50.00 where you are at?

I feel very very bad for you if that is true.

Same in my area.. About 10-15 for small frags.. They occasionally have 3-4in colonies for 30-40$, but the frags are typically much cheaper..