Bad experiences with pet stores?

[LordJoshaeus]

Hi everyone...I had a rough day today and this post is more meant to vent than anything. I was already having a bad day this morning, so I spontaneously decided to go to a nearby city to do some shopping and - in the process - pick up something for my saltwater tank from a nearby Petco. When they eventually opened (an hour later than I thought they did), I tried to get a staff member to get something for me; he directly asked me what size my tank was and when I said it was 10 gallons he flatly refused to sell me anything (he staunchly claimed saltwater fish needed a 30 gallon minimum). I left that Petco very upset and was too frazzled to drive for the next fifteen minutes...suffice to say I will not be visiting that particular store for a long time...

ANYHOW, my question is, is it common to have negative experiences like this with pet stores? I just want to know if it's just me or not...it is not as if a ten gallon is an unethical size if you know what you're doing. Thanks.

 

[EliMelly]

10 gallons is fine for some fish. Dude was a schmuck. And no this isn’t normal, Petco is traditionally better than that.

 

[KQuillan]

What kind of fish were you looking to add? Personally, your day aside, I think it is good that someone from Petco might have done the right thing.

It depends on the circumstances, of course.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Dude I honestly hope your night gets better and I’m sending you my good vibes, but the bad mood comes through your post.

The story would have more meaning if you name the fish. I can’t agree or disagree without knowing.

By the way, when people ask me that question, I just give them the answer they want to hear.

 

[crazyfishmom]

Like with any other profession or store you’ll find the purists that will do things like that. I do prefer it when stores ask questions and not just try to make a sale but sometimes they take it too far.

 

[MONTANTK]

I can’t say I have had many bad experiences but I’ve been to far too many stores that have no business keeping saltwater livestock

 

[NonstopSoda]

Im sorry you've had such a rough experience today, What type of fish were you trying to buy? I haven't had a bad experience personally just seem some bad LFS and workers at those stores.

 

[LordJoshaeus]

What kind of fish were you looking to add? Personally, your day aside, I think it is good that someone from Petco might have done the right thing.

It depends on the circumstances, of course.

Dude I honestly hope your night gets better and I’m sending you my good vibes, but the bad mood comes through your post.

The story would have more meaning if you name the fish. I can’t agree or disagree without knowing.

By the way, when people ask me that question, I just give them the answer they want to hear.

I was not able to specify the fish before he denied getting me anything, but I was considering a green chromis.

Like with any other profession or store you’ll find the purists that will do things like that. I do prefer it when stores ask questions and not just try to make a sale but sometimes they take it too far.

Agree with all of the above.

 

[Jipolley]

I think many of the workers there are allowed to push their own judgement onto customers. The petco employee that was helping me the other day *strongly* encouraged me not to get clownfish if I was buying blue damsels. I got the damsels and then got clowns elsewhere a couple days later. There hasn't been any issues with fighting or feeding because my tank has plenty of room (Which I told her)

 

[BristleWormHater]

10 gallons is fine for some fish. Dude was a schmuck. And no this isn’t normal, Petco is traditionally better than that.

I'm surprised they actually stopped him from buying anything, but op never specified what the "something" was.

 

[EliMelly]

I'm surprised they actually stopped him from buying anything, but op never specified what the "something" was.

That’s true, beware tang police

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

I feel quite sorry for the one really good LFS in my area.
They stopped selling discus because they were tired of getting angry customers shouting at them because they'd kept the "pretty fish" in tap water, not changed the tao water & promptly killed them.
They've now stopped selling SPS because people once again killed them all.
I get their frustration.
My brief period breeding discus came to an end simply because I wasn't going to send the fish off to become ammonia soup to people with more money than knowledge.
A brief venture selling SPS frags went the same way.
All you can do is police who you sell to.
It sounds on this occasion that they have misjudged a customer based on previous experiences

 

[BristleWormHater]

I feel quite sorry for the one really good LFS in my area.
They stopped selling discus because they were tired of getting angry customers shouting at them because they'd kept the "pretty fish" in tap water, not changed the tao water & promptly killed them.
They've now stopped selling SPS because people once again killed them all.
I get their frustration.
My brief period breeding discus came to an end simply because I wasn't going to send the fish off to become ammonia soup to people with more money than knowledge.
A brief venture selling SPS frags went the same way.
All you can do is police who you sell to.
It sounds on this occasion that they have misjudged a customer based on previous experiences

What makes me sad is that probably 80% of fishkeepers are just like this, and assume it's a very simple hobby and just throw fish and water in tank and throw food in it. That's what I did for my first few betta fish. I used dechlorinator at least, only one lived past a year & a half.

 

[Tamberav]

That sucks though I probably wouldn’t put a chromis in a 10

That and you probably just dodged having urenoma so that’s a win actually

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi everyone...I had a rough day today and this post is more meant to vent than anything. I was already having a bad day this morning, so I spontaneously decided to go to a nearby city to do some shopping and - in the process - pick up something for my saltwater tank from a nearby Petco. When they eventually opened (an hour later than I thought they did), I tried to get a staff member to get something for me; he directly asked me what size my tank was and when I said it was 10 gallons he flatly refused to sell me anything (he staunchly claimed saltwater fish needed a 30 gallon minimum). I left that Petco very upset and was too frazzled to drive for the next fifteen minutes...suffice to say I will not be visiting that particular store for a long time...

ANYHOW, my question is, is it common to have negative experiences like this with pet stores? I just want to know if it's just me or not...it is not as if a ten gallon is an unethical size if you know what you're doing. Thanks.

To a degree, im impressed. Many stores would not take the time to ask but rather take your money and send you down the road. 10 gallons is barely large enough for a quarantine tank but can also house 3-4 small species comfortably

 

[Sphyrna_gal]

Hi everyone...I had a rough day today and this post is more meant to vent than anything. I was already having a bad day this morning, so I spontaneously decided to go to a nearby city to do some shopping and - in the process - pick up something for my saltwater tank from a nearby Petco. When they eventually opened (an hour later than I thought they did), I tried to get a staff member to get something for me; he directly asked me what size my tank was and when I said it was 10 gallons he flatly refused to sell me anything (he staunchly claimed saltwater fish needed a 30 gallon minimum). I left that Petco very upset and was too frazzled to drive for the next fifteen minutes...suffice to say I will not be visiting that particular store for a long time...

ANYHOW, my question is, is it common to have negative experiences like this with pet stores? I just want to know if it's just me or not...it is not as if a ten gallon is an unethical size if you know what you're doing. Thanks.

Petco has terrible staffing and basically no training BTW.. they do a VERY GENERAL overview computer modules for all their departments, including each type of pet (small animals, fish, reptile, bird) and it's the same story for other corporate stores. Honestly, more often than not when you go into a store you can tell right away that the saltwater in particular is a huge miss, in fact, last week I felt so bad for a blue neon goby I bought him even though he wasn't on my original planned stock list LOL. Every employee is different and if they aren't knowledgeable about something they will straight up lie to you or just repeat a general guideline that they heard. You could go in the next day and someone would catch you a tang for a 10gallon no questions asked.. doesn't mean you SHOULD have a tang in a 10 gallon but my point is that LFS shouldn't be relied upon for all your advice or guidance.

Over the decades I've learned that every store is different and it's better to do your own research and know about the animals and parameters/equipment you need or want before going into a store. It's not just Petco it's any store, you'll run into hit or miss stores in terms of for quality, selection and staff experience. Don't let it get you down just do some fun fishy research and find somewhere else to shop.

 

[GARRIGA]

Pet stores operated by people. Some people hard to deal with. No different than any other store or profession. Just find another store with easier to work with people plus anyone claiming one can't have a ten gallon salt tank spends way too much time reading books and/or the internet and probably shouldn't be working in a pet store.

 

[littlefoxx]

Hi everyone...I had a rough day today and this post is more meant to vent than anything. I was already having a bad day this morning, so I spontaneously decided to go to a nearby city to do some shopping and - in the process - pick up something for my saltwater tank from a nearby Petco. When they eventually opened (an hour later than I thought they did), I tried to get a staff member to get something for me; he directly asked me what size my tank was and when I said it was 10 gallons he flatly refused to sell me anything (he staunchly claimed saltwater fish needed a 30 gallon minimum). I left that Petco very upset and was too frazzled to drive for the next fifteen minutes...suffice to say I will not be visiting that particular store for a long time...

ANYHOW, my question is, is it common to have negative experiences like this with pet stores? I just want to know if it's just me or not...it is not as if a ten gallon is an unethical size if you know what you're doing. Thanks.

Wait what? I would get that response if you were trying to cram a huge fish in one but ALL fish? Yeah petco sucks. As others said there is some species that are good in there (clown gobies, neon cleaner goby ) In college I was given a goldfish from the biology department (was from the lab part of the class where we observed the goldfish). I went to grab him a tank two weeks before we could take the fish home. I picked him out a nice 50 gallon. Asked the lady where their HOB filtration was. She was asking me what I wanted to put in it and I told her it was for a single goldfish. She wouldnt sell me the tank. At all. Didnt care that I needed a tank for the fish. She WOULDNT sell me it. what the heck. So I totally get it, Im sorry! They honestly are awful.

 

[Mark Goode]

I'm impressed that the guy cared enough to refuse a sale. That's good, but the lack of knowledge is not.