One small accomplishment, and one failure

[krazykid90]

I work at Wal-Mart on the ICS team, which means I spend a lot of my days working freight on the floor. Just a few days ago I was busy working a skid of Fancy Feast in the pet department when I was asked to help some one with the Bettas. The lady said that she had just came from a pet store that you could buy an aquatic plant and put it in a vase with a Betta. She said that she was told you don't have to feed them, they just eat the roots. The poor lady was all excited about this, and she asked me to help her choose a healthy 'Japanese Fighter'.

I showed her the fish, and saw that she really thought they were beautiful. I explained to her why it was wrong to keep a Betta in a vase. I showed her what it looks like when a Betta flares, and showed her a few sickly fish. I told her that they were tropical, and they couldn't survive off of plant roots. I told her that they needed to reach the surface of the water to breath. Usually when I go on like this, the customers just ignore me and buy it anyways. They think that I don't know what I'm talking about. This lady, however, nodded her head and said she understood. She bought a 5 g tank (with heater, filter etc.), some nice silk decorations and about 5 types of fish food. I explained to her how to cycle the tank, but she just seemed confused by it.

She came in again yesterday and bought a fish (I know, she didn't cycle or anything, but at least she's trying to learn!). I helped her pick out a healthy one. She told me that she went to BOTH pet stores in the area and told them that she wouldn't be supporting them anymore. She said that she would shop some where that had knowledgable staff. I quietly told her that she shouldn't support Wal-Mart though, because the fish really aren't taken care of very well, and the staff that actually runs the department doesn't know **** all about fish. I gave her the name of a really nice fish store, and she said that in the future she would shop there. I told her not to tell management I did that, though, I have this strange thing against being fired.

Yesterday, though, we also had a failure. We often work in partners when we're working skids, and I've trained my pets-partner well. Some one went up to her and asked her if you could keep a goldfish in a bowl. The lady explained that you couldn't since goldfish produce a lot of ammonia. She also explained how big they are SUPPOSED to get and how long they are SUPPOSED to live. Apparently the customers were shocked to hear this. The customer didn't care (said she was lying) so I went over to scoop the fish. As I was scooping the fish the customer asked the lady how long the fish should live for in a bowl. The lady shrugged, "I'd give them a week, maybe three if you're lucky."

I don't want to turn this into a 'Wal-Mart shouldn't be allowed to sell fish' thread, because I think we all agree 100% with that.

[mousey]

good for you in educating customers. I wish the lfs andlps would do the same but they are in it to sell fish and supplies.
i like the fish in my walmart!
They are generally well cared for as long as the regular lady is there. When she goes on holiday the fish are not well cared for.
i have bought some amazing guppies there.
mouse

[krazykid90]

I'm glad to hear that you have had good experience in your Wal-Mart. Unfortunately I have not been so lucky. Our department manager knows nothing about fish, but pretends he does. He considers cleaning a tank to be wiping the algae off, and he sells customers many products they don't need. For instance, a customer comes in and describes dropsy. He gives them some of that 'cure all' medecine which does nothing and sends them on their way. He also follows that stupid '1 inch per gallon' rule. To top things off he's a back yard breeder of dogs!

So far I've only found one nice fish store in the whole city. It's downtown, and it focuses ENTIRELY on fish. They fish are happy, and well taken care of. They also have a large selection. They have the 'reject' Betta's for about $5.00 (which is the cheapest I've seen them for), and then they have some beautiful specimens running up to over a hundred! They have some amazing koi in a HUGE tank, they were shipped all the way from Beijing. The staff is friendly and knowledable, and huge fish geeks

[BettaMommy]

I wish the pet store I bought my betta from was more helpful when I got him. I didn't know anything, all I knew was that I wanted a male betta for this itty bitty little bowl. At least more people are being educated before they actually buy a living creature.

[mlefev]

Well I'm glad you were able to tell one person about the fish. If you're under the age of 30 and trying to tell people any piece of information about how to care for pets, they generally ignore you. Now, that's not true of all people, but most 40+ year old people look at me like I'm a moron when I try to tell them about fish. I don't think I could stand working in a pet store if I got that reaction continually (which is probably why I don't work at a pet store...lol).

I was just in the LFS a few days back (mind you this is the largest fish store in the state...or so they claim, and their employees are very good with fish). A woman who knew nothing about fish was buying a betta (what a surprise). I told her that it wasn't going to do well in a 1/2 gal bowl stuffed full of sand and decorations, and that she at least had to buy a one gallon with the stuff she wanted to put in it, and a 5 gallon tank would be better. She also didn't have the water conditioner to remove the chlorine, and I suggested that she at least buy that and put a decoration or 2 back. She kindly told me "you don't know what the H*ll you're talking about" and went to the counter. Thankfully, two of the clerks backed me up on that one, and she finally relented.

[Lydia]

Originally Posted by mlefev Well I'm glad you were able to tell one person about the fish. If you're under the age of 30 and trying to tell people any piece of information about how to care for pets, they generally ignore you.

I know what you mean on that one. I'm a teenager and tried to tell a mom and her daughter that a black moor goldfish would not live long at all in a little bowl (btw they were buying it to replace one that had died after being in there for a day) and they just looked at me weird and said "Oh really?" in a polite tone of voice and then promptly bought it.

On the subject of good pet stores, the petland by me is actually good. There are only 3 people that work in fish, and the 2 that work there most often know a whole lot about fish (with the exception of one or two things they have said that are completely wrong) and the other guy knows a pretty good amount and is learning.

[mlefev]

It gets frustrating. I'm not a professional breeder or fishkeeper, but I do know what is wrong for the poor critters. This betta would have had about 5 inches of water to swim in if the lady had filled up the bowl with all the junk she wanted, and it would have died from the chlorine within a week. I hate criticizing people, but when they try to keep fish in those conditions, you may as well dump them on the ground...it's the same effect.

i like the local fish store a lot. It's called fountain's aquarium (some breeders may know the place...I'm not advertising, I just like the store), and has over 50,000 gallons of tanks and displays. Once, I found a dead fish and told the girl one was dead. She got really upset, and said "oh no, not cocoa, I knew he didn't look good, I even quarantined him all last week..." So they know their stock well enough to even name them. I thought that was pretty cool.

[lwstinkinsweet]

i made a few mistakes with my betta. and the first one came sick (three diseases i think it was) so there wasnt much i could do. but before i got a new one i looked them up and researched their care so i would have some idea. now it hasnt been easy sailing because i am still learning, but way better than i would have done had i not come here. more people need to research the pets they are getting.