Pet Shop employees?

Question

I have been having trouble with my fish tank and I was wondeirng if the people hired in pet shops, like PetsSmart of some where are professionals or just kids that needed a job...I need to talk to someone who nows what they are doing.

Answer 1

There's a mixture of both. Occasionally, you will find an employee in a PetsMart, PETCO, Petland or other large retailer that actually knows a thing or two about the pets they sell. Most of the time, however, you'll find the staff to be high shool or college kids. Some are knowledgeable about some pets, but most give poor advice. The worst advice seems to be in the fish department.

If possible, try to find a local "mom & pop" type fish shop. These places generally employee knowlegeable staff and they really need your business to compete with the mass retailers.

If you still can't find good advice, Yahoo! Answers is a good source of information, but you'll still have be careful. There are many knowledgeable aquarists here to provide good advice, however, there are a lot of idiots that are only here to entertain themselves and gain points any way possible. Selecting good advice here is a bit tricky. If you don't know how to control algae in your tank, how will you pick good advice from bad?

Here is are some links you may find useful:

http://www.firsttankguide.net/
http://www.aquariumpros.com/faqpro/algae_1.shtml
http://www.fishlore.com/
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/

Good Luck!!

Answer 2

I work at a pet shop and like most retail stores the majority of people hired are young and just looking for a job. Where I work they do try to hire people who love animals/fish and are interested in them but there isn't time during work hours to learn about all the fish and animals in the store let alone all the products that are sold for those fish and animals.

I have kept fish for many years but there are still a lot more fish that I know next to nothing about than those I do know about and there is still a lot that I can and am learning about those I do know about. Think about all the animals and products that are carried in pet shops and then think about how much time it would take to learn about all of them. Pet store employees would all have to be a couple of hundred years old to know all that customers expect them to know.

I think the best thing that a pet store employee can do for a fish customer, is give a few basic facts about the nitrogen cycle, explain that different fish need different water types, pH, water hardness, temperatures and point the person toward books and web sites where they can get breed specific information. Of course there's always going to be those who want to buy a tank and fish (based on what the fish look like a when young) on the same day and expect the employee to give them a quick 3 strep system to make it all work.

Those of you out there who have been keeping fish for awhile know that it's not that simple. There's lots to know, and it takes time for employees and customers to learn.

It would be nice for the customers if everyone applying for jobs or working at any retail outlet or any kind spent their entire non working hours learning about their work product and services but this is not going to happen (after all they too need a life and most have famillies and freinds just like you do). So I personnly try to learn where the required information can be found and point the customer toward it.

It would be nice if some of you fish and/or animals lovers out there were working at pet shops. The more people who actually care, are interested in and want to learn (on their own time) the better.

Answer 3

pet smart , petco employee's professionals thats funny.
thease pet store take some time to train them but in no way are they professionals. If each employee dose not take there own time to find out whats right or wrong then they just guess. most times there, there for work thats it.
The big thing is alot of them think there know it all because they work there and in fact they know very little thats based in fact.

Not all of them are bad every now and then youll have an emplyee at one of those places that know what there talking about but there very few and far between.

if you want to talk to someone thats knows fish find a mom and pop store that been around for years that the petcos cant run off. there the ones with the info that why there still there.

Answer 4

If you want the best advice you can get, find a place on the web that deals most closely with what you have.

For example, if I just have a basic newbie question, Yahoo answers will likely do the trick. But if I have a slightly more advanced aquarium question I would look for a forum dedicated to fish keepingm, like fishforums.net. And if my question was concerning a specific type of livestock, say for example Jack Dempsey cichlids, then I would find a forum even more dedicated to it, like cichlid-forum.com.

But no matter what, in the stores it's safest to assume they don't know what they are talking about, and if you do your own research first you'll probably go in knowing more than they do.

Answer 5

i bought fish from another well known pet store and they killed about £120 worth of stock
when i asked the lady in the store she says tiger barbs where okay if a had 4 or more of them so i got 6
when i took them back the following day she said she couldnt take them back as she had no room to take them .
she then told me to try there new store that had just opened about 15 miles away the chap in there was more than happy to take them of my hands and replace them for something more suitable as long as i dint go back to that store
he told me that any member of staff she consult the infoormation they have in store before selling any fish if the customer asks a question like that.
so in my opinion franchise fish stores have poorly trained staff who after they have made a mistake fob you off to someone else.
thats the last time i ever shop from pets at home t the glasgow forge retail park

Answer 6

The major chain pet stores that I have seen have hired people who don't even know how to properly bag a fish. There was a time when I worked w/Tropical fish at a wholesale/import level, and it is sad how little the people know about the fish they work with.

I agree with the folks who advise that you just ask us. We'll do our best to help.

DeLux_n_AZ

Answer 7

Find a good LFS and stick with them, there are occasionally good responsible employees at Petsmart, but this is more a luck of the draw.

A good test is when things do go wrong; will they help you and stand behind you?

Find a good professional forum.

Find a good informational web site, I use and highly recommend this one:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Information.html

Answer 8

I used to work at petsmart , they hire anyone off the street .Once and a while they get someone who knows what they are talking about . If you need help call a fish specialty shop.

Answer 9

Warm body hired for a job.

I had a fish tank with algae issues.

I would talk to 5 stores and 5 people and get 5 answers.
Spend money on more chemicals and nothing works.

Answer 10

Stay away from petco or petsmart; they just hire people looking for work. Try contacting an actual store where they just sell fish especially saltwater ones as they have to have just the right environment to survive. If you happen to live in the Massachusetts/New Hampshire area, I can give you a name of a store to call.