Worst LFS advise ever

[michael stern]

I'd love to start a thread chronically the worst advise ever witnessed (directly or indirectly) from LFS's.

I got a call today from a prospective customer.
He wanted to buy some fish.
I tried to get some basic info.
He set the 20 gallon tank up last week.
I replied that it was much too soon to start adding fish.
He told me that he already has a damsel, a yellow tang, and a scopas tang in it. He put the damsel and scopas when he started the tank. Then went to E***** P****. He's friends with the owner, so he gets good prices. He was sold 2 yellow tangs. The owner knew the age and size of the tank.

Shockingly, one of the YT's already died. I begged him to take the other 2 remaining tangs back to the store. We'll see.

Anyone have any "better" experiences?

 

[meschaefer]

I was in a store that shall remain namless. The customer was asking the employee what he should do about an algae problem in his new reeftank. The employee advised that he needed a bigger filter, and took him over to the Fluvals.

 

[Craig]

overheard at a fishstore near a racetrack in a city i will not name

"no problem, this $150 tang will be a nice addition to your nano"

 

[DevIouS]

He set the 20 gallon tank up last week.
I replied that it was much too soon to start adding fish.
He told me that he already has a damsel, a yellow tang, and a scopas tang in it. He put the damsel and scopas when he started the tank. Then went to E***** P****. He's friends with the owner, so he gets good prices. He was sold 2 yellow tangs. The owner knew the age and size of the tank.

I already know what store you talking about & they SUCK!
****...I'll say it...Exotic Pets.
Over priced, sick live-stock, unknowledgeable staff & out to make money.
Funny thing is, every time I've been there (in the past)...there were always customers & they were always making sales.
Guess it's because it's the only place that carries SW stock, besides the major chains.

 

[herman]

The one thing that has to be remembered is that we all like cheaper prices and revert to online retailers forcing quite a few LFS to do cutbacks. One way is to hire a complete nub who just does not know better. Of course there will always be that one a$$ who just wants to make the sale. What can you do. It sucks but that is life. All we can do is just do our best to educate and hope that these instances are minimized.

I would love to bash certain LFSs but that only makes it worse for them as they will prevent us from going there blah blah blah evil circle. Knowledgeable employees are expensive. I dont think that any one of us with some knowlege of fish and reefs would work for the cash that the nubs get.

In the case of some LFS they get bashed unfairly because one dude heard one new employee say that you can put a Tang in a Fresh Water tank. But in some instances that may not even reflect the policies of a petstore.

Even this site frequently gives wrong advice to people. Does that make MR a bad site.

That being said, if in this case the owner of the store said it, then by all means bash. I just dont want this to become a general LFS bashing thread because one guy heard another guy say......

 

[DevIouS]

Good point...Herm

But I definitely witnessed & experienced my above statements, myself.
I would not recommend anyone to go there.

Price is not an issue for me, if you get what you pay for....but their live-stock is marked at top dollar & unhealthy.

Maybe I have visit the place again...:scratch:

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I bash some of the other employees and have prevented some sales right at the register. I've even gone so far as to prevent some service sales of some very expensive fish just on principal. But on the flip side of this there are those customers that are begging for you to let them screw themselves. I can't count how many guys come in wanting to buy an expensive fish they shouldn't have. I tell them no (politely) and usually offer some alternatives. Sometimes it works but often they insist with "I think I'm gonna try it anyway and see how it goes." I have gone so far as to tell people they can't have anything and to go find another store. Other times you just let them buy the fish and learn an expensive lesson that might make them listen (or even educate themselves) next time.

 

[drunktank]

when i worked at a LFS, i saw it all- one of the reasons i've left. The stories i could tell :-X

 

[DEEPWATER]

Oh man ,where to start really

I partnered up with a LFS a while back ago in brklyn ,nostand ave

1st off the sold you anything and everything....the prices they gave ppl was such a rip off

2nd ,,they would sell them live rock ,nor really that cured .with live bio (they charged them $100 sometime for a small bottle ) and then sell the customer over 5 fish that were over 6" each .the poor guy came in the next week and all his fish died ,.so the guy sold him another 3 fish

same customer got sold B-ionic 2 parts ,(gal bottle) for $70 each bottle
he has 180 gal tank ,so the gal bottles would last hime no more then a week



the list gos on ,but that is just the tip of the iceberg

 

[regal]

I went to manhattan chinatown couple weeks ago to check out a store that my friend told me who sells fancy chinese goldfish (ranchu). I just wanted to check out the quality of his stock and pricing since there are not many store with good quality fancy goldfish. He has one that my friend passed on since it is expensive ($250). The owner tried to convince me to buy it and offered me a better price even though I told him my 30g tank is empty and sitting in the garage with no filter or anything. He said that with a heater and air pump, it should be OK. He must be thinking that I was a newbie. Needless to say, I was not going to waste my money and let that beautiful fish dies in a week. Sigh....

 

[HAVIC]

My friend setup a 29gallon tank. I told him not to add anything and to decide which fish he would like to get first. Well he goes to an LFS and tells the owner his tank size, lighting and filtering. He leaves the store with 1 blue tang, 1 yellow tang and 2 ocellaris clowns.

Amazingly all the fish are alive and he is in the process of upgrading to a much larger tank.

 

[DonCisco]

I went to an SI LFS, told them I had a just cycled my 12G tank, so they sold me a yellow tang, and a mandarin. Needless to say, I never go to that store, my regular LFS took the YT for credit, and I had my mandarin until my pump failed and there was no water movement overnight.

 

[latino277]

I have to admit that I go to exotic pets:shhh: they are the only place i know that have the tubes for my external over flow. I have bought some live stock from them and I always had to nurse Items back to health... I hate that place. now adays I go in and walk back out. I hate that place and they are rude...

 

[joseney21]

The things we could say about exotic pets, endless...the guy keeps all corals in tanks lit by PC's with their splash guard covered with salt creep about 18" off the water surface.i don't even think he knows the difference between dying corals and thriving corals, i really don't think he cares. as long as some keep buying he'll keep selling.

back to track- i once witnessed two guys buy over 100 fish and the store employees didn't ask one question, and i know you cant go by appearances but the customer looked like he didn't know his ass from his elbows when it came to keeping fish. he was also wearing a really bad toupee which is a dead give away that he was probably a freshwater noobie posing as saltwater noobie. went something like this:

guy: let me get 30 of these, 20 of those, 8 of those 25 of these....etc
employee:OK

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Damsel cycle was how to cycle a tank.

Clams ok under normal lighting

Exotic pets sux nuff said.

 

[latino277]

Well... I don't mean to hijack this thread but......

Is there any OK LFS in Da BX?

I currently go all the way to House of fins for livestock in Conn!!!

 

[JHOV2324]

In my newbie days at the LFS i was told that I cud have a mandarin for my brand new tank....after it caught ick and infected my other fish..i bought two books..found this site and researched everything b4 purchase...now when I go to LFS and they tell me lies i tell them no thats not true....

 

[DevIouS]

Well... I don't mean to hijack this thread but......

Is there any OK LFS in Da BX?

I currently go all the way to House of fins for livestock in Conn!!!

Nope....:happysad:

 

[rfc]

Went to the RT in saddle river on route 46 NJ, and wanted to pick up a bottle of DT phytoplankton. Open the refridgerated cabinet which had two bottles and it reeked. Looked at the bottle of DT and the expiration label was ripped off but you could still read it and it was going to expire in 1 week. Asked the saleman when they were going to get in a new shipment and he said they just did and its in the cabinet. I informed him those bottles were expiring in a week and he then corrected himself and said they trade in the old bottles when they expire for new ones and I should come back in a couple of weeks. I go back into the store 1 month later and guess what.....the same two expired bottles still in the cabinet.

Bottom line.....I will never go back into a store that has such contempt for their customers that they would sell you something that could kill your tank.

 

[scarf_ace1981]

i worked @ a pet shop in the BX for 6 yrs. and i'm so glad we didn't have saltwater stock there. it would have been horrible.

the thing is that many owners have their own theories and they don't care whether they are right or wrong. if they are used to doing something a certain way they will keep pushing their ideas no matter if they have been disproven.

the store i worked @ has been around for like 30 years and it doesn't matter if newer, better methods evolve they will continue to do things the old fashioned way.