Attention Customers

Hey everyone

I'm sending this out as a plea to anyone who purchases fish from a pet store or specialist fish shop. I've had many unfortunate opportunities to hear about, listen to and interact with some bad cases of customers, and it can get really annoying when people, so I feel, abuse the fish, the hobby, and the salespeople themselves.

To start off with, the staff at any given store don't know everything in the books. Some staff have only had experience in some sectors in the hobby, others have had no experience at all, but are trying to earn a living. Don't complain the shops don't hire knowledgeable staff - a lot of the people who do know anything about fish don't put themselves forward to help out or work at such stores. If the staff don't know, it's because they're human, not because it’s a bad shop.

Needless to say, there are some experts working at pet stores, so if you ask for advice, and they give it to you, listen well. A lot of times I've seen cases where one of the staff gave the best advice possible, and the customer completely disregarded what he said, insisting on what he knew (which believe me, was very little) was the way to go around things.

Also, do some research about what kind of fish you want to buy before you walk into the shop. As fun as impulse buys are, it doesn't do the fish much good if you aren't prepared to keep it. If you see a fish that you like, pay a deposit on the fish, go home and prepare (including some reading up), and once you're ready, collect your fish.
Also don't depend on the shop staff to tell you everything about a fish you don't know about. As I said, they can't possibly know everything, and its best to get info from various sources to make sure what you're hearing is correct.

When buying fish, buy fish you can accommodate for NOW, not that you will buy a bigger tank for in the future. All too often fish are going home inappropriate environments, and then later the fish dies or is returned to the shop because of incorrect care.

Regards
SA

 

Well said, can't agree more!