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22K views 46 replies 33 participants last post by  urofan 
#1 ·
I was in buying crickets today and as I'm standing there with my critter keeper full of crickets, this woman walks up to me and asks what I have that eats crickets. So I find out that shes got a huge iguana, a boa, a hamster and "one of those things like an iguana but <pinching claw gesture>???" Is it a lizard? I ask. "Yeah, like that thing in the budweiser commercial..." UGH!! She has a chameleon and doesn't even know enough about it to know what it is!!! So she asks what I feed mine so I showed her the crickets and mealworms and stuff and she asks, what is cheaper? :mad:
So I'm trying to talk to her and maybe throw in some info and I ask her how much her cham eats....4 crickets a day she says! Ugh, I don't know if I'm more sad or more mad...
She said she got it for $25 at a swap meet ...sigh....
 
#3 ·
some people truly are stupid, and it doesn't help when the people who work at the store are uninformed either. I seem to recall an incuident when I was standing in the hamster aisle looking at treats and I saw a woman looking at wire cages. (she had the box with the animal already in her cart.) THe one she was looking at was obviously too small for any of the hamsters they sold in the store, and she looked confused, so I offered to give her some advice. I simply told her that I though solid cages were better. Well, come to find out that what she was buying was a mouse (1 mouse) for her young daughter. The bars on the cage she was looking at were wide enough for me to get a finger through. There was no way that she was going to keep a mouse in it, and I told her so. "Oh really?" she said. "Well this is what the man over there told me to get." I pointed out the space and all and she thanked me and bought something plastic. SOme people just don't get it i guess.
 
#4 ·
Lizgirl said:
We need stricter laws on importing, I believe.
Really, I'm all for better regulating of importation, but most species commonly found in pet stores are captive born now (including veiled and jackson's chameleons), so in the end all it would do is end up jacking up the prices so pet stores would just make more money from people doing the exact same things. And if you believe that raising the price on these animals would deter some of the ignorants? Think again, it might get a few, but not as many as you would think. I've seen people walk out of local pet stores carrying a box with a 500+ dollar animals in it that they knew nothing about. I got a call just the other day about a guy who brought a 250 dollar anaconda back to the pet store because it bit him. Well duh, anacondas aren't known for being especially friendly - now what would have happened if it had taken until the anaconda got to 15+ feet long before he realized that? :)

Rav
 
#5 ·
"Stupid person at Petco" is kind of an oxymoron, isn't it?" Very few people in there know their butts from a hole in the ground - so you better make sure you so some stupdying before buying!!

Eat well and prosper!! (from someone who is sitting here totall oujt of bird pellets right now!!)
 
#8 ·
Yes! I have a small lizard that used to eat around at LEAST 15 a day! That is rediculous. And when people try to get hired there- they're app. doesn't ask anything about animals. Im sorry but if I was doing a pet store, I would offer something for the employess to research on and/or I would have a good bit of pet related info for them to answer on the application!!

Just like that "lady" at PetSmart. And these two stores are SOO popular.. and most people working there know nothing about animals... makes me sooo mad too.

I've helped a couple people answer questions that I've everheard because the employees can't just admit they don't know, they'd rather give their (WRONG) answer to look smart. grr.
 
#9 ·
I probably have to much to say on the subject of stupid people at pet stores, so I'll hold back a LITTLE! I think that before someone is going to work in a petstore they should have to take classes on the animals that they are going to be over (like in that animal department). I also think that before someone can buy an animal they should take classes or at least pass a common sense test.
I go to the petsmart here simlpy because sometimes I don't need enough to order off the internet and to be honest I've become really good friends wuth the dog trainer over at our 'Petsmart' and he actually does know about animals, of course he is also going to college to become an exotic pet vet. But the other people in there know me enough from going in there so much that they actually stop me and ask me questions. For instance the other day when I was in there that had just gotten a 'Eyelash Gecko' (crested Gecko) in on the truck and they didn't even know how to take care of the poor thing, they had HEAT bulbs on him :mad: So I had to set them straight and get the poor little thing back to where he needed to be temperature wise.
In Fact my fiance hates to take me in the pet store out in our mall, It's horrible all those parrots that have been there for god only knows how long . And the ferrets that are supposed to be white but instead they are yellow from poor diet. It ****** me off . So his answer is why don't you open up your own pet store? And I told him they would never get sold because I 'd be too protective.
I think that's all for now!!
AngelaT
 
#12 ·
dappledoxie said:
My gosh that really sucks. I hate it for the animals that people like that own. I am so happy that I have my animals and that I know they are spoiled.

Our specialty manager now is a vet. tech. So for now...things are going pretty good. We have a few highschool kids that work over there, something I am very against. For the most part... everyone i work with knows a bit about animals... there is just one girl.. the disabled girl nobody can fire....
She claims to know things that she doesn't know...that's dangerous. She is the type who makes it up if she doesn't know.
 
#13 ·
i hate going into stores and asking questions and the person working never knows. its like that in almost any kind of store now days. even car stores like autozone and such.
 
#14 ·
I hate to hear about stuff like this. I've always believed that if you're going to sell something you should know as much about it as possible...

That's why when I get a job at PetsMart I'm going to be prepared. I'm going to learn all I can about the animals in the store and I even plan on printing off caresheets to give to people. I figure that even though I can't really stop big-name stores like PetsMart or Petco, I can try to make them a little better from the inside. I suppose, sometimes, the best way to beat the system is to be part of it.
 
#15 ·
petco is pretty bad...we went in there once, and their reptiles were near death. Very sad.
PetsMart has care sheets on every animal they sell, no need to print anything out for people. We even have caresheets/books on animals we don't sell, and for the most part, the staff is pretty well educated.
 
#16 ·
They already have caresheets? Well, that's definately a good thing. :yes:

I've noticed that PetsMarts do tend to be leaps and bounds better than Petcos. I (and my whole family now) refuse to buy anything from Petco anymore after seeing and hearing some really bad animal cases coming from them...
 
#17 ·
Plaidikins said:
They already have caresheets? Well, that's definately a good thing. :yes:

I've noticed that PetsMarts do tend to be leaps and bounds better than Petcos. I (and my whole family now) refuse to buy anything from Petco anymore after seeing and hearing some really bad animal cases coming from them...

Just a word of caution though, don't ever believe something just because it's on the internet... always check things out for yourself. I didn't believe how bad PetsMart allegidly was, and once I started working there, found out that a lot of the reports about us are false.
 
#18 ·
Yeah, I know. But I've actually seen some animals in really bad shape in the Petcos... I've yet to actually see anything bad in a PetsMart, though as with any large company I'm sure there are some bad cases. I don't believe PetsMart is all too bad, all things considered, which is why I chose to work there and not Petco. :)
 
#19 ·
Ok, we're all riled up about Petco, but what about the Banfield Pet Hospitol inside of Petsmart? After my Exoptic Shorthair (shorthaired Persian) had kittens, I brought her into Banfield for an oxitocin shot. This is the shot that causes the uterus to contract and expell all of the afterbirth that didn't come out as planned. My regular vet was in emergency surgery for the day, so I had no other alternative. When the Banfield vet saw my kitty, he knew nothing about her breed, and even told me that my girl had an upper respitory infection because she had snotty eyes. For those of you who haven't seen a Persian or an Exotic, snotty drippy eyes are a trademark of the breed and the eyes require daily cleaning much like the wrinkles of a pug. Astonished by the lack of knowledge, I explained the breed standard to the vet. He proceeded to argue with me, telling me that I was in denial and that I was killing my cat by breeding her while she was sick. When I began to ask for my shot so I could leave, the vet flew into a rage and screamed "That's enough out of you woman! Take your shot and leave." Using my better judgement, I did leave. In fact, I left without even getting the shot. After all, why would I allow a psycho to touch my precious kitty? What if she moved the wrong way and the vet went off the handle? I tried reporting the incident to Petsmart, who has no say in the matter, and was directed to the Banfield corporate office. They took my complaint, explaining that the vet was going through a divorce and was a little edgy, and then explained how they had no jurisdiction over the matter since the hospitol was franchised and the vet who yelled at me was the owner. You just can't win some days..........
 
#20 ·
RareBreedExotic said:
They took my complaint, explaining that the vet was going through a divorce and was a little edgy, and then explained how they had no jurisdiction over the matter since the hospitol was franchised and the vet who yelled at me was the owner. You just can't win some days..........
yes, Banfield is a franchise, we add them to our stores as a convience. I am sorry you had such a bad experience. Typically the Banfield vets are held to the same great customer sevice standards that all PetsMart employees are held to. Everyone hits a bad patch in their lives at one point in time or another, and a lot of people have trouble keeping their work and homelives sepearte. Someone in his position should know better, and as I said, I am very sorry you had a bad experience. Reporting him to Banfield corporate was a good move, perhaps they can get him some help. :thumbsup:
Unfortunatly, there are bad vets... I hate to say that, as these are people who are supposed to be committed to animal care, which of course involves having good interpersonal relation skills. We not only rely on them for prompt and accurate animal care, but for comfort as well. I honestly hope that the man recieved some help from his corporate HQ.
 
#21 ·
An aquintance once worked at petco. Their district manager insisted that all herp cages contain hot rocks to promote customers buying them. The fact that the employees knew how awful hot rocks were, was a moot point. Atleast the employees here were educated, however, and the hot rocks were never plugged in and they refused to sell any to customers.

In my area I've found petsmart to be leaps and bounds worse in regards to employee ignorance. You have to remember the store is as only good as its employees, so sometimes you get lucky.

I tend to buy supplies from mail order catalogs and animals from breeders. If I am shopping at a pet store I'd rather pay more to support a quality independant shop, than succumb to patronizing chain stores.
 
#22 ·
My local Petco has started giving out care sheets. They're not great, but at least they get people started. They also stopped carrying hot rocks without built in thermostats. (Though, the ones with the thermostats still get too **** hot and the thermostats are known for frying and the rock overheating anyway) But again, they're making an effort. It is nice to see, especially after I reamed them for their gerbils that had mites. :p

Rav
 
#23 ·
I tend to shop at both PetSmart and PetCo but find Petsmart takes better care of thier reptiles. Some stuff at Petsmart cant be found at PetCo and vice versa.
 
#24 ·
So so sad....

Exotica said:
Our specialty manager now is a vet. tech. So for now...things are going pretty good. We have a few highschool kids that work over there, something I am very against. For the most part... everyone i work with knows a bit about animals... there is just one girl.. the disabled girl nobody can fire....
She claims to know things that she doesn't know...that's dangerous. She is the type who makes it up if she doesn't know.
At least the girl you work with has an excuse for misleading customers.....she's disabled. You have to have some sympathy for her on that note because she probably doesn't realize the damage she is doing and is just trying to fit in and "do her job." She may think that you guys are making it up as you go along also! You have to empathize with the challenges she faces every day.....socially, emotionally, and intellectually. It's when I see fully capable people lying, knowing that they could be misleading someone, that I get upset. They don't have an excuse. Instead of being upset with her and hoping that she gets fired, maybe you could start showing her "better jobs" in the paper. I used to work in a preschool and one of the aides was a fully diagnosed schizophrenic. She honestly lived three different lives due to her illness, and was only 24 years old. I felt sorry for her, especially because she had two kids at home and no husband. I eventually found her "a really great job that she would just love" because our director didn't have the heart to fire her but she wasn't suited to work around children. Very sweet girl....just off a bit. You have to remember, it's not their fault they have problems.....
 
#25 ·
Chain stores don't have the monopoly on ignorance. There was a fellow in our local mall, (there is only one where I live), who was selling hermit crabs. He knew nothing about them. Several times a day, he would run a rake over them to "wake them up" and give them the appearance of health because they were moving around :hammer: . The poor things are nocturnal. Half the time the poor things would not even make it to someone's home alive.

Fortunately, the mall just had a PetCo move in, so every other pet shop in the mall lost their contract. Our PetCo is so new that they have imported some "specialists." We only have three other pet stores of any consequence in our county, and the people who own them make sure that the animals are cared for and that patrons go home with accurate information. The population of our county is small enough that if they don't, EVERYONE knows and a lot of business is lost.

My mother and I sell some of our guinea pigs to one of them. So we want to make sure that they will end up in good hands.

As for the comments about folk with mental health issues, there are better ways to deal with it. Some are very teachable, and should not be given up on so easily. I have a niece with downs syndrome. Her parents adopted her at 10 months and was told that she would never amount to anything. She is now 14 and in regular classrooms. I, myself, have several issues that I need to deal with on a daily basis. One in Obsessive-compulsive disorder. This acutely comes in handy in that when I get interested in a new pet (or any subject for that matter), I get books, look up Internet sites, and consult about everyone that I know that might have any information that I can glean from them. Afterwards, I sort out everything that I can use. So don't give up on people. They might surprise you.
 
G
#26 ·
I can do you one better.

There is a private vendor at a local mall here who has started selling sugar gliders, which are also nocturnal, at a kiosk. Around here, they're the latest fad pet. Poor things were getting rousted from their sleep in the middle of the day to get passed around a group of strangers. There were people leaving with gliders who had never heard of them before. No cage. No other supplies. Just gliders in bonding pouches.

I contacted someone, who's been contacting people and making phonecalls. Hopefully the situation will be resolved...

But I agree. PetCo and Petsmart tend to be in the negative spotlight a lot because they are chain stores. Within the chain, there are good stores and there are bad stores... it's the bad stores that give the chains a bad name. And this phenomenon is not limited to chains at all.
 
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