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How do you react at a LFS?

Poll Results: How do you react at a LFS?

 
  • 14% (16)
    Interrupt the conversation and correct the employee.
  • 51% (56)
    Appoarch the customer, after the employee has left.
  • 27% (30)
    Continue to look with a big smile on your face, thinking what an idiot.
  • 5% (6)
    Or just refer them to SWF.com
108 Total Votes  
post #1 of 36
8/6/09 at 9:15am
Thread Starter 
A poster on another site put this poll up. I thought it would be fun to see what SWF peeps say.

"When at a LFS you overhear a conversation, going on between a employee and a customer. Just about everything that comes out of that employes mouth is wrong. Do you...."
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post #2 of 36
8/6/09 at 9:37am


I overheard a Petland manager tell a guy that he should keep his saltwater reef cold, no higher than 70 becuase he said "think about it ....the deep ocean is cold" another employee said "that makes sense" with two people saying it the guy walked out of the store to turn down, or remove his heaters. I was just someone hanging out in the store, THEY were the experts...I tried to explain a reef is shallow and warm but....I also told him about SWF.com..I doubt he checked us out.

How do you do a poll? could you PM me...I don't want to highjack your post to have you explain it to me.
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post #3 of 36
8/6/09 at 10:09am
I don't usually go to places that I know don't have good employees, but this has happened before to me.

If I hear it from an adult, I ignore it. There is nothing that I can really do aside from suggesting web forums and good books to the people. Now, if it is a teenager giving the advice, I can sometimes cut in, I've done that ONCE.

Most times, good advice is given, in the case that it isn't I'll just refer them to books and SWF.com
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post #4 of 36
8/6/09 at 11:11am
Depends on the degree of error. If it's going to really hurt the guys tank, I POLITELY interupt and correct. Usually the coffee shooting out of my mouth and me having a choking/coughing attack upon hearing the bad advice turns the conversation to me anyways.
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post #5 of 36
8/6/09 at 11:14am
If I am sure...LOL...I would politely interrupt, and I would also (have done this) refer them to this website for follow ups.....
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post #6 of 36
8/7/09 at 9:49am
I will interrupt the conversation in two seconds. Ask the guy where he learned all this and if he applies it to his own tanks. 9 out 10 times they dont even have their own tank. This hobby cost way too much darn money for some moron kid at a LFS to tell somebody who wants to spend their hard earned money and mess them up right off the bat for me not to say anything. Im a not a jerk about it but I will make the kid feel a little stupid. They learn that way. Next time they will think about blurting out complete non sense.
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post #7 of 36
8/7/09 at 10:14am
I'm pretty nice about interrupting, but I will make it clear, that the information is incorrect. and do my best to set both the customer and the employee in the correct direction. if needed I willl approach the manager/owner of the store to do what I can to help the situation. I dont know how many times I have been just scoping out the local stores and had the local employees direct their customers to me for questions. they know me well enough now that they dont really question my advice, which I have also warned them, isnt the best Idea. you should question everything and everyone 3,4 and 5 times over to be sure the information is accurate. I've been wrong on far more than one occasion.

I love giving the new employees a run for their money on their knowledge unfortunatly, in general, pet store employees are not hired for their knowledge but rather for their willingness to work for minimum wage. consider that when approaching a person for advice about a (potentially) multi-thousand dollar tank. and the more mistakes you make the more expensive it gets.
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post #8 of 36
8/8/09 at 10:13am
I used to interrupt, but now I try to stay out of it unless it's obviously going to cause harm to his livestock. I kind of figure that bad advice is dispensed all day long when I am not around. Besides, I also imagine that most people assume I don't know what I'm talking about because I'm not an employee, and just ignore me anyway.

But when I do intercede, I usually wait unitl the customer is alone and come over and just speak to them softly so as not to cause a scene.

Funny thing though... the LFS I visit... everyone knows me and half the time the employees pull me in to their conversations with customers and ask me for advice...
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post #9 of 36
11/2/09 at 5:48am
Originally Posted by spanko View Post
A poster on another site put this poll up. I thought it would be fun to see what SWF peeps say.

"When at a LFS you overhear a conversation, going on between a employee and a customer. Just about everything that comes out of that employes mouth is wrong. Do you...."
I was in a petco and the employee was training a new guy and told him that he didn't really need to ask the saltwater customers questions because they already know what they are doing. I thought it was funny
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post #10 of 36
11/2/09 at 5:56pm

Mis Information

I agree with everything SCSInet said ^5....Johnnie
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post #11 of 36
11/4/09 at 10:05pm
Originally Posted by choprjohn View Post
I agree with everything SCSInet said ^5....Johnnie
Agreeing with a 'mod' like SCSI......come on now......but it is exactly what I do also.
My 12 year old daughter is 'affectionately' known as the 'fish Nazi' in one LFS near us as she has displayed more knowledge than all the part time people and the store owner has told his staff that if he is not present and she is in the store just ask her.....If I could only get her to put in as much time with math as she does with swf...
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post #12 of 36
11/5/09 at 12:52am
Originally Posted by crypt keeper View Post
I will interrupt the conversation in two seconds. Ask the guy where he learned all this and if he applies it to his own tanks. 9 out 10 times they dont even have their own tank. This hobby cost way too much darn money for some moron kid at a LFS to tell somebody who wants to spend their hard earned money and mess them up right off the bat for me not to say anything. Im a not a jerk about it but I will make the kid feel a little stupid. They learn that way. Next time they will think about blurting out complete non sense.
I could not agree more!
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post #13 of 36
11/5/09 at 1:36am
if its something that i am pretty sure i know the answer to i will usually jump into the conversation playing dumb about it and ask if they have a book on what there talking about and have them look up the fish/coral and let them read the answer to my questions this way one, the other customer gets the correct answers and two, the employee has a better chance to correct themselves and learn something with out looking like a a--! and i get the satisfaction of watching him correct themselves and if i am wrong then i get corrected and i learn something. so either way it works out pretty good!
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post #14 of 36
11/5/09 at 9:44am
Originally Posted by SCSInet View Post
I used to interrupt, but now I try to stay out of it unless it's obviously going to cause harm to his livestock. I kind of figure that bad advice is dispensed all day long when I am not around. Besides, I also imagine that most people assume I don't know what I'm talking about because I'm not an employee, and just ignore me anyway.

But when I do intercede, I usually wait unitl the customer is alone and come over and just speak to them softly so as not to cause a scene.

Funny thing though... the LFS I visit... everyone knows me and half the time the employees pull me in to their conversations with customers and ask me for advice...
I was just at a LFS last weekend and an employee asked another customer if he would mind answering some of my questions because he did not know the answers. Whoever this guy was he sure knew his stuff, It was like being on this website but w/o having to use the search button!
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post #15 of 36
11/9/09 at 3:40pm
I guess I'm one of the few lucky people that has a good LFS

I like reading these threads though.

-Justin
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post #16 of 36
11/9/09 at 4:11pm
Originally Posted by Cranberry View Post
Depends on the degree of error. If it's going to really hurt the guys tank, I POLITELY interupt and correct. Usually the coffee shooting out of my mouth and me having a choking/coughing attack upon hearing the bad advice turns the conversation to me anyways.
That is a good ploy, I'd recommend spewing the coffee on the employee so he/she misses the part where you tell the poor customer that the employee is a moron...
Originally Posted by tatoo3 View Post
I was in a petco and the employee was training a new guy and told him that he didn't really need to ask the saltwater customers questions because they already know what they are doing. I thought it was funny
lol, good advice... The next line should be, maybe you should get them to teach you about it...
Originally Posted by Al Mc View Post
Agreeing with a 'mod' like SCSI......come on now......but it is exactly what I do also.
My 12 year old daughter is 'affectionately' known as the 'fish Nazi' in one LFS near us as she has displayed more knowledge than all the part time people and the store owner has told his staff that if he is not present and she is in the store just ask her.....If I could only get her to put in as much time with math as she does with swf...
Just show her the math involved. There is all sorts of dillutions with dosing, specific gravity has math involved. If she can do the math behind the tank, she'll be able to handle anything Mrs. 5th grade math teacher can toss her way...
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post #17 of 36
11/9/09 at 4:15pm
I will always wait untill the employee isn't around. I will then strike up a conversation with the person. "hey I overheard you were into saltwater fishtanks?" then I will slide in " You know I've been doing this a long time, that employee my not have given you the best advise you might want to try this"
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post #18 of 36
11/9/09 at 5:10pm
Originally Posted by johnr2604 View Post
I will always wait untill the employee isn't around. I will then strike up a conversation with the person. "hey I overheard you were into saltwater fishtanks?" then I will slide in " You know I've been doing this a long time, that employee my not have given you the best advise you might want to try this"


The sneak approach works great for me too...that would be my method, but when a store employee has a persons ear...you make no sound. They are sure the store people would know.

In my experiance...It is like going into the hospital..even though the advisor may just be a candy striper, you can't pipe in and refute whatever advice they offered...they will just nod their head politely and ignore you.

This is a pretty old post to resurrect.
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post #19 of 36
12/28/09 at 1:24pm
I only correct one of them. Of course he is the only one I have to correct. Let's just say I can't really stand him.
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post #20 of 36
12/30/09 at 11:32am
i always hate the young punk kids that work in the pet stores and they feed the lionfish,eels, and triggers 16 goldfish at a time and think its cool. man o man that just gets me.
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