ATTN: Anyone who's ever been to *****!!!

[danedodger]

The back and forth bashing, defending, fighting over ***** is really bothering me tonight. For one I agree with many others that highjacking some poor person's thread to yell back and forth about ***** while not answering the questions they need answering in the first place is hard to see. For another fighting in general just bothers me. Last I am the Aquatics Specialist at one ***** and I'm very proud of the job I do with my fish. I don't know it all but I work hard to learn more and more and I do my best to only get hardy animals that I do know how to care for so far. True, the others in the store don't give the kind of care I do so when I'm off things can take a turn for the worse, which bothers me a lot, but I truly care and am searching for ways to keep this from happening. I'm also very careful to post not for sale signs when I see a problem and am up front and honest with people so that they don't lose their money on a fish that may not make it. It also bothers me that many people are so vehemenantly opposed to the company I work for. I once worked for a truly horrific petshop, puppy mill pups sold, selling fish known to have ich at the time, feeding a baby bird handfeeding mixture so hot it burned a hole through his crop...I could tell you some REAL horror stories!!! And I'm VERY proud to say that I was a big part of getting that awful place shut down at the location I worked for! I would never, ever, ever work for a place so geared towards profit that they don't give a single fig for the suffering they cause!! I honestly, truly believe that ***** Corporate DOES care but they can't be everywhere at once and it all boils down to the quality of employees in each store.
So let's see what we can do about it! I'd like to get as many stories from people as possible detailing what they've seen, experiences, etc. good or bad at *****. Please be as detailed as possible! If possible include names of people you talked to, the location, dates, times, pics if any (like the one I saw recently of the dead powder blue from *****), etc. And ask others from the hobby, other websites, whatever to do the same (they can come here or email me at DaneDodgers@aol.com) I will do my best to compile all of these along with a letter from me, post it all up for suggestions/editing, and send it off to corp.
And if I lose my job because of it I'm counting on all of you to send me a few bucks each twice a month so I can feed the kiddos!!!!!!!

:hilarious

Jeez, joking aside, this is really scary for me!!!! I love my job and can't afford to lose it but I have a habit of standing up for what's right. I've tried to break it without a ton of luck so far It's lost me jobs in the past, if nothing else I've definitely learned that the squeeky wheel doesn't get the oil, it gets replaced!!! But I'm willing to give it a go if everyone will help me out so whattaya say?

 

[cowfishrule]

the 2 pecto's around me are real dumps. i wouldnt even waste my time with names.

 

[cheyco]

Wow, I didn't realize my comment would cause such a stir but I can understand people are very passionate about their fish and voice opinions when they see negligence in the industry. I would feel the same way except that I really do have a good *****. Actually I should say I have a really good aquatics manager there. She will even pop in on her day off sometimes to make sure the fish look okay. She doesn't claim to know everything but doesn't give bad advise as opposed to being honest. If you ask her a question and she isn't sure she will look it up while you are there. She refuses to sell a sick fish to a customer. (I've seen it happen) and when she is on vacation she will not put in an order for the saltwater fish so that other workers won't screw them up, such as putting incompatible fish together. She gets angry with ***** when one of their "polocies" isn't what is best, such as she wanted to have the lights changed on the side that holds the anenomes because it had been a year. ***** said no because it wasn't burnt out yet. Therfore she is going to set up another 50 gal corner tank to house them so she can take a light off the shelf and do it herself. She has the regular ***** set up and then also four 50 gal. corners going. By the way I've seen her set each one of those up and not put anything in them each time untill after about six weeks. So I guess in conclusion my opinion is positive not so much for ***** but because of Kim but I would probably feel different if I was seeing what everyone else does around the country. Oh yeah and this is in Waldorf, MD.

 

[snailheave]

i go to ***** for cat food.
sometimes i pick up a bucket of salt mix there as well.
i think you should put your family first ahead of anything else.

 

[chipmaker]

I had a few beefs about critter care in *****, (fish mainly) but I have to agree that ***** does indeed care, but can not be everwhere at once, and has to rely on locally hired indivuduals from associates to management. While it may not be something to brag about, I did have a hand in an employee beiing terminated, due to that persons inept care and handling of fish and aquarium products......long story.......but management handled it, refreshed all employees on proper processes, and kept an eye on them. It did not take long until that individual was back to his opld ways and was terminated.........The young girl that normally handles the fish, mainly the marine fish and accessories, has now been promoted up to management, and she does intend to have a well kept fish department and is doing her best.........Just because some folks have problems at ***** does not make ALL petcos bad......Afterall I have had nothing but troubles with Fords, but it certianly does not make all Fords the same...........and it really was not Fords actual problem as much as it was the dealership, so its no different than *****'s. There are some great *****'s and Petsnarts out there, unfortunately Petsmart does not sell marine fish.....But overall I think the best thing is that can happen, is that Wal MArt does not handle marine fish..........
Biggest gripe I have with the parger and even now the msaller lfs are they use one or two cnetral filtration systems........I can understand why they do, and its certainly not improbable that stores will get sick fish, and simply hanging a sign on the tanks NOT FOR SALE or Under Observation etc on the tanks does little to stem any spread of a problem.......That said, common systems is the norm today. The local ***** here has made a setup in the back storage area away from the public access area and utilized a section of tanks that they had replaced as hospital tanks for both marine and FW fish......So this store does indeed care and tries to address the problems the best they can. My hat is off to this young girl manager and the way she manages *****......

 

[danedodger]

Great start, thanks!!! More more more

Where's all the folks that JUMPED to yak about it in other threads around the board? Where's poppnfresh (hope I got that right!) who used to work for *****?

 

[danedodger]

Oh come on!!!! Normally when someone says "*****" here there's two dozen people waiting in line to say something bad they've seen there! Now when someone puts their butt on the line to try to actually do something about it everyone clams up???

 

[scubadoo]

All *****'s are owned by corporate in San Diego. THere is NO local ownership/franchise . They have a horrible record in general regarding pet care. They have also been fined for making false claims regarding the security of their website and will now be monitored for a period of 10 years. Addtionally, they were sued for printing fruadulent information on their prospectus and had to pay a substantial amount to stockholders which purchsed stock during this period...late 90's.
5% of the gross sales come from sellig live aniamls. The live animals are only there to lure you into the store to buy other products.
Certainly there are many good folks working at ***** that should be patted on the back.
Unfortunately, overall good or acceptable pet care at many *****'s is the exception rather than the rule. Not all or bad...but the good ones are in the minority.
Many lfs's also have been guilty of poor pet care. ***** is simply big and therefore it is easy to target them.
However, ***** does make claims regarding pet care that many stores obviously do not follow.
Given their coparate structure of no franchise ownership...by supporting one Pertco you support them all.
Sorry to say but ***** is 100% geared for profit..their track record proves it...and the fact live animal sales are probably losing money (net profit) once expenses are netted. They make money on all the dry goods, food, etc...the live aniamls are simply a "dog & pony" show to get folks into the store so they will purchase other goods besides live animals...which is why at many they are simply neglected....they lose money. in this speciifc area.

 

[scubadoo]

There is a link on the ***** website to report findings..

 

[maeistero]

i visited 3 *****'s in the johnson county kansas area and walked out of all of them in less than 10 min. the state of their freshwater fish was bad enough, and looking at the saltwater fish made me sick. these places must get daily shipments or they wouldn't even have salt fish.
i thought about applying for a job because i make jackmoney in retail anyways, but i don't think they would pay me the hours or salary it would take to make a respectable appearance.
show me a ***** exec with a fishtank. then tell me it isn't maintained by somebody else. tell me they wouldn't miss it a bit if they were promoted to another city and forgot about it.
this may be the fall of the environment, corporate america abusing just for economy....

 

[scubadoo]

Originally Posted by maeistero
i visited 3 *****'s in the johnson county kansas area and walked out of all of them in less than 10 min. the state of their freshwater fish was bad enough, and looking at the saltwater fish made me sick. these places must get daily shipments or they wouldn't even have salt fish.
i thought about applying for a job because i make jackmoney in retail anyways, but i don't think they would pay me the hours or salary it would take to make a respectable appearance.
show me a ***** exec with a fishtank. then tell me it isn't maintained by somebody else. tell me they wouldn't miss it a bit if they were promoted to another city and forgot about it.
this may be the fall of the environment, corporate america abusing just for economy....
THere is nothing wrong with making money......but all *****'s should honor and follow the claims that are made and advertised.
This company has long been watched by numerous groups. These so-called problems are known in San Diego...not a secret.
The only way to get the attention in San Diego headquarters is to take your money elsewhere. The problem is that live animals as I have stated make up such a small percentage of sales......you would need to simply stop buying form the chain.
Animals unlike workers or customers cannot leave this situation.

 

[scubadoo]

Coporate certainly is aware..and I am amazed that someone would think they actually 'care". ..
Here are the some facts.....
***** operates 670 stores in 44 states and in the District of Columbia. For the fiscal year ending January 31, 2004 in its Form 10-K annual report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission claimed $1.65 billion in net sales.
In all ***** Animal Supplies has agreed to pay $651,754 in fines and investigative cost for allegedly neglecting animals and overcharging customers. They must also spend $202,500 to install better equipment in its California stores to eliminate overcharging.
Animal sales make up only 5% of the companies revenues according to a statement by the CEO Brian Devine.
The types of animal care problems that occurred in over 100 stores in 27 states from March and April 2004 were:
Ill and injured animals were deprived of veterinary care
* Birdcages contained spiders and webs from lack of cleaning
* Parakeets were kept in tiny enclosures, their food full of excrement
* Parakeets who tested positive for psittacosis were left for sale
* Birds escaped their enclosures and flew around the store only to die because they were left uncaught
* A bird who was purchased and returned to the store had previously been sold and returned for behavioral reasons
* Bird food was spoiled
* Turtles infected with parasites were sold to ***** customers and subsequently died
* Many dead fish were kept in overcrowded and parasite infested tanks
* Dead fish and hermit crabs were on display
* Beta fish were kept in tiny cups in which they couldn't move
* Saltwater tanks were flooded with freshwater, killing all the fish inside
* Fish purchased from the store infected customers other fish, killing them as well
* Live, healthy fish were removed from tanks and slammed against a table so they could be fed to turtles
* Ferrets were lethargic and obviously ill
* Rabbits were kept in unsexed tanks and were covered in scabs
* Animals were left without water
* Reptiles were being kept in filthy enclosures
*
Reptiles that escaped their enclosures were found dead weeks later or were stepped on
Lizards were left for dead in tanks next to bones of other dead lizards
* Mite covered reptiles were kept in dark and dank sick rooms some left for up to 2 months
* Rodents were being kept in overcrowded tanks
* Rodents born in the store were released into the woods
* Rats were found to be suffering from upper respiratory infections after being purchased, unweaned or died after being diagnosed with an ear infection
* An obviously ill gerbil who was bleeding from the eyes and nose was on display with a healthy gerbil
* Groomers were seen abusively handling animals. The animals were left with severe razor burns that required veterinary care. One dog was slammed against a table and choked, another was kicked and had its fur torn from its face
* A kitten was unable to open his eyes after a grooming appointment, an untrained employee had bathed the animal
* Employees did not seem knowledgeable about proper animal care and housing
* An employee was seen laughingly sucking 2 parakeets into a vacuum, the birds died as a result and the employee was allowed to continue working at the store
* A store manager removed the infected eye of a hamster and left the blinded hamster still for sale
* Hamsters kept in the sick rooms died of wet tail with medications being withheld. These same hamsters were given cabbage to promote diarrhea to kill them
* Ill frogs were crammed into feces-strewn enclosures
* Lethargic and ill guinea pigs were left for sale
* Sick guinea pigs were attacked in their enclosures by loose rats
* Mice were found dying in snap and glue traps
* A mouse who appeared to be dying was on display, the animal was stuck in a running wheel and having difficulty breathing
* A previously healthy chinchilla became dehydrated and began to suffer from diarrhea after being given improper bedding
Soaked chinchillas were kept in tiny cages with no room to escape dripping water bottles
Frogs were burned alive by heat lamps
Note: The SFACC, PETA and Humane Societies compiled this information from customer complaints and investigations and were instrumental in pursuing the lawsuits.

 

[danedodger]

Ok well I'll let this post sit here for awhile to see if we get anymore. Thanks to everyone who's replied so far!!!!! I'm not going to corporate without a lot more info though so I really do appreciate those that took the time to reply but for all the others I've seen sounding off about ***** all over these boards, what gives?

You finally have an "inside guy" (although I'm a gal :hilarious ) willing to try and change things for the better, the very things you've been griping about, and you won't even bother to post? It's like voting, if you don't vote you have no real leg to stand on to gripe.

 

[lradlbeck]

I have a local pet store that I can't stomach to go into.
Warminster, PA
ALL of the SW tanks are so covered in algae that you can't even see what is in them, which is even scarier - some of the fish have ick so bad you can see it though the algae. I wouldn't buy the LR from them as it is so crusted in the same algae that you can't see what color the rock REALLY is - there may be good *****'s out there but this certinately isn't one!
Liz
Good for you trying to make a difference you should be proud!

 

[danedodger]

Thank you, Liz!!! Both for the post and for the pat on the back

 

[keleighr]

Originally Posted by DaneDodger
Ok well I'll let this post sit here for awhile to see if we get anymore. Thanks to everyone who's replied so far!!!!! I'm not going to corporate without a lot more info though so I really do appreciate those that took the time to reply but for all the others I've seen sounding off about ***** all over these boards, what gives?

You finally have an "inside guy" (although I'm a gal :hilarious ) willing to try and change things for the better, the very things you've been griping about, and you won't even bother to post? It's like voting, if you don't vote you have no real leg to stand on to gripe.
Ok
Here was my experiance.
Just right off the back, this was all in ONE trip to my local *****.
I took my children up to the store to look at Birds because we had Fostered a very sick Dove that had finally passed away. (very proud to say that we were told that it lived longer in our care than expected.) Well my son had become very attached and so we decided that we wold buy a new bird.
I spoke with one of the girls at lenght regarding Love Birds. SHe was adament about not purchasing on due to the behavorial problems that come with them. (we have 2 at my job, no problems just a little loud!)
She then talked to me about Cockatiels. So we went (just my kids and I)over and looked at them. I asked for assistance from a young gentleman. He tried to open the cage or whatever it is considered, looked more like a drawer. Well it wouldn't open, it jammed. Instead of slowly trying to open it he was banging the door over and over and over again. I kept telling him to forget because the birds were scared sh**less. Another girl comes over to help and she in turn does EXACTLY the same thing.
During this the original helper is "rescuing" a Guinea pig whos poor head was stuck in one of the toys. I have no idea what she was using to get the poor things head out but the poor things was making noises that weren't happy you are saving me noises. My kids were asking was it dying!! She gets it off with a little loss of the poor baby's ear. YES she took a piece off of it's ear. NO treatment done just thrown back in the cage.
All the while the door banging is STILL going on.
They were having Adopt a Pet day as well, at this point one of the helpers from that area is talking about a lizard that seems to be in trouble. The lizard wasn't in trouble at all, unfortunately (as stated above) it was raosting in its' aquarium.
They also had there Gold Fish tank over filled with more than 1/2 dead! (at least 30 fish were floating or stuck to the filtering system
FINALLY "no don't get the love bird get a cockiteiel" comes over to SAVE the cocktiels from the 2 employees from banging them to death.
She reaches in and GRABS one roughly and says "See how friendly they are!!" No sooner had she finished the sentence did the cocktiel swivel her head and BITE the girl. The girl starts swinging her hands up and down (not saying Yipee at all, let's say the kids looked at me as if we were in an episode of The Osbournes). I thought she was going to shake the poor thing to death. At this point the Guy ***** worker decides that this is the best time to announce that "This was the reason why he wasn't going to stick his hand in there." He had no idea when the last time the birds had ever been HELD!!!
I BOUGHT THE BIRD!! I was so afraid she was going to kill I couldn't leave it there!!
Sweetie Pie is exactly how her name describes the way she is now. IT took months for me to slowly bring her back to thinking people were OK. I went on line to learn the BEST way to handle a bird SLOWLY.
I agree that not all Petcos are bad. But there was a comment made about the pay that folks get to do the job.
The sad thing is that it is going to be the younger children who take it becasue there is no way a person with a family can truly afford to work there. Or if they do work there and the pay is as horrible as described most folks do not CARE about the quality of service that these animals get.
I am glad to see that you are the rare one that understands that these animals rely on us to take care of them. That if we had never dragged them into ou world that they would be living where they are supposed to be, which is of course FREE.
Most of my anilmals have been strays or fostered.
If I can give them a better life than what they had (this is including my poor tramatized bird!!) then I will do it.

 

[nmocean]

About a year and half ago, a ***** opened in Carson City, Nevada. My mom and I went to see the new store, and see what kind of saltwater fish they had. Sadly, we saw this ghostly white, barely breathing, floating sideways Volitan Lionfish. As we were staring at this dying fish, an employee walks over and says "Beautiful fish, huh?" We both looked at her and said "That is NOT a healthy fish". She says "He is perfectly healthy, all lionfish do that".
I highly doubt this lionfish would have survived capture and transport, but here this employee was trying to sell me a fish that, obviously would not have survived long enough for me to make it through the checkout. It was bad enough to have a fish on display that sick, but the employee made it worse by trying to make a sale out of it. I pretty much try to steer clear of this *****, occassionally when PetSmart is out of the dog food I buy, I will end up getting it at *****.
I appreciate and applaud your efforts in trying to make a difference with ***** at corporate level. I hope this story will help!!
YOU GO GIRL!!

-Jen

 

[chipmaker]

While I have already posted my 2 cents worth on *****......One episode in particular wa kind of interesting for me anyhow, not for the customer.
We had gone into ***** for a few odds and ends, much closer than Petsmart.....The wife can spend and entire day in ***** or any other LFS, day after day after day....... so I was getting impatient. I am a smoker so I told her I was going out front to have a smoke. Did that came back in to see where she was at, and there was a huge 210 gal tank on a wooden stand on a dolly being pushed out the doors to the front of the outside. Man...cool someones getting a 210 setup..........So since the customer was standing there with the setup while waiting for more ***** employees to arrive tolend a hand in loading it in his truck, I sparke du p a conversation........Then I noticed the tank was not setting in down on the stand as usual, but was actually setting on thre 1 x 4 typical trim that is stapled and glued and nailed etc around the top of the stands perimeter.......Certainly the stand was too small for this tank, and that trim was not meant to hold that tank.....I brought it to the customers attention, who just looked at it and said hmmmmmmm, have to ask about that, so low and behold out comes ther fish tech of Petcos, and he asks if that tank was suposed to fit on that stand that way.........to which the employee stated yep, thats the way.....not a problem. So it all gets loaded and off it goes, probably with that customer think I was a dumba$$.....Within a week or so that tank, along with stand a lots of gravel etc was setting outside the back loading ramp door at *****, busted to heck........You could tell it did have gravel init, as it was even in the stand and in places in the tank.......glass on varous panels and such was busted......I just thought, yea right its supposed to be that way.......The same individual that hand grabbed fish and abused the daylights out of them when trying to net them, thatw e had a run in with wa the same exact "Fish Tech" that sold this fellow the 210 gal tank and stated yea thats ok, not a problem....He no longer works there for some reason or other, and I seriously doubt he quit on his own account.

 

[danedodger]

Woohoo thanks to the additional posters!!! :cheer: I'm starting to think that maybe we really can pull off enough posts to contact corp with! I still want to get about double or even triple this number before I give it a go so if anyone wouldn't mind doing a little extra work ask others to post their experiences or even if you want to do even more extra work than that and you have a ***** nearby go take a look then post what you see!
You'll be helping the fishies and even me because I'd REALLY like to be able to say "I work for *****" and people to admire that one day!

 

[mudplayerx]

IBTL