Best LFS Story

[robsw]

everyone always likes a knowledgable LFS. but sometimes when they dont know to much, its great for the custmer too. today i walked into a store that just started saltwater. they just got in their first shipment of corals and had just unpacked it when i got there. they kept asking me what this and that type of coral was. i noticed that in their shipment of soft corals they had a 3" super orange monti cap. i told them not to keep in in their display tank with the leathers and i would buy it, so they scrambled for their price list in the shipping package to see how much they paid for it and they could not find it.
in the end i got
- 3" orange monti cap
- 7 2" Green florida ricordea polyps
- 4 1" Orange Florida ricordea polyps
- 3 1" Blue Florida Rics
all for 50$
as they say
you dont know what you got till its gone

 

[murph]

Originally Posted by RobSW
everyone always likes a knowledgable LFS. but sometimes when they dont know to much, its great for the custmer too. today i walked into a store that just started saltwater. they just got in their first shipment of corals and had just unpacked it when i got there. they kept asking me what this and that type of coral was. i noticed that in their shipment of soft corals they had a 3" super orange monti cap. i told them not to keep in in their display tank with the leathers and i would buy it, so they scrambled for their price list in the shipping package to see how much they paid for it and they could not find it.
in the end i got
- 3" orange monti cap
- 7 2" Green florida ricordea polyps
- 4 1" Orange Florida ricordea polyps
- 3 1" Blue Florida Rics
all for 50$
as they say
you dont know what you got till its gone
My guess is they are going to figure it out eventually. I would suggest some kind of disguise if you have to go back in there any time soon :joy:

 

[xdave]

My favorite is called RMS Aquaculture in the Cleveland OH area. They have 4 or 5 stores now. Their swf tanks are 10's with only 1 or 2 fish each of only net caught or tank raised juvis around 2"-4", clowns and damsels 5 each, and around 10% -25% lower than anyone else. They dont spoil them with a live brine only diet, they actually ween them on to flake. All the fish were beautifully colored and very alert, playful, and curious. When you look in a tank and the fish acts like he knows you, thats a good sign.
My favorite quote from there would be 1 time the guy told somebody "that will be a lot cheaper at the grocery store, save your money for a bigger tank".

 

[ninjamini]

Originally Posted by rebeccabut
Good business is not making as much as you can off of one person. Good business is having lots of returning customers because the service is good.
That is true, very true. But a returning customer that buys crap because I told him too is a better customer. Keep them happy and buying.
Originally Posted by rebeccabut
You give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. You teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime, and keeps coming to your store for fishing rods/nets/tackle/bait/etc.
Especially if you teach him to fish using only your rods/nets/tackle/bait/etc. If you over-teach the man in this scenario he will make his own rods/nets/tackle/bait/etc. Then your out of business.
You can fool most of the people most of the time and most of them thank you for it.

 

[rebeccabut]

and then when they find out you made a fool out of them, they open another LFS and ruin your reputation and take all your business by offering honest, reliable service.
... and then you don't just do bad business, you do no business.
whatever happened to the golden rule?
as a customer of living, breathing things, i would apprecaite LFS people selling me the right things that I need to keep them living in a beautiful environment. But more importantly how to properly use the items that I buy. Luckily, I feel like the two LFS I go to send me out of the store with equipment and knowledge. They know that the more money they save me, the more money I have to buy their pree-mo stuff ... the stuff I really want in my tank, and the stuff they want to sell to someone who can keep it alive.
By the way
Its great when you have a store run by hobbyists. Not just the owner knows what he's doing, but the rest of the workers have hobbies aquarium-ing, breeding and fragging, etc. in their garages. Its like finding that hardware store on the corner thats been there for 30 years run by a grandpa that built his house wiht his own hands. A breath of fresh air after shopping at home depot and wal-mart your whole life. Personalized, honest service from someone who knows exactly what you're talking about.