The worst thing a LFS CUSTOMER ever said

[xdave]

People keep talkin about how dumb lfs workers can be, you should hear the customers. I told some guy something about his choice of fish not being compatable. He told me that the other fish guy said they were. I told him I was the only one working, and he took me around the isle and pointed at an 8 year old kid. He was wearing the same color shirt as us but seriously. The guy insisted the little kid obviously knew more than me and demanded to have the fish.
I know theres more LFS workers here, lets here some good ones.

 

[lion_crazz]

I have way too many stories to share. One that comes to mind immediatley is the story of the woman with damsels.
One time while working at an LFS, a woman came up to me with a plastic bag of one dead fish. It was a blue devil damsel. She said that she bought it last night and it died and she wanted to know why. I asked her what was in her tank, and she told me there were four more of these type of fish (other damsels). She said they all looked iffy right now. After 20 minutes of questioning her about her tank, I came to realize that she does not even have a saltwater tank. She set up her tank as freshwater, and was not cycling it with damsels. She had no clue that the fish she had purchased were saltwater, and the salesperson at this other LFS failed to tell her that 1) she should not cycle her tank with fish and 2) damsels are strictly saltwater fish. :scared:

 

[ryanhayes9]

in another thread i heard a person way buying 2 clowns and they asked.... how much table salt do we add to make it saltwater?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by lion_crazz
I have way too many stories to share. One that comes to mind immediatley is the story of the woman with damsels.
One time while working at an LFS, a woman came up to me with a plastic bag of one dead fish. It was a blue devil damsel. She said that she bought it last night and it died and she wanted to know why. I asked her what was in her tank, and she told me there were four more of these type of fish (other damsels). She said they all looked iffy right now. After 20 minutes of questioning her about her tank, I came to realize that she does not even have a saltwater tank. She set up her tank as freshwater, and was not cycling it with damsels. She had no clue that the fish she had purchased were saltwater, and the salesperson at this other LFS failed to tell her that 1) she should not cycle her tank with fish and 2) damsels are strictly saltwater fish. :scared:
Wow!

 

[canisee2]

thats terribly did the guy get fired.

 

[martinc909]

Originally Posted by ryanhayes9
in another thread i heard a person way buying 2 clowns and they asked.... how much table salt do we add to make it saltwater?
funny! :hilarious :hilarious :hilarious :hilarious

 

[fishrule]

Originally Posted by lion_crazz
I have way too many stories to share. One that comes to mind immediatley is the story of the woman with damsels.
One time while working at an LFS, a woman came up to me with a plastic bag of one dead fish. It was a blue devil damsel. She said that she bought it last night and it died and she wanted to know why. I asked her what was in her tank, and she told me there were four more of these type of fish (other damsels). She said they all looked iffy right now. After 20 minutes of questioning her about her tank, I came to realize that she does not even have a saltwater tank. She set up her tank as freshwater, and was not cycling it with damsels. She had no clue that the fish she had purchased were saltwater, and the salesperson at this other LFS failed to tell her that 1) she should not cycle her tank with fish and 2) damsels are strictly saltwater fish. :scared:

That is funny, yet not at all funny!!!

 

[seannmelly]

gotta love the customers!! I had one lady that wanted to buy a clownfish for her grandson's birthday. she says, "i don't know anything about the fish." we asked her if her grandson or the grandson's parents had a saltwater tank. she proceeds to go over to our goldfish selection and says, "they have a couple of these." and we, as politely as we could, told her that a clownfish is saltwater, and goldfish are freshwater. and she says, "o my, it can't go in with their other fish?" and then of course, you get the people that want to put a volitan lion in a 20gallon high because it looks cool, and you inform then that it can reach 15" and they look at you like you have 10 heads because the lion is only 5". and then people that have freshwater tanks ask you what it would take to get a saltwater tank going, and they see our display reef tank and ask if coral can go in a freshwater tank!!!! sorry for the rant! but these things happen on a daily basis!

 

[dmitry]

Those of us who have ever worked in retail certainly have stories to tell about how stupid people are. No doubt they go home complaining about how retarded and rude the clerks were (we read it here all the time), but really - there's nothing like customers. I used to work in a huge classical department in one of the largest record stores in the country and one woman came up telling me she found Strauss, but couldn't find Tchaikovsky. The alphabet must have been too confusing. And once a woman came in asking about Beethoven's recording of his own piano sonatas. :hilarious

 

[imurnamine]

This is actually too great. I had to go and find this post I had made earlier. I hate people sometimes... I get kind of cruel... Working two totally differing retail jobs per day CAN'T be good for my customers!

I'm the newest employee at our local pet store.
I am the only one who does saltwater, which is a majour reason why I was hired on.
My third day, I snapped at a lady. This is how it went. I have no shame.
*I am at the counter, la la la, standing there*
*Lady comes up with green net, clownfish food, and a packet of Oceanic Salt that mixes to approximately 5 gallons, she is talking on her cell phone... she looks like a drugged out skank, old enough to be my mother*
Lady (talking to whoever on her phone) : ...Yeah... I have six dayum-sells (translates to Damsels)... Thur still hidin... *Bla bla she talks for a few minutes and hangs up*
Me: (As I am ringing up her items) So, I see you have a saltwater tank. You've got 6 Damsels in it?
Lady: *Thinks about it because she is stupid* ...Yeah... I wanna get one of them Yellow Tangs...
Me: *Quite alarmed, wondering if her tank is even big enough* What size tank do you have?
Lady: *Has to think* ...Uhh... seventy-somethin'.
Me: Oh, okay... *Rings up stuff*
Lady: I think Ima get one tomorra.
Me: Oh? How long have you had your tank running?
Lady: Uhh... two days?
Me: !! Did you let it cycle? *Has totally stopped ringing things up, staring at her in disbelief*
Lady: *Looks at me like I am as stupid as I think that SHE is* Uhhh, what? I had your manager come and set up my tank.
Me: Uhh... Yeah! But you're supposed to let it cy- *Gets cut off by rude fat lady shushing me*
Lady: Look, Im busy Ive got to go.
Me: *Takes her money and gives her the change*
Lady: *Insert snide remark here about me knowing nothing, she walks toward the doors*
Me: *Slightly raises voice* Well in about a week when your Ammonia spikes and your fish die, come back and see me and I'll help you get your levels down! *Friendly wave*
Not all LPS employees are stupid when it comes to saltwater. It's the stupid-asses like that, that make us look bad...

 

[sepulatian]

Yes customers can get very nasty and they usually think they are right and you are insane no matter what you tell them or how polite you try to be.

 

[rara12]

oh finnaly a place to unload. I had a lady bring in a dead koi this morning and said she bought it at another ***** and that it died. So i asked if their are any other koi in her pond (ive never known of koi in tanks) and she said, "oh i have this" and held up a betta bowl...So sad, i had to inform her that these fish live way past 40 years and can get like 3'. Another guy (im sure you have all been told stories just like this one) brought his son in to the store and was getting a bowl and fish food for a carnival goldfish they just one. The dad gets the great idea to add another fish to the bowl because it will look nicer and asked me to bag up a "nemo" fish because his son always loved them. I told the guy "CLOWN fish are saltwater fish and need tanks of atleast 10 gallons." He looked at me like i was crazy and said "get out, theres different kinds of water???" I almost fainted.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by rara12
oh finnaly a place to unload. I had a lady bring in a dead koi this morning and said she bought it at another ***** and that it died. So i asked if their are any other koi in her pond (ive never known of koi in tanks) and she said, "oh i have this" and held up a betta bowl...So sad, i had to inform her that these fish live way past 40 years and can get like 3'. Another guy (im sure you have all been told stories just like this one) brought his son in to the store and was getting a bowl and fish food for a carnival goldfish they just one. The dad gets the great idea to add another fish to the bowl because it will look nicer and asked me to bag up a "nemo" fish because his son always loved them. I told the guy "CLOWN fish are saltwater fish and need tanks of atleast 10 gallons." He looked at me like i was crazy and said "get out, theres different kinds of water???" I almost fainted.

OMG

 

[seannmelly]

Originally Posted by ImUrNamine
This is actually too great. I had to go and find this post I had made earlier. I hate people sometimes... I get kind of cruel... Working two totally differing retail jobs per day CAN'T be good for my customers!

I'm the newest employee at our local pet store.
I am the only one who does saltwater, which is a majour reason why I was hired on.
My third day, I snapped at a lady. This is how it went. I have no shame.
*I am at the counter, la la la, standing there*
*Lady comes up with green net, clownfish food, and a packet of Oceanic Salt that mixes to approximately 5 gallons, she is talking on her cell phone... she looks like a drugged out skank, old enough to be my mother*
Lady (talking to whoever on her phone) : ...Yeah... I have six dayum-sells (translates to Damsels)... Thur still hidin... *Bla bla she talks for a few minutes and hangs up*
Me: (As I am ringing up her items) So, I see you have a saltwater tank. You've got 6 Damsels in it?
Lady: *Thinks about it because she is stupid* ...Yeah... I wanna get one of them Yellow Tangs...
Me: *Quite alarmed, wondering if her tank is even big enough* What size tank do you have?
Lady: *Has to think* ...Uhh... seventy-somethin'.
Me: Oh, okay... *Rings up stuff*
Lady: I think Ima get one tomorra.
Me: Oh? How long have you had your tank running?
Lady: Uhh... two days?
Me: !! Did you let it cycle? *Has totally stopped ringing things up, staring at her in disbelief*
Lady: *Looks at me like I am as stupid as I think that SHE is* Uhhh, what? I had your manager come and set up my tank.
Me: Uhh... Yeah! But you're supposed to let it cy- *Gets cut off by rude fat lady shushing me*
Lady: Look, Im busy Ive got to go.
Me: *Takes her money and gives her the change*
Lady: *Insert snide remark here about me knowing nothing, she walks toward the doors*
Me: *Slightly raises voice* Well in about a week when your Ammonia spikes and your fish die, come back and see me and I'll help you get your levels down! *Friendly wave*
Not all LPS employees are stupid when it comes to saltwater. It's the stupid-asses like that, that make us look bad...
I can't agree more, and I do believe you were looking for advice a couple weeks ago because you just got the job, and I told you that part of the retail business is there is alot of ignorant people!! lol. I would love for some of these lfs bashers to walk a day in my shoes, and still come home with a smile on your face!! Don't get me wrong, not all customers are horrible, but there is a fair share. I try to get give the best advice I can, if I am not 100% sure I will ask and make sure that I DO NOT give wrong information. That is one of the things that my store prides ourselves on!

 

[rara12]

Ok so we just recently got an arrowana (spelling???) in and some kid comes in and saw it and fell in love with it. (its small like 4") So he convinced his mom to let him get a tank for it. He went over to the tank wall and grabed one of the 2.5 gallon starter kits and some gravel and asked me if it needed plants. I was horrified. I quickly told him that this was a huge fish and would grow bigger then the tank he chose. He asked me "what size tank does he need??" (now im not a freshwater expert but i assumed that this was an ok response.) I told hime that a 55 would be ok for a while but that he would have to upgrade to a larger one in the future. the mom (thank god) said no to a large tank.. :cheer: :cheer:

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by rara12
Ok so we just recently got an arrowana (spelling???) in and some kid comes in and saw it and fell in love with it. (its small like 4") So he convinced his mom to let him get a tank for it. He went over to the tank wall and grabed one of the 2.5 gallon starter kits and some gravel and asked me if it needed plants. I was horrified. I quickly told him that this was a huge fish and would grow bigger then the tank he chose. He asked me "what size tank does he need??" (now im not a freshwater expert but i assumed that this was an ok response.) I told hime that a 55 would be ok for a while but that he would have to upgrade to a larger one in the future. the mom (thank god) said no to a large tank.. :cheer: :cheer:
Yeah, Arrowanas can actually grow to about 3 foot in captivity and are very skilled jumpers. They come from the Amazon and actually jump out of the water to grab baby monkeys from low tree branches. :scared:

 

[seannmelly]

Had some kid who just brought in a 6-7" oscar which he bought a year ago as a baby ~2", and had been living in a 10gallon tank since he bought it :scared: . He was SO skinny when the kid brought him in, I am not a huge fan of freshwater but, I felt so bad for the oscar!

 

[rara12]

oh oscars are fun. I dont have one but i love feeding them at the store. Both pellets and live, its just fun. Unfortunaly we had a black parana that got stuck in the tank with them when i was off (im rarely off, im only 16 an i work 12 hours a day) and it shredded all there fins. They are the only fish to come down with ich in the past 3 months. But they are all getting better, and no copper.

 

[rara12]

Originally Posted by seannmelly
Had some kid who just brought in a 6-7" oscar which he bought a year ago as a baby ~2", and had been living in a 10gallon tank since he bought it :scared: . He was SO skinny when the kid brought him in, I am not a huge fan of freshwater but, I felt so bad for the oscar!

oh that sucks.. A guy brought in about a dozen mollies, platies, and swordies and gave them to us to "get out of the hobby" (can one do that???) the poor fish were paper thin. I took em home and fed em right and now their color is very nice, they are fat and healthy, and they reside in a nice 12 gallon. Its my fresh waters rescue tank.
It may not be fish but its just as bad:
A lady brought in a green anole that her son won at the board walk in a cage so wet that the ground had fungi and dead meal worms all over. The poor guy was so thin you could see his ribs and he was growing fungus on him! I felt so bad that i was going to take it away from her for animal abuse until she told me its story.. It was won at the board walk and the people there gave them a hermit crab cage with gravel a mister and a thing of meal worms and told them "feed it these and mist constantly"
This is of corse the wrong info. i told her we would take it for a week and nurse it back to health and all she had to do was pay for the new supplies it needed. She agreed and we emptied the tank, put in dirt, some plans, a real water dish (they were using the bottom of a plastic cup), and a heat rock. At the end of the week the poor thing could move again, had no more fungi on him and was eating crickets..The lady now comes in a few times a week for crickets so i know its doing well.
DAM the board walk

 

[lpuzon]

Originally Posted by lion_crazz
I have way too many stories to share. One that comes to mind immediatley is the story of the woman with damsels.
One time while working at an LFS, a woman came up to me with a plastic bag of one dead fish. It was a blue devil damsel. She said that she bought it last night and it died and she wanted to know why. I asked her what was in her tank, and she told me there were four more of these type of fish (other damsels). She said they all looked iffy right now. After 20 minutes of questioning her about her tank, I came to realize that she does not even have a saltwater tank. She set up her tank as freshwater, and was not cycling it with damsels. She had no clue that the fish she had purchased were saltwater, and the salesperson at this other LFS failed to tell her that 1) she should not cycle her tank with fish and 2) damsels are strictly saltwater fish. :scared:

ahhahahaha.. yeah.. WOW!!!!