Petland

[garvin90]

Well, I dont know if one has already been posted but... How about a thread on peoples opinions of Petland? Looks like were already covering the "Big 3" anyway, so why not finish off the last place in town?

I will throw in my 2 cents awhile.

First off and not trying to start this on the wrong foot but, I dont like the owner way of business. He has every right to run a business his way however, I do not feel that pets are something to be made comission off of. That being said(and I hope not to deter someone from patronizing the place) I really dont have that much problems with them. Yes some of the guys back in the fish area could know a little more(and have turned to me for advice when faced with customer questions if I'm standing there lol) about the marine aspects but, they are trying to be better knowledged.

James is a good kid, really knows his cichlid stuff even though he seems shaky on marine, Nick(zoo guy) seemed a little flaky at first(to me he seemed... hazy and you know what im implying) but really knows whats going on. The Nick(scruffy guy) has made good concerted efforts to know what to do even though he isnt in that dept(told me he will be going for marine biology), Eric is pretty stable it seems. Scott I believe is sposed to be the lead and seems. The new guy Jim I really cant attest to since I've only talked to him once or twice and Shane is pretty ok as well. Im sure he would say the same thing since other than the store, he told me he has no first hand knowledge of fish. He's your definite reptile "goto" man though.

Coral selection... I would go to Paradise or Petworld. Strange oddball fish, I would say maybe Paradise, Petland and Aquapets. Like someone has said before though, they are still new to salt. They havent even hit the one year mark for salt yet so hopefully they can see more growth. I think a huge limiting factor though is the lact of space in the store. You get more than 5 families in there and you cant move. They do have some staples like damsels and chromis, a assortment of crabs and snails, Volitans, and then some not so common fish like files, anglers, seahorses/pipe/dragonfish, sharks(dont know why tho), and morays.

I'm sorry if someone at the store reads this and feels offended or so but I'm just posting it like I see it.

Ray

[LANMan]

I don't know about the commission thing, but Robert (the owner) seems to have a very good attitude. I've seen the "fish guys" jumping on each others case right in front of customers (one guy was trying to do the right thing for a customer but another ripped on him right there in front of a packed house because he didn't think it was the "right thing") and that kind of turned me off. They have on occasion had some interesting rock but weren't able to fill an order for me of more (after a month of waiting). I think the new fish go within hours of being delivered each week (at least that is what the employees tell me when I ask).
All in all, I've walked out a couple different times without buying something because I was tired of waiting for someone to check me out (not livestock because that would imply I had someones attention to put it in a bag for me). They need to do some cross training. I've seen employees standing around that take care of the other pets while the line is 4 or 5 customers deep in the fish section. That isn't very good. Space is an issue also.
I go there because the owner took the time to talk with me in depth on multiple occasions. They have good intentions, just having issues getting things implemented I believe.

[mjcarl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6947298#post6947298 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by garvin90
Nick(zoo guy) seemed a little flaky at first(to me he seemed... hazy and you know what im implying) but really knows whats going on.

No, we don't. What are you implying?

Mitch

[nebraskareef]

I think he's implying the guy is smoking marijuana before he goes to work.

[sullyfish]

I dont know Nick and have only been to petland once, but one should be careful what they imply on such a public forum. I probably have been a bit hazy at times and I never touch the stuff.

Give the guy a break, maybe he was just tired. He probably spent all day clearing the tanks of fish poop and scubbing live rock. That'll make anyone a bit hazy

[nebraskareef]

I second the whole "be careful what you imply on a public forum" A comment like that could ruin someones life and career, true or not.

[Willie41]

The times I have been in Petland nobody ever seems to care if you need or buy anything at all. No one ever ask if you need help. The lines are always long so no need of ever trying to buy anytging and getting checked in a decent time. Employees are always just standing around like they are lost.

[garvin90]

Yes, I agree with you, that comment probably should have been reworded or more likely, been omitted. There was a reason I wrote that though as I do not write idle gossip or false deformation. When my girlfriend and I first start to frequent the store and were helped by Nick, he always seemed to be be out of it and couldnt focus on anything(such as 1 dozen feeders taking a half hour). I wasn't the only one he treated that way as when my g/f went in for supplies by herself she experienced the same thing. Now he seems completely fine so I dont know what that deal was, since it seemed to change right about the time the store started stocking SW supplies and livestock. I'm probably completely wrong about this since a employee and friend of mine openly told me that if Nick isn't interested in something, he will try to avoid talking to or helping you with it. The situation was IMO poor customer service and please don't tell me you haven't complained about that type of thing before. Besides thats why we post these threads about the petstores in town... To rate their customer service and how well YOU, the customer were treated. A perfect example would be bubbaOPPD's(sp?) experience in the Aqua Pets thread about his clam issues and telling us that Dillan wouldnt replace it for free. Then later on he received feedback from a friend that Dillan was badmouthing a customer with a "clam issue" and this person was hoping it wasn't him. That to me was implying that Dillan is a liar and a cheat, which is a business killer(career or otherwise)as well. Like I said before though, I sorry if I offended someone, however, I will tell you now that I am the same on these forums as I am in real life. I will tell you exactly the way I see it, regardless of if the truth stings. There is no distinction from "Internet Ray" to "Real Life Ray". Well live and let live... past is past.

Anyway as a followup on what I presented earlier about the commission thing LANMan mentioned. Yes, that is part of the job. How do I know this you ask? I had applied at Petland previous and was shown that in the orientation they had for walk-in interviews. Now the fish area is different about commision than the rest of the store, which would be a reason if you show interest in the puppy part you might find better service attention. Unfortunately like someone said before, that would then lead to the cross-training aspect. You are right though, if you need help in fish its worth your life if they are helping people already.

Ray