Petland

REEF-n-Chicago · #1 12/10/2007, 02:34 PM

Curious if anybody has purchased a fish from petland, and, if so how are they doing? I saw a few people had in the "new store" thread and wondered if they made it. They have a naso I am dying to get but hate o purchase it from there?! Any comments or suggestions?

triggerjay · #2 12/10/2007, 04:20 PM

I bought a mimic tang, but it died a week later.

Jason

joelk835 · #3 12/10/2007, 04:31 PM

I bought a Trigger and a Butterfly and both are doing good. I bought them about a week and half ago and both are eating good in quarantine tank. Couldn't resist the buy it get one free coupon so I thought I would try them out.

REEF-n-Chicago · #4 12/10/2007, 06:08 PM

Yea, that coupon is tempting. I suspected the tangs might be fragile so I didnt buy anything.
Joelk> did you buy the copperbanded butterfly> I almost did... curious what he is eating?

SoupySteve · #5 12/10/2007, 06:55 PM

I was just gonna give that place a huge thumbs down... quick story...
I was in the aquatics section when I was approached by a male employee...
me: "How much for your mangroves?"
spaced out male employee: "The what?"
me: "the mangroves..."
S.O.M.E (above): "What are they?"
me: "The plants you have growing from the rubble in the center of the tank..."
S.O.M.E : "Uh, lemme ask (female name). Hey (female name), how much are the mangroves?"
Female Employee (supposedly management): "The what?"
S.O.M.E : "The plants - "
Female Employee : "Look through the tags."
The S.O.M.E looks through a stack of UPC coded price tags - no mangroves.
S.O.M.E : "It's not in here..."
Female Employee: :sigh: "Let me look through the computer..."
She then bends over near the computer BUT I SEE NO mouse movement or changes on the screen...
Female Employee: "They are $25"

MAYBE that's how much they are actually priced... but it really seemed to me that 'ol Sasquatch (yes, that's the name I came up for her) just didn't want to take the time to answer a legitimate question for a sincerely interested customer.

It's a shame that those two in the fish department seem to have their heads way up their anus. I'll be sure to try to take advantage of their lack of saltwater aquarium know-how next visit. Maybe I can tell them that the "Watanabei" (spelling?) angel they had in there is really just a blue chromis...

THUMBS DOWN

They did have a neat selection of dry goods - I guess that is somewhat of a plus...

fishworm · #6 12/10/2007, 06:59 PM

I bought a pair of yellowheaded jawfish. one has since disappeared. the other seems to be doing great.

store is too crowded and help is too few.

quintab · #7 12/10/2007, 08:04 PM

Hey, Just a quick thought. I am not picking on anyone but.....I have been to petland a couple of times. My wife went today to pick up the gifts from santa to the dogs. She had(no kidding) a personal shopper that went with her and carried all her purchases. After the purchase(one bag) they carried it to the car. The times I have been they had quite a few people working but were extremely busy. It is hard for me to see "too few help". Secondly...someone said they are not real knowledgeable. I cannot argue with that but in their defense they probably make about $7/hr. Do any of you work nights and weekends for $7/hr?? If not....would you?? What would it take for you to work there?? $10/hr, $15/hr maybe $20?? You all have the knowledge but probably would not work nights and weekends for that pay. If they did pay more for more knowledgeable people would you in turn be willing to pay more for your products??? instead of 24.99 for a perc maybe 39.99?? The most expensive part of the retail business is payroll. They would have to pay for the knowledge and pass it on to you. Sorry for the long post. Just some food for thought.

joelk835 · #8 12/11/2007, 09:07 AM

Hey Reen N Chicago it wasn't the copperband but I did see the copperband when I was up there. It was overpriced though in my opinion some of there prices seemed pretty high and some were more reasonable you just had to look for it. I got the Auriga Butterfly.

jhuggins · #9 12/11/2007, 10:06 AM

I bought a camel shrimp to feed to my marine beta I bought from fishs. The beta was really really happy and after the 30% discount I only paid $4.90 for the shrimp. It was a little pricey for food but it was fun watching that fish stock it. It kind of looks like an eel. The shrimp was about twice the size of the fishes mouth but that didn't stop snow flake. (oh yeah my wife names all of my fish, she gets really really upset when they die, usually I just get rid of them and don't tell her

Just to add on to the stories. I went into pet land and was looking at the coral tank (very sad looking) they did have a yellow tipped torch that I liked. I asked an employee, how much that one was.
(trying to see if they could tell me the name)
The employee said oh the rubber feather duster?
ME: what, ok, how much
him: (looking at computer) oh it is $12.50
ME: wait a second I can not rip you off that bad, that coral is a torch
him: mmmmm. I think it is a feather duster
ME: maybe you want to check with someone else first
End of story the coral was $70 and of course it was a torch.

I don't think they really have prices on they coral because I have asked them how much that coral is every time I go in there and they tell me different answers?

I kinda feel stupid for not taking the coral for so cheap but at least I know I was honest.

Muleball39 · #10 12/11/2007, 11:31 AM

My mother and father -in-law own a couple retail pet stores and they don't have any problems finding people that know about animals and they only make $7 an hour. Granted they don't do salt water but they do order for me at cost. I have been to Petland and I would agree if you are going to have area like marine then you better have someone on hand that knows about it. It is just bad for bussiness other wise.

REEF-n-Chicago · #11 12/11/2007, 01:40 PM

I understand it is hard to find people to work, for any price, that know about saltwater but if you are going to open a giant pet store, with a large salt section, and a coral tank to boot you better have a few people that know there stuff!
As Muleball stated> its just good business! They end up loosing business and profit (huggins story) LOL ..... geeez

logiktest · #12 12/12/2007, 12:11 AM

How long has the petland near you been open? I just had one open by my house a few months ago. At first it was very busy and hard to get help. Now, I think things have leveled out, and I find myself geting helped out much more. My local store just recently started stocking various softies and some LPS. They also tend to stock fish that are not common to find in my area. I try not to expect too much from the employees who have to know about everything from crickets to mice to puppys etc., let alone the saltwater hobby. Personaly, if I worked there and someone who was very seriously into the ferret hobby asked me a question about ferrets that seemed like commen knowledge to them... I would be the Spaced Out Male Employee. That said, I very much agree that a well informed sales associate playes a key role in creating an innitial sale and helping to generate future sales by giving customers the knowledge they need to make informed decisions. And yes, it's quite possible the pay sucks.

REEF-n-Chicago · #13 12/12/2007, 12:53 PM

Logiktest, good point. They havent been open but for a month. Though I dont agree with fish and corals suffering for any amount of time maybe things will level out there..... until then they need to take some advice and bump "it" up a notch!
At least put some flow in that coral tank

triggerjay · #14 12/12/2007, 05:28 PM

Maybe we could volounteer our services to help get things lined out? It would be an opportunity for us to share our knowledge. I could make time to go help out a couple times.

Jason

mthomas935 · #15 12/12/2007, 06:56 PM

People I hate to say this but they're out to take your money.They could care less about the things they sell.They work on a commission be it a dog or fish. It's just a Walmart that sells dogs.If this is the type place you would like to support good luck.I'll go to the LFS where the owners care what they sell.

quintab · #16 12/12/2007, 08:28 PM

mthomas935--totally agree. they are a business and are there to make money. If not they would not be there.

REEF-n-Chicago · #17 12/12/2007, 08:47 PM

I would agree but then again not> yes they are there to make money... they would make much more if their fish were not dying and corals were thriving. Both with new and old reefers alike. If they are smart our help would be appreciated as it would increase their profits....
Im not saying they will be smart but its worth a shot before just deciding against them! For the animals and new salt heads sake!

REEF-n-Chicago · #18 12/12/2007, 08:49 PM

Esp if they understand that we are a club of salt enthusiasts and not just a bunch of random people complaining. Hey, you never know.

mthomas935 · #19 12/12/2007, 09:08 PM

Support your Lfs they care and they are there to answer your questions.If not you could be asking your questions to the people at the big chain stores and they don't care.Just my thoughts

triggerjay · #20 12/12/2007, 10:17 PM

Now that I think about it, mthomas935 you make sense. The moment we had one of their employees where they knew enough to get by,.. they would quit, and would be replaced by another know-little employee. Our LFS'es are knowlegable, and care about the welfare of the animals they sell. I figure, the reason PW charges so much for their SW releated stuff now, is to cover the cost of all the livestock that died in their tanks, due to their inability to keep them healthy until they were purchased. I hate to see them loose so many fish, and corals due to their lack of knowledge, for the animals sake. I feel it would be a loosing battle to try and help.. and then if we did help, and stuff died, I wouldn't want to be the person they put the blame on.

Jason

REEF-n-Chicago · #21 12/12/2007, 10:59 PM

Jason> you raise some good points... unfortuantely! Still have to feel bad for all the fish and corals....
mthomas> def support the local stores. I will not shop elsewhere (petland) Just throwing out some food for thought

triggerjay · #22 12/12/2007, 11:02 PM

Oh, don't get me wrong,.. I feel terrible for all the animals suffering in their care. That's why I impulsed and said lets help.. But after thought, I don't want them to be able to point fingers at any of us..Poor fish!

Jason

logiktest · #23 12/13/2007, 05:00 PM

some one please correct me if Im wrong, but is'nt petland a franchise with only about a dozen stores? If this is the case, would petland also be a LFS?

triggerjay · #24 12/13/2007, 05:29 PM

145 stores nationwide. They are in fact a franchise though. There site is:
http://www.petland.com/index.asp

Jason

logiktest · #25 12/13/2007, 07:12 PM

Thanks for the link. If I were to open a store, or any one else for that matter, I'm sure I would care about my business. After all, it would be all my money invested into it.

Then there's the LFS... Same thing?

They both want your money. Make no mistake about it. Large chains or small hole in the wall shops will both be more than happy to take the shirt off your back if you let them, and they will both do it with a smile. Personally, I like to support small business even if it means I pay a little extra(usually does) for goods and sevice.

Animals getting hurt, mishandled, and mistreated stinks... But thats part of the hobby side of things and we need to do our part to help one another get the information needed to bring about success. With any livestock oriented business, they do not like lossing an animal because it means they are loosing money. It has little to do with caring.