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Shop collecting names and addresses - why?

Polly

Polly

Member
Joined
23 May 2009
Messages
183
Pets at Home,

Every time I see someone buying fish from this shop, they have to give their name and address to the staff before the staff get the fish out. I have never heard staff giving advice on fish care, or explain that the plec in the shop will outgrow all but a 6ft tank or even ask for a water sample from the tank etc. Just collecting the name and address.

Can't even find out why, when I asked about it they just told me that it was policy :confused: when I've asked the staff about fish care they seem to have only the most basic knowledge. Eg. a tank should be running a week before putting in fish, but no knowledge of the nitrogen cycle.

I'm positive that having someone's name and address will have no effect on whether the fish are going to a cycled tank and be given appropriate care.

I have never been asked for my name and address by the specialist aquarium shops (although I have been questioned as to what aquarium the fish will be going into, water parameters etc.), so why are they doing it? what purpose does it really serve?
 
In the 2 in Lincoln they do often state that you can't add X fish to a certain tank because of size or because of the existing stocking but I agree. All a bit pointless really. Not many of them know what they are talking about otherwise they would correct the labels recognising that some of the Harlequins are Espei or that Bolivian Rams aren't Royal Rams etc.

As for the 'maximum 6 fish rule. lol. I buy 6 from one in town and then another 6 from the one on the way home and then another 6 on another day etc etc. what's the point in limiting the number? If they are asking how many fish you already have in what size tank then why the limit?

Probably because of the cycling debate however I put fish straight into a planted tank without worrying about it cycling. That would be a little over their heads I would think. lol

AC
 
Tom said:
Is this Pets at Home? If so, it's company policy to fill out the scribe with whatever details.
Click to expand...

I have a Pet's at Home near me and it is a really good shop to visit, I even bought two or three fish from there a couple of times.

I also asked why they needed my address and name, and it turned out that it was for the insurance or replacement if the fish I bought died.

Why do I think that it is a good shop?

My brother after seeing my tanks wanted one as well. He went and bought a 40cm cube at Pet's at Home, then asked me what fish to buy. I told him to wait a couple of weeks, with the filter working, so that the tank cycled. But no, he thought that he knew better, so he took it upon himself to go buy some fish, went back to the shop and strangely enough they refused to sell him any fish. :) His tank was not old enough they told him.

He called me all huffing and puffing, I told him again, to wait. Nopes, he wanted fish now. So we went to another shop, small local shop,and bough two clown loaches, a couple of mollies, five or six platies and a pleco.

Two days later they all died.

Now, does Pet's at Home look like a shop that puts profits ahead of anything else? No, they could have sold him all the fish he wanted.

Skip ahead 6 months. I bought the optiwhite nano they have, for my kids. A week after I went back to the shop and wanted to buy a betta for the nano.

There was only one betta on the shop, and some couple were already looking at it, so I moved on to show the kids the bugs and the lizards. Came back to the tanks and strangely the betta was still there. I asked the young chap to get it for me. Lot's of questions came out, how long I had the tank, do I have plants, how often do I change the water, what food do I give, is the tank heated, the size.

At first I thought, why is this kid asking me these questions, I may have had tanks for longer than he has teeth. Then I remembered my brother. He also had tanks for longer the kid has had teeth, we both had tank since we were 11 years old, but that is not a sign of knowing exactly what we are doing.

I explained to the young guy that although I bought the nano last week, I had used water from the old tank, and a running hang on filter to speed up the cycling. I had no other fish on the tank, and the tank had lots of moss, ferns, wood and some rocks (plus the sponge bob houses). He said that they had refused to sell that fish to three people before me.

Took my name and address and said that if the fish died in a month I could bring it back.

That sort of attitude is commendable on a pet shop nowadays, especially when we are all trying to make money, so I do not believe that they put profits ahead of welfare of their animals.

True, their plant section is pretty bad, but I am sure that it will start changing.

Not sure about the other Pet's at Home, but I would believe that they had the same way of working, they are a big organization.
 
Opti white in P@H? Do you have the brand name etc Luis. I may take a peeklater.

AC
 
SuperColey1 said:
Opti white in P@H? Do you have the brand name etc Luis. I may take a peeklater.

AC
Click to expand...

Yep, it is a nano for £39 the 30L. The brand is a Coopet. There are a bunch of people here that got some.
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=16036&p=166359&hilit=pets+at+home#p166359

The light and tank are very good, the filter not so much, but for £39 for what looks like a optiwhite is very good.
 
Nice one. I'll pop down there now (400 yards away) and they don't have it I'll look in the bigger one in town tomorrow.

AC
 
Its apparently low in iron and much clearer than float glass though. looking at the picture they are a little cubish for what I want. I want something small but tradition long at the moment so I can move my shrimp to a new home :)

AC
 
Re:

tyrophagus said:
Never trust a pets at home. They are just the supermarket face of the pet industry. Maximum profit and lowest price paid to supplier.
Click to expand...

Not at all true. While I might not agree with all their fish policies 100%, their training is very good and thorough. They do the best any company can to educate staff, but yes they are also a business just like anything. Profit keeps businesses alive.
 
Interesting topic. PAH is and always will be a 'supermarket' pet shop. As is always the case with these companies, not all the staff will get adequate training, but they will have policy and guidelines in place that at least attempt to do so. You may have been served by someone who hasn't received such training, and you'll assume that every store will be the same. I think the main thing here is to always go to a store with a fresh mind, some of the stock they have isn't bad, true the plants are worthless, but I've seem some nice fish in my local store.
 
If they sorted out their plant section they would be a great shop to use.

If they would stock jbl bottles, some proper ferts and dedicated some more space to aquascaping then they would be perfect.

Maybe I should have a word with the local manager. :)


.
 
I think that the issue is they are using those large tanks with plants, but no co2, high light and maybe no ferts as well. Had they got a normal 180L, with CO2, flow, a filter or two, and added ferts, the plants would last much longer.

However, it may be good business to sell plants like that, people would always come back for more.
 
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