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Originally Posted by reefman90
Rasta,
Yes, most of the stores attempt at teaching product knowlege runs on a reward system. There are rewards for knowlege, length of time and sales at most stores. The interesting part is...that at almost every store...depending on the store, the reward has been a book, or a particularly large discount on one item or another. Now if that is not encouraging product knowlege I really do not know what is. I have seen stores put on seminars, have weekly meetings where new products are reviewed....
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I guess you have to look at it from the customers eyes and being that you are that well known apparently you wont see it from our perspective ... we also have no clue as to who won the " book " this week so then have to sift through employees to find one that knows his/her stuff < and then find out if they read the book
> and then phone to book an appointment to discuss what livestock they have that would be compatable in my tank
... one store was kind enough to offer a notification program whenever new stock came in but when asked if they could order specifically what I wanted they fell short on extending that courtesy and said they get what they get ...
I personally have not seen any info or advertizing regarding seminars < shark feeding frenzy excluded
> and since everyone nowadays has at the minimum of a hotmail account if not more than a few email accounts then notification of seminars etc would be easy
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Originally Posted by reefman90
There are however a hell of a lot of people who are self proclaimed experts in this hobby. Both hobbyists and workers and you have to watch out for these people. They can talk the talk but can they walk the walk...
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Exactly ... a needle in a haystack ... so lets say you get lucky and find somebody that knows what they are talking about and the store they are working in has dead/dying fish constantly or outrageous prices on hardware ... what then ?
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Originally Posted by reefman90
When I worked at a store, I can remember certain customers, ones that were more on the friend side of the equation, coming in, after they have proved me wrong in something that I made sure I was not giving them a definate answer (grammar? my high school english teacher is rolling over in her grave... fixed ). Anyways, they would come in to tell me I was wrong. It is good to learn together, and I have learned many things over the years from customers. ...
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Good for you ... but I am afraid the majority of employees dont see it that way and wont go ask if they dont know ... and are still selling hippo tangs to newbies with 20G tanks
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Originally Posted by reefman90
Lastly, some customers do not take no for an answer, whther you have a great explanation or not, and they will just buy it from the guy down the street. The reason someone opens a business is to make money. The reason people open a business catering to a hobby is (usually) because they enjoy that sort of thing. So next time you are in your LFS, why dont you ask an employee what they have at home ( they often, like customers love to talk about their own creatures, seriously), find out what they are into, and maybe ask them about an experience they have had with a particular thing( I know I was the first to tell people I could not keep a damn carnation alive)....
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How much < % > of what you sell in the store irks your conscience when you tie the bag up and check it through ? ... how much of your livestock do you have control over when you place a order ? ...
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Originally Posted by reefman90
It is a goldmine...but after reading some of the past posts, I think it is one that is surrounded by a mine-field, and a bunch of barb-wire
Thanks again..
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As I said before ... all we need is ONE store to step up and be a shining example for the rest so that the bar can be raised ... if you really think that our local stores are top notch in all areas of reef keeping then you really ought to get out and take a look around and see what some stores in other cities are doing in this hobby
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Originally Posted by reefman90
PS it appears as though I myself have lied. . . 3 posts in under 24 hours...
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Dont worry we wont hold it against ya ... it was prolly
not intentionally misdirected 
Cheers