Kent Pro Scraper

[andrewsk]

Is it the fish/corals you went to see, or just the equipment and supplies you needed because Big Al's was a fish death trap.

If I was going to open a store in the south, I would really want to go the Aquarium Illusions route where they have a totally seperate quarantine system and do not release fish for sale for about 4 weeks after they are recieved.

I have never gotten a fish from them that had any problems. They are more expensive, sure, but factor in any of your losses and it easily covers itself.

When I go into WAI's once in a while (Golds is the best in the city IMHO) I always get frustrated by the condition of the fish and the HUGE mortality rate of everything I have ever bought there. Add to that the insane cost for the fish (they are priced like they have been quarantined for 3 months!) and this for me is the recipe for how not to run a store.

Anyways. End RANT.

Originally Posted by Delphinus

All together now! Bring Big Als Back! Bring Big Al's Back! Bring Big Al's Back!

... seriously, I don't care if it's Big Al's or not, but *somebody* should totally open a store in the south. Maybe Albert and Dennis should franchise out a "Gold Aquariums -- the sequel" or something.

And yeah, I know the last time I whined about this, people in Tuktoyuktuk complained that they have a 57 hour drive to their nearest LFS (or something .. I don't remember) and I'm sure that sucks too, but the fact is, this about *me* feeling sorry for myself, not me feeling sorry for them!! I live in Calgary, we just hit 1 million people (hooray us), but we can't have a LFS in the south end of the city!

Wah, wah. Sigh ... anyhow just thought I'd mention that I feel your pain there Steve.

[Canadbis]

There is a petland or something down south there...isn't there??
AAHAHAHAHA
Sorry Tony I had to...

[Richard_Dicosimo]

i swear to god i heard that there was a store opening in the south.
think pisces will ever have slatwater again?
there is a new store in the north west however swung by there today.
and im with andrewsk on big als being a death trap and golds being the best in town.

Richard

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by andrewsk

Is it the fish/corals you went to see, or just the equipment and supplies you needed because Big Al's was a fish death trap.

Seriously, it was just the idea that they were there, that I'd get the urge to go pay the LFS's a visit (all or any of them, not just BA's). Now that there's nothing nearby, I lose that little bit of motivation.

They weren't perfect, but let's be realistic. No LFS is. There are some places that are better than others, for sure, but they all have good days, and they all have bad days. That's reality.

What sets aparts one LFS from another, in my opinion, is the customer service. As a customer you know when you're treated right (or wrong, for that matter) and that's what you're going to remember. It's funny though, how some people have great experiences with one store that others have terrible experiences with. I guess it's human nature -- you get along with some people, and won't get along with others.

So anyhow, yeah I do miss Big Al's, but not because they were the "perfect" LFS, but because they were the "perfectly located LFS" for me.

If I was going to open a store in the south, I would really want to go the Aquarium Illusions route where they have a totally seperate quarantine system and do not release fish for sale for about 4 weeks after they are recieved.

Why limit that idea to the south? I'd love to see more LFS's adopt that kind of approach.