LFS that lie.

[littlefish88]

Ditto Animallover,

I have had the same experience in particular with Cathy, down to earth and enjoyable to chat with, my kind of people. One pleasant LFS story for a change.

Littlefish88

[blacknife]

Hah.

I wonder if thats the same local store that sold me a pink gonoporia as the third coral i put in my tank telling me it is very easy to take care of.

[albert_dao]

Originally Posted by blacknife

Hah.

I wonder if thats the same local store that sold me a pink gonoporia as the third coral i put in my tank telling me it is very easy to take care of.

It is easy to take care of....

[Zoaelite]

Originally Posted by albert_dao

It is easy to take care of....

In a proper system anything is easy to take care of . Encrusting gonoporia has always done really well in my tank, the branching stuff is a different story all together.

[mark]

Not just LFS where sales people lie...

[sharuq1]

It is just one of those things that sucks about shopping. [rant] For example I was helping a family member do some construction work for this one lady. She showed me her tank and proceeded to tell me how a LFS sold her a coralife t5 light with only one bulb (worth $50-$150 max) and 2 small in tank fluval filters (worth $40-$60 max each) for $1000 saying that was enough light for coral and told her she had to do 100% water changes every week. They also told her a seahorse would do fine in her 13g, 3" wide tank. Lying is one thing but this took it to a whole new level. There are lies and then there is getting completely hosed.[end rant]

Well I guess that's my addition to the rant, thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

Edit: All the stores I shop at are fantastic and I don't think they would ever lie for a sale. There is a balance to this sort of thing. Great customer service begets loyal customers. I believe this was an isolated incident.

I think naturally bad LFS weed them selves out as people will always need supplies. Good service is rewarded by return business, which in turn is profit. Keep up the good work

Absolutely +1

[blacknife]

Originally Posted by albert_dao

It is easy to take care of....

so you would gladly give pieces of it away to noobs and expect them to live eh?

oh well .. but just think of all the $$ i have spent trying to make things better in my tank to keep it alive.. hah.. thats what the salesperson is thinking..

[brickwood]

I have been told many times by my LFS that certain things should not be put in my tank. I have also been told many times that they would have to go ask someone else because they weren't sure about something. I also believe that sometimes we don't hear what they are telling us and only hearing what we want and then tell everyone we have been lied to. I personally do not believe that these LFS's are intentionaly trying to pull one over on us. Here in the Lower Mainland we have many fish stores to go to. The ones I go to all have knowledgable staff and I have never been lied to. It just realy ticks me off when we throw all these stores under this category that they are out to rip us off. I also work in retail and deal with people all day long and it just drives me up the wall when someone accuses me of ripping them off. Yes, the stores are trying to make a buck. Yes, the stores are going to try what they can to get a sale, but intentionaly telling someone a lie to make a sale in such a tight knit hobby just doesn't make sense. Most people who go to these stores generaly know what they are talking about or have already researched their purchase. Maybe I'm just ranting for nothing. I support my LFS fully. If we keep bashing these stores and driving new people and old away, they will not exist. Then where are you going to go? Instead of hating, try supporting. Times are tough. Lets keep them alive so I can continue to hang out at these places. Keep up the good work guys!

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I guess one of the advantages of knowing most of the people who work at the LFS in the Lower Mainland is that they know NOT to try to BS me about fish stuff. Of course, I'm referring to the independent ones, not the chain stores.

I LOVE going to LFS and hanging out for hours, just talking fish stuff with the staff if its not busy & maybe helping to bag some fish/corals if it is.

Still, it is OUR responsibility to do the research first. If I'm not sure, I ask, but I also look it up myself. Lots of these shops carry good reference books that you can ask to look through. Worse comes to worse, I put the coral/fish on hold and go home to surf the net about the species I'm interested in. While the salesperson may help me make the decision on whether to buy or not, ultimately, it is MY responsibility on how I spend my money and what I put in my tanks.

Anthony

[BlueWorldAquatic]

I thought I would respond to this thread as someone that is on the other side of the fence. As an owner of a LFS I can tell you we are not all out to make the big money.

Ask my staff, this is not my "day job", but an extension of my hobby. A hobby I love, I have found a passion in the few short years that I have been dabbling with marine aquariums.

I have always been taught you can't know everything but can surround yourself with people/resources to fill the gaps. There is never a need to lie or bullsh*t anyone to make a sale. I teach my employees the same principles, there is nothing wrong in asking for help from someone more knowledgeable.

None of my staff are on commission, nor will they ever will. If the store does well in a quarter they receive bonuses.

The problem arises from lack of training, or someone that “thinks” they know it all. It is mostly ego, from both sides also.

I can personally attest to a situation where the customer wanted a very docile fish for his aggressive tank and I refused to sell it. Now I am accused of not knowing anything because the customer didn’t get his way? and when the customer goes to another the LFS that ends up selling the fish (that dies or get killed), is that store accused of lying by omission to make the sale by not telling the customer that isn’t a good idea?

I can also cite an example where the customer would accept help from one of my staffers (Taylor) because he was a kid, that "Kid" is more knowledgable than most people I know.

If you want to avoid salespeople, you can always purchase by online, but that is not the best way to get livestock. As most of you know, just because someone carries a certain species of fish doesn’t mean that it’s “personality” will be the same as all the ones you see locally.

Please don't lump all LFS together, as with all stores, there will always be good and bad apples, you may have just had a bad salesperson too.

Remember, online/mail-order you are just a number to them (credit card), it may save you money in the long run but is it worth it when the LFS start disappearing? What are online stores? Not much different than the box stores most people hate already except no lazy or pushy salespeople.

Ken - BWA