peoples thoughts and opinions on calgary lfs???

Coralgurl · #1 10-22-2012, 07:51 PM

There is not a single Calgary store on this forum. I think there are some great points made but in all honesty, the stores are not asking for this feedback, so why would it matter what a small reefing population on CR has to say about how their stores are operated? There are other reefers in the City that are not on CR, maybe unaware it exists, don't care for the chit chat, whatever. Stores invest their own time and money to run a business. If it wasn't working, they wouldn't be in business, these stores are around and very rarely are there no customers in the stores (I guess depending on time of day). Pricing, cleanliness, ease of access to livestock/product. Great points that all could improve upon. The 2 big box stores could have better trained staff, cleaner systems, but the pricing is there, shelves and floors are generally clean. These 2 stores get bashed all the time for various issues.

Real estate is not cheap. I bet the 3 smaller stores don't care to expand, use the size of stores as best laid out and off they go. Is more real estate going to bring in more money, not likely. Would it make it more appealing to the customer, of course. Are they putting more money in their pockets, obviously. Take the location of the stores and it says alot, they are not located in overly desirable locations, the 2 on 16th ave are not bad, the one on 17th...hmm, but I know rents are alot cheaper than if they were located at South Trail Crossing or Crowfoot or Beacon Hill (sorry for those in the south, not overly familier with shopping centres your way). We all have dumped considerable money in this hobby, if I want an expanded store offering more space, ultimately, I will pay for this as the store needs to recoup this cost somehow - increased pricing on everything. I'm not good at battering on prices, never have been, never will be, so I guess I miss the "buddy pricing".

Regardless - its their business, their risk, their cash and their perogative how and when they operate. We do have a great selection here, take what you like and leave the rest.

Reef_Geek · #2 10-22-2012, 07:56 PM

They should care... because BATfishMAN will make them pay... oh he'll make them pay...

kien · #3 10-22-2012, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coralgurl

Real estate is not cheap. Take the location of the stores and it says alot, they are not located in overly desirable locations, the 2 on 16th ave are not bad, the one on 17th...hmm, but I know rents are alot cheaper than if they were located at South Trail Crossing or Crowfoot or Beacon Hill (sorry for those in the south, not overly familier with shopping centres your way).

This is a very good point that a lot of people don't consider. I live in the south and I would LOVE to have a store in the south. However, there is virtually NO cheap real estate in the south. The locations that are cheap are very sketchy. Take for example Red Coral's previous location. While the store there was awesome, I would personally be concerned to leave my car there for an extended period of time. And even at that location it was still MORE EXPENSIVE than their previous location in the north. Anyway, what this means is that virtually any reasonable location in the south is going to mean that prices will be higher. And well, we all know how we feel about high prices right?

Take for example the fish store that we used to have right off of MacLeod Trail South. Personally I thought it was a nice store. Great location, nice layout, decent stock. However, I hardly ever saw any foot traffic in that store and even I myself rarely frequented that store due to their high prices. I certainly can not blame them. They have to make ends meet like all the other stores.

reefwars · #4 10-22-2012, 08:09 PM

ok some more lol

what about kids....people like to bring their kids to the stores and see all the pretty things , whats some of the good things or concerns parents may have when doing the family trip to the store??

kien · #5 10-22-2012, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefwars

ok some more lol

what about kids....people like to bring their kids to the stores and see all the pretty things , whats some of the things or concerns parents may have when doing the family trip to the store??

SHARKS! And lots of them! Kids love sharks! Bonus points for sharks with lasers, but not required. Just a nice to have.

reefwars · #6 10-22-2012, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kien

SHARKS! And lots of them! Kids love sharks! Bonus points for sharks with lasers, but not required. Just a nice to have.

we all know that any sharks with lasers are snatched up as soon as they arrive....they make great pets lol

Reef_Geek · #7 10-22-2012, 08:14 PM

10 years in a LFS, actually I've seen far too many parents when they're not really into the hobby themselves, but wanted something that their kids can look at. Not a big customer segment, and not typically long lived hobbyists either. Hobbyists with kids... you're either a hobbyist who happens to have kids, or you're not a hobbyist and stay that way. It's too bad.

can I suggest... BATfishMAN?

Enigma · #8 10-22-2012, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefwars

ok some more lol

what about kids....people like to bring their kids to the stores and see all the pretty things , whats some of the things or concerns parents may have when doing the family trip to the store??

It may not be that people like to bring their children to the store, but are required to. There are plenty of times when hubby is working on the weekend, and I have to bring #2 son with me if I want to go.

Basically, open tanks on the floors (especially with things like stingrays in them) and exposed plumbing, valves, and switches are a big no-no if curious children could be in the store.

kien · #9 10-22-2012, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enigma

Basically, open tanks on the floors (especially with things like stingrays in them) and exposed plumbing, valves, and switches are a big no-no if curious children could be in the store.

This is a VERY, VERY, good point. There is nothing more annoying than to try and shop while at the same time having to watch that your kid doesn't burn or electrocute himself on that metal halide that's sitting on the floor over the salt water tank with salt water on the floor.

Reef_Geek · #10 10-22-2012, 08:19 PM

My LFS in Halifax used to have gravel by the cup for fish bowl customers... so we had them on buckets on the sales floor. Kids loved it... mixing colours with each other. Of course... who had to clean up? Not BATfishMAN that's for sure, the lowly PetShop boy #3.