Shop Needs A Kick In The Ass

I was in a fish shop yesterday and was appaled by the standard and condition of the fish, in particular the Marine fish. Tanks were dirty and the fish were in poor health, one fish in particular was clearly in distress and was still for sale.

The shop is a sponsor here too

Is it a surprise ?

i not one for saying this but if it is as bad as you say it is, i think they should be named and shamed, thats only if other people seen it too, and i think if it is the case they should be taken of the site.

did you bring this to the attention of staff?

I cant understand why shops do this, most of them have the knowledge other wise they wouldnt be there, I think they just get lazy or too busy with the work load and then this takes over, this can lead to a downward spiral to them with the people who know but the unknowledgeable dont and end up shopping and dont have the experience or the quality they should get.

Im sorry to here this and personaly I would speak to the owner 1st before naming and shaming and see if they can sort out this issue internaly 1st before they get the press, it may just be the manager or owner hasnt had there eye on the ball for a while and things have slipped and by bringing this to there attention could sort this out, I only hope.

mickeywallace wrote:

did you bring this to the attention of staff?

Good question.

When an issuelike that is raised it is the response (of lack of) that is often more important. And there is no point raising it with some kid doing part-time work on the weekend, raise it with the manager without being aggressive and you will usually have a satisfactory result.


Daragh

I considered saying it to a staff member, but he was only a kid and was looking after another customer at the time. The other member of staff was outside having a smoke.

The management shouldn't allow their tanks and livestock to get into such poor conditions.

I won't mention the shop but there was a Maroon Clown in a very stressed condition still for sale if that rings a bell with anyone

Every shop is bound to have problems.

The majority of shops would not sell fish that were clearly not in full health unless they were complete idiots. Did you ask anyone was the maroon still for sale or did u just assume it was because it wasnt labelled otherwise. Shops are bound to have problems with fish. its just a fact of life, most shops deal with it appropriately. Personally speaking if a fish was clearly in distress, I'd isolate it and give it the benefit of the doubt, sometimes fish go into a downward spiral for no apparent reason and thats all that can be done. Whether this is the case or not is neither here nor there.

To be honest, If you felt strongly enough to come home and go to the effort of starting a thread like this perhaps you should have waited for the other member of staff to finish with the customer and speak to them, failing that, contact management via phone the next day.

Posting a thread like this serves no purpose otherwise.

It does when its a sponsor here.

Fishowner wrote:

It does when its a sponsor here.

Sorry, but when the opening poster makes no attempt to bring it to the attention of any staff or management as suggestted. What purpose does it serve.

I agree with you in that point,but if its more than one tank and its widespread then it should be bought to peoples attention. I agree however that the issue should of been dealt with on the spot. Again fish shops are prone to having bad days like every person.If its a regular event then it needs to be tackled head on. I seem to be having alot of issues with one of my lfs at present,the fish keep dying despite my tank being ok before introducing them!

Gavin

Dave wrote:

Sorry, but when the opening poster makes no attempt to bring it to the attention of any staff or management as suggestted. What purpose does it serve.[/quote]

Hang on a minute here, the condition of the Marine tanks in this shop was appaling. If the staff or management can't see this they shouldn't be running a shop. The state the tanks were in didn't happen in one day, it took time for them to get that bad.

I'll go over again in the coming days and complain and see if that improves things. The reality is, things shouldn't improve only because people are complaining, the shop should maintain it's tanks to a decent level.

If you felt that strongly you should have complained.

How do you expect the situation to improve. If you dont bother mentioning it to staff on the day? How do you expect it to improve, moaning about it on here. You wont even answer a PM to see if it is a paticular shop to possibly help the situation.

If your going to moan about something perhaps it might be a better idea to behave proactively.

Perhaps you may take 30 seconds to speak to someone about it in future. As you said there was a staff member having a smoke, why not mention it to him while the other one was busy? Or even contact them today instead of waiting a couple of days.

Dave wrote:

Every shop is bound to have problems.

The majority of shops would not sell fish that were clearly not in full health unless they were complete idiots. Did you ask anyone was the maroon still for sale or did u just assume it was because it wasnt labelled otherwise. Shops are bound to have problems with fish. its just a fact of life, most shops deal with it appropriately. Personally speaking if a fish was clearly in distress, I'd isolate it and give it the benefit of the doubt, sometimes fish go into a downward spiral for no apparent reason and thats all that can be done. Whether this is the case or not is neither here nor there.

To be honest, If you felt strongly enough to come home and go to the effort of starting a thread like this perhaps you should have waited for the other member of staff to finish with the customer and speak to them, failing that, contact management via phone the next day.

Posting a thread like this serves no purpose otherwise.

Dave i don't agree with you here man, if the public can see it so can they. Nobody has to go to your establishment and tell you anything,,, why is this??? Answer you are complete professionals in your field and you know when there is a problem and you guys deal with it.

The real answer to to the original posters topic is.

There are shops like your employers Dave that give a monkeys and are too professional to be brought down to that level.

And then there is shops that don't give a monkeys what goes on as long as money is been made. As the op said the guy was a young fella, probably getting 6 or 7 euro an hour, you pay peanuts you will get plenty of monkeys.

Just my 2cents worth, keep up the good work Dave you guys are in a league of your own.

Surely each shop has a routine to check tanks in the morning and evening and clean up any dead fish or any problems that are occuring. I mean for god sake I do it everyday myself at home. Its not that hard.
First impressions in this business are vital I find.
Gavin

Dave wrote:

How do you expect the situation to improve. If you dont bother mentioning it to staff on the day? How do you expect it to improve, moaning about it on here.

I would have thought the staff would have seen the condition of the tanks and fish and thought, hang on a minute somethings not right here.

Thanks for the vote of confidence steven, I do appreciate it, thank you.

Moving back, your reason is fair enough, I do agree with you to a certain extent. however, like any business in life, communication and feedback between customers and staff. Although, yes if there was a problem it should be delt with, like I said I would do if the situation, I would have isolated it. Perhaps this wasn't done here. But every person reacts differently, without speaking to a staff member we do not know the full story, regardless.

I've contacted the OP asking which shop it was so if I could do something I would, however, I don't seem to be successful. Theres a clear opportunity to talk to someone about it if it concerned them and the OP does not seem interested.

On the issue of staff. Anyone that runs or has run a shop knows how difficult it is to find staff who are willing to work full time and have a great knowledge of the game, most people on this forum do have a good knowledge but they are also professionals in their own fields. Finding staff is very difficult, luckily we have a good team which is complimented by your comment. But again, without communicating with someone either here, by phone the can be no conclusive ending.

Once again, thanks for the comments Steven, see you soon mate.

Yasser wrote:

Dave wrote:

How do you expect the situation to improve. If you dont bother mentioning it to staff on the day? How do you expect it to improve, moaning about it on here.

I would have thought the staff would have seen the condition of the tanks and fish and thought, hang on a minute somethings not right here.

Granted. Bar algae on the tanks which isn't excusable, if the fish were not right, how do you know that there wasnt a problem within the system which was or wasn't being treated??

Bottom line is guys there is no excuse, and no one out shopping should have to confront anyone, and tell them how to run there buisness.

Guys its not rocket science.

You see a sick fish remove to isolation and treat sickness

You see a dead fish, Remove it

You see a dirty tank, Clean it.

If the guy had time for a smoke he has plenty of time on his hands to be doing general duties.

As i said there is NO EXCUSE.

steven wrote:

Bottom line is guys there is no excuse, and no one out shopping should have to confront anyone, and tell them how to run there buisness.

Guys its not rocket science.

You see a sick fish remove to isolation and treat sickness

You see a dead fish, Remove it

You see a dirty tank, Clean it.

If the guy had time for a smoke he has plenty of time on his hands to be doing general duties.

As i said there is NO EXCUSE.

As said Steve, there shouldnt have to be a confrontation, many times I've had guys come up to me with concerns, some you know about and politely tell them. Other times, people have brought something to my attention which I was genuinely un aware of. If I'm out shopping for whatever it may be, I dont hesitate to bring it to someones attention if something is blatantly out of place, some people take it on the chin, others not so much. But if it improves their store in a small way then it is worth it.

Dave i see exactly where your coming from, as you said if its something your unaware of, no problem definatly confront and let you know.

But on the other hand when its very blatent, and there for all to see. What do you do??? They are not blind.

Also Dave in your place when you have sick fish or new arrivals, you have a simple sign that says NOT FOR SALE. Why can't other places do the same. Its amazing what this NOT FOR SALE sign says about the shop. It speaks volumes mate.

Thats true, a simple sign can make a valid difference.

Dave wrote:

I've contacted the OP asking which shop it was so if I could do something I would, however, I don't seem to be successful. Theres a clear opportunity to talk to someone about it if it concerned them and the OP does not seem interested.

For the record, the owner of the shop now knows about the problem.

just after reading this post and agree with the sentiment, some shops Do need a kick in the ass, but as stated here if people dont voice their concerns then shop owners wont learn as a result both we and fish suffer, i'd be the first to bring this to shops attention, some like it and appreciate it especially if you can help sort out the problem... i'm not afraid to roll up my sleeves and help them out in this situation, but also some lfs owners take it as a personal attack and get rude or defensive if this is the case vote with your feet and dont use them again... But ALWAYS bring it to their attention, and then if it remains the same i'd have no problems naming and shaming

4 weeks on any update or improvements regarding this shop?

Im not sure which shop this thread refers to but I was in dublin city this afternoon and I visited 3 pet/fish shops and all three were brutal.Dirty shops, dirty tanks I would'nt be bothered shopping there again