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Petsmart experience today....

2K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  dramaqueen 
#1 ·
This is a little off topic, but I thought you guys would get a kick out of this.

I went to Petsmart today to buy 2 otos. I went to the girl in the aquarium section and asked here where the otos were at. She looks at me like I'm dumb and says "We don't have otos - I've never heard of em" (while smacking her lips chewing her gum). I just looked at her in shock and said "Oto catfish?!" She responds "The only algae eaters we have are right here..." and she begins naming them. Then she comes to a sign she cannot pronounce and says "this one" and skips. I told her "That is an oto." I'm like OMG how do you NOT know what a oto is and work in the fish section? So then she continues on going "you actually keep your otos in the tank with your betta and he doesn't bother them?" I told her he doesn't...and she just looked at me. I know EXACTLY what she was thinking.

I really wish people who work in the fish sections knew more. I mean even just knowing the fish you sell would be a start. Okay, I got my rant out - thanks for listening if you did lol.
 
#2 ·
Isn't the name otocinculus or something like that? I may have misspelled it. lol When you said oto, it may have confused her. Maybe she thought you said AUTO! lol I was in a German restaurant one time and thought they would know the German names of the food so I ordered kartoffelsalat. The girl looked at me and said "whats that?" I told her its German potato salad.
 
#3 ·
It is. That is the one she couldn't pronounce and said this one and then moved on lol.
 
#5 ·
I think that if you are going to put someone in a certain department, they should get specific training for THAT department.
 
#6 ·
I agree! I saw someone at Petsmart one time, feeding the bettas and she was asking me questionst like is it true that they can't live together and stuff like that. I never saw her again, after that. There was a girl that worked there in the fish department that I really liked. She was really knowledgeable but she had to quit because she had foot surgery and can't have a job where she's on her feet all day.She has fish of her own and knows how to take care of them. She calls me the betta lady! lol I just ran into her and her husband a few weeks ago and thats how she introduced me to her husband. lol
 
#7 ·
I had something similar happen when I took my son to the walking with dinosaurs live show (which was AWESOME!)- after the show I went to get him a stuffed animal and a fiber optic toy and the guy didn't know what a fiber optic toy was- i had to explain that it was the light up flashing 'thingy' so he'd understand- he hands me the package and it said right on the front "fiber optic dinosaur toy" -so yeah- I guess that's why the line was moving so slow- these people don't even know what they're selling.
 
#8 ·
oh god, i know exactly what you mean. is it really THAT hard to learn about the animals you're responsible for?! it's ridiculous.
 
#10 ·
*Smacks forehead*
I feel, that as a PetSmart associate, it is my duty to formally apologize for all the stupidity of PetSmart associates everywhere. I'm actually kind of ashamed that this happened.

Although, she could have been new, which would have explained her lack of knowledge. However, it wouldn't explain the lack of a more knowledgeable associate to help her out.

And, it may have been an honest mistake. I know at my store, we call them otos. But perhaps at other stores that is not the common vernacular (though not knowing that bettas and otos can be put together suggests just plain ignorance).

I promise, really and truly, that there are PetSmarts out there that have knowledgeable associates. I work at a store where that's the case.
 
#11 ·
She could have been new, that is very true. I know today when I went in the guy was very nice and was very sincere about picking me an oto that was in good condition (one of the Thursday ones had a disease or something...I didn't see it due to the double bagging method she used as it distorted the vision of the otos). I found out after I drove 20 minutes home...it lasted less than 24 hours. However, I had to show him where to find the otos :) He was looking at all the tanks so eagerly - and I said they are actually right over here... and he was like "oh good, I'm glad you know - because I really don't know. You know more than me at that."

So maybe they did go on a hiring spree and get some new people. Still, she was alone - not a soul around her. I've found that I've had a lot of bad experiences with the fish department at my Petsmart. They have told me to do things in the past that I have regretted later.

I do appreciate you apologizing - but I know you can't help how your company is. It is all about the money and making a profit. I honestly feel that many pet stores don't care how educated their employees are (sadly enough).
 
#12 · (Edited by Moderator)
I was at Walmart (before I converted them, and before I was breeding) and there was this dude. So I went their minding my own buisness lookin at the goldfish and he says "If you want one you should put them in a bowl you know 5 or 6 of them." So I look at him like Dude WTH.
 
#13 ·
I was at Walmart (before I converted them, and before I was breeding) and there was this dude. So I went their minding my own buisness lookin at the goldfish and he says "If you want one you should put them in a bowl you know 5 or 6 of them." So I look at him like Dude WTF.
That reminds me of a Walmart incident that happened quite a while back. :p

I was in the fish section, and a man goes to the employee and says that his Betta refuses to eat its Betta pellets, and he feeds it goldfish flakes instead. He was wondering if that would be okay for the Betta.

The guy working there said something along the lines of, "Of course, it's a fish. Their food must be the same."
 
#14 ·
Eek! Scary that some people don't know about fish, when they work in a FISH store. :(

I was at petco a few days ago, and one of the employees was cleaning out a tank, he stirred all the gravel up, and you couldn't see the back of the tank. It was DISGUSTING! I walked past and was like :shock: :shock: and he just smiled.
 
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