Just got a job at Petsmart :)

[purplemuffin]

Originally Posted by SnowySurface

How would doing your job well get you fired? o.O

Caring for animals is not 'your job', selling product is your job. If a person wants to buy a betta, they expect it to be cheap. If you tell them otherwise(5 gallon+heater+plants etc.) petsmart might lose a sale. Believe it or not, petsmart makes more money off of the cheap 5 dollar .5 gallon tanks than they do selling 5 gallon tanks for bettas. There are NOT many people willing to put in that kind of money and effort--however there are MANY people willing to put in little to no effort, so in the long run, petsmart makes more money pleasing the masses, even if for a smaller amount of money each. Besides, even if their fish dies, they'll get another one, and another one, and another one.

One day at a petsmart could mean you could end up speaking to 10 potential betta owners. Now, the potential unknowing betta owner will pick up their 5 dollar fish, along with one of those 'complete betta kits' which are about 15 dollars. That's about 20 dollars a person, so if they all left the store with that, petsmart would get 200 dollars right there. Then they start buying decorations. Now imagine if 20 potential betta owners showed up, or if one of them bought an even more overpriced small fish bowl or tank. Heck, they could even buy that special "betta water" made to exactly fill one of the betta bowls with pre-chlorinated water, and THAT is just ridiculous.

Now if you stop them and talk to them, most people would probably just decide against the fish--we already know, most people get these fish for their kids or as decoration. They usually don't even like bettas all that much, and if they are going to spend 100 dollars on a pet, it'd probably more likely be their dog or cat. Most of the people will just leave without the betta if they even believe you. Maybe there is one person still interested despite hearing about all the work that goes into it. That person will buy the 5 dollar fish, plus maybe the top fin 5 gallon aquarium kit--38 dollars. They'll still need a heater. Honestly most petsmarts don't carry the best heaters--they might have one 15 dollar heater there, but knowing the people of this forum, we might even (gasp) suggest they shop online or elsewhere. Same goes for if the store doesn't have something good like prime. We know the store isn't what matters, it's the betta--So if the store doesn't have what the betta needs, we will gladly tell them where to get it. But where does that leave petsmart? Well, that person might spend... 100 dollars there, or maybe even less if they decide to buy plants and decor online. I know I spent 150 dollars on Dionysus's tank, but it was not all in one place. The gravel and tank was at walmart, a piece of decor was at a local petstore, the food, heater, and conditioner was on amazon, and the plants were on another online plant website.

So it went from 200+ to maybe 100 dollars, despite the person buying all the extra stuff for the betta. It ends up being a good day for the betta, but a bad day for petsmart.


So yeah, they could fire you for that! And they've done it before. Same goes for the reptile section. Show your boss you know what they are doing wrong, they won't take too kindly too it. Most of them have rules they HAVE to follow anyway, it's not that they're all jerks, but they have to watch their backs too, if their employees don't sell what they are supposed to, THEY are the ones who get in trouble.

[nel3]

the joys of working under mostly inconsiderate corporations. thats a fine line that needs to be walked on. the kritter keepers can be a good thing they can go for. not sure how they'll take it if the KK cut into the sales of .5g boxes. i wish you the best of luck to keep the animals there happy.

[SmokeNLark]

Thanks guys. The info on the bedding and sand is great. I knew about the pine, it just slipped my mind.

The really nice thing is that the other pet care associates seem to actually know what they are doing. The lady who works there full time said we can strongly recommend (though I don't think we can completely refuse to sell a fish) that if the conditions aren't right, for the customer to not buy fish. All the cages and tanks there are clean. The animals are healthy, no dead fish. While I was there today (still training) they cleaned the betta cups. I was encouraged to remove any fish I think is sick into the treatment/quarantine tank without even having to ask someone.

Also, the guy I saw sell crickets dusted them for the man who bought them. Then he recommended pellets for a woman's betta. And the same lady who told me about the fish was talking about the right vegetables to give the small animals and proper care for bearded lizards.

I just hope it stays this good. It is a line, but it seems the people in this particular store care and know how to take care of animals.

[SnowySurface]

Oh, I see what you're saying Purplemuffin. This is the idea I had in my head when I made my earlier comment. I guess I should have said more than a single sentence. ^_^;

Yes, there are people who just want to get a $5 fish, put it in a $12 bowl, and then complain to the store when the fish dies in less than two weeks. The people who do go for $20 or less usually end up demanding refunds when things go wrong. I see it as the store wasting money to sell a fish to some one who is just going to kill it and then return the fish for a refund. Now the fish is dead and can't give anyone happiness or make the company money.

I agree only 1 out of 20 would be willing to shell out $200+ for the setup I have now. I didn't simply want to own a fish but have an aquarium as a hobby. I wanted to set up and maintain a fish-topia that would look great in my living room. However, there are happy mediums between a death trap and fish heaven on earth. The Aqueon Double Sided Black Mini Bow Desktop Aquarium Kit and a heater would be about $50 and prevent a little kid from feeling like he or she killed the family fish in less than a month. My reaction was based on the assumption that the parents wouldn't mind saving money on replacement fish, by paying a little extra to keep the first fish alive. 15 out of 20 spending $50 makes a total of $750. 20 out of 20 paying $15 only makes $300. That level of increased profits should make the company giddy and earn the employee a raise.

That's why chain stores drive me crazy. Even if I'm naive and much fewer than 15 people would agree with the $50 set up, it only takes 6 out of 20 to make $300 off of the $50 set up while the 14 out of 20 are still spending $210 on the wrong set up. I'm not saying scare 10 away from buying fish at all. That would be harassment and the customer would have a right to complain until you are fired. I'm suggesting reaching out to 6 out of 20 each day who don't mind putting in the extra effort.

I would be the type of worker who reaches out to the 6 out of 20 and allow the 14 out of 20 to make their own choices. It would be a win-win-win situation for the customer, the company, and my conscience. :)