Petsmart employees

[Kurt]

Except Wal-mart.

[bshmerlie]

Everyone is knocking the big box pet stores but you have to realize Petsmart can't be going out paying top dollar to hire experts for each department (frogs, fish, snakes, birds, dogs, cats, rabbits, ect.) For stores that size they have a "HUGE" corporate overhead to pay for and still try to be profitable in a major recession like this one. If it was your business you too would find yourself having to pay entry level wages for sales positions in such a store. Next thing you know your hiring some 17-18 year old and I'm sorry but the kids of today are just not that bright. Any training you do with them they just say, "yeah yeah" and it goes in one ear and out the other. I don't know about the rest of you but I started in the frog hobby buying a couple of firebellies at Petsmart. The saleman didn't really know anything about them, but as a repsonsible pet owner I did my own research to make sure I cared for them properly as they were to become "my" pets. The real problem is people don't take responsiblity when purchasing a pet to do a little research. With today's internet there is no excuse for the uneducated.

[Rat The Unloved]

There's no need to hire "experts" when they have perfectly good advanced hobbyists walking in the door begging to work for minimum wage (so that they can feed themselves... which is always fun). Hobbyists like myself.

When a store actively turns down placing the appropriate person in the appropriate section of the store, because they use stock to treat/care for the animals (and using stock costs money), that is absolutely ridiculous. They wanted to stick me on cashier, and have all of the uneducated kids run over to ask questions rather than placing me in the reptile department and risking that I might open a UV bulb for the Iguanas. - Ridiculous -.

I refer specifically to one of the PetCo's in the DFW area. And also to one in Oklahoma. I have not named locations but if a friend asks I'll say "Yeah, don't." Other stores? Who knows.

[Deku]

I know how you feel about that one.

Its not just the employees but some of the customers as well. I had many customers come in and I'd refuse to sell them an animal due to them not having the proper setup. They wouldn't even care and even some would actually say it's only 5 dollars. I don't really care.

Agreed not all petstore employees are bad. There are rare ones out there that are genuinly good. Both my friends are good employees. One of them is extremely smart reguarding animals, the other one not so much. BUT STILL cares alot about them to learn and to tell the customer to look them up. I used to work in a petstore I had alot of frikkin ignorant people come in.


I had this old lady come in about a 4 year old red eared slider that was stunted and was put in a 2.5 gallon tank. I actually flared at her and told her "why dont you atleast get them a rubbermaid? Its less expensive than a tank". Then she told me she didnt had room that it was her sons who went off to college. I mean my mom is ignorant about animals but even she isnt that retarded. It makes me so angry when I hear about these people. I had this guy report me to my boss because I gave him 5 crickets extra. He was all mad that I didnt give him enough I actually took one cricket by cricket. The guy appeared like a cheap jackass infront of his family. Just because he wanted to save some money. I understand that in this economy its bad. But thats just it. If you cant take care of them dont frikking buy the animal. It makes me so mad when people do that. I actually had this guy trying to give me his painted turtle half a year ago. He bought it on a reptile expo in pa. Which means he must have gotten either a western or a southern. Because easterns are illegal in pa. The guy wanted me to take it off his hands. So me liking painted turtles I agreed. When he came back he told me that his wife released it into the lake. A CAPTIVE BRED ANiMAL! you know how furious I was? Because his kid was bored of the animal. Because the kid actually said "I want to switch of reptiles to some fire bellied toads". I had to held my tongue. But had it been offf work I would have told him:
So what will happen when you get bored with the toads? You're going to release it? You probably think you love animals and all. But if you did you wouldnt be a little jerk and release a captive bred animal. An animal who may or may not thrive in outdoor conditions. An animal who will carry parasites and bacteria unfamiliar to those in our local ecosystem. Because you just want these animals because you think they're cool."

Its one of the reasons I had to leave my job. Day after day more and more ignorant people would come in. Asking me really stupid **** like if a certain animal can go in a smaller enclosure. I mean what kind of question is that? Its why I flare at people when they go around asking stupid questions and dont follow them. Its not just the employees. I mean I dont like most store employees but for the most part its the customer. In every forum people complain non stop about employees. But have you ever worked there to see whats going on? I know ALOT of employees are ignorant about animals. But guess what? Any of that wont change. WHy dont you sit around in the fish department or small animal department and listen in to customers. You will be shocked. Some of these people who dont even care; dont care because customers themselves fail to listen. Id rather see an animal die than the animal living under bad conditions throughout its life span. Would YOU like to live in a prison? No right? Would you rather die than live your life in prison? Assuming yes same for these people. But I totally agree alot of employees dont care about their animals. But its not just the employees its also the buyers. Because Iam pretty sure if they hired people like me and you to a petstore they would not make any business. Chances are I would flare at them. But for the most part I tried guiding them to other things. Mothers who have kids bugging them to buy them a goldfish. The moms are stupid enough to comply and end up buying those tiny extremly expensive kits. Had they bought something like a 10gallon with the supplies it would match up to that of a kit. But no they have to buy each kid a 4inch goldfish to put in a bowl or in some stupid dora the explorer kit. Those are death traps for fish. Only the labyrinth fish COULD survive in there. But wont be happy.


Again. Each and one of you SHOULD visit alot of petstores including those "bad" petstores you talk about and stay there for the whole day. Listen at what the customers talk about. Then you will also understand. I personally had to keep my mouth shut or I would have been fired. In the end I had to leave. Most of these people end up leaving too.

[Deku]

There's no need to hire "experts" when they have perfectly good advanced hobbyists walking in the door begging to work for minimum wage (so that they can feed themselves... which is always fun). Hobbyists like myself.

When a store actively turns down placing the appropriate person in the appropriate section of the store, because they use stock to treat/care for the animals (and using stock costs money), that is absolutely ridiculous. They wanted to stick me on cashier, and have all of the uneducated kids run over to ask questions rather than placing me in the reptile department and risking that I might open a UV bulb for the Iguanas. - Ridiculous -.

I refer specifically to one of the PetCo's in the DFW area. And also to one in Oklahoma. I have not named locations but if a friend asks I'll say "Yeah, don't." Other stores? Who knows.

A true hobbyst would get mad at the things the customers say. Been hired to one I know what Iam talking about. For the most part you CANT argue with a customer because you will get fired. Most customers will bish at you for very stupid things. You WILL end up frustrated. Its not just me, I know alot of hobbyst being hired into stores some which are my friends and they are frustrated. Most end up leaving. The rest they're mind is being battered by their own thoughts and opinion against what the customers and the boss say. Its not because they cant afford to hire experts. Thats just stupid anyone can be an expert as long as they keep the animals t hemselves they can speak. What Iam talking about is customers 85% of the customers that walk in everyday are as clueless as a 5 year old about the opposite sex. If you tell them the appropriate care it doesnt matter they will argue with you alot. I actually spent 2 hours trying to explain to a few people how to care for a certain animal. I got screamed at by my boss. Again its not just that. They wont hire you because they CANT hire you. Unless you will keep your mouth quiet and your feelings inside. MOSt people who work in a petstore that are TRUE hobbyst will get mad and frustrated. I cannot stress this enough. There is alot of contraversial about this. I used to be one of them. One of my friends even got fired because he got mad at a lady who was trying to purchase some tree frogs.

[Rat The Unloved]

I'm a big boy - I know how to behave appropriately with customers. I've run a small business since I was in my early teens and worked with my family on a production-scale rabbit ranch, mostly dealing with buyers.

Here's what the Dallas store manager said: "It's store policy to use product from the shelves to take care of the animals, and we've found that experienced people tend to pull more product, so we don't hire for specific areas. The kids can come over and ask you questions, though."

That blew my mind so hard I never went back. :P

[Deku]

I'm a big boy - I know how to behave appropriately with customers. I've run a small business since I was in my early teens and worked with my family on a production-scale rabbit ranch, mostly dealing with buyers.

Here's what the Dallas store manager said: "It's store policy to use product from the shelves to take care of the animals, and we've found that experienced people tend to pull more product, so we don't hire for specific areas. The kids can come over and ask you questions, though."

That blew my mind so hard I never went back. :P

This doesnt make any sense. But at any rate. Anyone who actually cares for the lives of the animals(any animal) doesnt matter what part you are expert in. If you care about it you will protect it. Just like if you see someone hurting a dog you would get mad right? Same thing.

[1beataway]

It surprises me he was so honest about not putting you in that department for that reason. Most of them would at least lie and say, "There's no position available over there." lol.

When it comes to pet stores, there's always going to be good and bad. That situation in Dallas is not something I've ever come across. When it comes down to it, the big pet stores are paying very little for very crappy work. My pay isn't worth what I have to do everyday, but I need the job, and it's not as bad as other places.

I know my manager prefers to hire people with at least some experience with animals, but sometimes she doesn't get those applicants. She went a while without hiring anyone when we needed another person because she wasn't pleased with the few people who had applied. But truthfully...when I started working, I had no experience with animals. As a child, I had dogs and a rabbit, and that was it. Now I can talk for hours about reptiles and amphibians and fish. So sometimes those uneducated workers learn some things on their own.

I know that in my petstore, when an animal is sick, it's immediately pulled off the floor and taken care of. If it is something more than just a broken tail on a lizard or bit wounds, etc, it's taken to the vet. I've never seen my managers express a problem with that.

So...in summary...each individual pet store is different, if you know what to look for you can easily spot which ones to stay away from, the situation in Dallas sucks (I hope you at least got a job soon after somewhere else!), and I didn't read all of Deku's posts because it made me think of some of my annoying customers, and I truly don't wish to think about them. :P

[Deku]

It surprises me he was so honest about not putting you in that department for that reason. Most of them would at least lie and say, "There's no position available over there." lol.

When it comes to pet stores, there's always going to be good and bad. That situation in Dallas is not something I've ever come across. When it comes down to it, the big pet stores are paying very little for very crappy work. My pay isn't worth what I have to do everyday, but I need the job, and it's not as bad as other places.

I know my manager prefers to hire people with at least some experience with animals, but sometimes she doesn't get those applicants. She went a while without hiring anyone when we needed another person because she wasn't pleased with the few people who had applied. But truthfully...when I started working, I had no experience with animals. As a child, I had dogs and a rabbit, and that was it. Now I can talk for hours about reptiles and amphibians and fish. So sometimes those uneducated workers learn some things on their own.

I know that in my petstore, when an animal is sick, it's immediately pulled off the floor and taken care of. If it is something more than just a broken tail on a lizard or bit wounds, etc, it's taken to the vet. I've never seen my managers express a problem with that.

So...in summary...each individual pet store is different, if you know what to look for you can easily spot which ones to stay away from, the situation in Dallas sucks (I hope you at least got a job soon after somewhere else!), and I didn't read all of Deku's posts because it made me think of some of my annoying customers, and I truly don't wish to think about them. :P

Agreed. Iam not fit or qualified to work in a petstore because I do have patience. But I dont have tolerance to carelesness and selfishness. Once you work in the petstore industry you will know what Iam speaking about. So dont get frustrated if you dont get hired. Truth be told depending on your tolerance for the many people who want to take the easy way out most of us would get frustrated. To be very honest I get very frustrated trying to work with those people. Most parents leave t he care to the child. Thats the first mistake. Then they wonder why the animal has either died, become ill or attacked the kid. Buying animals like hamsters, turtles, lizards, rabbits, guinea pigs, and pretty much any small animal to be taken care of by a mere child who does not understand the concept of being gentle, and has the attention span of a squirrel.
Small furred animals: Not good childrens pet due to the fact most can die out of fright(rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters), most die out of inproper care, most bite because are mishandled, and not given chew toys.
Reptiles: Having specific requirements, needing lamps that produce heat, heaters(for aquatics and undertank heaters), live foods, etc. Is certainly not good for a child. I mean common the light is a fire hazard. They cant go to the store and buy foods and supplies weekly. Chances are the animals will suppress the illness and kids wont be able to tell its sick until its late and die. Iam not saying all children will be bad with reptiles. But for the most part they are.
Amphibians: Not a touch pet, which kids like pets they can touch. Die out of stress easier than any other animal. Some could harm the child if its toxic. Some need heat lamps which is a fire hazard.

In fact any animal out there shouldnt be taken care of by a child(anyone under 13-14years of age). Animals should be researched before purchased to know what you're getting yourself into. Which alot of people just dont do. Where I used to work I had alot of people drop their animals onto us saying we didnt warn them this and that. Which we did but they were so far up their butts they never listen.
Its very true its not just the petstore. Some petstores are genuinly good. While others are bad. Agreed. But its also part of the customers fault. Alot of coorporations make their money off of ignorant people. Its business jungle. Coorporations are the predators and the ignorant consumers are the prey. Fact is bad service wont change unless action is taken care of. Unless you go out infront of every petstore and educate each and every customer then you will not be able to do anything. Sure alot of people are into reptiles. But guess what? The rest dont give a squat about them. Which is why they arent being taken care of very well. Funny thing is. People also get scammed by petstores. My petstore used to buy 5cent goldfish and then sell them off to the customers for like 10-30bucks a piece. Sometimes we would get rare fish dropped in bad shape in our doorstep.We would take it in. Try to cure it. Then we would just sell it to the customer for 3-4 times its original price. If you see a rare animal for the most part its a drop off. This is true because a petstore wont just order some random animal and expect it to sell.

[goreptiles]

The problem is ignorant and uninformed employees create uninformed and ignorant customers who buy the animals without proper knowledge or care to do further research.

I used to work for a pet store. Our reptile specialists knew nothing about reptiles. Well, one did but she got fired. One of the other two thought she knew info and care but knew nothing. the third person didnt even have a reptile; she killed her bearded dragon bc she didn't do proper research. I was stuck in small animals, but had more experience with reptiles. I was chastised everytime I walked in the fish/reptiledepartment to help a customer.

[Deku]

The problem is ignorant and uninformed employees create uninformed and ignorant customers who buy the animals without proper knowledge or care to do further research.

I used to work for a pet store. Our reptile specialists knew nothing about reptiles. Well, one did but she got fired. One of the other two thought she knew info and care but knew nothing. the third person didnt even have a reptile; she killed her bearded dragon bc she didn't do proper research. I was stuck in small animals, but had more experience with reptiles. I was chastised everytime I walked in the fish/reptiledepartment to help a customer.

No you can talk to the customer for hours. You can give them places to look into. You can even try giving them discounts. They will still remain ignorant and uncaring. I'ved delt with alot of these type of customers. You can try showing them the way. Most will just want to hear themselves talk and if you tell them they are wrong they will snap at you and will just go to another petstore that will suck up to them. I know what you mean though. But again its both parts. Customers because they dont give a crack about the animals enough to study them. Employees because they just give up and dont inform them. I know what you are talking about. I had to deal with that. But when I got chastised I would always make the other employees sound unintelligent. Also for the most part a petstore is a landmine of drama. You can't avoid it. So we adapt and try to deal with it the best way possible. But like I keep restating its not just the employees fault its also the customers. If companies hired "experts" the experts will not sell anything to anyone because most people that come in a petstore are dumb as a sack when it comes to animals asides from a dog or a cat.
I once had a customer call my petstore very angry because his newly bought rabbit and parakeet died. I asked him "how'd it die?" and he responded that it died two days later. That he kept them together next to each other but as well let them play together. Thats a nono. You do not put a rabbit with a bird to play. Rabbits can die out of fright very easily. I explained to him that and then he tried to save his toosh with "some employee told me I could" but indeed I was the only one working that shift that day. Infact I pretty much "Bagged" it for him(not really bag but like a box). Normally I would believe that because a few of my fellow workers tend to say untrue things. Theres also been many cases where the customers come in and want to buy their child a pet to shut them up. They don't give a squat. I remember having this one guy who mounted a 3gallon aquarium in his daughters bedroom. The guy wanted to put in some fish in that tank. I even butted in my friends sale just to inform them better. They were planning on a goldfish. I told them they couldnt do that. SO I tried to get him to look at betta fish and labyrinth fish(paradise fish) in general. The girl didnt want just one fish. SO I tried to stray him to minnows. To keep a minimum of two. In the end he bought 5minnows and 1 crayfish. I told him that the crayfish will eat the minnows the guy looked at me "better for me, then shell stop asking me".

[1beataway]

It's both sides, and it's something you'll find anywhere retail. Unfortunately, at a pet store you're dealing with living animals, and there's a lot more to lose. I've had lots of customers who will argue with you and want you to sell them the animal regardless of what sort of home they are providing. But I've also had plenty who have said to me, "No one has ever told me that before. Thank you." And they follow all my advice and recommendations.

Likewise, I have worked with people who are ignorant and remain ignorant, with people who think they know and end up giving really bad advice to customers (And this sucks even more when it's one of those customers who are truly trying to learn and follow the information given), and with people who, like myself, try to learn as much as they can on their own to give the right information.

Employees and customers both should research more. I believe that most of the responsibility lies on the pet store employees. Obviously, it would be fantastic if every pet store employee was able to give out a lot of good advice, but we have those who will refuse to learn and those who really, truly believe they know the answers to questions and just get it wrong. Some stores will consist of managers that support ignorance, and some will consist of managers that push their employees to be intelligent. And sometimes, employees do get frustrated when so many of their customers just argue with them about the best care. You have to fight yourself to not just give everyone an oscar for a 10 gallon tank.

[Deku]

It's both sides, and it's something you'll find anywhere retail. Unfortunately, at a pet store you're dealing with living animals, and there's a lot more to lose. I've had lots of customers who will argue with you and want you to sell them the animal regardless of what sort of home they are providing. But I've also had plenty who have said to me, "No one has ever told me that before. Thank you." And they follow all my advice and recommendations.

Likewise, I have worked with people who are ignorant and remain ignorant, with people who think they know and end up giving really bad advice to customers (And this sucks even more when it's one of those customers who are truly trying to learn and follow the information given), and with people who, like myself, try to learn as much as they can on their own to give the right information.

Employees and customers both should research more. I believe that most of the responsibility lies on the pet store employees. Obviously, it would be fantastic if every pet store employee was able to give out a lot of good advice, but we have those who will refuse to learn and those who really, truly believe they know the answers to questions and just get it wrong. Some stores will consist of managers that support ignorance, and some will consist of managers that push their employees to be intelligent. And sometimes, employees do get frustrated when so many of their customers just argue with them about the best care. You have to fight yourself to not just give everyone an oscar for a 10 gallon tank.

I know an it sucks. :/ You wouldnt like to know the horros ived seen at petstores. :/ its terrible and gross.

[1beataway]

I know an it sucks. :/ You wouldnt like to know the horros ived seen at petstores. :/ its terrible and gross.

You know I work at a petstore, right? I've probably seen some of the same things. :P

[Deku]

You know I work at a petstore, right? I've probably seen some of the same things. :P

Hmm my friend bought this hamster from the store. Its missing the two middle fingers on one paw. This hamster was being kept in the bathroom and it was called "bathroom buddy". Hamster who was used for breeding. Its very sad. I think the male bit her fingers off. :/ Also the same people keep fire bellied toads with bullfrog tadpoles and crayfish. See what I mean? Which all is connected to one sump. 35-40 fish die per day. Excluding feeders. They clean the walls of the tank with bleach. :/ When they grab a bird they use a glove and they have to hold the bird very tight. Most of which the bird is injured. They keep a tokay gecko with a snake in bark bedding. A few snakes got out and 3 of them died. One died out of cold. The other one when the old manager saw it put it in a box with a LIVE rat. The snake was covered in blood and the rat was dead which the workers wondered how they died.

[1beataway]

I take it back.

[Deku]

I take it back.

This is why I hate petstores. But at the same time I dont hate them. I buy their animals because I have no other choice I cant order online anymore. Not allowed.

[1beataway]

This is why I hate petstores. But at the same time I dont hate them. I buy their animals because I have no other choice I cant order online anymore. Not allowed.

Not all petstores are like this though. I have worked at mine for 3 years and have never seen anything like what you've described. I've seen animals get sick and I've even seen some die, but this is rare and those that do get sick get taken care of. But I think often it's not that hard to figure out what kind of pet store you're walking into.

[Rat The Unloved]

Horrible experiences in the pet-industry aren't really a competition, you know.

I worked on a production-scale rabbit ranch. What I did in the course of my job would probably curl toes here (as it does in pretty much any polite company) - which is why I don't discuss it.

[Deku]

Horrible experiences in the pet-industry aren't really a competition, you know.

I worked on a production-scale rabbit ranch. What I did in the course of my job would probably curl toes here (as it does in pretty much any polite company) - which is why I don't discuss it.

We never said it was. But its disgusting and appaling so we were sharing our concerns. I do admit you're probably right. Ived heard things about the rabbit industries. I keep one myself. I find it appaling what they do. Lucky for me I dont work in any of those places. I couldnt handle it. Its just sick and cruel as its cruel to harm any animal of any species. Heck. I dont like cats, but Iam not going to hurt them. Its just pointless and inhumane. But I keep hearing that word "inhumane", it seems to me if alot of "humans" do it. Its pretty humane to me.... right???? There should be a different word for that meaning.