Why does PetSMART have DUMBcustomers??

[Marszenka]

I used to work at Petsmart. There were times when it was unbelievably frustrating how dense people were with animals (especially fish. Seriously, I'd be thrilled if pet stores just stopped selling those tiny glass bowls altogether).

But there was one time when a woman came in angry that a choke-chain had cut her dog's neck, and although I was just a cashier I was able to teach her that chains were NOT meant to be used as collars, were for training purposes ONLY and were NOT supposed to used longer than an hour. She could have learned this for herself, of course, if she'd bothered reading the packaging on the chain, but the important thing was that she was receptive and the poor sweet pitty went home with a nice new harness and some tips from our trainer. He was a good boy. <3

[Midnight12]

RM: I want that fish.
SA: Uhh...ok.
RM: She said this fish gets 4 feet long and that it wont fit in my 20 gallon tank!
SA: *to me* You own a Pangasius?
Me: No, but I know a lot about fish.
RM: I know such a small store would never sell fish that big as this is a FAMILY store and only sells FAMILY pets.
SA: Actually, many of these fish require large aquariums when they are full grown. That catfish does indeed grow to such lengths and I'd recommend you shop for fish on that side with the community fish. This is the semi-agressive section.
RM: I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU PEOPLE WOULD SELL SUCH HUGE FISH! THIS IS A FAMILY STORE AND NO FAMILY WANTS FISH LIKE THAT!
SA: Actually, I'm divorced and I shop here quite frequently. I love animals and buy stuff for my snakes.

i can see where her son got the ADHD...the mom is hyper maybe just a liiitttle bit?
sorry you had to endure that kisa. glad that you still do your research

[BrenDAnn]

Ugh...I feel sorry for the poor animals that end up in the homes of people like that. About the biting--there's not a pet that I've had, save for maybe my rabbits, that haven't bitten me at one point or another. Dogs, cats, hamsters...all bit or nipped at me. It happens. The rabbits? Well, the black lop eared one was sweet as could be. The big white one, who I gave the extreme misnomer of Precious...liked to kick. A lot. Trust when I say rabbits have very strong back legs, and very sharp claws!

[LillFilly]

On people buying animals and having no clue what they are and how to care for them, I blame Disney and Paris Hilton.

I had someone lecture me on my ferrets, about how they were disgusting, smelly, rabid rodents. Once someone thought they were baby skunks Wrong on all counts!

[crazylegs]

I used to work at Petsmart. There were times when it was unbelievably frustrating how dense people were with animals (especially fish. Seriously, I'd be thrilled if pet stores just stopped selling those tiny glass bowls altogether).

These little bowls are pretty useless for goldfish (nowhere near enough water/space for them). Dedicated nano tanks on the other hand for shrimp/v. small fish (neon tetras etc) then as long as they're correctly stocked they're ok

But I'm most certainly in agreement re bowls & goldfish!

[Geek King]

No biting, hmm? Say, do petstores still sell live crickets? I bet they don't bite! You can even tell her that the Chinese used to keep lucky crickets as pets.

[Brojekk]

Hopefully that lady doesn't see the Tokay Geckoes. They're nicely colored but they are also highly aggressive. They also "bark" during the night because they're nocturnal.

[protege]

My current crop of fish is probably the most luck I've had with fish in a while. And I can keep a plecostomus to save my life......they usually end up dying on me.

I had fish for years...until I grew allergic to the mold that sometimes grew on the bottom of my tank's light. Anyway, I had good luck with swordtails, goldfish, tetras, mollies, zebras, and minnows. I never had many angelfish. Too often, they didn't last very long But, the minnows were caught in the stream that ran through my grandmother's farm. I wouldn't recommend them if you have other, smaller fish around. They can be aggressive, and will swallow fish whole

[Pixilated]

We used to have an Oscar. They can apparently grow to fit the tank (or so I've been told) but the thing that still makes me wonder why on earth my mother bought one is that they eat, among other things, live worms. My poor maternal grandmother was babysitting us at this time, as both mom and dad worked outside the house, so Grandma got to be the lucky one to feed the fish ... I think it left her permanently traumatized.

[jedimaster91]

I was petting this cockatiel in Petsmart one time when this lady came up to me and snottily asked if I wanted to loose a finger because those birds bite. Before the associate could respond to this rude lady I replied "Any animal can bite ma'am. even the most docile ones. its all how they are handled. This bird obviously was handled in a kind manner throughout its life and therefore does not feel the need to bite my finger off." woman walks off in a huff and the associate just grins and nods.

A friendly cockatiel? I've almost forgotten what those are like, lol.

[Food Lady]

I'm thinking about getting a small reptile or amphibian, and I have in mind to get advice and listen intently to whomever gives it. Arguing with knowlegeable people will only set me up for failure.

[Kisa]

I'm thinking about getting a small reptile or amphibian, and I have in mind to get advice and listen intently to whomever gives it. Arguing with knowlegeable people will only set me up for failure.

If you'd like, I can give suggestions I know quite a bit about animals and have owned many over the years

[AccountingDrone]

A friendly cockatiel? I've almost forgotten what those are like, lol.

I had one named Baby that was hand raised by a friend. It would eat sunflower seeds from between your lips =) It 'wolf whistled' and loved to groom my eyebrows and lashes. [it used to more or less freerange the house, though it normally stayed on top of its cage or on one particular window sill.] It sort of woke up my primative hindbrain and scared the crap out of me once. I had been napping on the couch and he decided he wanted to come groom me, so he launched off his cage at me, the whirring of the wings woke me up and without my glasses I saw a huge monster flying at my face ...

A jackass house guest decided to leave the door open while he ran to his car to get something and baby flew out and became raptor snack =( [we have a pair of eagles nesting on the farm which would have done him during the day, and a pair of owls that would have done him at night] and offering to buy one from a pet store doesn't replace a hand raised pet of 5 years

[Kitten in the box]

A friendly cockatiel? I've almost forgotten what those are like, lol.

yep. lol. we use to own a super friendly cockatiel. I don't believe i ever heared her scream. she use to give love nips on your hand and even though she wouldn't let you take her out of the cage much she did rest her foot on your hand and nibble your fingers. she loved being pet all over.

R.I.P Star

[jedimaster91]

I did used to own a friendly 'tiel. Several, in fact. But we had a run of really bad luck with birds and ended up with Oscar. He is sweet in his own way, but he's definitely my bird and hates everyone else. He's gone after hubs a couple times. Oscar's 8ish and too ornery to die. When I told hubs that 'tiels can live 20-30 years, he turned an interesting shade of whitish green, lol.