BleedingHeart Posted May 1, 2005 Report Share Posted May 1, 2005 Yup, in Calgary at Sunnyside Garden Centre I am in the pet department. I used to work at Petland, and am loving this store much better. I joined here because I met Dennis of Gold Aquariums - he was looking at our selection and I started to tell HIM about the Blind Cave Tetra (hey, I thought it was just another "fish browser" - well, he ended up giving ME more information about breeding and other interesting fish info. LOL, loving all aspects about our mini ecosystems. I think of an aquarium as an investment - for your home decor, as a hobby, as a learning experience. Loving this site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Majestic_Aquariums Posted May 1, 2005 Report Share Posted May 1, 2005 Welcome aboard Holly! Hope you enjoy. It's pretty hard to find someone that knows more than Dennis. I think Albert might though...Right Albert? I didn't know Sunnyside even sold fish! Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedingHeart Posted May 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2005 Can't claim I know more than Dennis, LOL. I just saw him looking at our tanks and was feeding him some trivia. :hey: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toirtis Posted May 1, 2005 Report Share Posted May 1, 2005 Welcome to AA, Holly. Its been a fair while since I last perused the pet area at Sunnyside (heck, I first discovered it back in 1988)...I will have to drop by again sometime soon and will make sure to say hi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 Welcome to AA Holly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 Welcome to the site :welcome: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc_Polit Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 Welcome aboard Holly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyasa Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 Hey Holly, Welcome to the forum. I occasionally pop into Sunnyside just to see the fish. The selection is larger with the additional tanks and seems to be improving. Great deal on the 10 gallon canopies for $25. David. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedingHeart Posted May 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 It's a good place to work because there are no "quotas" or "sales goals" like there was at Petland. No offence to anyone who is currently at Petland, but they seem to not really enforce that their employees know what the heck they are talking about sometimes (I used to work there too, but as a "Pet Counsellor" - your not to blame). I say this because I've had a few customers who have been given the wrong information by Petland - one lady was told she did NOT need a heated tank for her Barbs...One older man had his guppies in an unfiltered, unheated friggen goldfish bowl and was asking me what was wrong with his fish...lol. So without pressure to push fish and aquariums on people, I just have to walk around and actually answer questions the best I can, whether I have to grab a book or another employee. Thats one of the main reasons I am here, to hear your stories and learn from you crazy bast*rds. LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedingHeart Posted May 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 BLAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! Sorry guys, had to grab your attention because I feel like I should clarify what I meant in my last post and apologize... I meant that I dont feel that ALL Petland staff are very well informed, but the staff that are in it because they are fish fans themselves are very knowledgable. In my personal experience some of their staff are more concerned about the sales goals than of the customer caring properly for the fish. I also am not saying that I am perfect or that I know all there is about tanks, that's another reason why I'm here. Thanx, PLEASE dont be offended, I read it over and was like, "I'm sound like I'm a little @#$@$". That was MY experience at Petland and I should be less general when I'm talking about only a few people. They hire people just like any other company, and it's not always the best person suited to the job. :banned: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanker Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 Welcome Holly. I agree with your statements regarding employee selection, etc in 'sales' driven business... it's the same at Radio Shack or Zellers or anywhere else. 'Sales' is the main reason people are hired, generally speaking, and not the in depth knowledge or specialization into any one area. As well, there may be some bias to 'who looks good on my sales floor' as well as a fistful of other 'priorities' on the hiring manager's mind. As humans we each have our own likes and dislikes, and sometimes that can influence our decisions on the job... I have noticed (and much to their credit) the big box retail stores starting to focus more on people's individual hobbies and interests... putting the hot shoe computer kid in the video game section, and the maternal type women in the infant wear sections... DISCLAIMER: this does not mean that the people in Housewares are neat freaks, nor does it mean that everyone in Shoes is a foot fetishist! People perform better when they work with something they 'know' and are more likely to learn more about it, if it's an interesting subject. Hopefully this shift in the industry continues, and places like Petland/Petsmart/WalMart/etc will continue to improve upon their staff selections, and the constant flow of misinformed consumers, and equivalent losses of fish, can be stemmed, if not stopped. When I worked in commission based retail, I would often refuse to sell a product to the consumer if they were misinformed and I felt they had more research to do, or if they would not be suited to the product. Sure, I lost a LOT of sales that way, but eventually we would set them up with something more suited them, and they'd realize their mistake. That built loyalty and return sales far exceeding the initial 'botch' buy. Food for thought, and YMMV... Holy Hijack-a-thread Batman! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toirtis Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 In my personal experience some of their staff are more concerned about the sales goals than of the customer caring properly for the fish. ...and in many ways they should be....no one will keep their job simply by taking excellent care of the fish, but they will lose their job by failing to regularly hit that monthly sales goal (back in 1998, it was $1200/month). Petland needs dedicated non-sales health-techs not only for the mammals and birds, but also for the fish and reptiles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toirtis Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 Hopefully this shift in the industry continues, and places like Petland/Petsmart/WalMart/etc will continue to improve upon their staff selections, Which can happen if they start paying more than absolute minimum wage, I suspect.....but they really can't, which is why local, independant stores will always come out on top in the service/knowledge area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevchewy Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 :welcome: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishBrain Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 Welcome to AA Hope you enjoy your stay! :ml: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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