"Carlos" wrote in message
...
My experience has been very good with small, one owner stores, not the
big
chain stores. The big ones usually dont care as to what happens with
the
fish, plants, they want to make their money. The small ones usually
have
only one full time employee who knows about everything in general for
keeping fish and plants happy, they sure are pricey but it is
affordable if
you are looking for quality and a one to one talk with owner or
employee.
Big chains usually have many many employees who know nothing and its
like

Netmax said its usually not employees but managers fault, and usually
theres
no manager around to look for and complain to or ask a few questions
about
live stock.

Well... that's not exactly what I said, or at least, not what I meant.
The manager controls the purchasing, medicating, moving, environments and
sets maintenance programs for others to follow. Without this, the shop
will not operate well. With a good staff, everything works great, but
the turnover in teenage helpers is high, so there is always a high
variability in staff expertise. A poor manager with good staff will not
do so well, as the manager controls overall operation. A poor manager
with poor staff is what is sometimes encountered when we describe horror
stories. The best you can expect is a good manager and several
experienced employees mixed with some part timers would lack experience.
If the first person you meet is a new part-timer doing his best to help,
but obviously not well informed, then you would be doing yourself an
injustice by judging the store on that encounter. The realty of the
business is that most of the people working there well intended 'pet'
people working at minimum wage. Ask around to locate the key people, and
make a point of seeking them out for advice.

Another thing about the chain stores, during busy hours, staff shortages,
holidays, lunch-hour replacements etc, you might find yourself being
given advice on how to cure Ich by someone from the dog dept. filling in,
so beware ;~).

NetMax

If you have the time and are willing, go to that other town, one hour
is not
that much and have a look, maybe you will be surprised. Also take a
friend
with you it will make your trip much worthy.

take care.



hope this helps


"NetMax" wrote in message
. ..

"Shawn P. Good" wrote in message
t...
Hello :

I recently lost a complete 55gal aquarium of Malawi cichlids and
now
I'm
thinking of switching over to a planted community tank for a while.
Due to
a recent disagreement with the owner of the local pet shop, I'm no
longer
patronizing his store and so I'm looking for another place to buy
my
new
fish and plants. I live in a small town, but there is a larger
town
about
an hour away with a PetSmart. I don't want to make the trip,
however,
if
they're prices are high, or they don't have a good selection of
fish,
or the
fish are not healthy.

Has anyone had any experiences with this chain and can offer me
advice
?

Thanks - Shawn

I think the general consensus whenever this question has been asked,
is
it depends. The particular manager running the fish dept. makes the
difference, so sometimes you can even have a good Wal-Mart and your
specialty shop is poor. Staffing is usually by teenagers who mean
well,
but lack the experience which is really needed for the wide variety
of
questions which come up. Don't judge a shop by the first employee
you
encounter. Better (lucky) shops have a couple of experienced staff,
and
the difference shows up quickly. Be observant, ask what their
quarantine
practices are, and start judging their advice, so you can make your
own
mind up.

NetMax