survey: finding a fish store

I am involved in a venture to open a fish store in the atlanta area and I
would like to hear as many people's thoughts on the following as possible:

1- What are the most important factors that cause you to shop where you do
(fish related)?

2- In the ideal fish store, what type of things would you like to see? Be
that specific product, livestock, service, environment, or whatever.

3- What is something you do NOT like to see or that bothers you about your
local fish store? (other than dead fish)

4- This is a complicated question, but regarding a name for a store we are
trying to determine if a serious hobbiest will only stop in a store if it
has a name like "the Reef Aquarium" that tells them it is a high end store,
or whether they will be going by reputation anyway and the name will not
matter, or if serious hobbiests are stopping in ALL new stores they come
across. On the flip side, would a name like "the Fish Bowl" turn you away
and make you assume it was low end?

Just so I can get an idea of who is answering, could you also give the
following?

5- on a scale of 1-10 rate your knowledge/involvement in the hobby
6- your age, and sex
7- do you live in a city, suburb, small town...?

I really appreciate your input!
Rick

I am involved in a venture to open a fish store in the atlanta area and I
would like to hear as many people's thoughts on the following as possible:

1- What are the most important factors that cause you to shop where you do
(fish related)?

*brain power vs desire to sell a $$$ item.(generally non commission ppl)
*overall aquatic health
*overall aquatic environment apearance (judged by an edumacated reefer )
*willingness to buy from me
*identifying CB/TR/WC fish/corals
*having a good amount of TR/CB fish/corals
*waterproof flooring, walking on wet carpet cause the fish guy goofed is lame
*competitive prices ( not always the lowest price but one thats close to it)
*the ability to at least find 1 person that knows where things in the store are, even if
that person doesnt know what it does or how it workes or even cares.

2- In the ideal fish store, what type of things would you like to see? Be
that specific product, livestock, service, environment, or whatever.

*people with brains
*a little of everything IMO is better than a lot of 1 thing,
*easier to look at displays you dont have to have 5000 of the same item in the store, to
not run out.


3- What is something you do NOT like to see or that bothers you about your
local fish store? (other than dead fish)

*sick fish, ill fish should be removed for treatment outside of the display areas, or
better in a visiably isolated area and labeled as such.
*30000 copies of the same outdated fish book and no others.

4- This is a complicated question, but regarding a name for a store we are
trying to determine if a serious hobbiest will only stop in a store if it
has a name like "the Reef Aquarium" that tells them it is a high end store,
or whether they will be going by reputation anyway and the name will not
matter, or if serious hobbiests are stopping in ALL new stores they come
across. On the flip side, would a name like "the Fish Bowl" turn you away
and make you assume it was low end?

*ill go in anywhere once, nothing makes me stay in and as long as i can figure out its a
fish store the name "stinky smelly feet" would not be what kept me from returning, the
smell of it though would

Just so I can get an idea of who is answering, could you also give the
following?

5- on a scale of 1-10 rate your knowledge/involvement in the hobby

6

6- your age, and sex

27/M

7- do you live in a city, suburb, small town...?

city

I really appreciate your input!
Rick


--
Richard Reynolds

"The Rick" wrote in message
ink.net...
I am involved in a venture to open a fish store in the atlanta area and I
would like to hear as many people's thoughts on the following as possible:

1- What are the most important factors that cause you to shop where you do
(fish related)?

Location matters but I look for dependable stock, a decent selection and a
good price. My preferred store has a good balance of all three. There are
some with much better selection but the price is high. Others with sickly
stock or persistent poor selection aren't worth a second visit.

2- In the ideal fish store, what type of things would you like to see? Be
that specific product, livestock, service, environment, or whatever.

A good range of invert and fish livestock plus well stocked in consumables
like food, additives, salt, test kits, etc. Layout shouldn't be too crowded.
Well light and 'showy' is nice but not worth a premium. However, not having
to bump other customers or squeeze past tanks and equipment is worth
something.

Knowledgable staff is a plus but for me really only matters in that they
make sensible purchases, know where to get special requests and can maintain
healthy tanks. Help in a purchase is only worth so much since shopkeepers
have a need to sell, their opinions are suspect.

Being able to procure equipment, stands, tanks, etc. is nice but having much
of that out in stock isn't worth much to me (although that's because I have
my tanks ;-)

I'd pay a premium (25-50%) for a real quarantine service and a credit if the
fish dies during quarantine (minus the service fee perhaps and a partial on
the fish).

A dependable selection of tank raised stock is very nice.

3- What is something you do NOT like to see or that bothers you about your
local fish store? (other than dead fish)

Crowded store that makes it hard to move or find things. Poorly
marked/priced fish. Long waits trying to get a price or a fish. Poor
lighting. Lots of flashy stock that clearly is going to die and shouldn't be
sold (this isn't just a PC thing; it calls into question the judgement of
the storeowner).

Consistently poor stock is very much a turn off, not just in health quality
of course but in selection.


4- This is a complicated question, but regarding a name for a store we are
trying to determine if a serious hobbiest will only stop in a store if it
has a name like "the Reef Aquarium" that tells them it is a high end
store,
or whether they will be going by reputation anyway and the name will not
matter, or if serious hobbiests are stopping in ALL new stores they come
across. On the flip side, would a name like "the Fish Bowl" turn you away
and make you assume it was low end?

Names make a difference. A cutsy name does sound like a goldfish store and
I'd be less likely to drop in. On the otherhand, there are so few good
stores that sooner or later I'm sure Id check it out so maybe the name isn't
too important. My preferred local store is called Upscales which is a bit
cutsy.

Just so I can get an idea of who is answering, could you also give the
following?

5- on a scale of 1-10 rate your knowledge/involvement in the hobby

A 7 or so.

6- your age, and sex

Male/40.

7- do you live in a city, suburb, small town...?

Suburbs.

Good luck. Would love to hear a quarterly report on how the store is doing.

Marc

"The Rick" wrote in message
1- What are the most important factors that cause you to shop where you do
(fish related)?

Location, price, store hours (There was a store that was open on Sundays
here. Working during the day six days a week didn't allow me very much time
to do my fish shopping. The store that was open on Sunday was more
expensive but much more convenient.) Not saying that you should be open
24/7, but think about keeping different hours than your competition.

I also want to be able to ask the employee, especially the owner, a question
and get an intelligent answer. "I don't know" doesn't work; "Let me find
out and get back to you" is a much better answer.

2- In the ideal fish store, what type of things would you like to see? Be
that specific product, livestock, service, environment, or whatever.

A variety. Every fish store has a clown fish or 10. Not every one has a
Morray eel, dogface puffer, or boxfish. They should have plenty of salt,
additives, hardware (especially lights, this is where mine fail miserably),
and everything that one would need on a daily basis, such as food. I want
to see a display tank. This lets me know that the store knows not only how
to sell fish, but also how to care for them. I want to see the same fish
and corals every time I go in. 250 gallons and up would be good for
starters. G

3- What is something you do NOT like to see or that bothers you about your
local fish store? (other than dead fish)

I don't like how the salt is on the floor and the Kent additives are sitting
next to bird cage decorations. There are two stores in town: one has a
sorry selection of corals. The owner told me, "We're not getting any more
until we sell some of the ones we have," when all they had were pulsing
Xenia everywhere. I left thinking, "Okay, I won't be back for a while."
The other store gets good corals at good prices, but they're always the same
ones.

4- Name thing....

If it's a local, I would say that someone would eventually check it out. If
the store makes a good enough first impression, they'll be back. If it were
someone looking in the yellow pages of a different city then you only have
one shot at getting them into your store. The only decent fish stores in my
area are an hour and a half away. I've never been to "Kermit's Reef" but
I've been to "Something Fishy." You want a catchy name, but not one that
makes it sound like you're providing goldfish to six year olds.

5- on a scale of 1-10 rate your knowledge/involvement in the hobby

5

6- your age, and sex

20/Male

7- do you live in a city, suburb, small town...?

Small town.

Good selection, clean/bright displays and decent prices. I frequent 3 shops
within a few miles of each other. The one I always start with has the
brightest/cleanest display and best selection. I go to the one that is
clean/bright but has less selection next. The last place I go has less
lighting and their displays always appear dingy or dirty. Prices for all
three are about the same.
David Young
"The Rick" wrote in message
ink.net...
I am involved in a venture to open a fish store in the atlanta area and I
would like to hear as many people's thoughts on the following as possible:

1- What are the most important factors that cause you to shop where you do
(fish related)?

2- In the ideal fish store, what type of things would you like to see? Be
that specific product, livestock, service, environment, or whatever.

3- What is something you do NOT like to see or that bothers you about your
local fish store? (other than dead fish)

4- This is a complicated question, but regarding a name for a store we are
trying to determine if a serious hobbiest will only stop in a store if it
has a name like "the Reef Aquarium" that tells them it is a high end
store,
or whether they will be going by reputation anyway and the name will not
matter, or if serious hobbiests are stopping in ALL new stores they come
across. On the flip side, would a name like "the Fish Bowl" turn you away
and make you assume it was low end?

Just so I can get an idea of who is answering, could you also give the
following?

5- on a scale of 1-10 rate your knowledge/involvement in the hobby
6- your age, and sex
7- do you live in a city, suburb, small town...?

I really appreciate your input!
Rick

I'd pay a premium (25-50%) for a real quarantine service and a credit if
the
fish dies during quarantine (minus the service fee perhaps and a partial
on
the fish).

This is an interesting idea that I hadn't really given any thought to. Is
anyone out there actually doing this? The only problem I would foresee is
space. In order to quarantine properly the fish would need to be in a
controlled system that no new livestock is being added to for maybe a month.
So that means either the quarantine process would have to be started on the
same day for a lot of people, or I would need to have a lot of small systems
that could be left alone for a month.
If you knew a store began quarantine on the first of the month, would you
be willing to plan your purchases around that? You said you would be willing
to pay 25-50%. So instead of paying $20 for a tang, you would pay $30 for a
quarantined tang?
I'm not sure the feasibility of this, but it's an interesting idea.
Perhaps if there was a second location where I wasn't paying a premium for
square footage of space.

Rick

some literature to take away to study BEFORE making a purchase
a fish/ merchandise credit card (meaning a punch type card, that when filled
gets the buyer SOMETHING)
People will spend a lot of money to get something "free"
A credit (partial/pro-rated) on a "sick/dead fish".real tricky here as to
cause and responsibility.
Perhaps a "beginner" area of things to purchase for the novice
Perhaps a return policy.....once again real tricky for quarantine and reason
for return and expecting to up-grade the return into a higher sale.
just few thoughts
h

--

In the words of the IMMORTAL USED CAR DEALER:
THERE IS AN ASS FOR EVERY SEAT!

I'd pay a premium (25-50%) for a real quarantine service and a credit if
the
fish dies during quarantine (minus the service fee perhaps and a partial
on
the fish).

This is an interesting idea that I hadn't really given any thought to. Is
anyone out there actually doing this?

as far as I know only kinda

most places that offer Q fish, will have normal display fish, you pick out a fish and pay
now a little $ extra and they will Q tank it for a while, if it dies in there Q tank it
gets replaced free some of the $ extra goes for that, the rest of the $ goes for the added
work of the system.

no one Q tanks any others for any real length of time

The only problem I would foresee is
space. In order to quarantine properly the fish would need to be in a
controlled system that no new livestock is being added to for maybe a month.

kinda true you can combine incoming fish into 1 Q tank

So that means either the quarantine process would have to be started on the
same day for a lot of people, or I would need to have a lot of small systems
that could be left alone for a month.
If you knew a store began quarantine on the first of the month, would you
be willing to plan your purchases around that? You said you would be willing
to pay 25-50%. So instead of paying $20 for a tang, you would pay $30 for a
quarantined tang?

this could be done many ways, for a store wide quarantine you would have to have at least
8(totally minimal) Q setups they could even be 1 long tank with dividers to keep predators
from eating other fish. when new fish come in, you would have to Q them that day, and pull
from Q stock to stock the display tanks. your stocking would have a lag as new fish would
come in a month before anyone saw them. optionally you could offer these fish at a more
normal or reduced price sitting in Q tanks setup for display, then in the 4-6 week Q time
move them into display tanks and jack up the price to reflect a good quarantine, offer
your guarantee only on fish that have gone thru your quarantine process.

I'm not sure the feasibility of this, but it's an interesting idea.
Perhaps if there was a second location where I wasn't paying a premium for
square footage of space.

regardless of doing a Q setup, you should have a second loc for storage.

Rick
--
Richard Reynolds

Hi Rick,

Read below.....

The Rick wrote:

I am involved in a venture to open a fish store in the atlanta area and I
would like to hear as many people's thoughts on the following as possible:

Congratulations!

1- What are the most important factors that cause you to shop where you do
(fish related)?

Health of the livestock, fair pricing, dry goods IN stock.

2- In the ideal fish store, what type of things would you like to see? Be
that specific product, livestock, service, environment, or whatever.

Helpful cheerful employees.
Clean, healthy tanks with little to no algae visible.
Healthy livestock with intact fins, shells, tentacles, etc.
Good to great looking Live Rock.
Rubber mats are ideal for wet zones. Saw this in a new LFS and loved it!

Dry goods are must...
All test kits for running a reef should be in stock and not ancient/dusty.
(Chemicals break down)
Variety of tools, implements, and products for cleaning tanks that WORK. Why
sell junk cheap? Just sell quality, and your customers will appreciate you.
Selling a million additives eats up shelf space and later shelf space at home.
We don't need it.
Sell us good food selections, Iodine, Ca/Alk mixtures, Magnesium perhaps...
Seachem's Prime (declorinator) (my favorite and what I always suggest to others)

Salts of various kinds (everyone likes a certain brand, try to have 3 to pick
from)
PARTS!!!! Impellars, O-rings, End Caps (PC or VHO), Sockets, some reflectors,
rigid and flexible tubing. When something breaks, we need a part to get it
going quickly.
Refrigerated DT's Phytoplankton, Frozen everything, Formula 1 & 2 *small*
pellets AND flake food. Good food is important.
Pumps (don't sell Rio!) of various sizes.
Sumps (don't push wet/dry setups on reef tanks). Get a local guy to build you
some standard ones if you must.
Tanks and stands that are reasonably priced. The included tank lights are
usually not sufficient. Save them for freshwater setups perhaps, or for
refugiums / phyto culturing....
Ballasts. When ours break, we need a new one TODAY. (This will be tough to do,
but it would be nice to consider it.)
Quality heaters.
Live Sand... set up a large refugium under your DISPLAY tank, and sell a cup or
two to people setting up a new tank. Replenish lost sand daily or weekly as
needed, but give them this vital source of infauna to populate their sand beds.
Macro algae... sell macros as well, as they are excellent nitrate exporters,
plus herbivores eat them.
Offer to do in-home service to your client-base. The higher tax bracket
customers will want this.
One Saturday a month, do a demo of something. How to set up a tank / set up a
sump / mount a frag....
Have displays of new products, like a way to visualize the SCWD in action.
It'll sell better than a box on the shelf.
Offer coupons to your regular customers via email or your website.
Offer RO water to customers, and pre-mixed sal****er.
Allow store credit for livestock brought in from our tanks.
Encourage your employees to learn more on a regular basis. Send them to
ReefCentral.com and get them involved in the forums so they'll learn what people
are confused about and be able to provide better answers to your customers.
Your clients will appreciate good answers to valid questions, and will continue
to shop there. Your income will be based on customer loyalty instead of product
demand.


3- What is something you do NOT like to see or that bothers you about your
local fish store? (other than dead fish)

Tanks overgrown with algae.
Cloudy tanks (microbubble problems)
Dirty glass you can't see through easily.
Unmarked tanks - all fish/livestock prices should be on the glass. The customer
AND the employee know for a fact what it costs and no wasted time waiting for
that obvious answer.
Clutter store where nothing can be found.
Dark store where products are hard to see.
Dead or dying fish need to be removed often.
Empty or nearly empty tanks.... I hate looking in 9 tanks to only find one fish,
and it is unmarked!
Rediculously high prices, way way way out of reasoning.


4- This is a complicated question, but regarding a name for a store we are
trying to determine if a serious hobbiest will only stop in a store if it
has a name like "the Reef Aquarium" that tells them it is a high end store,
or whether they will be going by reputation anyway and the name will not
matter, or if serious hobbiests are stopping in ALL new stores they come
across. On the flip side, would a name like "the Fish Bowl" turn you away
and make you assume it was low end?

We have a variety of names here. "The Fish Place" was pretty funny to me,
because you'd tell somebody you were "going to ~ ", but really names don't mean
much to me. If the store has sal****er stock, I'll check it out.

Just so I can get an idea of who is answering, could you also give the
following?

5- on a scale of 1-10 rate your knowledge/involvement in the hobby

I'd have to say 8, and was surprised by some of the others that answered with
lower numbers. They are being too humble. I've been in the hobby for over 5
years now, and very active online learning more on a regular basis.

6- your age, and sex

38, Male

7- do you live in a city, suburb, small town...?

Metropolis (Dallas / Fort Worth)

I really appreciate your input!
Rick

Hope it is useful to you.

Marc

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

(everything to be taken with a bag of salt)
(-;

The Rick wrote:

I am involved in a venture to open a fish store in the atlanta area and I
would like to hear as many people's thoughts on the following as possible:

1- What are the most important factors that cause you to shop where you do
(fish related)?

They don't try to make you "join" some stupid club and pay them money
just so I get screwed less on the price.

2- In the ideal fish store, what type of things would you like to see? Be
that specific product, livestock, service, environment, or whatever.

Young, beautiful, topless female staff.

3- What is something you do NOT like to see or that bothers you about your
local fish store? (other than dead fish)

Dead people. Real turn offf.

4- This is a complicated question, but regarding a name for a store we are
trying to determine if a serious hobbiest will only stop in a store if it
has a name like "the Reef Aquarium" that tells them it is a high end store,
or whether they will be going by reputation anyway and the name will not
matter, or if serious hobbiests are stopping in ALL new stores they come
across. On the flip side, would a name like "the Fish Bowl" turn you away
and make you assume it was low end?

It's a know fact that everyone loves cutesy clever names. Try "Fishy
Business" or "Reef R Madness" or any name with "Sea" or "Captain" in it.

Just so I can get an idea of who is answering, could you also give the
following?

5- on a scale of 1-10 rate your knowledge/involvement in the hobby

1/2 - like most of the staff in shall remain names national chain.

6- your age, and sex

17 when I first had sex, (28 when with someone else)

7- do you live in a city, suburb, small town...?

I live is a suburb of a small city.

I really appreciate your input!

Hope you had a laugh.
Rick