I was at Petsmart the other day getting some things for my fish tank, and I overheard the "Herp Specialist" discussing with a woman and her child different options for a 10 gallon tank. The kid wanted something he could hold, the emplyee gave a list of horrible ideas including:
Corn Snake pair
Uromastyx
knight anole
bearded dragon

It is sad that the woman was seriously listening to this and the kid was all excited and asking questions, he was all ready to learn how to kill... oh man... I meant care for some animals. It is sad that a place with such a good business reputation has such stupid employees. All their care sheets say to take careful consideration before purchasing any animal, be sure you know all about their care. It is hard to expect that people are going to learn anything if the employees feed them false information.

The worst part of the whole thing, and the comment to make blood boil, was that the emplyee said as they walked away, not that I was eeves dropping the entire time or anything,

"don't worry if there are any problems we have a 14 day garuntee on animals so you can always bring it back or if it dies get a replacement."

So wait let me get this straight, I never have to feed my animals again, I can just take them home stare at them till they die and the nice man at petsmart is going to take it back and give me a new one and it will be all better. I'm sure that that was not what he meant, but that sure was what it sounded like. I don't think that he meant any harm, but whoever is in charge of this kind of stuff, the corporate "herp specialist" should really either train better or just give up.

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“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny…'"
- Isaac Asimov



TKE:TT:118

I understand why that makes you angry, but I think that guarantee is in order just in case the animal is sick when you get it though it DOES sound rather like they don't care.

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http://dragcave.net/user/manhirwen

Ugh! People really do think that pet store employees generally know what they are talking about -- I used to. And some do, but not many. When it comes to cats and dogs, people are at least more likely to take the animal to a vet if they have a problem, so they can get info from someone who is an expert. But other animals don't usually get that treatment, and the only "expert" is the kid (or sometimes adult) at the pet store. Who, even if they are someone well-meaning (rather than sales-commission-driven), usually doesn't have the right info in the first place, and probably doesn't even realize how much it matters.

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Amy

I have frequently walked into the middle of conversations like that one and taken it over (ignoring the dirty look from the employee!). Firmly but politely explain that the employee is mistaken.
Considering the shape some of their animals actually arrive in, the 14 day guarantee is a good sales tactic.
At least THAT much I give them in their favor.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

It sucks! I know. All we can do is report them and hopefully something will be done about it. Probably not but atleast we can try each and everytime!!

SO what giving a 14day guarentee is bad? Id find that a good thing, seeing petsmarts animals arent the best shape. seems a good idea to me. I know there are a few breeders Ive see who have a 30day guarantee. You may care for the animal the best you can but what if it has something unknown. then you get the animal replaced or money back. Whos to say that kid wont care for it like he should and it just die in 13 days?

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Keep in mind that Petsmart probably doesn't take the hit when a reptile dies. Depends on how they have things setup with their local supplier. The supplier probably has to refund the store if one dies. I'm like Merlin. I like to listen in when I see store employees talking herps with a customer. They really like to push the sand substrate. I have no problem butting in.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

the gaurentee is not a bad thing but I think mr hickey was trying to portray is they way it was said and I wouldnt stick any of those in a 10 gallon tank get a pair of hermit crabs or a fire-bellied toad not a Corn Snake pair Uromastyx knight anole
bearded dragon its just wrong

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0.0.1 Iguana Pickle
0-1-0 Bearded Dragon Honey
1-1-0 Red Tail Boa Libby&Dogma
1-0-0 Cat Rajha
0-0-1 Charcoal Corn Snake Strider
1-1-0 Chinese Water Dragons Isis & Osiris
1-1-0 Cockitiles Hawk&Ashley
1-0-0 Tangerine Leopard Gecko 9erz
0-1-0 Leopard gecko Jets
1-0-0 Mali Uromastyx Uri
0-0-2 Betas Holly & Go (kids fish)
0-0-1 Red Eared Slider Shelly
R.I.P hamster hamtaro
R.I.P Wolf Lab Cross Kenya

You just can't win with petstores, I just stay out of them, they make me angry.

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"If you're not falling, you're not trying." - Sonni Trotter

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

Ugh..chain pet stores will always be filled with adolescent kids that say what they're told to say and pretend to know what they're talking about when they give people instructions on how to best kill an animal. This will probably never change...I'm considering printing business cards of "www.herpcenter.com" so I can hand them out at pet stores to people in the herp section.

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http://dragcave.net/user/manhirwen