Dear LFS, I want to buy from you, but.....

MMreef

MMreef

Active member
First of all, this is not an attack on any LFS that I visit, most LFS are run almost the same with the exception of maybe one I know. All things covered in this post happen regularly in most of them. I know it is hard to make money running LFS , but maybe this will help you to get that one extra sale , if there is more people like me, then you lose quite a lot, and this can be turned around pretty easily to put more in your pocket Mr./Ms. owner :)

So let me begin, I really want to buy from you, but....

1. Aiptasia !!! I understand that it is hard to get rid of every one of them, I know sooner or later I get one as hitchhiker, but try to control it a little more, just like me in my tank. I don't care if I see one or two , but I see full infestation in many tanks with corals in LFS, this turns me off right away. I know there is a good chance I will bring one with a frag, but if I see them in full force, I'll skip that purchase.

2. Dead and visibly sick fish. Please, take few minutes before opening door for public and remove that dead fish. Also fish that are visibly very sick ( open sores, covered in ich, etc.) should be removed . Again, I am not daydreaming that fish I buy are all healthy, and I know I have to qt all, but don't let me see them like that. I'll skip that purchase too.

3. Please, eat your lunch in back room or away from front desk, or where I can't see it and smell it, some people are maybe more tolerant of this then me, but it is not professional and I totally lose interest in looking around your store. Possible sale lost again. :(

4. If you post your schedule hours, do your best to keep them, please open on time. My work schedule is not set the same every day, so I visit sometimes right on the hour you supposed to be open. If I have to wait 10-15 min. I leave. ( trust me that happens a lot !)

5. Respect ! I am here to spend my money, some of you know me well, but some don't at all. Don't call me " bro", "man", "buddy" , etc., I am no "sir" trust me :) , but I am not your bear buddy ! Again , some customers are more tolerant then me, but some maybe not.

In the end, I visit a lot of stores around Chicago often, I know some owners and employees very well, but in reality I only buy from two of them ( not the cheapest ones), for those reasons I listed above, I don't buy from all others, no matter what the price is.

If anybody has anything to add, please share your experiences as well, I might have missed something, I am sure we all can learn to do better business in the future. :)

Happy reefing !!!
 
I work at what was formerly Petland now Puppy in the Window in joliet. And i can see your piint in a fee things here. Being the only one who takes care of the aquatic dept. Ther i have a heck of a time making sure my tanks dont have aptasia atleast not on a full scale plaque level. Infact i am fighting a bad case of bubble algea in my reef tanks right now. And gave had a constant battle with cyno in the store. I feel like ill never really get it under control. Its not as easy as it sounds to keep tanks pest and algea free when your 1 person working part time on top of a full time job and three kids.
As for food, i dont eat at the shop much but if i do we dont have a breakroom except the woners office wich we cant eat in. So no way around that.
And i speak to customers as they speak to me. I understand veing professional too a point. Honestly i got i took the job because I loved the hobby and some of the peole i meet within the hobby. So if sometimes I seem like I am not being managerial enough its maybe beacuse even after 5 years of working here off and on i still get excited and chatty when it comes to discussing fish and treat you more as a friend than a customer.
 
MMreef said:
First of all, this is not an attack on any LFS that I visit, most LFS are run almost the same with the exception of maybe one I know. All things covered in this post happen regularly in most of them. I know it is hard to make money running LFS , but maybe this will help you to get that one extra sale , if there is more people like me, then you lose quite a lot, and this can be turned around pretty easily to put more in your pocket Mr./Ms. owner :)

So let me begin, I really want to buy from you, but....

1. Aiptasia !!! I understand that it is hard to get rid of every one of them, I know sooner or later I get one as hitchhiker, but try to control it a little more, just like me in my tank. I don't care if I see one or two , but I see full infestation in many tanks with corals in LFS, this turns me off right away. I know there is a good chance I will bring one with a frag, but if I see them in full force, I'll skip that purchase.

2. Dead and visibly sick fish. Please, take few minutes before opening door for public and remove that dead fish. Also fish that are visibly very sick ( open sores, covered in ich, etc.) should be removed . Again, I am not daydreaming that fish I buy are all healthy, and I know I have to qt all, but don't let me see them like that. I'll skip that purchase too.

3. Please, eat your lunch in back room or away from front desk, or where I can't see it and smell it, some people are maybe more tolerant of this then me, but it is not professional and I totally lose interest in looking around your store. Possible sale lost again. :(

4. If you post your schedule hours, do your best to keep them, please open on time. My work schedule is not set the same every day, so I visit sometimes right on the hour you supposed to be open. If I have to wait 10-15 min. I leave. ( trust me that happens a lot !)

5. Respect ! I am here to spend my money, some of you know me well, but some don't at all. Don't call me " bro", "man", "buddy" , etc., I am no "sir" trust me :) , but I am not your bear buddy ! Again , some customers are more tolerant then me, but some maybe not.

In the end, I visit a lot of stores around Chicago often, I know some owners and employees very well, but in reality I only buy from two of them ( not the cheapest ones), for those reasons I listed above, I don't buy from all others, no matter what the price is.

If anybody has anything to add, please share your experiences as well, I might have missed something, I am sure we all can learn to do better business in the future. :)

Happy reefing !!!
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I travel to Chicago often, I would like u to PM me the stores you do care to visit. I would like to visit them as well please.
 
Think u right on point with this . I dont care to much about tge eating although it shouldnt be done . Wont turn me off but bubble algae aka the devil and aptasia and cyno will make my money stay in my pockets and sick or dead fish to since we all know most lfs tanks r all plumbed together . Before anyone says well thats why u qt . Your right we should qt but i wanna start with a healthy fish not a sick one . I know if he pulls the sick fish out or dead its still in the system but out of sight out of mind
 
Also: Please at least try to price match on dry goods. I know LFS are small and often cannot fully match BRS or some other online retailer but at least be flexible? If I am going to shop at your store I will likely do so often and will pay more to support your store but I cannot justify paying full MSRP on an item that I can get for less than half of that on BRS or Amazon.

-edit- Small purchases I don't even think twice about but anything over $100 is where I am shopping for price.
 
douglasc815 said:
I work at what was formerly Petland now Puppy in the Window in joliet. And i can see your piint in a fee things here. Being the only one who takes care of the aquatic dept. Ther i have a heck of a time making sure my tanks dont have aptasia atleast not on a full scale plaque level. Infact i am fighting a bad case of bubble algea in my reef tanks right now. And gave had a constant battle with cyno in the store. I feel like ill never really get it under control. Its not as easy as it sounds to keep tanks pest and algea free when your 1 person working part time on top of a full time job and three kids.
As for food, i dont eat at the shop much but if i do we dont have a breakroom except the woners office wich we cant eat in. So no way around that.
And i speak to customers as they speak to me. I understand veing professional too a point. Honestly i got i took the job because I loved the hobby and some of the peole i meet within the hobby. So if sometimes I seem like I am not being managerial enough its maybe beacuse even after 5 years of working here off and on i still get excited and chatty when it comes to discussing fish and treat you more as a friend than a customer.
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Thank you for your input :)
 
+1 to all this. And to add..... Put your correct price on the product. I hate going to a store to be told one price by a worker and then a cheaper price by the owner 10 minutes later when I decide ill take it. If I knew it was $40 instead of $50 I will usually spend more on something else instead of just leaving with the one thing.

One store in perticular and you know who you are.... The workers always have to contact the owner to find a price or ask the worker he says one price then ask someone else hey how much did he say this was and its totally different. I can understand giving someone a better price because they do a lot of business with you but when its a guessing game then I spend less money.

I had an employee tell me the price of a crab was listed at $18 and said would give it to me for $16 and then for someone else to sell me the same crab 10 minutes later for $10 when I said ok bag it up. If he had said $10 the first time I would have bought 2.

Reefwise was the worst with their zoa's. I got a different price from every employee. Most were outragious. Its almost like they were working off commission. I never bought anything from them again because of this, well that and they gave me brock which I lost all my fish from.... I know QT, QT my fault.... But its like who should I ask who will give the best price. Now I havent been in the store in like a year but this is what keeps me from going back.
 
Twitch said:
+1 to all this. And to add..... Put your correct price on the product. I hate going to a store to be told one price by a worker and then a cheaper price by the owner 10 minutes later when I decide ill take it. If I knew it was $40 instead of $50 I will usually spend more on something else instead of just leaving with the one thing.

One store in perticular and you know who you are.... The workers always have to contact the owner to find a price or ask the worker he says one price then ask someone else hey how much did he say this was and its totally different. I can understand giving someone a better price because they do a lot of business with you but when its a guessing game then I spend less money.

I had an employee tell me the price of a crab was listed at $18 and said would give it to me for $16 and then for someone else to sell me the same crab 10 minutes later for $10 when I said ok bag it up. If he had said $10 the first time I would have bought 2.

Reefwise was the worst with their zoa's. I got a different price from every employee. Most were outragious. Its almost like they were working off commission. I never bought anything from them again because of this, well that and they gave me brock which I lost all my fish from.... I know QT, QT my fault.... But its like who should I ask who will give the best price. Now I havent been in the store in like a year but this is what keeps me from going back.
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Well said
 
Aquapros/Dave.......Aquatica/Mario

These two guys treat me well and work hard to keep their stores clean with healthy animals. I use to only shop online for equipment and livestock due to being treated poorly at lfs. I want to support these guys for always taking care of me!
 
Thank you guys for your posts, let's keep it going, maybe some owners will see this and try to change their ways a little, and for the good guys ,keep the praise so they keep doing what they are doing now to have the standards high.
 
Naturalreef said:
Aquapros/Dave.......Aquatica/Mario

These two guys treat me well and work hard to keep their stores clean with healthy animals. I use to only shop online for equipment and livestock due to being treated poorly at lfs. I want to support these guys for always taking care of me!
Click to expand...

Never delt with Aquatica but Dave at Aquapros is awesome. His store is small but they pack a ungodly amount of awesome lifestock and have great prices. I only shop at 2 or 3 stores and my goto is Aquapros
 
Bought a 60 cube from Aquapros a couple weeks ago and it was a very pleasant experience. Everyone was very helpful I will defiantly go back.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
So i want to chime in as this was a weird one.
I went to a bird and perts store yesterday...the odd part? They had a reef and marine section. Its like a petco that actually gives a damn. This employee. Was very knloledgeble about marine life she has fresh water systems and has reptiles wants to make the change to marine but we all know its not super cheap and easy.

They tanks were well maitained and had nice stock. Prices were somewhat mid to high but most lfs are. They offer member discount not much but you get the idea. They also order the stock from QualityMarine and can order marine life for you....very satisfied with the place.

They also take in unwated fish from customers so they have acouple tangs with hlle but not cause of them but im atleast happy they have a home.
 
#theMatrix said:
So i want to chime in as this was a weird one.
I went to a bird and perts store yesterday...the odd part? They had a reef and marine section. Its like a petco that actually gives a damn. This employee. Was very knloledgeble about marine life she has fresh water systems and has reptiles wants to make the change to marine but we all know its not super cheap and easy.

They tanks were well maitained and had nice stock. Prices were somewhat mid to high but most lfs are. They offer member discount not much but you get the idea. They also order the stock from QualityMarine and can order marine life for you....very satisfied with the place.

They also take in unwated fish from customers so they have acouple tangs with hlle but not cause of them but im atleast happy they have a home.
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Could you name this store please? I would like to visit one day :)
 
Aqua pros in Glen Ellyn is pretty solid. Bought a 60 cube and dealt with the owner directly. Easy to work with and knowledgeable, at least from a noobs standpoint. Also, I knew prices from doing extensive research online, and he has solid prices on everything from a tank/stand, to sumps, pumps, skimmers, heater, salt, etc. reef wise ignored me when I walked in; after walking the store for 5 minutes I left, and don't plan to go back (even though a friend referenced that place as being top notch).
 
I'd like to add smoking to the list. I've seen employees smoke in the store, don't think that's even legal. Also it's a tiny store, when you run out back to smoke, then come back in, you make the entire store smell like a cigarette.
 
dgreef2016 said:
reef wise ignored me when I walked in; after walking the store for 5 minutes I left, and don't plan to go back (even though a friend referenced that place as being top notch).
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That's because they cater to the reefer that's googlie eyed to them, kind of like the "wiz" in Seinfeld. If you gazed into space with a smile, you may have been asked if you need help, or were special, not sure which... They do get rare stuff in though, not sure it commands the premium they apply onto it. I wouldn't write them off, just be a smart person with spending, vote with your cash.

Enjoy the hobby for what it is to you, not how others treat you. It's in your house after all, possibly for years, find the reef items you enjoy, regardless how the store you bought it from is annoying, which is most.
 
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