How do you tell your LFS they aren't doing a good job?

[nautical_nathaniel]

I'm sure this topic has come up before, but I'm in a situation where I am deeply disappointed with my LFS. Where I'm at there are a few LFS's, but the one I go to is the only locally owned, non-chain store that focuses on the retail side of things (we have another store that is focused on tank servicing but can order some stuff for you although it takes a month or so to get fish or coral from them).

Right now if you were to go in there (I know because I went last night), you would see several tanks of fish containing several sick or dead fish, cyano, and other nasty stuff like bryopsis and dinos in the coral tanks. It's gotten to the point where I go every week expecting some improvements but they never pan out and things actually seem to get worse.

This store in particular came out swinging in the beginning last year when they opened saying things like "We're gonna be the best Fish store in town and always have the lowest prices!" and "We'll always have healthy fish and corals and won't sell them if they aren't!". It may just be hype building but to me it's a huge disservice to me and my fellow hobbyists who were hoping the claims were true after going so long without a good store in the area.

Is there anything you folks can suggest that may help me or my fellow hobbyists get the message across that this store needs to rethink the way they are doing things? Right now I visit this store weekly since I'm on the lookout for new fish and every single time I walk out with no money spent, hoping to get the message across that I'm not buying anything until they take a little better care of what they have, I've even said out loud in the store that I won't buy anything coming from a tank filled with dinos. So far I think I'm just wasting my time and would probably be better off ordering everything from Amazon or LiveAquaria or something, which isn't something I normally like to do instead of supporting small, local businesses. For the time being I'm just gonna have that other store order stuff for me and go to Petco for the stuff I can't wait for.

Thanks for reading my rant at least

 

[NefTunzReef]

Have a discussion with the owners about your concerns as above. If nothing changes after a month, stop going there altogether and spread the word to other reefers. There is no better motivation for a small business to get their act together than to see their customer base shrink and their potential to go out of business grow.

 

[Dsnakes]

I would bring up the issues with the owner, or even an employee might be better. This won't be as effective if they have a 'know it all attitude' though. Just let them know the hassle and work it is to rid a system of these and that is why you wouldn't buy them. Let them know you want to give them business, but it's not worth your risk as of now. If they are not sure of what they can do, give them some advice on helpful cures to get them moving in the right direction.

Tell them to check out R2R and become a sponser if they do any shipping of livestock they may gain some more sales - if all is fixed!

 

[happyhourhero]

I just stop shopping there

 

[Dom]

I just stop shopping there

Yep... they'll get the message.

 

[tankstudy]

I just stop shopping there

Same thing I do with all LFS and online vendors.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Have a discussion with the owners about your concerns as above. If nothing changes after a month, stop going there altogether and spread the word to other reefers. There is no better motivation for a small business to get their act together than to see their customer base shrink and their potential to go out of business grow.

I would bring up the issues with the owner, or even an employee might be better. This won't be as effective if they have a 'know it all attitude' though. Just let them know the hassle and work it is to rid a system of these and that is why you wouldn't buy them. Let them know you want to give them business, but it's not worth your risk as of now. If they are not sure of what they can do, give them some advice on helpful cures to get them moving in the right direction.

Tell them to check out R2R and become a sponser if they do any shipping of livestock they may gain some more sales - if all is fixed!

Thanks for the input, I'll be moving in the Spring to the West Palm Beach area, so I won't have to deal with this LFS for too much longer, but I don't think they would be willing to listen to anything I had to say anyways. The owner is sort of brash and a self proclaimed reef aquarium know-it-all. The funny thing is that I have given them almost $1000 worth of business this year alone and probably $300 or so last year from the point that they opened, keep in mind I only have a 20 gallon Even if I showed them my expense report, they probably wouldn't care much about my issues with their store. They staff family members only it seems with the owner's daughters running the store 75% of the time.

I'm hoping some of the more outspoken reefers in the area will say something but the LFS does pull in a lot of unsuspecting new aquarium owners since they do freshwater stuff as well, so it's not like the loss of us established reefers who only buy frags and a few fish will even compare to someone new who is buying everything. The local reef forum has a small, almost cult-like following for the owner and his store, so it's pretty hard to voice my opinion there. Our local club hasn't met in over a year as well, so no ground to gain there.

Also, I'm not going to mention the name of the store to try and keep away some drama since the owner is a R2R member, I'm just after some simple advice If you've figured out what store I'm talking about, please keep it to yourself or DM me.

Thanks for all the input so far!

 

[JLowder]

As a small business owner, it is very easy to get overwhelmed and forget why you went into business. What I would say is, offer to help him take care of his issues. Get his tanks shining nice. You might just make a lifetime friend out of it. I bet you'll find he's struggling in paying his bills and just stressed out.

 

[Jl330]

I've been dealing with the same issue. Mine was great and helpful in the beginning, now just a few months later, he tries to push overpriced stuff on me, his corals are all looking rough and the fish only tanks are all full of aiptasia and dead sickly looking fish.

I've recently started buying from another place that's an hour away. Better selection, cleaner tanks, better prices. It's an easy sell for me.

 

[john472]

Same. The LFS in my area are not much better then P3tc_. They don't feed their lps, they don't give the tangs seaweed. The employees are kids that don't know the hobby, or care about repeat customers. Most of the stores income is from large tank maintenance jobs. Stopped going there and just deal with local online retailers. The price of gas gives me the excuse and since i drop enough to get free shipping it works in my favor.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

How do you tell them? By shopping elsewhere. Don't waste your time trying to save a store or give unsolicited advice because they most likely don't care what you have to say about their business. My experience working for LFS owners and shopping around dozens of LFS over the years is that they generally think they are god's gift to the business world. They are complacent and half of them don't understand the basics of fish and coral husbandry let alone how to run a business well or provide excellent customer service. So...just move on.
You wouldn't believe how many LFS out there refuse to do water changes or even feed their fish daily.

 

[JaimeAdams]

I'm sorry to hear that your local club is not active. Also your local forum is lacking. Personally I would go to the sub forum on buyer feedback and post your experiences with the name of the place. You say the owner is a member here so maybe that will get his attention.

There is no excuse for dead fish in tanks. Sick fish, ah it's possible that there are sick fish and they are in the process of being treated. Dino's are hard to get rid of and deal with. As a store I am sure he has a lot invested in the coral in those tanks and can't simply toss them and start over.

I do applaud you for supporting or at least trying to support your Local Fish Store. To everyone who buys everything online, I would like to know how Amazon's customer service is on a Saturday evening in the event of a tank emergency? How are they with the identification of fish disease or coral parasites?

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

I'm sorry to hear that your local club is not active. Also your local forum is lacking. Personally I would go to the sub forum on buyer feedback and post your experiences with the name of the place. You say the owner is a member here so maybe that will get his attention.

There is no excuse for dead fish in tanks. Sick fish, ah it's possible that there are sick fish and they are in the process of being treated. Dino's are hard to get rid of and deal with. As a store I am sure he has a lot invested in the coral in those tanks and can't simply toss them and start over.

I do applaud you for supporting or at least trying to support your Local Fish Store. To everyone who buys everything online, I would like to know how Amazon's customer service is on a Saturday evening in the event of a tank emergency? How are they with the identification of fish disease or coral parasites?

It's not that I don't respect the notoriety of dinos, bryopsis, and cyano and how hard they are to get rid of, it's that they don't seem to do anything to at least fix the issue such as manually removing as much nasty stuff as possible or even so much as wiping it off the glass. It's hard to convince me to buy a goby when I have to peer through a wall of cyano to look at it

I especially agree that there is nothing like a local store that will stay open a little longer for you to get there for emergency supplies, that's something Amazon or heck, even Bulk Reef Supply and Marine Depot will ever be able to do which is why I'm adamant about supporting local businesses.

In the long run I hope they figure it out or change things up for the better because Pensacola is a great place for reefing and has a lot of potential for the hobby, we already have a large reptile keeping hobby in the area so it wouldn't take much for reefing to catch up, I still think a good store is critical though. My girlfriend jokes that I should open my own store and honestly I would seriously consider it if we weren't moving.

 

[4FordFamily]

I’m a very direct and, I believe, fair person. I confront the authority and approach them as objectively and concisely as possible.

I also share with them that because this is my viewpoint, it doesn’t necessarily make it valid or worth anything, but I wanted to share.

 

[happyhourhero]

I'm sorry to hear that your local club is not active. Also your local forum is lacking. Personally I would go to the sub forum on buyer feedback and post your experiences with the name of the place. You say the owner is a member here so maybe that will get his attention.

There is no excuse for dead fish in tanks. Sick fish, ah it's possible that there are sick fish and they are in the process of being treated. Dino's are hard to get rid of and deal with. As a store I am sure he has a lot invested in the coral in those tanks and can't simply toss them and start over.

I do applaud you for supporting or at least trying to support your Local Fish Store. To everyone who buys everything online, I would like to know how Amazon's customer service is on a Saturday evening in the event of a tank emergency? How are they with the identification of fish disease or coral parasites?

In defense of the local club- I posted yesterday that I needed to borrow a couple of heaters this weekend and was taken care of in less than 5 minutes.

Its hard for a local forum to compete with somewhere like R2R because the discussion is much more vibrant and diverse here. If I have a question, I am coming here and I think most others would do the same.

 

[bdejong1112o]

I hear you on this topic and has been weighing on my for the past few months as I have come back to the hobby after some time away.

There is one in my area where the owner is so brash and in your face that in the three times I have been there I have walked away each time without purchasing fish that he had that I wanted. Every question is answered with thats stupid and do it my way because everything else is stuipd. The last visit i asked about QT for a sand sifting type of goby. He said QT is BS, he doesnt sell sick fish, his fish are perfect or he wont sell it. Told him I appreciate thenconfidence but i have decided to QT everything, he again said his fish are notnsick and he wont sell sick fish and that my question is BS. I dont mind differences of opinion or different ways to approach the hobbby but man, everything I have asked about has been responded to with thats stupid, do it my way or it will fail.

So, never again. Will never go back. Its the best i can do.

The other store is a good place wuth mostly good people. However, several times recently I have seen dead fish in the tanks. I know, it happens but when I tell certain people who work there i get the, yeah, happens, and theynare just left there, dying or rotting in the tank. Some may have survived if removed and treated but they are just left there. I may discuss with the owner buts its kind of a group of buddies and I am not sure howntheynwould take it.

Bottom line is that for the most part I am going to vote with my wallet and shopnelsewhere if necessary. Its the information and internet age so there are tons of places to get materials and animals. I just like supporting local business and i enjoy talking to people sometimes.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

I just like supporting local business and i enjoy talking to people sometimes.

^ One of my main dilemmas, the conversation aspect makes the experience for me, talking about my tank, asking about their displays, where this fish came from or what's the name of that coral, yada yada yada. But lately it's been more or less me saying "I'm just looking today" as I look through tanks with sick fish and unhappy coral trying to find at least one specimen which I'm not going to take home anyways due to sick tank mates.

 

[XNavyDiver]

I'm in agreement with the folks who say just don't go there. I'm a vote with your dollar kinda guy, and confronting a store owner about the state of his/her store will only induce anger. It's a lose/lose scenario, no matter how well your intentions are.

 

[siggy]

I know how you feel I lose 75 % of the fish i get from the couple of fish stores in my area, most have no meat on there bones there not eating so i stopped buying and am happy with the few hardy cheapos that I have.
I don't mean to hijack your thread but the same here on how do i broach this with very respected coral dealers here.
I am battling a bubble coral problem that i got so I buy a emerald crab and in the same order I get a frag loaded with bubbles, come on at least try to Pretend and did i mention the Aiptasia I got from the same TOP tier vendor.
On a live sale I won an highend chalice totally covering the plug and tall, a really nice piece along with over $800 for that haul, then i received a pencil eraser along with a freebie as an apology, that Piece was the only reason to join the live sale, of course I emailed and never received a reply.

 

[jeffrey holloway]

I do all my business online. We have two in my town and both are bad. I would go to Petco before I would go to one of them.