Whats one thing your LFS could do better?

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Whats one thing your LFS could do better?

Got this idea for a thread from Robert Hydra of Hydra Aquatics on Facebook! Thought it would be great to hear your opinion on!

 

[mikejrice]

Following

 

[RichReef]

Stock the right dry goods/items.

 

[Peter Clark]

Email marketing. Some post sales to Facebook, but I don't want to be checking those pages constantly (I never go on Facebook). I would prefer some sort of mailing list. Some by me do that, but few. Some you have to go in the store to have any idea of sales, which doesn't work well when there are many stores near me so no way to keep up with all. I guess I'm also biased to email since email marketing is part of my job.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Check the floor for fish that jumped out during the night before opening for business each day. :D

I accidentally stepped on a live trigger fish once, and they came and plopped it back in a tank. :(

 

[ReefAddiction34]

Diversify the livestock selection! I need more more more

 

[JBKReef]

A "premium livestock" selection. Been through a QT process. I'd gladly pay more for a fish thats been through a QT than one straight from the bag. I get that holding fish, spending the time and medication is expensive, but I'd gladly pay my share of that as the customer.

 

[K. Steven]

Well, Hydra is my LFS, so I don't know what more they could do. They have a rewards program that gets you free frags, store credits, and other perks as you build points, QT new fish arrivals, hold livestock for customers, and they support our local club. No other LFS in the area is that committed to the hobby.

 

[tdileo]

Give me free stuff [emoji6].
But on a more serious note, I would love for us to spend a little more time examining our fish and paying attention to our QT systems. For example, giving the sick fish the nice varied diets of frozen foods that the fish in our main systems get. Other than that I’d say we do a pretty good job [emoji4]

 

[Kali]

I wish they were active on social media, or had an email list or sales list. Even monthly updates on the shop or major tank builds or changes would be nice. Something to get "us" excited about new equipment etc. They have almost zero presence on social media and their forum on the local saltwater forums disappeared a while ago. The one time they hyped a fish shipping on FB I was able to get a critter I had been looking "everywhere" for months...

 

[Bpb]

Exist

I don’t have a fish store within a couple hundred miles

 

[CalebWBrink2000]

The LFS near me is pretty gtg on the coral side, but their fish are a hit or miss. I often see parasites in their tanks, despite them running copper 24/7.

 

[tank o tang]

Don't want to hear any bs, spoken to me or the other customers.

 

[C-Reefer]

Better coral selection, and more sales

 

[easternreefer]

better selection of the "easy" corals. I get that once your in this hobby deep you tend to SPS and the challenge of it.. but some of us just want a pretty easier to maintain/operate tank.. that looks good.

 

[Bob Weigant]

In all honesty my LFS rocks. They always bring in fish you normally don't see. Maybe (and it just a maybe) would be a bigger sps selection

 

[Greybeard]

Hm. There are two marine shops within a 40 minute drive. I'll even name them, though I rarely do that...

Aquarium Shoppe, Springfield, MO. The owner is a good guy, but rarely there. Hires kids, cheap, to run the place. Spends far more time and energy on his maintenance business than on the store. Fresh and salt fish, aquatic plants, dart frogs... A bit pricey, and I've never had much luck with anything live I've bought there. Honestly, I rarely go in the place. He does have dry goods, if you need something. Last time I was there, it was to buy a couple sticks of rigid air line tube. Knew he'd have it, and likely nobody else in town would.

Ozarks Reef, Nixa, MO. Hi Seth :) All salt, mostly coral, a few fishes. Nice stuff, for the most part. Very limited on other stuff, might have frozen foods, can order about anything you might want. Takes very good care of his animals. I've had him order fish for me, always turns out well. Runs a maintenance business as well, but instead of hiring idiots to watch the shop, he limits shop hours. Severely. Open Saturday, noon to 5, or something like that, and that is all he's open.

 

[NinnJinn]

Exist

I don’t have a fish store within a couple hundred miles

Just like Bpb posted... EXIST!!!

However the one that I have been to a couple times that's 102.7 miles one way the thing they could do is clean their tank glass. You are constantly seeing people bob their heads around trying to find a clean spot to see fish.

The second thing that they could do is make the aisles wider. The Isles are pretty much as wide as a school bus aisle if that wide. If you have a fear of people touching you don't go to this store. There's constant sideswiping arm swiping shoulder swiping because the aisles are so narrow.

On a good note though, although they do not offer a guarantee their prices are really close to the online sellers LiveAquaria

 

[squampton]

List the fish name and prices on the tank instead of having to always ask an employee who then has to go check a list in a binder.

 

[jda]

I want them to keep their for-sale stuff like they are going to keep it. Adequately lighting corals and frags - amount and spectrum. Decent amount of room for fish. Sand for sand-sleeping creatures. Live rock for hunting fish.

Most around me have 3x6' frag flats with a single Kessil 700 over them about three feet up with the coral not even getting 30 PAR. They started to starve as soon as they got put into these tanks. Recently saw a 6" Hawaiian Black Trigger in a 1/3 section of a 33g long. The turn-and-burn business model drives me crazy.

I hate the price binder too... this is supposed to be about me wanting to let go of a few hundred dollars, not about how easy it can get for the employees.

I hate email stock videos... who has 12 minutes to see what came in... give me a list.