Tl;Dr post petsmart / petco experiences good or bad
Is petsmart as bad as people make it out to be ? I have really mixed feelings my local petsmart is actually "okay" at taking care of some of the animals I got my first ball python there and the only problem with him was he a little cold but now that he's in my setup fr him he's doing fine.
I have to say, at least they're better than smaller pet deposit stores
There's a pet store near my house that sells dogs and cats for hundreds of thousands of dollars, they don't come with papers, and the dogs are kept in tiny cell like cages and they put 2 or 3 cats inside slightly bigger cages and stack them on top of each other. The parakeets are stacked next to and on top of each other as well. I've heard they get their animals from puppy and kitten mills
The Petsmart has a lot better setup. They have a cat room where they bring in cats from the local animal shelters and although the cats have individual cages, they have toys and cat trees in the room and always let a few of the cats out at a time. Plus they have a veterinary clinic so the animals there have constant vet care. I don't think they take as good care of the smaller animals, but there aren't as many regulations when it comes to taking care of them and they're isn't a push for better conditions for them from consumers like with cats and dogs. They have tiny cups with betas in them and stock those shitty tiny fish bowls as well
I think they're ok, but not the best. They're certainly better than the alternatives
>>2138154
Our petsmart doesn't have ferrets, but the petco near my grandfather's house does. They have Marshall (mill) ferrets in bedding (which they dont need- cloth would be better). I assume they never get time out, and theres way too many for the small cage they're in. I've seen them sleeping in litterboxes.
The one near my house is questionable. I'm not much of a rodent person but they seem pretty cramped in their cage. The cats also have super small enclosures, and I'm unsure if they have time out. The small enclosures just have a bed, food/water, and a litter box, and it seems super cramped.
My main issue lies with the products my petsmart sells. Lots of Marshall stuff. I don't want to support them, but I went out to get ear cleaner and couldn't find any other ferret-specific one. At the time, I didn't realize there's dog/cat ones on the market okay for ferrets.
I've heard Petsmart buys other animals from mills as well, and throws sick rodents/reptiles away, but I have no idea how true that is.
One of the two adopts cats out through the local Humane Society. Keeping cats in small cages is problematic no matter how well they are treatedoing, but still.
I cannot speak to herps or small mammals though.
I don't think they should sell live animals. Just supplies and adoptions.
My local petsmart and Petco do adoptions from the local cat shelter which is great, but they still sell ferrets, rabbits, etc from mills. These animals often end up having behavioral or health problems.
My issue with petsmart is that they get a lot of their animals (re:all that aren't shelter ones) from mills. You can look up videos from these mills, they are treated terribly and as a result, many have health an behavior problems. It takes some looking and it costs more, but i have found pet stores near me that take in unwanted small animals instead and otherwise doesn't sell small animals except for feeding fish. There are also many pet stores that don't sell animals
>>2138157
Most PetSmarts do not have the banfield vet. But it's great for the ones that do. Banfield vet is cheap for your routine check up, shots, and simple issues like kennel cough and conjunctivitis. But for anything complicated they are pretty useless. At least if they have to they can euthanize the small animals.
>>2138162
I have seen a video of someone finding a sick chameleon I think still alive in the dumpster of a pet smart. I had friends work there that say they keep the sick and injured animals seperated until they slowly die and throw them out. But they actually think that's the humane thing to do; to let a half eaten hamster or deformed mouse slowly suffer to death
>>2138166
Places like pet stores and rescues can get away with keeping animals in small cages because it is a temporary set up until they find home. Hope the cats at least get adopted quick
>>2138172
While that would be nice, I don't see it happening any time soon. It's a cash cow and Petco and PetSmart are the largest leading pet stores that sell small animals. Think about it, where do people go if they want a hamster? Maybe CL, but mostly those two stores.
It 100% depends on their pet care manager. If nobody who knows what they're doing applies then what can they do?
I have experience with two Petsmarts. One has a pet care manager that likes animals not enough to actually research care on each one the store carries. They still use common sense so the animals aren't in bad shape at all.
The other has a pet care manager that knows what she's doing. I know this because I'm good friends with her personally and I've rode with her to take Petsmart animals to the vet. 90% of the animals in that store that have a medical condition have it because that's the way they were ships. It's common for Pythons to have mild respiratory infections when they arrive but most of the time the animals are nursed back to health and properly cared for.
>>2138166
Might depend on the workers half the time I go to petsmart, most of the cats are outside the cages and walking around a backroom behind the cages. You can see into that room so they do get to walk around, even if it's a small room.
>>2138162
At the Petsmart I worked at we would immediately bring sick or injured animals to our vet. We would quarantine them if needed and if necessary, bring them home with us if they needed around the clock care.
I remember there was a crotchety chameleon that noone wanted to adopt. He ended up with metabolic bone disease and my manager was taking him home at night and trying to care for him. He ended up dying anyway and she was devastated
>>2138196
My store's banfield was great. We had a vet there that was certified for exotics and he took really good care of our small animals. We never just left an animal to die if there wasn't a way to save it. We euthanized even hamsters if there was no other way. The only animals we "let die" were fish. It was a pretty nice store.
When we had animals that were not properly socialized we would interact with them after the store closed to help. One time I fronted the store with a ball Python around my wrist. It was a sweety after and got adopted quickly.
We also once had a green checked conure for several months and I taught it to roll over on command. It got adopted the next week by someone who saw the trick. I was kinda sad because I wanted him. So smart
>>2138154
The petsmart around where I live seems fine. They have good space for their dogs and cats, and I think a lot of their dogs are from shelters.
I know they had a lady adopting out cats from a nearby no-kill shelter thing they run, I came by and checked out a few cats but she was glaring at me the whole time, and kept asking me stuff like "do you REALLY want this cat?" like I don't know how to take care of a cat or something. It unnerved me so I left her cats with her and went elsewhere.
I work at PetSmart.
Like previous anon said, it depends on the pet care manager (and team). We are allowed to socialize small animals and reptiles if it's not busy and all tasks are done.
I know where the animals come from, so I like that we're allowed to spend time with them. We are also allowed to "foster" animals that need to be adopted.
I once fostered a Russian hamster that had lost its eye. It was pretty aggressive due to the eye loss, but by the time we found a permanent home for it, she would sit in my hands, and turned out to be pretty chill.
I recently bought 2 goldfish at petco. One was so stupid that it ate gravel and died on the first day. The other can't swim right. Never trust petco.
In all seriousness though, they have some decent supplies, but I wouldn't buy any animals there. If you look around, you'll find really awesome fish stores for pet fish, great organizations or breeders for cats or dogs, reptile enthusiasts that breed and sell amazing reptiles. Small mammals are kind of a bust though. There are very few people that can sell rats, mice, ferrets that don't have lab animal origins.
>>2138530
Too bad they didn't tell you to use gravel bigger than your goldfish's mouth because goldfish do that kind of stuff.
>>2138537
I actually just bought them to cycle my new tank. I was trying to be funny and failed.
>>2138547
Oh sorry.
I got two minnows from PetSmart to cycle my tank. One was missing an eye. Got attached to them so they're still in my tank.
hi:D nerds?
>>2138556
Did the same thing with my goldfish with the swimming problems. My friend named him Hitler. He's a vegetarian. His favorite food is peas and broccoli. I actually learned how to take care of the stupid thing correctly because I like him now. Stupid Hitler.
I work at petsmart and my head manager is a cunt who doesnt care about the animals just that we push as much bullshit as we can. The managers under her though are all really nice and actually care about the animals. Ive watched a plethora of small mammals and reptiles die because she didnt want us to seperate them or put them in our "hospital room"
I think she fucking hates me though because I probably cause more people to not buy shit because I straight up tell people that those piece of shit fish bowls are gonna kill whatever they put in it. I wouldnt buy much shit from us because alot of it is overpriced and alot of our animals show up half dead/already dead though.
>>2138580
Why don't you just redirect them to buy a 10 or 20 gallon instead? They're cheap and it would make your boss happy.
On the other hand I work at Walmart and spent a good portion of my day stocking catfood and dogfood which is right next to the fish tanks. Walmart is the absolute WORST place to buy fish. I'm very tempted to tell every single person who tries to go straight to Petsmart which is literally in the next parking lot over. Especially when they ask where they can find fish related items that we don't even carry...
>>2138570
Hitler in all his glory. He's super hard to get a picture of since he swims so fast. Yellow water = lots of driftwood for him to hide behind and under. His water is actually pristine.
Forgot pic
working at retail is shit, especially when the customer fucking flips you off and then proceeds to say to another employee "can i see your manager"
9/10 manager says "oh shit sorry bout that, i'll have a word with him"
i'm trying to protect animals from these uncivilized shits
>>2138590
they dont want something that big,expensive, or anything that needs a filter, much less a heater.
There's a pet-co over here that's been kinda meh. My buddy got a dying Iguana from there, and I wanted a leopard gecko one time but they were all on deaths door. I got my red tail boa (imperator) from there about a year ago almost and I really like her. Shes been doing great, about to shed now for the 3rd time iv'e had her and every shed shes had was perfect. She hasn't pooped in a while though, and it usually always takes her a good time but it's been a little longer this time. After she sheds, ill feed her, and then give her a warm bath to see if that helps.
>>2138157
>at least they're better than smaller pet deposit stores
truth. I went to a local independent pet shop and was horrified. I'm a turtle/herp guy, and they had three adult box turtles in a 20 gallon tank with no water dish or substrate to dig in. Holy fuck.
My local petco seems slightly better than the local petsmart but all i really buy from either is tank related stuff. There's a local exotic animal show 2x/month close to where I live so thats where i get new pets or feeder insects
>>2138688
Here's a pic of Lousiel
I work at a petco and our animal manager is prettt good at his job. Plus i always try to avoid selling animals to customers who dont know what they are getting into. Ex : saltwater fish, goldfish, all the reptiles etc. I know some are terrible tho.
>>2138700
Hey, where do you guys get your doggos? A Petco just opened in my town and my mom said "yeah no they get all their dogs from midwestern puppy mills."
>>2138765
humane society or other local rescue places
>>2138162
>and throws sick rodents/reptiles away,
Not true. They go to a vet
If they don't have one in house, they're taken to the nearest "exotic" vet. Same for reptiles/amphibians and birds.
>>2138196
Animals are euthanized at a vet if they're terminal.
Are you thinking of the video of a green iguana found in a Petco dumpster by a pissed off white guy?
>>2138772
one of the petsmart anons here
Very rarely will we bring an animal to the vet, they usually put it in the back of the store then let it die
Then its put in a freezer and thrown away whenever even though we are supposed to be creamating them
>>2138777
Nice try, I travel with my friend who's a pet care manager all the time. The closest vet PetSmart will use is over an hour away and She get's paid for the gas she uses to go. Despite that they have her take whatever needs to go after each shipment even if it's just a couple hamsters. The store manager doesn't like it because they lose more money than they make on selling things like hamsters but they aren't crooks at that store.
>dumbass man wandering around store
>ask him if he needs help
>"What size tank for a 3-4 inch turtle."
>"Start with a 40 gallon and work your way up."
>"Oh. Thanks."
>30 minutes later
>he asks my coworker the same question, she gives him the exact same answer
>30 minutes after that
>catch him checking out with pic
also
>woman says she has a 5 gallon tank
>wants two convict cichlids, says she's buying a 20 gallon tank today
>find out from coworker who helped her before that she had the Aqueon Betta Falls POS
>find out she bought a 10 gallon tank
Pet stores aren't going to get any better until the customers start getting better.
>>2138786
Truth
>>2138157
Does this really happen? Pet stores haven't been allowed to sell kittens/puppies for years where I live. They only display adoptable animals from local shelters for a few days at a time before cycling them out and displaying new animals. Adoption process is still up to the shelter though. The store doesnt profit from it
>>2138825
>The store doesnt profit from it
not directly but it'd be foolish to think they don't make any money at all off the thing. They realize there's more money in pet food and accessories than there is in pets.
>>2138786
there's no regulations for aquatic animals, hence why pet stores keep fish bowls DIRECTLY towards fish
also double standard when you introduce THIS
if you're buying ball pythons from a pet store you don't know shit and your thoughts and feelings are shit.
>>2138950
Are you autistic. If they are well taken care of and look in good health, there is no problem
>>2138945
We had to push this garbage so fucking badly, little brats even got free movie tickets if they bought like $20 of fish stuff within a 4 hour period
We've had a very noticeable rise in dead betta returns as a result
I do kind of love the look on peoples faces when they ask me why we sell things like this if they arent good for fish and I tell them because people who dont know any better buy them though
>>2139012
In my experience many of them do know better, they just don't care because it saves them money
One lady came in asking for a pet that was really short lived or easy to kill because she wanted to teach her kids about death. They don't take animal lives seriously
>>2139025
OMFG
>>2138950
My ball python is in great health he is very active in his new cage and flicks his tounge around everywhere no signs of a respiratory infection or scale rot or any big noticeable red flags and he's well taken care of and a healthy weight so fuck off idiot spend $80 for a ball python to be shipped to your house
Is it Pets Mart or Pet Smart?
>>2138830
Only for dogs and cats, but yes, you're right. I don't think anyone is opposed to pet stores making money off of selling food and accessories, just off of live animals.
>>2138945
It's give and take. Things like that don't sell in places like Germany because there's no demand for it. If Americans decided to start taking proper care of their animals and stopped wanting shitty fish bowls and the like, then pet stores would stop selling them.
Until then, this is the hell we asked for.
>>2138990
>there is no problem
voting with your feet/dollars
why would you assume it's healthy
it was overpriced
it came sick ffs
>>2139029
>My ball python is in great health he is very active
fucking pick one
>spend $80 for a ball python to be shipped to your house
yeah, that's roughly what a normal baby costs, why are you saying this.
>>2139069
Pet smart * I bad a typing error
>>2139089
If you pay $80 for a normal ball python I'm sorry but you're stupid
>>2139134
We have ours on sale: $29.99
I'm pretty sure there is a petsmart shill trying their hand at marketing on the internet.
The PetSmarts I've been to with no banfield will try to 'Rehab' their sick animals ie let them die and throw them out. Not saying it happens everywhere but it obviously happens in some places
>>2139089
>fucking pick one
retard
I left my cat with PetSmart for a routine grooming and nail clipping, came back and they said there had been a mixup with the paperwork and they had euthanized my cat. Despicable people, I will never shop there again.
>>2139134
>If you pay $80 for a normal ball python I'm sorry but you're stupid
80 shipped.
>>2139257
healthy, comfortable bps are not active animals.
>>2139079
But the fact of the matter is, it is more reasonable to expect a pet store to be knowledgeable about pet care than a random customer that has impulsively decided they want a certain pet. If you push something on them that is going to cause them to mistreat the animal, they will probably assume that you know better than they do and that it is okay.
>>2139247
so "on sale" is a abused snake for a normal price.
>>2139327
How do you mean abused?
Just brought our new puppy into the store to get the essentials. Was standing next to the line while SO paid for some stuff and notice pup is fiddling with something. Turns out they had bone chews next to the cash register and pup decided to help himself to one. I told the cashier right as SO finished the transaction and started to pull out the wallet again, but he just waved me off and said, "I didn't see a thing."
>>2139252
Why would PetSmart try to market on 4chan?
>>2139358
amazon.com
My snakes I'm very good health he isn't "active" as in running around all the time but when I pick him up he's curious and flicking his tounge and no scale rot. Pic related
>>2139360
When you said active I could totally see how somebody could think you meant 8 straight hours of trying to scale up the corner of the tank and repeatedly falling down. You know, if they were autistic that is.
>Walk into a petsmart yesterday
>Just viewing the place
>Walk to fish tank
>4 fish die right in front of me
>Feel physically ill
>Watch several fish bump their faces into a dead one who was stuck to the glass
>It begins to float to the top after several bumps
>I leave and plan to never return
>>2139326
I was never told to push anything, and I wouldn't have even if I had been told to.
In the end, it still doesn't matter if people don't care. Look at >>2138786 again. Those people were given advice and they promptly fucked it off. Nothing I say or do is going to make them decent pet owners, and people like them are a daily occurrence.
>>2138590
>working at Walmart
I'm so sorry, I used to work at target, I know that feel.
>>2139359
>a public American business that isn't exclusively in adult oriented business
>willingly being associated with 4chan
Yeah no
>>2138157
this
>>2139322
Bullshit. Grooming and banfield are completely different things and departments. I've heard that stupid copypasta so many times. You're stale and boring. Go away
>>2139578
What if someone wanted to have their cat groomed before getting it euthanized, so left it at the groomer with instructions to transfer it to banfield afterward?
>>2138257
>The only animals we "let die" were fish.
Interesting, Can't remember if this was at Petsmart or Petco, but I saw a fish euthanasia at one of these. One of the display fish was sick, obviously dying, so I pointed it out to the person who was working aquatics that day. She thanked me and I went a little ways away pretending to browse goods and watching her out of the corner of my eye to see if she'd actually do anything about it, or if I should go grab someone else. She promptly snagged it out of the main tank, put it into a smaller betta-ish cup, put a few drops of something in there, and covered it with a cloth for a few minutes. Even looked a little sad doing it. I was pleased.
>>2139552
Fucking this!
Our PC manager tells us to discourage the purchase of fish bowls and those bullshit .5 gallon "betta cubes". People come in wanting a pleco for a 5 gallon tank or want to fit a cockatiel in a parakeet starter cage despite what you say.
They assume because we work for Petsmart, we are trying to take all their money. The reality is, if you want pets, you have to be willing to buy everything they need. Some people don't wanna hear it.
>>2138340
>I left her cats with her and went elsewhere.
u suq
She just wants reassurance that her babies are going to a good place... You gotta see it from her point of view. A lot of people see cats as any other small animal being sold in the store. I'm sure she's had plenty of people go by not planning to get a cat and their kids beg to get one as if it were a new Lego set.
>>2138257
>>2138519
>>2138580
>>2138777
>>2138786
>>2139552
>>2139735
What is petsmart's shoplifting policy?
I go to two different petsmarts, one has security cameras everywhere, the other only has a camera at the entrance (I used to work in LP walmart) and I've seen a girl in one of them taking elk bones into her purse. She looked up, realized that I saw, I grinned and winked, and she left. I encourage lifting from big stores like this, but was curious what petsmart usually does.
>>2138700
What is petco's policy to above?
>>2139354
lol
>>2139508
>Walk to fish tank
>4 fish die right in front of me
You're cursed.
>>2139589
They don't do that. You have to do all transferring yourself. The only time they will bring an animal to banfield is if there was an accident while grooming and they typically stay with the animal to make sure everything gets taken care of
>>2139806
>I encourage shoplifting that drives up prices and business insurance because fuck big business
One really crazy lady couldn't pay for her dog food so she ran out with it screaming one time. I told my manager and he told me to let it happen because she was too crazy and might hurt me. An hour later I saw her still in her car yelling and screaming to herself while rocking. There was a cop in the shipping center but we didn't want to mess with that
>>2139806
it happens all the time and we have a bin in the back where we dump known thefts to be written out of inventory
If we catch you we'll either throw you out or call the cops like this one asshole who muscled open our chameleon enclosure and sliced his arm all up stealing it, then proceeded to leave a trail of blood to the wrekt reptile enclosure to the front of the store
most of the thefts are small shit like water test kits and thermometers. People usually get us by fraudulent returns though
>>2139879
I thought you needed a receipt for returns? Or do they just buy the same thing and then steal another of it?
Personally I've seen a lot of "kill then with kindness" approaches where you just stalk them and keep asking if they need help over and over. I thought pet smart was supposed to not approach/confront people about theft.
>>2139826
Wouldn't have messed with that either, but who knows? If you called the police you might've gotten her a social worker or someone who'd place her in an asylum probably for her own good, although the dog might not be so lucky with where he'd end up (if she even had a dog).
>>2139948
You need a receipt to return electronics and animals. Otherwise you can return anything and get store credit.
Idk if all stores did this but ours would let you return anything for any reason as long as over half of it was still there so this one bitch bought a giant bag of food and would return the next month with a little less than half of it gone and use the store credit to get a new bag. This went on for about 5 months and I finally got tired of her shit and told her to stop coming back. Never saw her again
>>2138154
There's a petsmart in south Nashville with a absolute top-tier dog trainer. She also hosts Puppy Playtime (socialization) twice a week at the Brentwood Petsmart. very, very pleasant surprise given Petsmart's reputation. She know more about these dogs than I could ever guess, and reads their body language like it's second nature. It reminds me of someone used to reading sign language, where they don't have to focus to notice and interpret it. She's really good.
Their rewards program is shit, though.
>>2139781
I guess, but she was just so judgmental and it became clear after a while that she really wasn't comfortable giving that cat to me, so why should I try to change her mind? I wound up going to the local shelter and adopting a cat from there that probably would have been euthanized otherwise, so whatever, those cats wouldn't have been killed either way.
>>2139948
>Or do they just buy the same thing and then steal another of it?
This. And if you get the eReceipt, you can print out an unlimited number of receipts to return them with. The system doesn't keep track of any of that. Then they go to different stores to do the returns so no one recognizes them.
It's pretty easy to tell if the transaction is bullshit and just tell them no, though.
>>2139952
Apparently my store has a policy (either it's new or I just never heard it) that if a customer finds an item in the wrong spot, you give it to them for the price of the spot it was in. Bull.
>>2139955
>Their rewards program is shit, though.
There is no "rewards program," unless there's a special one for training. You give the store a phone number (you can use a fake one) and you get the sale prices on items. The sales are actually pretty damn good sometimes.
>>2139826
>One really crazy lady couldn't pay for her dog food so she ran out with it screaming one time. I told my manager and he told me to let it happen because she was too crazy and might hurt me. An hour later I saw her still in her car yelling and screaming to herself while rocking. There was a cop in the shipping center but we didn't want to mess with that
Wow. haha. Yeah from my experience in retail (never worked in a pet store) that level of theft is usually treated with very little concern, provided it's a one time thing. If same lady came back repeatedly to do the same thing, then store would forward security photos and physical description to the police.
I've also worked in security and generally we would strongly discourage front line retail employees from directly interacting with shoplifters. It's too dangerous. Just take down the description, if you're really on the ball try to catch their plate number if they came in a car, forward information to security and police to handle it.
>>2138580
On the other hand, I work at Petco and all of my managers are extremely careful with our animals and flat out refuse to sell them to about half of everyone who tries to get them. Even bettas. I know that's just happenstance though, because another one near me nearly neglects their animals, especially fish.
I will say though that Im always working when we get animals in and I've never seen an animal come in dead, and very rarely sick.
I work at petsmart. Noone at my store knows the answer to this:
What is up with the music playlist? Its the most bizarre playlist I've ever heard. Weird tonal shifts between almost every song. There is no set vibe it has.
>>2139952
Huh.
>>2139956
I got turned down because my fiance and I weren't married and we might split up so "where would the dog end up" was the main concern. Fucking ridiculous.
>>2139977
:| How can you tell
Like
I would give them their money back if they had a receipt and the unopened product.
>>2140042
I've never heard music at petsmart now that I think about it.
How do they treat shoplifting at your petsmart?
>"I think my pleco has intestinal parasites, looking at his poop"
>Here, use some aquarium salt
Guess who's pleco of 10 years didn't see year 11
Anyways, that was the day I learned not to listen to anything pet store employees have to say and do all my research myself.
RIP, The Count, The Aquariums not the same without you
>>2138154
This happened my senior year of highschool, it's the reason why I will never go to one of these places again
>Receive bareroot nepenthes
>out of LFS
>fuck
>Rush to petsmart to get some herp NZ moss
>never been in petsmart, ask attendant where the moss is
>They ask how big my pet enclosure is
>I tell them it's for a carnivorous plant
>They tell me venus fly traps are next to the registers
>redirect question, ask for reptile moss
>directs me to a tortoise
>>2140133
I wish more people were like you anon, every fucking body gets offended when I tell them to google some shit, because fuck I get paid $8.00 an hour I don't know absolutely everything about each specific thing in the store, I wont bullshit and spread misinfo though Ill tell them right out I'm not sure and dont want to tell them something incorrect
On the otherhand it is really infuriating when people come asking for help and dont want to accept the truth when its actually something I'm knowledgeable about.
>>2140138
I uh, hang on... wut?
>>2140171
Yeah I know right?
I was fucking mad. Had to drive an hour to a lowes to pick up some fucking moss
>>2140154
I even asked the guy "is aquarium salt safe for plecos?" and he was like "totally, bro"
like he literally said that. those exact words. Shoulda been a red flag right there.
I took my dog in to PetSmart for a routine grooming and left for a few hours, when I came back they said that they had apparently mixed up the paperwork and my dog had been euthanized by mistake. Never shopping there again.
>>2140133
So sorry, anon!
If someone asks a question I don't know the answer to, I will pull out phone and google it for them. Our manager encourages this.
I actually overheard a customer telling her grandson that "Petsmart employees go to school for this kind of stuff."
we do not.
>>2140127
>:| How can you tell
Like, if someone is trying to return $100 in deer antlers with a receipt from a store 30 minutes away and demands cash.
That kind of stuff happens a lot. Most people aren't even that smart, though, and try to return stuff without receipts expecting cash.
It's entirely possible that there are folks doing way more lowkey things and getting away with it, but I live in a small-ish town, so it's pretty easy to recognize people who repeatedly cause a fuss.
>>2140127
>never heard music
Its not like weird songs, its just bizarre choices.
This was literally a string of songs: Let it go -> Sk8ter boi -> Black horse cherry tree -> Creep
and not sure. I'm in petcare and haven't had to deal with shoplifting directly. Mostly just watching videos on loss prevention.
>tfw had a trial by fire on receiving new animals
>>2139322
>>2140175
>>2140042
My boyfriend theorized that the company got a package deal where they got some hundred random-as-fuck sorta-popular songs for a discount and just threw them in a computer on shuffle.
And that is exactly what it sounds like.
>>2140127
>never heard music at petsmart
They stopped playing it for about two years in a desperate attempt to save pennies because profits were down. They only recently started playing again. At least that's what happened at my store.
>>2140706
Whenever I take a bird shipment the delivery guy puts them in the cages for us.
>>2140127
Are you a PetSmart company associate trying to gather data or something?
>>2140175
I left my cat with PetSmart for a routine euthanization, came back and they said there had been a mixup with the paperwork and they had groomed my cat. Despicable people, I will never shop there again.
Can't really make good pet owners. There's probably anons here who have dogs and cats that should've been given away to someone else better or euthanized a long time ago.
Also have a tendency to dislike small pet owners because they often have this unnatural hatred for livestock and horses. Doesn't include all the livestock owners with dogs running around everywhere.
>>2140042
It is a corporate set playlist. They decide what's on it and all that.
I worked there for 3 years 3 years ago and I still dream of those damn songs. And don't get me started with the Christmas playlist! FOUR FUCKING DIFFERENT VERSIONS of "Last Christmas I gave you my heart" all sung by the most tone-deaf women they could find, with at least one version playing EVERY 15 MINUTES. I can't hear that song without raging anymore
>>2140706
They told you to kill the lights so the bird will stay put, right?
Either way, I feel your pain.
>>2140820
So lucky. Our guy MIGHT open the boxes to "help out" but that's it. Luckily, I've only had to receive animals once (don't work on Tuesdays). I've been told that if we take too long, he becomes a major douchebag. But fuck him, we have to check every animal for illness and nuts (except Guinea pigs: the only male small animals we accept).
>>2141063
>small pet owners often have this unnatural hatred for livestock and horses
Really? I haven't heard of this. I have rats and a hamster, but I would LOVE to have horses or cows (can't afford to take care of them so maybe one day). I used to have some goats.
>>2140539
If you're part of a chain and they have a receipt from your chain, you're obligated to refund them. Is this really sonethig worth compalining about?
>>2138530
>My goldfish were stupid shits
>I was a stupid shit for buying gravel smaller than my fishes mouth
>this is all petco's fault
>>2141063
What the fuck are you talking about? There is no tendency for someone who has a small pet to hate larger animals. Its just that all the people who do hate large animals obviously are only bigot small ones
>that kid scaring the parakeets
>that tank with dead fish
>the 38yo soccer mom making noises because she paid morons to groom her hairy dog
>>2141136
>we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone
>>2141130
they didnt tell me shit
Pretty much was a normal day and then "oh hi these were supposed to be here 3 days from now have fun bye"
Asked head manager the fuck i was supposed to do and she just said put everything up all casually
>>2141659
Wow.
At least now you know. If a bird gets loose in new arrival room, kill lights (hopefully the door is shut before even opening bird boxes). Listen for where they land. They will usually stay put when the lights come back on.
This is where the delivery guy will help. Have him flip on the light when you're close to where you heard it land.
If the bird is on top of cages/out of reach you'll have to get it to fly again and repeat.
This is always hard for me because I care, and I don't want to stress the animals out more than they are.
>>2141628
Wrong.
I guess no one working for PetSmart has heard the new slogan, "yes!", yet. It will disappoint you, I promise.
>>2141139
Guess you didn't see the post where he said he was trying to be funny and failed.
>>2141847
the girl who usually recieves told me this trick but the delivery person left after giving me them all in boxes
Alright, tell me this. Why is it that Pet Smart has this weird policy where you can only play with the animals if you want to adopt one? Yes, I do want to adopt Billy but I don't have the money can I just give him a little boop on the nose and buy my aquatic plants?
>>2138786
That's okay, once, I was given a 1 gallon tank for my Oscar fish, and being the naive customer I was, I hadn't looked up the fish.
It died due to its tank literally being 55 times smaller than it needed to be.
>mfw 55 times smaller
>>2142282
Because most animals don't like being handled, and we are usually really busy/understaffed because we don't make a ton of money.
>>2142294
But that's where you make some sales by letting little Johnny play with Billy the cat, and convince the parents to buy little Johnny the cat because "look, they're so cute together."
>>2142298
I guess. At least the store I work at we don't focus on selling animals as much as selling products, so we have no obligation to do that or anything.
>>2142282
because upper management doesnt want us wasting time on someone who isnt gonna make money
Ill still do it if its a slow day, but after like 5:00 we only have 3 people running the store, 1 pet care,1 cashier, 1 manager
>>2142304
What times is there not a manager at your store?
At our store one of our managers is always out doing god knows what. He's not even in the back.
>>2142473
Not that anon but there was never a time where there wasn't a manager in my store. Except at closing, there were usually 2 or more at our store at a time. Then again, our store is pretty big
I once got my dog groomed at PetSmart and it came back with cuts, and was shaking and whimpering.
Mind you that was years ago, haven't been back since.
>>2142298
Why would you want to encourage people to impulse buy animals? Pet stores already get enough of these tards.
Anyway, there's probably liability issues at play since they don't want to get sued when their shittily-bred, undersocialized hamsters bite your stupid ass. If you want to play with animals you can't afford, go to a petting zoo.
>>2142541
Why the fuck would you pay someone to groom your dog? I live in middle of fuckbutt Arizona with red sand that my dogs rip apart in search of gophers, I just throw them in the bath afterwards and scrub a bit of shampoo in and they are shiny as fuck the next day. Why pay a minimum wage paid teenager to blast your dog with water?
>>2141132
>goats
Aw yiss, my nigga! I grew up in a goat farm!
>>2142899
Not that person, but as a way to get it used to handling by other people if you don't know many people personally or the ones you do are shitty and disrespectful towards animals.
Why does petsmart hire so many lesbians?
>8 years old, in petcetera for fish food or something
>always visit the cat rescue center because i'm a faggot
>there's this one cyclops cat called Oscar who's really badass and friendly
>he was a black maine coon, wanted to adopt him and rename him Nick Fury or something
>eventually I begged my mum enough and convinced her that it would be cruel not to adopt him
>excited little me rushes straight to the cat rescue center
>there's this stoner lookin dude with black dreads and combat boots reading a magazine that just said HENTAI on the cover
>I think there was a picture of rei from evangelion on it or something
>Oscar is nowhere to be seen
"Where's Oscar?"
>"probably dead or something"
>mfw
>>2142959
My manager is lesbians and most of my coworkers are lesbians. Its a weird phenomenon.
>>2138154
Applied
Only part time summer position available
Basically turned away by the latest benefited middle-aged lady who's a professional dog whisper lonely type of mom who controls all the other workers as if they're her one of her MANY dogs.
I've never given this a second thought until now. Didn't really care at the time. The store is typical American commercial trash.
>>2142959
my store was full of women and gays.
I just quit today because my manager was a complete cunt and was bitching about every little thing under the sun after she cut my hours to 2 days a week and put me soley on register for no reason
I think she hates straight guys honestly
>>2142988
We had a lesbian as our grooming manager and there was a gay cashier who wanted to fill the empty slot in the salon. She blatantly said that she didn't want a "faggot" working for her. Almost caused a lawsuit but she no longer works there and he killed himself a couple months ago. All really sad
>>2142473
There's always a manager on the clock, but being able to find him/her is another story. Sometimes I think they lock themselves in the cash office to get out of doing anything.
>>2142541
They're *supposed* to take an animal to the vet if they get cuts of any kind. The insurance pays for the visit and any work that needs to be done.
Totally possible that the store you took your dog to didn't follow the rules, but just so you know, that is the protocol.
>>2142988
I hear stuff like this all the time and literally every time it ends up being that the person was just shit at their job.
>>2138599
Looks like a sick cunt.
>>2139572
You would be surprised. People here, despite what is said, have money and a willingness to spend that money.
You really think that companies don't advertise where there are potential customers? This place is mainstream as hell now contrary to what some delusional secret club (it never really was, honestly) idiots would spout.
Hop over to /v/ if you want to see marketing, and remember that there's no such thing as bad publicity.
>>2138154
I got three hamsters at petco.
I brought the first one home and he shit himself to death.
The second one was fine, he lived for around 2 years before dying when I made the mistake of leaving him with a relative to take care of for a while.
Third one had a tumor that we didn't notice until we took him home, died from it.
>>2138154
got a betta at Petco
pretty sure he has sbd cuz he can't swim right despite me trying everything to help fix him.
I actually bought everything in my 10 gallon from Petco and it's been a year and all of my cory catfish, my cpo, and betta are all alive and mostly fine.
>>2143540
They have CPOs at Petco?
>>2143423
there is literally no company in the Western world that wants to be associated with the constant racism here.
t. company owner in the Western world
>>2143397
I was probably the third best out of 7, second not counting one of the managers as far as petcare was concerned
She had me on the register and I was ok with that I could lean on the bar/wall since I was limping everywhere but she was pissed I wasnt out on the floor kissing the 2 customers who were in the store's ass and then called me unprofessional because I dared to have a drink under the counter
Head manager was literally the only person I could not get along with in the entire store, all the managers under her I was cool with, they would even ask me what I did to piss her off so bad since she would take work off of people just to put it on me even though they werent doing anything(didnt mind because pretty much everything in that store was easy as fuck to do)
There has only ever been 1 guy working there at a time according to the petcare manager whos been there 5+years anyway, she said everytime a new guy gets hired the old one either gets fired or gets shit on so hard they quit and it did happen to the guy before me and me so maybe she wasnt just being crazy
The only live things I have bought are fish and rats. Neither sell rats any more, thank goodness.
Petco:
smaller, food-quality rats that look miserable.
most Petcos I've been to have sicker, more expensive fish. The one I just found near me has an employee who cares a lot and has complete control over the aquatic center: she is amazing, knowledgable, and they also have cheap, healthy fish. I got a few SAEs for $3 each.
Petsmart:
fancier rats in less crowded cages
cheap fish, I've had pretty good luck with them.
It depends on the store, really.
>>2143571
Congratulations then because youbare a fool.
t. giant cunt who does internet marketing and guerrilla shit
Trust me, they are here and everywhere there is an audience. Are you also the type of person to trust online reviews for products?
I went to Petsmart today and was checked out by a qt azn cashier. That's all.
>>2143647
>they are here and everywhere there is an audience
notice they're not buying ads.
>>2143705
You think you have to buy ads to market something? Lol, dude.
>>2143718
sorry to shit on your parade, but viral marketing targets millennials, not consumers.
your target demographic needs to actually have income before marketing to them matters.
>>2143720
Not even that anon but millennials will find the money to spend on things they want.
>>2144137
>find
what an interesting euphemism for "ask daddy for an advance on their allowance," or
"sell off some of the shit daddy bought them to get new shit."
I'm still waiting for the generation to collectively realize their parents don't actually intend to die and leave them anything.
>>2143621
The PetSmart I work at sells rats.
Went to petsmart for years and never had a problem.
Then, took my cat in for a routine dental cleaning; apparently he was uncooperative so they tried to sedate him. Apparently he reacted adversely to their sedative and he died.
You can say he was just a cat, I would say he was my friend. Shit would never fly with a person. They just seemed to nonchalant and like they didn't care about it. "oops sorry about that. we'll give you another cat to replace him!" Fuck you, you killed my cat
>>2144225
That's bullshit. vets don't sedate small animals, or any animal for that matter, unless they absolutely have to.
>go to petsmart
>Buying non guinea pig toys for guinea pigs
>Store worker asks me questions, starts reprimanding me for buying 'off-species' toys
>Tried to steer me towards Timothy hay feeders
>I explain that I have a low bin Chuck full of hay so it would be moot
>"Oh that is way too much hay! They can get bloat if they have too much hay!"
>Actually, hay is 90% of their diet
>"No, food is their diet. That's why they make guinea pig food, silly"
I just make my guinea pig toys now.
Not a real personal story experience, but anyone ever feel squeamish at the occasional fish jumped/dropped out of tank that died and is stepped on at pet stores?
I tend to get cautious when walking through the fish section and scan the floor to make sure I don't step on any. The last thing I wanna do is end up stepping on a still alive fish that escaped the tank
>>2143720
Marketing targets everyone, and it doesn't have to be strictly ads or in your face marketing like you seem to think.
Honestly, dude, how naive are you and why are you in such a large amount of denial over this? I'm genuinely curious as to why you think this way or why such things are impossible.
>>2144315
Being caught isn't part of the marketing director's plan. Of course they want to make the posts seem genuine and knowledgeable.
There's a similar petstore chain near my house. Went there to get some toys for my cat and saw they had a new koi display up.
The kois were in a big huge tank but there were too many. I watched for a couple seconds before noticing they were eating bits of tail off each other.
Called the manager to complain and he just said it's normal behavior.
>>2144316
Whenever I am involved in this kind of stuff I just continue on the conversation and ignore whatever is calling me out, and that is what I instruct others to do as well.
Denying is one of the worst things you can do in a situation like this. Better to simply ignore and carry on as if nothing was said.
Maybe this guy needs to work under me and learn a thing or two.
>>2144281
>>Buying non guinea pig toys for guinea pigs
>>Store worker asks me questions, starts reprimanding me for buying 'off-species' toys
But they're so often the same exact toys. Same shapes, same materials, same size. I used to buy my mom's bird toys from the cat isle because they sometimes had basically the same things over there, only cheaper.
>>2138154
Got two bearded dragons from Petsmart. Decided on both of the remaining ones 'cause they had fungal infections on their tails and onset of MBD. Fixed that shit real quick. That was a year and a half ago, and my fat little assholes are healthy and happy.
>>2144190
I buy myself things with the money I make working at PetSmart.
Walked a woman through basic needs for hermit crabs and, to my surprise, she actually listened. Apparently she'd come before and one of my coworkers told her "they're called hermit crabs because they need to be alone" and sent her off with one of those awful tint plastic and wire kits.
By the time k was done talking to her she had a ten gallon tank with salt and freshwater dishes, coir and sand for substrate, a heat mat, and a second crab.
Felt good.
>>2145803
I remember my brother won a hermit crab at some fair, but it escaped from its enclosure within the first day and we never saw it again.
Petsmart is a terrible company
I got a guinea pig from there that i loved and cared for for about a week and it was sick so i took it to a ton of vets and gave it my full attention then when i couldnt financially take it to another vet i talked to them and they said they could get rid of its cold and then i could get it back but they said it had neurological problems and needed to be put down
That happened 6 months ago and still can put me to tears
>>2144331
What????
I show snake owners to small animal aspen since you get more for less than what's in reptile section. I recommend some bird cages for rats and bird toys.
That is crazy! If you're spending money, why should they care??
On a side note to other PetSmart employees: have y'all not gotten Guinea pigs in a while? I was just told there was a possible investigation in a chinchilla farm that the Guinea pigs might come from as well. We haven't gotten Guinea pigs in about a month.
Any other associates heard about this? I can't validate. Right now, it's a rumor.
>>2145892
Truly sorry for your loss anon.
It is best to watch the animal you are wanting for a while before purchasing. We isolate small animals for 3 days to make sure they aren't sick. However, prey animals won't show signs of illness until it's almost too late.
Guinea pigs are highly susceptible to respitory problems if the wrong bedding is used. Never use pine for small animals.
Again, sorry for your loss.
>>2141039
I thought it was funny.
>>2145980
We haven't gotten guinea pigs in a while, but we don't sell them very quickly and already have more than we really have room for. That would be interesting if it ended up being true.
>>2146126
We usually get 6-9 and they all sell within 2 weeks. People have been asking when we will get them in again.
I just got a text from coworker. We got 3 yesterday. Which is odd. They will go on the floor Friday morning and probably be sold out by Friday night.
We aren't supposed to get chinchillas since it gets too hot here ( high today is 100 F ).
>>2145980
we got like 6 guinea pigs 3 weeks ago 12 guinea pigs 2 weeks ago and 9 guinea pigs 1 week ago
>>2145870
how the fuck does a hermit crab escape
>>2146842
I guess we didn't close the top of the enclosure properly
>>2146842
You know, once they escape captivity, they stop being Hermit crabs and become Hobo crabs
>>2146842
Hermit crabs can climb. If the trees in the habitat are tall enough, and the lid is off, they can get out.
I left the fish wall once to get an anole for a customer, came back, and someone had put two hermit crabs in one of the fish tanks.
>>2147004
We had a two week period where someone kept taking bettas out of cups and putting them together into one cup. We never caught them, but it hasn't happened against in a while.
>>2147037
Ugh.
Had a teenage boy putting oxygen tube in a tank and shooting this fish around. "Get that out of the tanks please". He jokes with his buddies about how much a bitch I am. They went to my coworker, wanting to buy a python. Intervened and denied the sale. They cried to daddy. Daddy cusses my manager out, but she says "sorry. We have the right to deny the sale of a live animal to ANYONE."
They called corporate, corporate told my manager to sell them the snake. I took the snake to the terrarium we have in iso so when they came back for snake, we told them we sold it already.
Fuck some people really.
>>2146186
Hmm.
The. It might not be true. What state are you in? Texas here.
Does PetSmart use different DCs for different regions? I know two of our DCs are in Georgia and Florida.
>>2147004
I have saved some hermit crabs from PetSmart. Still have most of them. Always bothers me that they don't just have moist sand and two water dishes one salt and one fresh. I know its a pain in the ass, but damnit they can be pretty interesting to watch when they are happy and healthy.
I hardly ever go to petsmart/petco. But the last interaction was when my Aunt took her dog to be groomed and apparently he was so stressed out his eye popped out of the socket and now he needs eye drops for the rest of it's life. She went to go pick the dog up and it was so awkward, they had apparently just transfered it to a vet and didn't call her or anything.
>>2147055
Louisiana IIRC all of our small mammals come from sunpet
>>2147223
I agree with you on the sand. If it makes you feel better, they get to play in saltwater twice a week. Not sure why we don't provide a salt water dish in the habitat though.
>>2147968
Yeah. Sun Pet was the one in Georgia.
>>2143720
I make quite a bit of money and have been on this site for years.
>>2139025
That's legitimately disgusting,
>>2145892
I've also had really bad experience with petsmart's guinea pigs. I had three and they all died within three weeks. I was traumatized
>"I just, y'know, want to add some COLOR to my tank."
>"Ooh, black mollies!"
Every time.
Shitty pet store stories? Okay.
I work at a local pet store, owned by this guy and his wife. Nice little place, if have to say that roughly 90% of the people are reasonable and if they don't know what's going on, they'll listen.
But man, that other 10% just fucks me up. There's this one old hag that came in that still pisses me off to this day.
>this old fuckin lady comes in with her old fuckin attitude right off the bat
>"I'm lookin' to get my ginger-jar started up again"
>I'm already like wtf
>this twat has this fucking Mason jar that she's been keeping different bettas in for years
>I politely attempt to explain that, despite common belief, betta fish do much better in a filtered tank
>she looks so taken aback that her ideals have been challenged
>this old bitch is getting sassy with me
>"rahhh no no no betta fish don't need a filter!!!"
>"I've been keeping them for years, I even got one to live for a whole year once!!!"
>I again attempt to explain that that's not really a good thing, and that they can actually live for 3-4 years in a proper setup
>...
>"I've been doing this for years, I know what to do. I just want something pretty to look at"
>I just kinda tell her that there's nothing I can really do to help if she's not willing to listen, and keep cleaning the rat cages
You dumb stupid bitch if you wanted something pretty for your fucking stupid "ginger-jar" then go get some flowers and drop the shitty attitude
It's one thing if you don't know what your doing, but it's another to have things properly explained and just choosing to ignore it
>>2149236
>It's one thing if you don't know what your doing, but it's another to have things properly explained and just choosing to ignore it
I honestly don't know which is worse: when they flat out don't believe you, or when they do, they know better, but they just don't care about the animals.
Had to deal with a woman who was keeping a cory in a 1 gallon bowl once. Killed me.
>>2138154
I've had good experiences at petsmart so far
>go to fish section
>want to add a couple live plants to my aquarium
>look at prices and do a complete 360
Yes 360
>grab a plant, look at loaches
>think, nah maybe next time
>walking past plants again and see them placing sales priced stickers
>wtf, $1.50 for that plant and I would've paid $8.99 for this?
>put plant back and grab sale plants
>mfw I got 4 plants for the price of one
>mfw they didn't tell me they were going to put the plants on sale
>tfw I did a 360 on the loaches
>tfw I have no mfw face
>>2149259
lmao I had a lady insist to me that she had kept koi In those tetra 1.5 gallon tubes just fine for years and that I was an idiot.
The fish was longer than the tank she wanted to put it in was wide and I kept trying to explain to her that it wouldn't physically fit...
I think the worst was the black lady who bought goldfish for her kids to keep them from being loud and the first thing they did was immediately kick and punch the bag with the fish in it. I left and then came back to find it smeared all over the shelves. Fuck black people, they were always the worst.
>>2149288
They smeared the goldfish on the shelves?
>>2149259
I've never had anybody say it directly, but there are plenty of times that I'm trying to explain how much space certain fish need (almost always goldfish btw) and you can just tell by the way that they look at you that they think you're just full of shit and trying to get them to spend more money on a bigger tank. Like nigga I don't get paid commission on this shit.
But to be fair, the people that will actually listen to what you have to say and appreciate your help make it more than worth it. I genuinely enjoy helping people understand how to take good care of their pets
>>2149174
Haha! This gets me every time. That or Dalmatian mollies.
>>2138154
Petsmart bad.
Petco good.
Petsmart got my fucking house infected with spider mites.
Petco sold me a 14 inch long feeder rat that was extremely friendly and hung out all day.
Petco just doesn't have enough toys for the animals sometimes, plus the clear/semi clear plastic huts are not okay, rats don't want light in their eyes.
I'm sure we've all had bad experiences with one or the other but I will never go to petsmart again. BAD tempered animals they have there too.
>>2150563
Depends on the region, I suppose. Every PetSmart near me is very clean and had decent (if not perfect) habitats. One Petco near me had baby lizards on sand, dead and sick fish and small pets everywhere, and the service is slow and ranges from mediocre to bad. The other Petco is on par with PetSmarts near me, but still no better. That one just opened a couple months ago, though.
So what's your preferred method for changing out the water on the bettas?
I use dechlorinates tap water and let it sit for an hour, then change 100% of the water. There are still some casualties throughout the week, but fewer than when the other associates do it their way, which is to change out 50% of the cup water with water from the displays.
I was wondering if Antone else had some input on the matter.
>>2153035
We would use water from our main tank system
>dump fish into net over bucket so water pours into bucket
>scoop water out of main system
>dump fish into cup
We had usually 3-4 deaths a week out of 70~
>>2138154
Oh geez ok. My first ball python came from petsmart. It died a week later. fuck petsmart
>>2153488
If it dies within 2 weeks you can return it for a refund or a new one you know. Just keep your receipt
>>2138519
i tried applying at petsmart. the only thing i dont have experience with is reptiles. why didnt they hire me?
>>2138590
theres a walmart a parkinglot away from a petsmart by me too. every time i visit it i get sad seeing the fish
>>2153652
They thought you were too upstanding and might report their shit practices.
>>2138590
Where my parents live the only place to get fish in town for the last 20+ years was Walmart and it always annoyed me seeing my dad get fish from there rather than drive 30 minutes out of town for them.
Well, a Petco just opened in the same shopping center last year, so Walmart can suck on that.
>>2144190
you do realize most millennials at this point have their own jobs and live off on their own. right.
how old are you, 50?
>>2144274
not that anon and not trying to argue for him but my uncle takes his small ass shitty poodle to banfield and whatever over there to petsmart for some program where they groom her and clip her nails and clean her teeth regularly. they put her out to clean her teeth and clip her nails (badly? theyre so long. just flat on the ends) while shes out. shes not an aggressive dog though so i dont know why they do that at all especially since shes so small.
>>2149535
Yes, it looks like they took it out of the bag and smushed it everywhere using one of the decorations to smash it flat. It was a fucking pain to clean because by the time I came back it had dried everywhere.
I don't go to pet stores often but i had a good experience at my petsmart. They had beardies on sale and a cute girl walked me through what i needed. Only problem was they didnt tell me I needed a UVB light so I had to run out again to get one. Other than that they were helpful and I was able to return everything when I decided I wanted a 40 gallon tank instead. Animals seemed ok its usually the wholesalers that have problems. Had a shitty time at a PetCo though, just general ignorant workers and no help.
>>2154378
thats what i figured. is it dangerous to get put under regularly like that for a dog? also SHOULD i be going to get my dogs teeth cleaned regularly? we go get shots and shit but nobodys ever mentioned getting his teeth done
it generally seems like people like petsmart better than petco (with a few exceptions) and i guess id have to agree. theres 2 or 3 petsmarts in my area and theyre all fairly nice. there used to be a petco near me too and it was dirty and felt weird and dark in there. but there is another petco that opened a few years back thats a lot nicer. the shitty one got closed anyway
>>2154423
im not entirely sure but im gonna guess he goes once a month. he goes through some insurance plan thing with banfield at petsmart. my dogs are 2 and 3 and i havent ever taken them to get their teeth done though. but my 2 year old hates getting his nails done. we had to take him to the vet once because he ate something he wasnt supposed to and they used a sedative to make him vomit and clipped his nails then though so thats what im gonna start doing i guess to get his nails done. the other one doesnt like us doing them but she doesnt bark and jerk around either
I recently discovered that 100% of their fish come pre-contaminated with parasites that guarantee a 100% mortality rate within 3-13 days
>>2154601
thats a risk I see a lot of big chain pet stoeres have with fish, I've seen. Like ll their tanks share a water supply, it's very easy for parasites and pathogens to infect huge amounts of their stock at once, but they're willing to risk that to save a few dollars on filters I guess.
Almost every interdependently own aquaria store has many many separate tanks. a few might share an bucket sump filter, but you'll never see tanks actively flowing into eachother like they have at petco or petsmart
>>2141130
I always wondered what they do with all the small rodents like hamsters that they breed. I only EVER see females for sale. I understand the male rats / mice probably become snake food, but they don't sell frozen gerbils and the like.
What do they do with them?
>>2153035
We prep cups with sump water and stress coat. Put a net over a bucket. Pour old water into the bucket (betta in net). Put betta in prepped cup.
We had a lot of deaths the past few weeks so we looked up the p&p and this is how it is supposed to be done:
>fill 5 gallon bucket with sump water
>add 5 ml of stresscoat to bucket
>using three fingers, pour old water in sink, leaving betta in old cup
>use another cup to scoop water out of bucket an add to old betta cup
Don't remember seeing anything about feeding though.
>>2154601
not entirely true, I had school of skirt tetras from Petsmart and had four of them live for 3 years and one of those living up to a whole 3 years after his school died
>>2154717
I have two cherry barbs from PetSmart going on four years now.
My manager decided she wanted to have a display "tank" at our store and set up a half gallon bowl that was two and a half bitches to clean.
Someone bought the whole thing a few days ago and, for fear she would set up something equally as awful again, I threw this together. I did what I could without using wires or making it crazy expensive.
>>2154771
how big is that? id think it was a lot smaller than it is without the betta for reference
>>2154801
It's probably exactly as big as you thought. 1 gallon.
http://www.petsmart.com/fish/aquariums/top-fin-bettascene-aquarium-zid36-17672/cat-36-catid-300065
I'm an Ex-employee at petsmart, I used to be a dog Trainer when I worked there
[spoiler]ask me anything[/spoiler]
>>2154811
except how to spoiler, don't ask me that
At some point I lived 40 minutes from PetSmart.
I applied to work there. I got an interview from the landwhale manager. They expected me to work a full shift every Sunday, stay 1 hour past closing, then come back to work 4 hours later to get shipment.
I told them this was bullshit and they told me I could sleep in my car between the shift and shipment. That's less than 4 fucking hours of sleep in a fucking automobile.
I told them to fuck themselves, and will never enter another PetSmart or buy anything from them.
>>2154811
would it be worth taking a 2 year old dog to a training class at petsmart
In my experience PetSmart employees are basically socially retarded. They're commonly rude and don't really know how to deal with customers.
That being said they treat the animals well and seem to know what they're doing in that aspect.
>>2155183
Wow that's fucked. Guess that explains why the position was open.
Is that level of bullshit even legal?
Also, why would you even consider a minimum wage retail job that's 40 minutes away?
PetSmart, Pet Supermarket, and Petco are all big chain, warehouse type stores. They're not their for quality, they're there for quantity. And any store will be different, and every employee will be different. They are there to sell, and make money. It's business. You can't make big business with optimum everything. It's the sad truth. They're like the Costco of pets where everything is cheap, but it's not as high quality, while any local pet, fish, reptile, avery, breeder store is more like any other local business where prices are higher, but you know what you're getting.
>>2155818
Depends on the trainers they have. Some PetSmarts have really good trainers, some stores have mediocre ones. At one point they were even certifying trainers who'd never had dogs before.
When I started working, the trainer we had had a fantastic reputation and everyone who took their dogs to him loved him, but he had a habit of mouthing off and not following directions, so he got fired. The woman we have now is okay, but not as good as the first guy. She also doesn't seem to sell nearly as many classes.
See if you can talk to some of the customers and get an idea of what they're like. A good trainer could certainly help a dog of any age, but if they aren't that good it probably isn't worth it.
>>2155871
I don't see what would be illegal about it. It's just an overnight split shift, so as long as they're paying you as if it were one day, it checks out.
Not to say it isn't a horrible schedule. I wouldn't do it.
>>2154601
not true. ive had a school of silver dollars live for 14 years and a gourami and some clown loaches live for more than 10.
Had them ring me up a featherfin cat as a dollar pleco once.
>>2156409
Seems like a common mistake. I came in one day to see several featherfin cats in the small pleco tank. Apparently the new-ish gal opening put them in the wrong place when taking the shipment.
>>2156409
I had a petco employee try to ring up my $40 long-tentacle anemone as a $12 condy.
I corrected her just cuz I don't mind paying for my pets if it keeps the place in business.
I had a generally favorable experience with PetSmart AND PetCo. Both stores, when I asked for a red-cap goldfish, asked me about my setup and both warned me not to get it because I already have some fish in there (not big fish, I wasn't trying to overcrowd) because of their ammonia nature and their tendency to be nippy. At the PetCo not too far from my place (about a 20 minute drive on the highway), I sort of frequent there, and the employees are always very nice. A few times I've pointed out fish corpses and none of them seem to get huffy at having to take the death out. One employee at PetCo also told me the basics of lobster care and, having semi-slow fish, I probably shouldn't get it despite how tempted I was.
The smaller stores I've gone to, the more... uh... family-owned/family-oriented ones, are honestly so shiesty and uncomfortable that it makes me legitimately mad. Their fish are almost always miserable and kept in awful conditions, the employees do not give a flying fuck about what's going on around them (farmland feed is a literal animal hell for all their creatures, from the screaming stressed out birds to the diseased livestock to puppy mill dogs and last to the fish kept in cramped and filthy tanks). I went to this place called "Aquarium Paradise" for my birthday and almost every tank was overcrowded with aggressive fish put in tanks with other aggressive fish. They sold me a broken filter, and tried to get me to buy a Cichlid even though I told them my setup was with other, docile species.
Lastly was the pet store in my crappy backwater town that, upon buying two guppies and a betta, I realized within the week that all three of them had finrot, and died within the month.
>>2155818
Sorry took so long for reply
A dog at any age can be trained but much like >>2156346 said it depends on the trainer. My advice is visit your stores and observe how the trainer gives class, due to the age of your dog he will be settled in a Beginner class, so check out the calender and stalk the Beginer class days and watch, see how the trainer moves, how he interacts with the dogs, is he playful, nice, patient ect. As long as you have an upbeat trainer you will be fine.
I used to work at Petsmart and we had a lady come in and buy 4-5 bettas. She wanted to buy a 1g bowl with them and I asked her if she was going to keep them together and she said yes. I tried to tell her that bettas do best alone because they are aggressive, but she told me she's been doing this longer than I've been alive etc and that she allegedly had 2 bettas that lived with eachother for 25 years lmao. I hate these customers that are so full of shit.
>>2138166
Note that they don't keep those cats there forever. It's temporary and they rotate out cats periodically.
Source: I volunteered at Petco for a local rescue
>>2157651
Did you tell the cashier to cross the bettas off as "no return" on the woman's receipt?
>>2156346
>>2156924
thank you both. i know you can train a dog of any age and my dogs pretty smart and generally catches on pretty quick. we had him in another 2 week obedience course before but we missed a few days and didnt keep up with a lot of it honestly. he has a hard time listening if hes distracted (he barks at the neighbors dogs then refuses to come inside when we call him if theyre out which is a pain for all involved) the issue before was i was severely depressed so now that ill do better keeping on top of the training i want to get him into something to help him out since i feel like an asshole for having an untrained dog.
>>2157754
You'll do great anon, just remember, as a Dog Trainer myself I learned that if you don't believe in your dog, they will not give results.
So what is the best setup for a beta?
Ten gallon tank or bigger?
>>2158444
awesome then i know he will do great. the only reason he hasnt is my fault because he is super smart. thank you for your help
>>2158451
Yup, 10 gallons is great, just get a lot of decorations to help the betta feel secure. PetSmart has their 10 gallon starter kits on sale for $35 until the 5th. It's a really good deal since it comes with a heater. Check out the aquarium decorations for stuff on clearance.
If you want some natural colored pea gravel or sand, you can use the stuff you can get from Home Depot for dirt cheap.
>>2138154
Another awful company is Southern Agriculture. Their small animal and bird enclosures made me so angry; overpacked, positioned too close to the ground, etc..
>>2158527
I showed the 5.5 gallon version to a woman who wanted to get a betta yesterday ($20), and she ended up spending an extra $6 on a 3.5 gallon tank because apparently 5.5 gallons is "too big."
>>2159782
Had a lady tell me that 5 gallons or more would make a betta feel insecure. She told me she put hers in a new 5 gallon and it died. She put it in a day after buying the tank.
>>2159800
My first fish was a betta from Petco and the guy there told me the same thing about putting him in a 10 gallon tank by himself.
He didn't care to mention cycling or anything, so the betta died by the time the nitrites were off the scales and he blamed it on my water being too hard.
:/
>>2138154
I live in Canada, so maybe it's different here. The petsmart in my city is actually really well maintained, and the animals are very healthy. They don't have cats or dogs (except when they house some from the SPCA that are looking for homes), but the lizards and birds and fish they have are always in good condition.
The Pets Unlimited on the other hand is fucking awful, and i am so glad they are going out of business. They recently got a few animals taken away as well, though not all of them. I felt so sad for this beautiful afe
>>2159923
well fucked up that post. Cont.
I felt so sad for this beautiful African grey, his cage was pretty shitty (both literally and figuratively), his favorate perch was above his food bowl, so i literally had to tell the manager that he should move it, so as to not shit where you eat (there was tons of poop in his food and water bowl). There were also some smaller birds that only had one type of perch, and so their claws were getting all sorts of fucked up, i felt so bad for them. One of them was even missing a few toes.
It also goes without saying, but the employees are fucking clueless. The Grey was preening my hair and the guy almost swatted him away, saying that the behavior was "dominating".
>>2159926
I reported the place to the SPCA, and to their head office. In the end i guess they're shutting down, but not for these reasons.
This little bastard wouldn't stop moving so i could get a picture, but his right foot is a stump here.
