# Angry Walmart Woman!



## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

Today at work after scrubbing the filthy algae ridden walls, and cleaning the tanks... which I might add were filthy cause someone has been overfeeding! I fricken had to fix all the labels we have regarding the fish because the adult size is wrong on like all of them, and they dont say to be in groups with tetras, nor do they list all the fish they can be with, they list like 4 which you might as well not list any. 

Then I did a CBL, which is this online training thing and get this!!!!!!!! *the cbl told me that how you can tell what they can be with is by what is listed on the label and by looking at the last digit of the price, so all the 8s are compatible, 3s are compatible and so on! What is this BS! that is soooooooo not true, they say if the numbers arnt the same then they cant be together.... so in otherwords tetras cant be with livebearers! WTF! I was sooooooooo P*SSED!!!!* so in other words are prices are set for what is compatible instead of competitive prices, STUPID! Then it went on to say that you should tell customers to have the tank set up for 24 hours before buying fish... 24HOURS UH

Then this guy comes in and asks what he can put in with irredesent sharks that wont get eaten, so I told him, then I asked what hes keeping in and he said he has *SIX* 5 inch sharks in a *10G* I just about blew up. He also said there are 2 plecos in there too! I told him that they need to be in a min 55G for one if not bigger and 100+G for more and hes like "oh i am getting a 55g not now though in awhile". Then he asked why they just sit around, I told him cause they are crowded and need space. I told him he needs to be doing weekly if not more water changes with them in there, then he says well the filter is for a 20G and I told him, that doesnt mean you can cheat the system!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then hes like well Im moving them to a 29G with a 30-50 rated filter and I told him it still isnt good enough so after he bought MORE fish (guppys, frogs) to put in the 10 when he moves the sharks! He also said he does water changes every 3 weeks! UGH

Then get this, this girl wants a bala shark and I told the dad how big they get and hes like oh well it wont get that big and Im like ya it WILL!! I told him they need to be in a school and in a large tank and a small tank will stunt them and shorten his life, he said oh well if she wants it let her get it. I was like JESUS! :x *:x *:x *:x *:x *:x *:x *:x *:x

PS. Now that I actually know something about fish I'm getting even angrier with customers and walmart! UH
I did take some action though and we will no longer be carrying the Columbian Shark, after I researced and found they need full salwater when adult I decided to stop ordering them. just because of all the morons that buy them! 
I also will be writing to our home office about all the misinformation they are sending out and about our horrible fish selection... I believe Walmart should carry beginner fish and fish that dont grow gigantic, because most people buying fish at walmart are beginners and arnt and wont be told any better. I am amazed at the people that dont read the labels they just say I want that one!

P.P.S we lowered our price on cichlids to $4.93 and we got Auratus and Yellow Labs in *


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## DavidDoyle (Jan 18, 2005)

Walmart does not care. my bet is you will soon be working for Target or Sears. The best thing fish keepers can do is to refuse to shop Walmart for anything pet until they give up selling them.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Don't be angry with the customers, the staff should only sell fish to people if they know they are going to be looked after properly and the staff should make sure that the customer should know how to keep the fish successfully before leaving the shop doors.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

I don't know if you can deny someone a sale in walmart, you'd probably get fired...


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Im not saying about refusing customers, I'm saying about advising them. If anyone wants to buy fish that is too small for the tank, or if a particular fish isn't right for their particular setup I would say something like "That fish will die in your tank but that one will be fine", or "Your tank isn't mature enough yet, but a guppy would be fine". Or if the worst comes to the worst you could say,"your tank is polluted, go back and do regular water changes, once your water is clear then that fish will be fine".
However, if they still insist in buying a fish after several warnings that It'll die or not thrive then let them buy it and if they come back with a dead fish then tell them "I told you so".
I doubt you'll get sacked from a bit of friendly advice.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

well she did warn them several times... I don't know about you but I would get very p'd off... and the guy had 6 ID sharks in a ten gallon... very irresponsible in the first place.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Well then you're supporting my argument then, if Lexus already advised the customer not to buy them then the customer must be very irrasponsable


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

I would definately refuse to sell an ID shark to this guy if I was in her position.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

But then you'll get "fired" according to you. :roll: :lol:


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

whats your point??? seriously? She had a right to get angry with the customer... its too bad that she couldn't refuse to sell the fish to him.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Coming to think of it I actually rufused to sell a needle gar during my work experience to a guy who wanted to keep them with malawis. He then said that he could divide the tank with an undergravel filter plate to stop the malawis getting eaten. I said you could do, but how bigs your tank, he said 70 litres. I explained the senario and so he lefted with two puffers that I relluctently sold to him, lukily he came back the same day saying that they got picked and wanted to swich them for an angel, and so I said, what did I tell you.


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## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

Well i would have refused to sell the fish to him and his kid. I think you have the right to refuse to sell anything to them. unless they complain to a higher up that doesnt know anything about fish. I would have made something up like oh sorry this tank has petuloyutantiis a rare tropical disease that can be transferred to humans.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Yep exactly shev, thats good make up an exuse, why didn't I think of that.LOL :lol: 
But what if like in many shops all the tanks are all on one big filtratian system?
Or if there are more than one tank with ID sharks in?
Or if they go somewere else and buy the same kind of fish and the fish end up in the same cruel situation?
They can even come back on a different day to by the fish when you're not working to refuse them. Unless you stick a picture of their face on the counter saying "Don't serve this person" :lol:


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## guppycat (Jan 21, 2005)

Speaking of walmart! I never had very good luck with their fish. so I go directly to a pet store to buy fish, and if possible buy the fish on the day they get shippment. and have them sell the fish to you right out of the bag, that way it doesnt even enter thier tank.Ive done this and my fish came home healthy and still going strong.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

you should always wait, I never come on fish days because a lot of fish die off the first couple of days... I always wait til a four days or so after the shipment comes.


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## Sly Guy (Feb 15, 2005)

I was not acting like a know it all just an informed associate if you are just now taking the fish CBL which i took a year ago then apparantly you have not worked their or at least in fish section very long. And as far as the supplier I said midwest and i personally dealt with the fish vendor daily. The VENDOR not me told me that the supplier he works for deals soly with walmart. You yourself said how bad the tanks were and how overly medicated they are that is not healthy. My lfs are nothing like that. and if a customer came in while they were as dirty as you say they were he would never come back. You were telling me that i am a know it all becuse i informed people of how bad the tanks can be and the angers you then u turn around and make a post about how bad the tanks were and how many dead fish. Can you really tell me that they still have good fish walmart puts thier gurantee on fish because they are trying to put our lfs out of buisness our lfs care more about fish than walmart ever will. plus their fish die so often that people were complaining. 1 good employee isnt enough to save face for a company as big as walmart.


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## BlueAmbist (Feb 1, 2005)

Well if you really think about it we could reverse this and say this guy is completely new and has heard many people don't know fish and some girl tells him he has too many in his tank but he doesn't think so...Oh by the way to whom ever suggest this tank is sick and humans can get it...I'd suggest not doing that, they'll go home and "get sick" and you'll have a nice law suit!  There really are not that many really good money making fish stores out there, that is why we are running out of "Im sorry I can't sell you this fish" cause they need to make there money.


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## MegTheFish (Jan 19, 2005)

My lfs keeps their fish for a few days before selling them, because some always die later on due to the stress of shipping.


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## Vivid-Dawn (Jan 18, 2005)

I went to Wal-Mart today, and just went to look at fish stuff (I needed a breeder box anyway). They have the cutest dwarf gourami! I felt sorry for it, since it was in a _small[/i}...maybe 1/4 gallon...bowl. I was tempted to get it, but for one thing, I don't have enough money. For another, my tank would be over-crowded (just slightly, but still...) aaannd... last time I bought fish at WM, they were all sick! Looked perfectly fine, then I bring them home and 2 days later they have horrible Ick. Even with medicine, only my Molly and Pleco survived, and 5 neons and 4 guppies died.
So now, when I go get fish, it's at PetSmart or Petco. I also go about 4-5 days after they have deliveries, since it seems that all the research I've done says if fish get sick, it's obvious within 3-4 days. That way, I can go and see which tanks seem like they have healthy fish or not, even if there’s not as big a selection._


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## yu264616 (Jan 26, 2005)

Is there any way to put two ID sharks in a 35 gallon tank? It will have an 8 gallon canister filter on it so it would be like adding 8 more gallons...but they still wouldnt have the swimming room. I'm guessing the answer is no, but was curious if I could do it with just two of them... From what I have read, you dont need to have 5 or 6 of them together, but they should have a tank mate, correct?

Thanks all!


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

they get huge. 40" with the right size aquarium... (which IMO should be how big they get) in a smaller aquarium they don't grow more than 12" but this shortens thier life significantly


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## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

Sly Guy @ Sat Feb 26 said:


> I was not acting like a know it all just an informed associate if you are just now taking the fish CBL which i took a year ago then apparantly you have not worked their or at least in fish section very long. And as far as the supplier I said midwest and i personally dealt with the fish vendor daily. The VENDOR not me told me that the supplier he works for deals soly with walmart. You yourself said how bad the tanks were and how overly medicated they are that is not healthy. My lfs are nothing like that. and if a customer came in while they were as dirty as you say they were he would never come back. You were telling me that i am a know it all becuse i informed people of how bad the tanks can be and the angers you then u turn around and make a post about how bad the tanks were and how many dead fish. Can you really tell me that they still have good fish walmart puts thier gurantee on fish because they are trying to put our lfs out of buisness our lfs care more about fish than walmart ever will. plus their fish die so often that people were complaining. 1 good employee isnt enough to save face for a company as big as walmart.


Ive worked in pets for a year and walmart for 3 years... they never gave me a cbl about fish as there was none, that cbl I took was a "Customer Service" one where it had fish, fabric, and electronics... it was for ALL associates. Oh ya and where exactly did you work in WM? and location? You are still wrong about the vendor, I'll even ask if I have to but I know that they supply more than us! 

The tanks were dirty because unless you scrub the walls every day they get algae, the lights are on from 7am til 11 or 12pm. Also we only do once a week water changes... 
As I said I went down to part-time so no its not as good as it used to be.... but take a look at petco and pet stores, same thing there, its not always clean. Of course Walmart in general sucks and I have told you this, and also said i belong to WMsucks.com. All I am trying to get at is I TRY. 

And no I cant deny people, I can warn them but ultimately cannot and will not refuse a sale. people are persistant and what the hell can you do after youve warned them 3 times... although he did not buy anymore sharks or anything else for that tank. 

I went to Petco today and they remodeled... they have all new fish tanks and GUESS WHAT, they are the same tanks and systems as OURS! lol They only have 6 tanks per sump but the same concept. I got so p*ssed though cause they have fish labeled wrong... with aggressive, community ect.... 
They also got rid of most of their goldfish! Now theres only six tanks of GF! I think there was 12 last time. 

And no I wont be at Target or Sears... No more retail after this job. I'll be making real money.


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## Guest (Feb 27, 2005)

i recently went to walmart to look at how bad their fish section was. they completely over crowded the tank! there must have been 10 plecos, 3 angels, and a ton of other tetras and such all in one maybe 5 gallon tank! it made me so mad! :evil: :x  
i feel like protesting against walmart because of the poor way they keep their animals. it's sickening


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

yeah... in thier defense... usually these fish aren't there for long... but I still say its wrong...


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## wackamole (Feb 2, 2005)

hey belive me i agree with you a 110% here is what i posted on the atlanta board because of the incident i had with wally world here in georgia


Went there last night to pic up a few things(you know that here in georgia going to walmart at night is a natural thing lol) but to be serious i always go and look at thier fish and last night there were no pumps running so no air was circulating in the tanks there were literally 30 to 40 fish at the top of each tank gasping for air and if they were not gasping they were already dead(i counted 30 dead and rotting fish).I know walmarts not known for taking care of fish and dozens die each day there but when i confront them last night (i was very irait about it)thier excuse was oh "we're cleaning them." how does shutting off the air flow to them help clean them, from what i had seen the air had been off for at least 2 to 3 hours. and the people just blew me off so today i am writing a formal complaint to the store manager to complain about the mess they have there and if that doesnt do anything i will write to corprate walmart and if that doesnt do anything as much as i hate PETA ill sick them on them lol.And i know some people are wondering why im writing this "because walmart sells cheap fish "Ever since i got into the hobby i love fish and love watching them and hate to see them suffer for no reason and if walmart is going to sell fish then atleast take care of them.


so you see i really really want them do something but like someone wrote above unless we stop buying things from them thay will not do anything to improve the fish problem.


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## cjdirri (Feb 21, 2005)

For 7.50 a hour I would not even turn my brain on to tell people what they can and cannot buy. I have done a ton of computer work in wal-marts and the freaking sign in the back says it all "Take their money and they will come back". A fish is not worth losing your job over, I mean their are 10,000 more of those fish out their and sad to say none of them plan on paying your bills.

Plus I am sure 80% of bala sharks are not in the right size tank, so few people have the money to buy a 125 gl tank yet every pet store in the world sells them so you do the math.

If we all really cared about our fish so much we would jump on planes and fly the things back to the wild and let them go.


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## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

cjdirri @ Wed Mar 02 said:


> For 7.50 a hour I would not even turn my brain on to tell people what they can and cannot buy. I have done a ton of computer work in wal-marts and the freaking sign in the back says it all "Take their money and they will come back". A fish is not worth losing your job over, I mean their are 10,000 more of those fish out their and sad to say none of them plan on paying your bills.
> 
> Plus I am sure 80% of bala sharks are not in the right size tank, so few people have the money to buy a 125 gl tank yet every pet store in the world sells them so you do the math.
> 
> If we all really cared about our fish so much we would jump on planes and fly the things back to the wild and let them go.


Good Point! Half the time I dont feel like turning on my brain for 7.50... Funny thing is the local Pet store wants me to work for em but they only are offering $5.15... Oh well its a job to get spending money... only needs to last through college... :roll:


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