survey: finding a fish store

> Offer to do in-home service to your client-base. The higher tax bracket
> customers will want this.

i did forget bout that

> Unmarked tanks - all fish/livestock prices should be on the glass. The customer
> AND the employee know for a fact what it costs and no wasted time waiting for
> that obvious answer.

forgot bout that too

I think I would rather have the markings off the main viewing window, but clearly near the
tank and clearly up to date, any one who grabs a fish at least puts a line thru the item
removed. closing dutys can include removal of crossed out items.

> > 5- on a scale of 1-10 rate your knowledge/involvement in the hobby
>
> I'd have to say 8, and was surprised by some of the others that answered with
> lower numbers. They are being too humble. I've been in the hobby for over 5
> years now, and very active online learning more on a regular basis.

really you think my lower number was humble

actually i donno where I fit on a scale of 1-10

what are the qualifications for a 1?
to be a 1 do you have to have at least started to setup your first tank?

how about a 5 ?

and a 10?
to be a 10 do you have to at least have a phd in marine bio or some other related field
??

I figure i have to be at least a tad higher than average




--
Richard Reynolds

Well, I'd have to give Boomer the 10. Jimmy hasn't been posting enough for me to figure out
his number, but I do know to respect his posts.

I'd like to say 9 for myself, but there is a lot of equipment and alternative ways of setting
up a tank that I've not had any personal experience with. Overall knowledge though of many
topics bumped me up above average.

Marc


Richard Reynolds wrote:

> and a 10?
> to be a 10 do you have to at least have a phd in marine bio or some other related field

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

1. The definition of a good gallery for an artist is a clean well-lit
space. I think it's the same for a fish store.

There are two fish stores in my town, not counting Petco because they
don't count. One is freshwater fish only, named Jungle Creek, and the
other, named Wild Side, also has critters, locally generated pups and
kittens (uncaged), as well as fresh and some saltwater fish, and very
occasional corals. I like both names and I frequent both shops.

The owner and only worker at the tiny freshwater fish store knows
everything, loves all his fish, and refuses to sell you anything he
deems inappropriate for your set-up. He is 110% reliable. No saltwater
because he strenously disapproves of messing up reefs. The two owners
of the pet shop each know a fair amount about half the shop (not the
same half). They carry some well-selling crap, such as dye-injected
fish, and they are quite willing to sell a cute little Oscar to an
unknowing customer. But they are truthful and reliable when asked
anything, they will order whatever I want and, on expensive stuff, they
will meet the catalogue price half way or better. One of them is an
assistant to the persons in charge of the smallish (500 gallon) but
impressive university marine reef tank. He'll even come over to help me
if I'm switching tanks and need a third pair of arms.

One nice feature both shops have is a collection of recent How-To and
What-Is books, so you can check it out yourself or they will happily do
so. It is too much to ask that hired part time help know more than all
their customers, but they can certainly be expected to point to the
right page.

So, bottom line, for me the most important features of a good shop are:
#1. reliable advice or at least an honest I don't know.
#2. a clean, well-lit place.
#3. adequate supplies of anything that is needed every day or weekly,
and willingness to get other supplies quickly.

Ruth Kazez

oh yeah, a cute name. Sure, why not. How about the name of your
favorite beach?

> #3. adequate supplies of anything that is needed every day or weekly,
> and willingness to get other supplies quickly.

to add with that, I should be able to walk into a store any day of the week and buy 1 or 2
buckets of IO, but if I need say 10, then I can handle a wait, but it should be a wait for
some dude to drive to some storage area and back, and definately not a days wait or more.

driving from store to store to purchase buckets of IO because I need it now is past lame.

--
Richard Reynolds

"The Rick" <> wrote in message
news:Pbmhb.8164$ ink.net...
> I am involved in a venture to open a fish store in the atlanta area and I
> would like to hear as many people's thoughts on the following as possible:
>
> 1- What are the most important factors that cause you to shop where you do
> (fish related)?
>


In order..

Health, Price, Selection


> 2- In the ideal fish store, what type of things would you like to see? Be
> that specific product, livestock, service, environment, or whatever.
>

For a Product Line, I have really loved the Formosa brand. I have a light
fixture and a pump of theirs. They look really sharp and work great. A
little pricey but so far, its worth it.

Livestock wouldnt be all that important if they were openly willing to order
stuff in.


Service...
Again, as others have said, Knowledgeable staff is not at the top of my list
as their verbage is suspect because they "need" to sell stuff. Courtesy is
very important to me. If a guy knows what he's talking about but he's a
real butt head or even slightly concieted, it is a HUGE turn off. I'd
rather deal with the person who is clueless but friendly and polite.


Environment should be CLEAN, well lit, and fairly spacious. (as others have
said it sux to walk down an isle and have to squeeze passed another
customer)


> 3- What is something you do NOT like to see or that bothers you about your
> local fish store? (other than dead fish)
>

Rude staff.
Temperature (my LFS is always warm. They claim its because of all the water
that they have and its impossible to keep it cool.)
High Prices. (I swear, the closest LFS to me is SO high, I get a contact
buzz when I walk in there)

> 4- This is a complicated question, but regarding a name for a store we are
> trying to determine if a serious hobbiest will only stop in a store if it
> has a name like "the Reef Aquarium" that tells them it is a high end
store,
> or whether they will be going by reputation anyway and the name will not
> matter, or if serious hobbiests are stopping in ALL new stores they come
> across. On the flip side, would a name like "the Fish Bowl" turn you away
> and make you assume it was low end?
>

I would definately assume "The Fish Bowl" was low end but it would not stop
me from checking it out... ONCE.

> Just so I can get an idea of who is answering, could you also give the
> following?
>
> 5- on a scale of 1-10 rate your knowledge/involvement in the hobby.

I'm new to SW so only a 3 but for Freshwater/Cichlids 8

> 6- your age, and sex

28/M


> 7- do you live in a city, suburb, small town...?
>

City


> I really appreciate your input!
> Rick
>
>

"Richard Reynolds" <> wrote in message
> this could be done many ways, for a store wide quarantine you would have
to have at least
> 8(totally minimal) Q setups they could even be 1 long tank with dividers
to keep predators
> from eating other fish. when new fish come in, you would have to Q them
that day, and pull
> from Q stock to stock the display tanks. your stocking would have a lag as
new fish would
> come in a month before anyone saw them. optionally you could offer these
fish at a more
> normal or reduced price sitting in Q tanks setup for display, then in the
4-6 week Q time
> move them into display tanks and jack up the price to reflect a good
quarantine, offer
> your guarantee only on fish that have gone thru your quarantine process.

I have had this same idea since the first fish of this hobby I brought home
died in two days.

there is a lfs here that will special order you a fish and keep it QT'd for
2 weeks, longer if HE thinks its necessary and if it dies in that time, he
replaces it FREE. his prices are not any higher then if you bought from one
of his display tanks. you can get it cheaper if you pick it up when its
delivered prior to him having to acclimate it to his tanks.

when he gets new fish in for his "for sale" tanks they are kept for 2 weeks
befor he allows them to be sold. he also keeps a log on all fish with what
they ate and how much. when you buy a fish you can look at the log.

and amazingly enough, he has the lowest prices on fish of all the lfs. he
makes his money with corals.

he's been keeping me a clown trigger for about 2 months while i get my tanks
swaped around, its a 3" fish and its only $50. cant complain about that at
all.

kc

ok seriously now, just trying to see where I fit in
> Well, I'd have to give Boomer the 10.
agreed

> I'd like to say 9 for myself, but there is a lot of equipment and alternative ways of
setting
> up a tank that I've not had any personal experience with. Overall knowledge though of
many
> topics bumped me up above average.

a 9 wow kewl

I wasnt comparing myself to other posters here, but to here and RC and any other place I
see reef keepers.

Id like to think I have tried many of those alternative ways

there are a lot of things i just dont get so clearly I am not a 10!!!
and at least I think my participation on this group clearly keeps me above 5


--
Richard Reynolds

> Well, I'd have to give Boomer the 10. Jimmy hasn't been posting enough
for me to figure out
> his number, but I do know to respect his posts.

LOL, I wont even give myself a 10 (perfect), nor any one else for that
matter, even experts. My reason being is there are so many different working
methods out there and you can find all of the authors' advices will have
some sort of conflict with at least one given setup.

As for myself, I am better then 6.5 (avg) but hardly close to an 8, I
consider myself just a tad above avg. ;p

jc

"Marc Levenson" <> blurped in message
news:...

>Well, I'd have to give Boomer the 10.


I would guess he is very smart too and probably 10, but I have never seen a
link to any of his tanks. Got links?