Against PETCO, and any other negligent pet store/chains?!?!?

[dolphinsilversea01]

Oh boy. Okay, I have alot to say and it may come out all jumbled and I may repeat things here and their, sorry in advance for it.
I work for Petco and have worked for them about years, they are definately not doing their best, but they are making changes. They have a long way to go, but because of mainly us, the people here change has begun and will continue. I am sorry I start out seeming like I am sticking up for Petco, but as most of (or at least some) you know I am right their with you on Petco making those changes and personally got them to change things in the store I work at. I understand exactly why and how you can get so upset, but I also get really sad when I read these things about a place that I work for, a place where I feel all the employees really care about the animals and do put them first. We may not know the answers to all the animals care (I know more about reptiles than fish), but we do our best to find out the answers and get those answers to customers. I have even gotten phone numbers and called customers at home to give them the proper information they need and deserve. What I am trying to point out here is that not all Petco's are horrible, and with that not all the employees are ignorant and some really do want the best for the animals. When a customer comes in looking at any of the reptiles, especially the beardies, I tell them they will not walk out without spending at least about $200 to be sure they are giving it proper care, and this usually doesn't include the animal. I mean if we are all about making the money then telling them the proper stuff for care would essentially make us more money.
lamofbodom, your girlfriend and you are correct to a point. Being directly involved with the issue, I can tell you that it is not each stores "choice". They were told and given permission to change the sand, for it clearly states on the back of an in-store-use bag that it is "NOT to be used for juvenille reptiles. Can and will cause impaction." Next time you take a trip to your local Petco's ask for the GM and point this out to them. Ask them to get the bag of in-store-use sand and read the back, also inform them that they can change it to carpet and will be eventually made to so they might as well now!!!
There is no excuse for the enclosure to have ten babies in it. Yes, they do give out these planograms, and yes we do have to follow them the best that we can, but if you know without a doubt that something in (or something not in) the habitat is harful to the animal - do something about it!! I did!! Exactly what was earlier stated: what are they going to do fire you because you did the right thing for the animal? I highly doubt it, and if they do I am sure you will have some type of legal case to burry them!
I have been making changes in my store, I am just a measly associate and am not any type of manager. I have proof that since making these changes, since educating myself and my fellow associates - this makes customers much much happier. So a customer may not buy something at the moment they find out how much it will cost them, or how much care it will take, but your being honest with them with give them confidence in you and your store and they will return for what they wanted originally or for something else.
The main part of it does start with corporate! Alot of the store managers and associates are affraid to do things because of corporate. It needs to start their and then it needs to be a sure thing that the word gets out from their. Alot of the stores probably don't know about the change to carpet - it is fairly new, maybe two weeks, but it would happen sooner if word of mouth was faster.
I have said it before, I will say it here, and it is so so true... communicate, talk, educate, keep trying and DON'T STOP!!!!
Okay, I may add later but that is all for now. Thank you for posting this and going for a change - remember though some of us DO CARE!!

 

[lamofbodom]

I completely honor you and respect you....and i am in no way blaming the employees. I absolutely agree with everything you say, and i don't want anyone here for one second think that i'm saying anything bad about the employees. I think the selection process for employees should be alot more strict and more well thought out, not just someone who has expierence with doing retail, or some 18 year old kids. It really should be people who care very much about animals and the well being of animals....or atleast provide training, knowledge, and proper management to make sure everything is by the books. It's not the employees responsibility to go out of their way and rresearch things....it should all be handed to them. It should already be known to them. What you did was great, but absolutely the opposite of what SHOULD happen. My point is that when you entered petco, you should have not have to do anything but listen, read, and follow procedure. I commend you for doing what you did, bc that does in fact show that some employees do care. Put it this way, my one trip to petco a while back to get a anole....the employee asked me if i wanted to grab it, bc they "didn't like handling lizards"....ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME?

I think it means alot when the employees go to corporate....probably such a huge impact that it may happen faster than customers complaining. What matters at this point is getting the knowledge out. I understand that you don't want all emloyees to be blamed for what's going on and again, under no circumstances am i blaimg them. Even though i think that employees should voice up alot more, it's corporates responsibility to make sure that conditions shouldn't be how they are. Let's be honest, employees and customers shouldn't be telling corporate how to run their business, none the less an animal store chain to be told to have ethical treatment of animals. And if corporate had things the way it should be, in my opinion, it should have everything the way it's supposed to be and any EMPLOYEE that practices bad treatment be terminated. Realistically, that's how it's supposed to be.

To close this....thank you for responding and thank you for making a difference. Spread the word. Check the petcos in your area, talk to their managers, employees....inquire about being a manager...maybe one day a district manager? I dont know if it's your career of choice, but knowing that someone cares enough about animals, and just a regular employee, in my opinion you deserve management more than anyone. Again thank you.

 

[dolphinsilversea01]

Your welcome, and thank you lamofbodom.
I don't know, maybe your girlfriend can kind of better explain it. It is so hard because I hate seeing mistreatment myself, I hate seeing conditions that need to be better NOW. I have personally seen so many beardies and leopards go through our store with sand cemented to their body. I mean isn't that proof right their? If it does that to the outside, what the heck they think its doin on the inside? But at least that is changing. Correction, is/has changed and stores need to mke the change. I hate all the improper care and knowledge, but I love my job - I mean I would have to to stay their 4 years, right? :shock:
You all would absolutely crap a brick if you saw the mom and pa stores around here. One I haven't even walked to in years because it just makes me cry. The other is just reptiles and fish. I stopped by their the other day, the owners are very very knowledgable but have the beardies on walnut, the whole place stunk so horrible and poo was pilling up in tanks. It's not as bad as the one I won't walk into, but to me worse then Petco.
LOL, I know first hand and totally wht you mean about employees afraid to touch the animals. The only thing I dont like touching now is the pythons and that is only because one struck at me and now I have like a weariness. We had this one kid - afraid to touch everything! Drove me nuts told me no when I told him to get crickets... ha! "bub, I said, listen here I don't know what you thought it would be like working at a Petstore, but you working with animals. If you have some type of phobia, fine we will work with that. If you are just being a pussy, grow some balls and grab some crickets - I don't have time for ignorance or stupidity." Oh boy grabbed up them crickets!! LOL!! And no the boy no longer works for Petco. I will ask people when they come in for an application, especially the real prissy chics. They will ask, I send them over buy the cricket buckets, they about have a heart attack, and I tell them that they would be waisting their time filling out an ap, that they won't want to work here. I always get a why or a weird look and then I explain what you HAVE to do - cleaning, grabbing, feeding, soemtimes giving meds, an endless list of thing you won't handle if you cant even look at a cricket!!!

But, n-e-ways.. I do appreciate what your doing!! People like you and vickson420, I mean you guys make me proud!! I have to admit I do get a bit scared sometimes about losing my job over some things, I mean I love my job and NEED my job, but the animals do need us to stand up - anyone who says a beardie is just a reptile who doesn't know and doesn't feel, well they just don't know beardies!!! My beardie has more of a personality than my parents dog! And the same is with many other animals. Let me know if you need any help with anything. I do what I can at this point, but maybe I can do something more =)

 

[cbudelier]

I don't think any of the pet stores in my area do much of a job with exotics....we have Petco, PetSmart, and 2 independent stores. I often see 5+ baby beardies or geckos in a small tank with sand, bark or peat moss as substrates. I was in for crickets the other day, and another customer was complaining fairly loudly to one of the employees that the dragons and geckos had visible mites in the tanks and should be cleaned immediately.
I've also had concerns about the 2 independent shops. One specializes in fish, but has some beardies and snakes. The last time I was there, a family was buying a baby beardie and all the supplies needed. When it came to what kind of food it should eat, the employee said that it was a complete wast of time and money to buy crickets....all they were was bulk. He was telling them that the best thing to feed dragons was pinkie mice......except that their smallest pinkies were about 2" long.......way to big for a baby. They were also the ones who told me that there was absolutely no difference between a ReptiSun 10.0 and a ReptiGlo 10.0......10 units of UVB are 10 units no matter who makes the bulb, they wouldn't make the bulb if it was dangerous, etc! I came really close to saying that guns, knives, cigarettes and alcohol can be dangerous but they are available for sale! :twisted:
Ah, well, all we get at these places any more is crickets. Its hard to screw up crickets!!!!

 

[Woodstock]

Ah, well, all we get at these places any more is crickets. Its hard to screw up crickets!!!!

I wish I could say this was true! I have a tough time finding the right size cricket for my baby at either PetCo or PetSmart. Their 'small' size cricket is generally more of a medium, and I always get a few larges in there that I have to pick out and set free cause they are bigger than my baby's head. Also, I'm not sure they are fed well, I usually have a handful of dead ones by the time I get home.

 

[boxers]

Let us not forget the san francisco incident....its hard to forget when it happens not even 10 minutes away from me...not to mention the hundreds of other stores that are brought to the light via internet forums. Changes need to be made.

What incident was that?

 

[CalBears]

Hey lamofbodom,

Not to be a jerk and single you out, but if you are going to write a letter and try to sound professional, please proof-read it and have someone check your grammar. A lot of people will not take you too seriously if you write like you are in the fifth grade.

With that said, I would not mind proof-reading and checking the grammar on the letters you send the PETCO corporate office. You are working hard to have them make these changes and the last thing you need is to be ignored because they think you are just some kid that does not know any better. The same goes for any poster on here. Make sure your letter is well-written before you send it.

- CalBears

 

[tylerl19]

At my petco the leopard geckos are on sand and their bodies are the size of pencils....and I am not joking. the beardies are also on sand but 1/2 look dead and the other half are jumping around and healthy. i just dont like how they get them in so dehydrated and emaciated and try to sell them knowing they have a good chance of dieing...especially if the person buying it doesnt know how to care for it. and I hate the advice i hear them giving people..."SAND is a great substrate" then i stalk the people down and coax them into repti carpet instead and promise its better. it just makes me sad I dont know about any of you but i just read a post about how people say they "rescue" animals from petco just to say they rescued it because they liked it and were ashamed to say it was from petco but I really have rescued and i mean rescued 4 leopard geckos....and another one i found on the floor!!! dont even try to tell me pets come first. $$ does. so shove it!

whiewww sorry about that :shock:

 

[boxers]

I think the selection process for employees should be alot more strict and more well thought out, not just someone who has expierence with doing retail, or some 18 year old kids. It really should be people who care very much about animals and the well being of animals....or atleast provide training, knowledge, and proper management to make sure everything is by the books. It's not the employees responsibility to go out of their way and rresearch things....it should all be handed to them.

I just wanted to add that I am eighteen and have had various pets of different "degrees" of exotic, practically my whole life. Fish started when I was five, frogs at six, hamsters at seven, snakes at nine, cockroaches at ten, tarantulas at fourteen. I have worked at Petsmart for a year and have done loads of research to make sure the information I give our customers is right, whether or not my manager agrees with it.
My point being, that "some 18 year old kids" can have the same care for animals as any fifty year old can. Experience isn't all in work, plenty can be learned in your own home with your own pets.

Oh- and anyone saying that I must have had help with the frogs and things, I didn't really. My grandmother provided the food money, but the responsibility was all mine.

 

[lamofbodom]

No man, i again idk if you read the reply i had to someone a few days ago but im not blaming the workers and I'm saying that instead of taking 18 year olds who will accept minimum wage and not properly train them just to have them unknowingly give out false information is wrong. Im not blaming all 18 year olds, and i appreciate your response as well as your insight and knowledge to the proper care and treatment. But, corporate has to find people like yourself and not just "your average 18 year old kid"

Get what im saying now?

 

[opi]

I live in NYC and the Petco stores that I've visited all keep their reptiles in horrible conditions.

In my opinion I think that anyone that wants to see some real change should probably try to document some of the issues, with video/pictures. This forum can help to collect the info from different locations in the US - to show that there is a widespread problem. I'm willing to take pictures and post them here.

Then, once all the facts have been collected, the information should be sent to multiple media outlets with the story "pitch". If one of the media outlet picks up the story, this would become a PR nightmare for Petco, which it may force them to rethink some of their current pet care policies.

Petco has a pretty strong strategy that is very much focused on animal safety and wellbeing; hence their adoption and affiliation with shelter programs. So a PR blow like this would likely draw their attention.

 

[boxers]

Get what im saying now?

Yes.