Petsmart--I usually like my petsmart but not yesterday!

[boxers]

I feel you, Crimson.
I'm in CA and I've worked at a Petsmart for a year and three months. I've learned a lot since starting (NOT from the store itself, but from doing my own research.) and now know all the various places in which we are lacking in proper care. My Pet Care manager, though, says that all these things are okay because "it's only temporary." It doesn't matter that we are giving potential-new-owners an awful example, or that that 'temporary' beardie may not get sold, and has to sit in the terrible cage for months. She doesn't know when each animal will be sold, thus she cannot make assumptions like that.
I'm quitting as soon as I find another job. By this point I don't even care if it is a pet store job, it really seems as though we don't have any good ones around anyway...

 

[Embee]

Em
We enjoy Ocean City , NJ. We might try Bethany beach one day but my kids (10 and almost 7) are ingrained(sp?) in their ways and love Ocean City NJ. I have family in Western PA as well We live in Eastern PA though. It has been nice getting to know you even if online.

I've only been to Ocean City, ML, and it was VERY nice. The beaches on the East coast are so amazing, white sand, and warm. Looking at the rain outside, it sounds just perfect about now! Indeed, nice getting to know you as well. :mrgreen:

My son and I went to PetSmart again last night, and there was the little tiny dearie, still in his tiny little cage, and with very LARGE chunks of veggies in his dish... and no crx to be found. *sigh* Can't stop thinking about that little dragon!

I feel you, Crimson.
I'm in CA and I've worked at a Petsmart for a year and three months. I've learned a lot since starting (NOT from the store itself, but from doing my own research.) and now know all the various places in which we are lacking in proper care. My Pet Care manager, though, says that all these things are okay because "it's only temporary." It doesn't matter that we are giving potential-new-owners an awful example, or that that 'temporary' beardie may not get sold, and has to sit in the terrible cage for months. She doesn't know when each animal will be sold, thus she cannot make assumptions like that.
I'm quitting as soon as I find another job. By this point I don't even care if it is a pet store job, it really seems as though we don't have any good ones around anyway...

And: to top off my frequent complaints, upon my departure I will leave a detailed list of mishaps and improper care for Store Manager and District Complaint People/PETA/SPCA alike. My managers will regret not listening to me. :evil:

*sigh* Thanks for sharing this boxers. It must be hard to have taken the time and care to educate yourself, assuming a pet store might want to present an example based on what the pets needs, alas, at the end of the day, it's not unlike many other businesses where the bottom line remains the same... money. *sigh* Best of luck in finding a job where your caring and knowledge will be welcomed.

The best,
Em

 

[GunmanInc]

I agree with most the posters here. I actually got my beardie at Petsmarts. He was young and hadn't been there that long luckily. They had mine and two other beardeds in a small tank. One of the dragons was older than the rest (id say 7 months maybe) and he hadn't really gotten bigger. I bought one and felt so bad for the other young one that I debated getting him as well. Esp since some parent came in with their kid (who had to be like 4 years old) and the parent talked about getting the kid a lizard. I thought to myself there is no way! Came back a few times with in 2 weeks and they sold the other two beardeds.

The Petsmart there though was NOT feeding the younglings any crickets. They just threw some greens in a tiny dish and walked away. I saw the guy do it one day. Wanted to smack him and yell "they don't want salad when they are that young"! Just glad I got to mine when I did. The next day after I got him he ate a ton of crickets. Must have been really hungry.

 

[DistDrag]

Just wanted to add a pet store experience I had last evening. I was out of calcium so I stopped at an Atlas Pet Supply to pic some up. As usual I had to check out what they had for reptiles and what I found was not good. They had two hatchling (3-4 inche) bearded dragons. These guys were tiny. :shock: To make matters worse they were housed on some sort of calium sand. Then I noticed the vegitables they had for them to eat. :evil: Can you imagine a tiny hatchiling eating a whole kernal of corn and big chunky stalks of vegitables? I asked to talk to the manger but there wasn't one around and the people working there were oblivious.

All that was unbelievable enough but then add to it that they wanted $100 for a tiny poorly cared for dragon.

I can't stand these kinds of stores.

 

[Elora]

there should be a rule that we are not allowed to talk about petsmart lol over and over again posts about petsmart and everyone gets all crazy!

 

[Embee]

there should be a rule that we are not allowed to talk about petsmart lol over and over again posts about petsmart and everyone gets all crazy!

Indeed, Elora... I'm going to start ordering all my bugs online now, because I think I might need to avoid Pet Stores altogether. *sigh*

 

[Elora]

yeah! its so much cheaper!

 

[Crimson]

I only buy from reptile shows and I make that known to all the other petsmart employees I work with. If you keep buying from a pet store they will just keep ordering more and putting them in terrible conditions, but I'm sure you all know that. It may make you feel better to save one but you are potentially hurting so many more and that's money you could have used on a breeder/seller that does a good job and deserves the income

 

[boxers]

Bravo, Crimson.
I tried to "save" one from my store, and she ended up dying. I explained to my manager about the vets said she had had an issue with coccidia, and she basically said "Well you're the only person who has said that, so you must by the only person it has happened to, therefore it's not an issue with the vendor or our care, so sucks for you, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing."

I almost quit last night over an incident with a hamster. He was being given neosporin when it was obvious he needed more than that. Supposedly he had been seen by the vet, but I took him over and he wasn't in their system. I got some proper medication, Ivermectin.
I went and told a manager, thinking the person who messed up would be in big time trouble, and she basically told me to cover their mistakes.
The vet said that with small animals, illness can progress really quickly, "sometimes within a couple days". I asked if he thought the hamster wouldn't be in such lousy shape if someone had brought him over when they said they did, and he said, "it's hard to say, but probably not."
So basically. Someone screwed up. A hamster might get put to sleep over it. And nobody cares. AT ALL.
I work tonight, but I'm going job-hunting tomorrow. Ugh.
(Sorry for the rant, I know it's not related to beardies, but it's just still really bothering me, and fits in with the whole topic..)

 

[Elora]

noo dont quit! if it wasnt for people like you at petstores they would be filled with people who dont care at all!

 

[Crimson]

I got to feed the hatchling BD some calcium coated crickets this morning since I wasn't working with anyone and I can do what I want he ate 20+ crickets I've never seen any reptile in the store eat sooo much so quickly.

Boxer, I can relate to your hamster story, our store is associated with a local vet that is the problem..she has a wait and see attitude that has cost a lot of lives...I swear she just wants her money and to get everyone out in 5 seconds she doesn't care about the animals. She wont even put them down, I watched a mouse with parasitic ear infection suffer for two months it was bleeding from the ears all the time and it was in enough pain to cause it to rub and itch the fur on its head clear off until it looked like a burn victim. The people at our store take the critters to the vet but whats the point you mine as well "play" vet yourself.

I'm sorry to hear your fellow employees are either so jaded by the petsmart system that they stopped caring or they are using the excuse that they do what "corporate" told them too. It's such an easy escape to blame the boss.

 

[boxers]

Elora, that's exactly what our store manager said last night :?
The hamster thing escalated crazily, basically ending in me crying profusely and badmouthing the way our animals are treated and how nobody cares, and the managers saying that I should stay and submit my concerns to corporate rather than abandon the animals that I think are getting sub-par care.

After all the time I spent with that miserable hamster the day before yesterday, getting medicine for it, feeling vaguely victorious and optimistic, yesterday morning the same person who said she took him but didn't, overdosed him by ten times on the ivermectin. "0.08" is NOT "0.8"! I talked to the vets and they said most likely he would have seizures and go blind and eventually die. I flipped out. Told her she is completely responsible for killing a hamster, clocked myself out, went outside and called for an immediate ride home. Then better thought it and went back in to talk to the managers.

Anyway, so I work again tomorrow, and depending upon how the hamster is, whether this girl [who makes CONSTANT mistakes] got any sort of reprimand, and whether they were serious about doing anything with my complaints, I may or may not still want to quit. I feel sort of obligated to stay now, since instead of firing me on the spot for dissing their running of the store, they listened and assured me my concerns "were not falling on deaf ears."

 

[boxers]

So, no. No one said anything to her.
But she was awarded Pet Care Employee of the Year.

I'm either transferring or leaving Petsmart entirely. I refuse to live in a world where overdosing animals and taking three hours to complete one simple task is rewarded. I'm making a big fuss with the managers (again.) tonight, no question. I've been told by my coworkers that they will back me up if questioned, that she is an awful worker and shouldn't be trusted with the lives and welfare of living things. How she has stayed in the company five years is a huge mystery.

All this work drama is starting to poorly effect my wellbeing. I'm waking up feeling as though I haven't slept, my digestion is all messed up, and my boyfriend tells me I am snapping a lot. I didn't even notice...
I totally cannot stay there. And it makes me feel guilty for the animals, like the beardie I give baths to or the leopard geckos I sneak waxworms to because they are rail-thin or the rats who I make sure get played with at least a little while I'm closing up in the Habitat.

Oh, and, I've been told the hamster "surprisingly looks like nothing ever happened". I'm shocked and amazed, and really hoping that he pulls through his WICKED OVERDOSE.

 

[Embee]

Oh Boxers!

I'm so sorry for all that's being going on for you, at work. It sounds VERY hard and for what it's worth, I would have been that "employee in tears, ranting about" as well. When I get my dander up, I get sooooo emotional. I feel for you.

My husband and I have been talking about the "pet store issue" quite a bit, just wondering what we could do to have any impact at all. He suggested that I write a letter, to someone high up, perhaps cc our local PetSmart store about not feeling good about patronizing the store any longer due to issues with the animal care/ethical sales, etc. And also for our particular store, the fact that the only UVB they carry are: compacts, coils and ReptiGlos (and not even the ReptiGlo 8 which is the only passable bulb among them). *sigh*
I can't imagine what one letter would do really, but I think we're going to go ahead and do it, just the same. I'm also going to post a letter/package to the local store that was at our reptile fair, who supplied us with inadequate and hazardous equipment... I plan to send back the Zilla Compact that made our beardie ill with the letter, along with information about where they can find more information about the dangers of these, and other bulbs. I also plan to tell them how I feel about calci-sand. :roll:

The best to you. I know it can't be an easy atmosphere in which to work. It's SO NICE to know however, that there are people who do care in these establishments, that there are those willing to stand up for the animals. I tell you, I pretty much can sense who these particular people are when I'm in the store, however sadly, they are among the FEW rather than the many. *sigh*

Hang in there, and please keep us posted.

Em

 

[GunmanInc]

Spot of bright news for my local Petsmart. They have had some of the same reptiles lock away for quite some time now. Went in there the other day and they are have a sign up saying they will no longer be selling reptiles due to "a lack of sales". That was probably the best news I have ever heard. I thought to myself well at least thats one less store that could kill animals for no reason other than they are to unconcerned to care about them