02.05.06 - 11:50 pm

hello mark, corporate and coast,
i am the aquatics specialist at my store, and have also grown tired of the constant complaints of customers on this board. ive dealt with it by being the best resource i can be to my customers and have developed many good relationships with hundreds of loyal customers. however, there are still issues that i think have taken corporate too long to adjust to or changes that have been made that benefit nothing except aesthetics or finances. these are my complaints (as i really only have indepth knowledge of my store, and just assumptions of the mechanics of other stores, the following may only apply to my district):

- get us more medication. a wider array of medicines will greatly aid our abilities to treat disease. this includes making sure we have plenty of copper, rid ich, etc. (which apparently we arent allowed to order anymore.)

- the bleaching of the crushed coral substrate has got to stop. aesthetics will only get you so far, the rest really depends on the health of the fish and the knowledge of your employees. not only is it robbing our systems of valuable bacteria, if not properly done bleach will leach into the system. bleach and saltwater things cannot coexist.

- on the anemone care sheet, under lifespan: one to two years if properly cared for; please change it to something like: theoretically infinite if properly cared for. or something a little more factual and appropriate.

- the protein skimmer used under our system really needs to be redesigned. to me it seems terribly inafficient compared to popular skimmer designs. in essence, our skimmer cup isnt capable of collecting skimmate and keeping it out of the system as efficiently as a skimmer that spills over into an actual cup like shape. its foaming ability is wonderful, its skimmate collection and removal is not ok.

- drop coast as a supplier unless they can reliably fill our orders and fill our orders with consistantly healthy fish. we have an OSU grad student continually taking samples of fish and informing us of the numerous parasites and pathogens present. especially with tangs and angels which almost always come in with transparent parasitic flatworms covering their bodies. the other saltwater businesses in my state all laugh when i tell them we use coast as our supplier, they just dont have a great reputation. a much better alternative would be to use ERI; when we have used them, their fish have been consistantly larger, healthy and more robust. they are worth the extra money.

- dont praise and acknowledge sales alone. also acknowledge employees who know their material and are able to pass this on to the customers. recognize and strive to work for healthier animals and more informed customers, instead of healthier sales.

- public image should be extremely important to you, especially after the san francisco problems. push for more captive bred fish, strive for net caught fish and scorn fish that are collected in less acceptable methods. repair the reputation damage caused by poor hiring choices and weak training programs. renovate your training in aquatics to be far more specialized as it really is the most technical of all the departments petco carries.

- dont take months to change policies. listen to employees who have hands on experience in what they do or extensive knowledge of the saltwater hobby, instead of RCACs who seem to act merely like puppets for corporate bosses and policy makers. listen and then implement the change.

- and finally, begin carrying advanced equipment for the saltwater hobby. we carry enough to get people started in the most basic of ways, but then abandon them once they start wanting corals, clams and anemones. better skimmers, better lights and other equipment like UV sterilizers, calcium reactors, overflow boxes and hang on refugiums will continue to keep us in the saltwater market beyond the customers merely wanting nemos in a ten gallon tank.

thank you.

- jordan
#203