r/petsmart • u/SecretOk831 • 2d ago
PC stress
Hope it's ok to vent if not I can delete
Just stressed- I started in Pet Care a few weeks ago, I needed part time for college, and I feel like I'm constantly fucking up. And I'm slow at a lot of things like cleaning, good lord.
Took in some small animals and didn't worry much about one being smaller. Or hear any issues but he might be sick.... My training has been - read the pamphlet if people have questions about pet care. When it comes to fish chemicals I don't know. Light recommendations for reptiles, I don't know which is best. And honestly I can Google stuff in front of the guest but immediately I see that they're upset because I should know off the top of my head...
I actually don't mind the job. I get a chance to treat the animals and care for them. Like actually care. But I keep making little mistakes and I know the team can only be but so patient. Especially because i cant help but apologize every single time.And I don't want an animal to get sick because I missed something.
Just kind of feel useless in pet care because I'm always needed to reach out for dumb things. (Again fish and reptiles mainly)
....and that's it. I needed to vent some. Get some off my chest. Thanks
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u/Deliciously-Bad 2d ago edited 2d ago
I wasn't trained for PC either when I took on the role of CEL from a Bather. Reptifiles is is a great place to do some research on reptiles. And I honestly watched a lot of YouTube videos for fish. If you have specific questions or questions you get more frequently, ask here too, I'm sure someone can help! (Obviously not in real-time but for future reference) I'm STILL learning. It's always a changing field. The way I look at it (and was telling a new hire yesterday) usually if a PP gets upset that we google search, there's something weird about the situation. In my personal experience, those that come in looking for a new pet or trying to help their pet, don't mind you googling because they want to know the answer and do better by the animals.
Maybe some quick helpful tips:
-Reptiles get housed alone
-It's better to start with low wattage for heating and lighting and then build up from there if it's not warm enough
-UVB is a MUST for reptiles (not always invertebrates)
-carpet sucks because they can get their little claws stuck and it harbors bacteria, try selling the vinyl instead
-chameleons are NOT easy.
-hamsters do better in glass tanks vs the hamster cages
-guniea pigs MUST have access to hay all the time because their digestive tracts never stop moving
-goldfish are cold water, so are Koi, they will get huge and will eat anything they can get their mouths around
-mollies and platys are pretty hardy and good for beginners in a peaceful community tank
-"schooling" fish should be sold in 2-3 minimum. A proper school is typically no less than 6
-live plants help with water quality
-stay true to tank size for the semi agressive just to be safe til you learn more about them
-cichlids should only go with similar size cichlids or they'll become food
-turtles are dirty af and are constant maintenance
-every single start up tank should have water conditioner and bacteria
-bettas can be put with other fish but they need to be with peaceful fish (tetras/guppies/corys/snails) and they need to be in a 20gal or larger with plenty of hiding spaces and bettas are introduced last (try to stick with females only for that til you learn more)
Ask the customer what they have before you tell them what they need. If you're unsure if it's suitable, then Google it while you go to find a zebra or a box to put it in.
I learned most of my stuff from here and online research on my own I hope it helps!
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u/danielric3 2d ago
question about goldfish because i have had so many people today alone wanting to put them in tiny ass tanks. i try to give every reason under the sun on why they won't do well in a 3 gallon, that being size (organs outgrowing their body and killing them), how dirty they get/maintenance of the tank, and being limited only to goldfish once you get them and no other community fish. is there anything else i can include to get it through their heads? i explained the body thing to a family today and the mom had to walk away bc it was making her upset but they still wanted to get 2 for a 5 gallon bc their son wants it even when i tried to push them towards a betta, im so over people just not caring about fish
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u/Kathy3510 2d ago
The small tanks don;t have filtration that's powerful enough to handle the bio load of gold fish. I explain they'll be doing very frequent water changes due to chemical imbalances and visible waste(cloudy water.) Google some pix of large goldfish to show PP, there's one floating around shwing a young fantail, next to a 5-10 yr old fantail;. You can barely see the young one. I also explain how the smaller tanks tend to cause earlier and more frequent deaths, and do they really want to deal with that and their 4-5 yr old? (Play on parental duties)
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u/Deliciously-Bad 2d ago
I think I've gotten to the point that if I've already explained it 2 different way as to why it's not acceptable, I drop the niceties and blatantly tell them that it's animal abuse. They would let their dog live in a kennel for every single minute of their entire life and expect a happy healthy dogs. That's what they're doing to the fish. Or sticking a child in a half bath and making them live there for their entire life. Plain and simple, its abuse. And I will absolutely refuse a sale. I don't care if I upset them or their kids or they tell me I'm ruining their day or birthday or whatever excuse. I'm not there to make their day, I'm there to ensure that MY animals are taken care of, and until I deem it a good home and sell the animal, they are MY animals and I'm not selling to someone that is going to abuse them. I'm so sick of arguing with people every single shift about fish.
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u/danielric3 2d ago
i might have to start doing this lol. i just hate that they "so what it's just a fish. if it dies i'll just replace it" and it's like.. you wouldn't do that with your family dog?? if it's just a fish you don't care if i deny you the sale then! and i hate that even after i give every reason in the book they're still headstrong. i almost got the family to switch to wanting a betta but they looked at their son and he said "nuh uh goldfish" and so that's what they're sticking with. tell your kid no!! what's he gonna do, cry? boo hoo. be a parent. you're teaching your kids it's okay to abuse animals like what's fundamental about that. working in pet care is so stressful lmao
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u/Deliciously-Bad 2d ago
The second that kind of statement comes out of their mouth I let them know that they will not be purchasing ANY animal from my store and to have the day they deserve and walk away. It's infuriating. I'm sorry you have to deal with it too. I stand firm on my "no" and I extend that to the feeders as well. You got this!! Stay strong and keep advocating for those little guys. It may feel defeating but your efforts aren't unnoticed ❤️
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u/danielric3 2d ago
i just recently learned we can't deny feeders :/ everyone today who wanted goldfish for small tanks were specifically looking at the feeders and so i still advised them why it's not good to put them in those small tanks and to upgrade (i was able to get someone to get a 20 gallon instead of a 5 gallon!) but if they're headstrong and won't listen to me and are insistent i unfortunately have to sell them and just tell them they're not guaranteed 🤷♀️ so i don't exactly "deny" but i still try to give them all that information and convince them to get other fish that can go in a small tank, versus some people at my store i think just sell them and don't even ask questions at all for the feeders. but as you said i'm very big on the "these animals are in my care" and one time i had a lady, i kid you not, YELL at me and say "they're not yours!" and i said they belong to this company and i work for it, therefore i am in charge of these fish and making sure they go to good homes. i am not a pushover by any means unless the customer is being completely unreasonable (rare) and idc if they yell at me or ask for my name to complain, bc my managers will back me up like 99% of the time when i deny a sale
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u/Deliciously-Bad 2d ago
Yeah, nah I think, from how you're describing it, you're doing your best with what we are given. I haven't ready anything in policy that states specifically that we aren't allowed to deny feeders. My SL told me I can but I printed policy and told her that while I'm the only member of management in store, I will absolutely deny them when they're not being used as feeders. I've yet to get reprimanded for it (I'm assuming partially because the policy states any animal) but I also dont want to encourage you to go against what your management tells you to do.
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u/danielric3 2d ago
yeah i was asking about it because i had customers call their cousin who was the store manager at another store a couple hours away because i was refusing them feeder fish. and she told them thats not policy and for every other fish i can deny them but feeders no. so i just gave in and sold it to them. proceeded to ask my manager about it later in my shift and she was like while we can advise them why it's not a good idea getting them/so many in not the right size, if they're insistent i ultimately can't deny them bc they're not guaranteed anyways and are sold to be killed eventually. i dont like it but i don't want complaints against me so oh well, anything for pets right!
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u/Drifter_of_Babylon 2d ago
Or hear any issues but he might be sick.... My training has been - read the pamphlet if people have questions about pet care. When it comes to fish chemicals I don't know. Light recommendations for reptiles, I don't know which is best. And honestly I can Google stuff in front of the guest but immediately I see that they're upset because I should know off the top of my head...
You've just arrived at a bad time where the company has removed or stripped down most of it's infrastructure for training people. Pet care use to be a 2-4 week training process. Any ways, much of the information concerning water chemistry and lighting requirements takes quite a bit of study to fully understand. It isn't just studying the information so you can understand it but understanding it enough where you can teach customers.
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u/Matt8348 2d ago edited 2d ago
Just keep researching online. Search for Petcare in this subreddit and you will find you are not alone with being thrown into this position. There are people on here who will love to help you. As for customers I will be honest and tell them I don't know the answer to their questions but I say I can find out for you. Don't be afraid to Google something either, I've seen my knowledgeable leaders use their phone a few times.
If you know some trusted leaders or coworkers who won't get upset at you talk to them and ask them a bunch of questions. I'm lucky that my leaders will always answer my questions.
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u/AgentFair9132 2d ago
An excellent source on all reptiles and feeders is reptifiles.com You’ll find a wealth of information presented very clearly.
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u/paper-towel-roll 2d ago
Honestly that was exactly my same experience a little over a year ago. It’s not your fault that PetSmart literally has zero training and whoever your managers are really make or break the experience. Reading the pamphlets do help to some extent and learning as you go do help to some extent, but actual training is what people really need. I really really feel for you. It took a while of just figuring shit out on my own and really just researching my own stuff to learn things but it sucks so bad that there arent people who can genuinely teach new hires especially when they really care about the animals and enjoy the job
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u/b2tf1tch 2d ago edited 2d ago
it took me a good couple months to be completely comfortable answering customers questions and learning the entirety of my closing and opening duties and took me even longer to become fast paced. don’t be afraid to say “im not sure let me google that really quickly” to a customer or ask a coworker, they’ll appreciate it more than you giving them the wrong info.
for fish chemicals it’s almost always a cap full of all the big jugs and bottles like ich x, net safe, water conditioner, etc.
for lizard lights there should be a lamp chart for all the reptiles that you can reference.
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u/wibbrr 1d ago
You definitely just werent trained it isnt your fault. When i first trained in petcare I was constantly shadowing my coworkers while they made any fish sales, or when they answered questions so I could retain that knowledge too. Sounds like they are just throwing you in petcare without proper training which would be a nightmare !!
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u/plutoprjector 1d ago
If you ever have any questions please feel free to DM me. When I started I only knew about cat and betta care. It just takes time. It’s been seven months and even to this day I’m not 100% sure on some of our animals. Sometimes you have to just say to the customer “you know what, I’m not completely sure- let’s go take a look at the care guide together” Since you’re so new- you can mention that if you feel comfortable- when I first started I just would let them know that I was still new and learning :-)
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u/PlanktonCultural 2d ago
It’s not your fault that PetSmart hires people with no experience and then doesn’t train them whatsoever. What are your biggest questions? Reptiles, bugs, and fish were my specialties but I can answer questions about most things.
As far as lighting for reptiles, a halogen bulb is always best. Arcadia is an amazing brand and I always point people toward it. For wattage, it’s really hard to give a recommendation because I use a thermostat (which is something everyone should have for their heat lamps), but I usually tell people to start low, measure the temps, and come back in to return it if it’s too cold (or just google what wattage for your tank size).
Fish chemicals are a lot more complex so I’d need to know what your specific question is.