Venting About Petco...

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Originally Posted by Crawly's Mom

As I said before, I understand this is a large company. I even know there are people who may be afraid to handle animals there or who do not know everything they should about caring for them. My issue is that as a manager of a petstore that you should be capable of managing your fear and at least being able to move an animal so a customer can see it.

Telling a customer to get up on a ladder and reach into a tank of snakes because you are too afraid to do it yourself is not okay. If for no other reason than the risk involved in that one action. If you go to Home Depot and try to climb one of their ladders to take down a product I guarantee you they will tell you to get down, in fact they have signs on those ladders that say do not climb. It is a liability to the company. My judgement is of that individual for not being capable enough to do her job without being a risk to the company and her customers.

If I or someone else who she had done the same to either fell from the ladder or was bitten then they or I would have a right to sue the company. That is an error on the managers part, I do not care who you are or how you view it, that is a flaw.

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Vent about the ladder all you want - if it makes you feel better about it.

Just don't go down that road...........you know the one that includes typecasting everyone who works at a Petco..........

Just because she works at Petco doesn't mean she has to like snakes enough to handle them? As a manager, her job is to make sure that the Petco staff underneath her do their job properly in taking care of the snakes. As a manager, it's her decision to allow you on the step-stool and take the risk of liability.

That's what managers do in retail.

And FWIW, comparing one store's policies to another is useless. And it's even more useless when the two stores belong to different companies.

I've seen a grown man, 6 foot 200 plus pounds put on a thick leather handling glove that went up to his elbow, just to get into the ball python tank.

I laughed so hard when I saw it.

I would like to say that anybody who stereotypes petco workers is wrong. My local petco has a few fantastic workers. There is a girl who, while she obviously doesn't have a clue about many of the animals, she takes the time to listen to my suggestions on how to care for them, and nearly every time I return, the problem is solved. Also, there is a young man who breeds tarantulas, cornsnakes, leos, and cresties. He also knows his stuff on nearly every hero, and definitely on all of the ones in the store. He helps me with lots of things, and also offers me great deals on some of his animals. In fact, he is selling 5 buck spiderlings if you live near Monterey ca, then go to pizzo productions on Facebook, and give him a call.

While I agree that most chain stores are bad, I just hope that they don't get stereotyped.

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Originally Posted by brobertson

He also knows his stuff on nearly every hero,

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edit herp

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Originally Posted by Kodieh

I've seen a grown man, 6 foot 200 plus pounds put on a thick leather handling glove that went up to his elbow, just to get into the ball python tank.

I laughed so hard when I saw it.

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omg - i think i would fall down laughing if i ever saw this...

does he don a bee suit to go into the cricket bin?

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Originally Posted by Kodieh

I've seen a grown man, 6 foot 200 plus pounds put on a thick leather handling glove that went up to his elbow, just to get into the ball python tank.

I laughed so hard when I saw it.

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Originally Posted by womsterr

omg - i think i would fall down laughing if i ever saw this...

does he don a bee suit to go into the cricket bin?

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Ya know guys, if it was you who was scared you may not be so quick to mock.

That's really not cool.

As previously mentioned, it is her job as a manager to manage, not to be comfortable around every animal in the store. She may not have had the best tone or perhaps wasn't as friendly as she could have been, but without having been there, I can't say whether or not it was deserved. Petco does not require that their employees be fearless around every animal...even employees that work directly with the animals. They require that employees can provide the minimum care. This isnt the fault of am employee that is just trying to pay the bills. They are retail employees that are being asked to do more work than they were just a year ago, with 60% of the staff. The turnover rate is huge... and large chain stores are left with staff that

1) is brand new and in training

2) has been with the company for so long because they are worried about paying bills and can't afford or can't find a job elsewhere, and are now bitter or exhausted (not saying it is an excuse to be rude, but know that it IS retail, and they are often not paid enough to give a damn about feelings...the ones who do show exceptional customer service should really be given an extra pat on the back)...

or 3) legitimately care about their job and the animals in their care... but are constantly faced with impossibly growing workloads that make exceptional animal care in a retail environment such as PETCO/petsmart nearly impossible.

Keep in mind too, that this manager might know more about ferrets than anybody in the state... they may be more passionate about scorpions than anybody on arachnoboards... working in a large chain store with several species makes it difficult for every single employee in every store to be an expert on every animal. The reptile dept alone at my local PETCO has 10 different species of snakes right now. Each with unique husbandry requirements. Now add in the amphibians, geckos, torts/turts, several species of rodents, ferrets, multiple species of parrots, finches, hundreds of species of fish...again all with different requirements... deep breath... and then add on that each employee must also be familiar with basic dog and cat nutrition, basic medical ailments, etc.... while I agree it would be preferred or ideal for the manager to be comfortable with handling the ball pythons.... I will be the last person to jump them for their discomfort.

I've been thinking about applying at Petco for a part time job, just to get me out of the house and to make some extra money. I have to say though, if I got hired there would not even be a snowball's chance in hell of me putting my hand anywhere near the tarantulas. :oops:

Some people are just as afraid of snakes as I am of spiders. It's weird to me, because I find snakes so beautiful/cute, but I guess there are people who think their pet spiders are beautiful and cute too. :P

I have never had a good experience at a petco either. The employee's do not have a clue about anything to do with any of the animals. That just shows that the company doesn't bother to train their employee's to be knowledgeable. So, the sad part is that along comes some customer who also doesn't know anything about said animals but buys one anyhow, going off of petco employee's info. Then said animal isn't cared for properly. That just isn't fair to the animal. I personally would never buy an animal from them, I stick with the breeders or local herp store.