pet store employee's these days

so i took a trip down to a pet shop to buy feeder mice and as usual i take a look to see what's new. man those store employee's now adays seem to not know how to care for snakes 1st there was the small normal with stuck shed from head to tail, then there was the medium spider that looked like it was dead to me because it's head was sideways eyes looked a little cloudy not like when they shed. i also saw no sign of it breathing. i told an employee and he didn't even seem to care. i also asked for a female rat and they tried selling me a male insisting it was female because its "cookie" was showing. makes me wonder why store owners would hire people that know nothing about animal care or even bother to do a little research. i know its not my business but as a snake owner it sucks seeing poorly taken care of animals and can't do a thing to help out.

Always horrible to see an animal that isn't getting cared for. It's especially bad when you see it in an environment where it should be getting the best of care. Animals at a pet store should be getting amazing care since they pay the bills. I can't imaging that a store owner would think an animal covered in stuck shed would have a chance of selling when compared to a happy healthy animal. *sigh*

no to mention that none of the snakes are sexed and the prices are high. they have a piebald thats been there since january and doesn't seem too ever get bigger. out of all the times i been to that store i never see the owner around.

its all about keeping the overhead down:mad::mad:

About 10 years ago I worked in a medium sized local pet store. I was a kennel cleaner, so I cleaned the dog poo, fed them, changed cat litter boxes, and maintained the small mammals. I didn't do any sales at all, I was basically an animal maintenance man. The reptile department was right next to the area I worked in, and all the reptile guys quickly became friends of mine because I would always help them with reptile cleaning, questions, etc.

After about 4 months of working there, they had an opening in the reptile department. The reptile manager decided he absolutely wanted me to work there (for good reason), and went directly to the owner to talk to him. He came back 10 minutes later and told me that the owner outright refused to allow me to switch, saying "I don't care how much he knows or how good he is. It's easier to hire someone to sell reptiles than it is to clean dog crap". At the end of my shift that day, I told him he could hire someone to do both, and never went back.

I've applied to various chain pet stores over the years, and had a few interviews where the manager interviewing me outright said they were extremely impressed by my knowledge on things. Yet, they've also refused to hire me.

It makes me wonder what it is that pet store owners/managers want in an employee.

Hey! I just recently got hired at a retail store and my job is to take care of the reptiles and other small animals. The one I work at takes really good care of their animals and they said if I see any problems to collect the animal and take it to the back to take care of it and let them know. These people really care about the animals they are selling because it's their reputation and it's an animal not a product, and this is a RETAIL store. So not everyone is like that. Not defending those people that are doing things wrong, just saying don't generalize ALL pet stores because some are trying and really doing a good job.

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Originally Posted by Rollis

About 10 years ago I worked in a medium sized local pet store. I was a kennel cleaner, so I cleaned the dog poo, fed them, changed cat litter boxes, and maintained the small mammals. I didn't do any sales at all, I was basically an animal maintenance man. The reptile department was right next to the area I worked in, and all the reptile guys quickly became friends of mine because I would always help them with reptile cleaning, questions, etc.

After about 4 months of working there, they had an opening in the reptile department. The reptile manager decided he absolutely wanted me to work there (for good reason), and went directly to the owner to talk to him. He came back 10 minutes later and told me that the owner outright refused to allow me to switch, saying "I don't care how much he knows or how good he is. It's easier to hire someone to sell reptiles than it is to clean dog crap". At the end of my shift that day, I told him he could hire someone to do both, and never went back.

I've applied to various chain pet stores over the years, and had a few interviews where the manager interviewing me outright said they were extremely impressed by my knowledge on things. Yet, they've also refused to hire me.

It makes me wonder what it is that pet store owners/managers want in an employee.

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you got that right you would think they would hire you beacause you know what you're doing but refuce to hire you. seems like they dont care about the animals they sell and its all about moving their merchandise.

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Originally Posted by Royal Chick

Hey! I just recently got hired at a retail store and my job is to take care of the reptiles and other small animals. The one I work at takes really good care of their animals and they said if I see any problems to collect the animal and take it to the back to take care of it and let them know. These people really care about the animals they are selling because it's their reputation and it's an animal not a product, and this is a RETAIL store. So not everyone is like that. Not defending those people that are doing things wrong, just saying don't generalize ALL pet stores because some are trying and really doing a good job.

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this store was smaller than petco/petsmart. but the employee's at the petco/petsmart near me suck at what they do. some employee's are scared to handle the snakes.

Not the employees' faults at all, they need a job just like anyone else. It's up to the owners/managers of the stores to properly train/equip their employees to properly care for the animals. I've been in the food service industry for 17 years now, and could only wish that places would only hire qualified waiters/bartenders/cooks...

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Originally Posted by RobNJ

Not the employees' faults at all, they need a job just like anyone else. It's up to the owners/managers of the stores to properly train/equip their employees to properly care for the animals. I've been in the food service industry for 17 years now, and could only wish that places would only hire qualified waiters/bartenders/cooks...

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true you got a point there. but even though if the employeer doesn't train them for the job instead of just getting by not knowing anything about reptiles they can make an effort and at least learn something themselves even if the pay is bad it's on them if they give a customer the wrong info.

I worked in the bird department, at Super Pets (at that time). I really didn't know much about birds then, but I learned quickly, and took the time to research the ones we cared for. We also watched over the small animals area as well. It was commission, so selling a $2000 bird was crazy. I always sold rats rather than hamsters. Hate those things. I always wanted to change over to the reptile department, but the staff there was top notch. Maybe it's just the generation of slacking employees? I enjoyed it, would love to do a part time gig at a pet store....wait, I have 60+ rats, 20+ mice, and 10 bps....lol

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2 kids, 2 dogs, and 2 cats ( just in case my rats mice get out )

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Originally Posted by 4Ballz

I worked in the bird department, at Super Pets (at that time). I really didn't know much about birds then, but I learned quickly, and took the time to research the ones we cared for. We also watched over the small animals area as well. It was commission, so selling a $2000 bird was crazy. I always sold rats rather than hamsters. Hate those things. I always wanted to change over to the reptile department, but the staff there was top notch. Maybe it's just the generation of slacking employees? I enjoyed it, would love to do a part time gig at a pet store....wait, I have 60+ rats, 20+ mice, and 10 bps....lol

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2 kids, 2 dogs, and 2 cats ( just in case my rats mice get out )

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see if i owned a pet store i would say you were a good employee for taking the time on research to know what your doin and to do your job right. hey i also got kind of a petstore gig going i got 2 dogs,2 fish,2 turtles,3 rats, 3 mice, and 4 bps. all i need now is a cat and a bird

I think overall service in America has gone down. The customer is always right has been thrown out the window and the young people coming up don't seem to know that any job worth doing is worth doing right.

Op, what store is this? Do they have a nice selection of reptile equipment? I would like to check it out. The big box stores don't really do it for me and I would rather deal with a mom&pop type place. Is that what this place is?

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Originally Posted by KMG

I think overall service in America has gone down. The customer is always right has been thrown out the window and the young people coming up don't seem to know that any job worth doing is worth doing right.

Op, what store is this? Do they have a nice selection of reptile equipment? I would like to check it out. The big box stores don't really do it for me and I would rather deal with a mom&pop type place. Is that what this place is?

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it realy has the younger people just look forward to payday.

pet city houston on 1960 near spring. i would say their reptile department is a bit small on equipment. and yeah it's a mom and pop store. the only store i'd say has a good selection on reptile equipment is S&S exotic.

I would skip the cat(s). Stepping in a cold or even warm hair ball with bare feet is never fun. And thanks btw. :-)

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There was one bird we had, he could crap so far out his cage, customers almost got nailed as the walked by. I forget his breed, but it was like a small crow, the joker of birds....

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Originally Posted by 4Ballz

I would skip the cat(s). Stepping in a cold or even warm hair ball with bare feet is never fun. And thanks btw. :-)

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There was one bird we had, he could crap so far out his cage, customers almost got nailed as the walked by. I forget his breed, but it was like a small crow, the joker of birds....

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really i'd like to see that. does that breed of bird do that or was is just that bird. by the way those pair of crows from the windex comercial came to mind when i first read that :rofl:

I agree with the whole generation thing. Our current youth is kinda scary with their lack of work ethic... that being said, I find it really odd the store don't have better trained employees. I mean, the more confident you are in your knowledge and care of the animals, the better able you are to SELL said animals to customers. Isn't selling the whole point? I'm a big fan of the ma & pa store I get my feeders from. They don't have a lot of product selection anymore but kind of make up for it with their animal stock. All of the employees are animal lovers and have like one of everything in their personal collections lol. Including snakes. So they have a fair amount of knowledge if not from anything but the experience of keeping. And compared to what I've come across in places like here, they're spot on with their info. And they have good quality, clean live feeders of all shapes and sizes that are delivered weekly. :cool:

This was 12 years ago, I can't remember. Their poop was the worst though... Lol

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Originally Posted by LadyWraith

I agree with the whole generation thing. Our current youth is kinda scary with their lack of work ethic... that being said, I find it really odd the store don't have better trained employees. I mean, the more confident you are in your knowledge and care of the animals, the better able you are to SELL said animals to customers. Isn't selling the whole point?

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I fully agree with this. I was in a Petsmart with a friend, explaining the differences between two different UV bulbs to him. A mother and her son overheard me, and asked me for advice on their Bearded Dragon. I agreed to help them out, and made sure they got the right items. Another couple asked me about Leopard Gecko supplies, I also helped them. I must've helped 5 or 6 people back to back, while an employee stood there just watching. After all that was done, the employee came over and asked me if I needed any help with anything...

I just recently found a mom/pop reptile only store in Cypress, TX. It's off of Jones rd and called Reptile Select. It's got friendly, knowledgable staff, very clean, and healthy animals. They also sell feeders which is a plus.

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Originally Posted by snakehobbyist

I just recently found a mom/pop reptile only store in Cypress, TX. It's off of Jones rd and called Reptile Select. It's got friendly, knowledgable staff, very clean, and healthy animals. They also sell feeders which is a plus.

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i heard of that store i just haven't had time to go. do they sell nice bp's?

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Originally Posted by Rollis

I must've helped 5 or 6 people back to back, while an employee stood there just watching. After all that was done, the employee came over and asked me if I needed any help with anything...

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:rofl::rofl::rofl:

I don't know if I'd say it's the generations fault...None of my local pet stores(both chain and mom & pop) seem to have knowledgable staff-especially in reptiles. Actually, the only two stores that I've ever been too which had knowledgable staff employed people of the younger generation. I can think of MANY employees who know close to nothing about animals that work in pet stores, and MOST of them are from a generation older than my own.
I think that the safest thing to say is that manager's and business owners need to step their game up, but it probably won't happen. Be thankful for the internet and do your research first s you know what you need when you go into a pet store. Buying a pet(from a retail store) is like buying anything else, if you don't know what you want/need then, most likely, they're going to try and sell you as much as possible.

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Originally Posted by JaGv

i heard of that store i just haven't had time to go. do they sell nice bp's?

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It's a small store. I only saw normals there, but the guy says they have a lot of local breeders they know and can get you just about anything you want.

The newer generation of workers don't really understand the value of hard work or knowledge of their jobs. There are a lot of factors that sometimes go into that as well. I worked at a Petco like 10-11 years ago and there was always someone in the store that knew their department or was able to cross departments. Of all the animals and workers I'd say there was less knowledge of dogs and cats than everything else. Now, I think that particular store is lucky if there are 1-2 people who know what animals are in the store.

A break down of the stores near me as a reference:

Petco- The workers seem to know little/nothing then walk away when I interject to help their customer. A far cry from what they once were.

Petsmart- Have knowledgeable workers with fish and reptiles(the one new guy is actually interested in learning). Not sure of other departments, but they run a clean store. Petsmart is one store I think does a good job of at least properly staffing departments, there is always 1-2 people per department.

PetsPlus(local chain/kinda mom and pop)- Pricey stuff but the workers are very knowledgeable. The head reptile guy runs the department for all the stores(3-4 I believe). One of the manager's has a nice setup in the store for his 3 foot albino mojave(I want to steal that snake in the worst way).

Hidden Reef(mom and pop)- An aquarium store that sells stuff for other animals and has a small reptile department. If one person doesn't know, they will point you to someone who does. The workers range in age and specialties.


My new favorite hobby is to window shop at any of these stores with a snake around my neck or hanging off me, then educate people on snakes or the animal that they are about to get/inherited a week before. Sent a few people to this site and to a turtle forum that I frequent. :)

They have a couple that runs a place down here and they wont hire anyone that knows more then them guess it makes them look bad or something

When I was researching before I got my first BP, I was mostly researching over the internet. I went into Petsmart one day to check and make sure they had all of the supplies I would need. On my way out, I grabbed one of their pet care brochures for BP's, out of curiousity. There was false information in it! I know that most employee's that work there aren't trained properly and have no idea what they're doing (with a few exceptions), but really? If they were going to type it up, they should have gotten it right.
It doesn't upset me that much that most pet stores have no idea what they're doing, it upsets me that they pretend to.

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Originally Posted by JaGv

this store was smaller than petco/petsmart. but the employee's at the petco/petsmart near me suck at what they do. some employee's are scared to handle the snakes.

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You also have to have a reasonable expectation of who you are dealing with. Usually when I go in to Pet* its a high school kid working a minimum wage job because Mommy/Daddy said to get a job. They have no vested interest in the animals or their care. I'm sure there are exceptions though.

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Originally Posted by VooDooDoc

You also have to have a reasonable expectation of who you are dealing with. Usually when I go in to Pet* its a high school kid working a minimum wage job because Mommy/Daddy said to get a job. They have no vested interest in the animals or their care. I'm sure there are exceptions though.

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the people at the petco i went weren't teens though they were probably close to their 30's. the petsmart only 1 person would handle the snakes and he was from the fish department

I know I'm a big exception to the rule, but I work at Petco and know far more about dogs than most people. The same goes for mice, rats, and guinea pigs. I'm less familiar with hamsters and ferrets.

My reptile knowledge is growing- I was previously completely inexperienced with reptiles but having owned a ball python for about a month, I'm learning quite a bit. I am nowhere near the point where I could give anyone advice on how to care for their reptile though.

I know nothing about fish.

There are many people who work in my store who know a ton about their animal of choice and many people who think they know more than they actually do. It varies widely. But I don't think it's a generation issue. I think the main problem is that corporations like Petco are more concerned about making money than they are about educating the consumer- though I will say, since I last worked at Petco, I have become increasingly impressed with the training program new associates go through.

I have to avoid going in the big evil box stores because every time I do I feel really depressed and like I should try to save all their reptiles. I'm not saying that there's not good petco's out their that take care of their animals but the majority of the ones I go into I'm horrified. I'm a little extreme though and really don't like big businesses at all. I think (there is exceptions like I said) that Petco doesn't want people that know about how to take care of reptiles for the same reason Lowe's doesn't hire anyone that knows anything about construction, Why? because knowledge is power and if Lowe's hired someone that knows about construction their going to need to eventually pay them more money because they can always get a job at another place with the knowledge they have. They just want drones that will never question their 15 cent raises. In the construction business there's is this saying "keep them dumb and keep them down." So it's no surprise to me at all that they won't hire people that know how to take the proper care of their reptiles. I really hope no one takes offense to this because if your own this website checking out these forums you obviously care about reptiles.

I can't even go into the big pet stores in town anymore, I always end up looking at the BPs and just feeling so sad because they're covered in stuck shed, skinny, piled up in a corner with three others... I lucked out with Aradia, she had only been there for about a week and a half. Some of the snakes I was seeing had been there for months and just got skinnier.

The pet store near me seems to have good care of their small animals, but I'm finding their reptile care lacking. They've had the same two '12 normals and much larger spider and fire in the same tank for more than a month, with one half-log hide, what looks like dirt substrate (eco-earth, maybe?) and just last week I noticed one of the hatchlings has the start of scale rot. Single bulb, screen top, no apparent under-tank heating, not even any dial temp/humidity gauges.

I feel like I should say something - the owner is nice and seems open to being given advice and she really seems to care about her animals, but I'm not sure how to go about it without seeming condescending or demeaning. I think she would be willing to listen, it just would be awkward to get into an argument because that's the only place I can go to buy my feeders besides resorting to Petsmart's frozen ones that I've had troubles with before.

I hate hearing about the younger generations lack of work ethic. Thats a learned behavior not a genetic one. Maybe we should look at where the previous generations dropped the ball when raising these kids?

Edit: ps, I'm almost 30 so its not like I'm sticking up for them because I am one...

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

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Originally Posted by jbean7916

I hate hearing about the younger generations lack of work ethic. Thats a learned behavior not a genetic one. Maybe we should look at where the previous generations dropped the ball when raising these kids?

Edit: ps, I'm almost 30 so its not like I'm sticking up for them because I am one...

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

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Im 19. I hate my generation. I agree its a learned condition. Alot of people my age, friends included, are just given wayyyy too much in life without having to earn sny of it. They have zero concept of what real work is. They complain about working a 5hr shift where all they do is sit and make sure people sign into the dorm as guests. AND they can be on their laptop the whole time. Thats just one example obviously, but its crap like that, that pisses me off. Like how are you gunna survive in the real world at a real 8hr job when you cant handle something as simple as that? Its so stupid. Im an outlier and was born into the wrong generation.

Sorry for the rant, i could go on for hours though lol. Its like a pet peeve on steroids for me lmao. Its jbeans fault for setting me off haha!^

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Im 19. I hate my generation. I agree its a learned condition. Alot of people my age, friends included, are just given wayyyy too much in life without having to earn sny of it. They have zero concept of what real work is. They complain about working a 5hr shift where all they do is sit and make sure people sign into the dorm as guests. AND they can be on their laptop the whole time. Thats just one example obviously, but its crap like that, that pisses me off. Like how are you gunna survive in the real world at a real 8hr job when you cant handle something as simple as that? Its so stupid. Im an outlier and was born into the wrong generation.

Sorry for the rant, i could go on for hours though lol. Its like a pet peeve on steroids for me lmao. Its jbeans fault for setting me off haha!^

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my younger brother of 18 goes to work with me and he can't handle working half the time i work because he thinks it's to hard. im 21 and i work 12hrs a day installing hardwood/laminate floors and its hard work sometimes i wish i had it easy because having the resposibility of leaving a profesional quality job at a customers house is alot of weight on my shoulders. but for $100 a day im not complaining i make more than him a week than he makes in 2 weeks.

You know, most of you are doing the one thing that ALL of you hate! You're generalizing a population and judging them just like many people do with reptiles, especially snakes. Now I already know I'm going to get the 'It's a matter of opinion' and "If it's the truth..." stuff which is fine, but it doesn't change what this is.

I just wanted you guys to look at what you are doing. Ranting, venting, letting loose, whatever you want to call it, you're still being extremely rude. This went from a very common 'rant' to a crucifixtion of young people that many of you are using as a scapegoat to compensate for the lack of satisfaction you are recieving from the employees that are composed of the general public and not just one group or generation.

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Originally Posted by JaGv

my younger brother of 18 goes to work with me and he can't handle working half the time i work because he thinks it's to hard. im 21 and i work 12hrs a day installing hardwood/laminate floors and its hard work sometimes i wish i had it easy because having the resposibility of leaving a profesional quality job at a customers house is alot of weight on my shoulders. but for $100 a day im not complaining i make more than him a week than he makes in 2 weeks.

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Hard work builds character! Stick with it and pretty soon you'll be making bank.

I try to buy everything I need for my animals online..but every once in a while I have to go in to a local shop for something and it's a nightmare! Horrible reptile setups, miss information and out right lies! I am actually banned from one store. The owner had a 10 gallon tank with about 20 baby green iguanas stuffed in it, if that wasn't bad enough she was telling this mom and her horribly annoying son that "They make wonderful first reptile pets, they will not out grow the tank and if you only feed them lettuce and crickets they will stay small." I jumped in, I had owned a green iguana for 12 years, she is 5'3 and lived in her own room..and was a bi-polar b$%%$ (I loved her bunches but it was true)! And if you buy this animal look into the same..it will not stay small, it has to have special lights, food, supplements and your looking into a $500 investment for a $25 lizard...The store owner told me to get out!! And DO NOT COME BACK!! I waited around to see if the mom had listened to me...BUT no she not only bought one but two! Of course she had a 10 gallon fish tank (with hooded lid) and a med heat rock from what I could see.. Poor lil' Iggies..:tears:
I hate having to deal with shops, the owners are useless..at the other shop across town you can't special order anything...A bag of black Aspen bedding add $30 *special ordering fee* Want a snow corn snake...dream on! I asked one of the employees if I could special order a juvenile snow corn female. Nothing special I just liked the look of them..he's like yeah sure ok..took down my name and number and said it would cost $90. I though ok that's fair shipping and all. So I pay up and was told my snake could be picked up in 2 days after 6:00pm. Went back in and the owner was waiting for me with my box..Inside was a hatchling Okeetee, unsexed and not in the best of shape..I'm like yeah that's not what I wanted and I want my money back.."ma'am you can't just choose a color, this is a living animal!" I got my money back and I'm sure he had a headache after the hissy fit I took!

All of this is why you will only find our family members in our store! We sell fish and reptiles only. Some days I feel we talk people out of buying an animal more than we actually sell them! If you arent honest and have healthy animals, your reputation's days are numbered!

Romping Stomping Pets & Aquatics
540-775-7745

The only issue I've had with the pet store in my town is with live mice.

They order on Tuesday's. I've gone in on a Thursday to pick up, to find out they have no more mice for another week. I had to make a half hour drive into the city, and pay almost $3 a mouse. :@

They said a breeder comes an buys them out... So why wouldn't they order more :s

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Originally Posted by Royal Chick

You know, most of you are doing the one thing that ALL of you hate! You're generalizing a population and judging them just like many people do with reptiles, especially snakes. Now I already know I'm going to get the 'It's a matter of opinion' and "If it's the truth..." stuff which is fine, but it doesn't change what this is.

I just wanted you guys to look at what you are doing. Ranting, venting, letting loose, whatever you want to call it, you're still being extremely rude. This went from a very common 'rant' to a crucifixtion of young people that many of you are using as a scapegoat to compensate for the lack of satisfaction you are recieving from the employees that are composed of the general public and not just one group or generation.

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so what if you went to a pet store and a young inexperienced worker who doesn't care to learn stuff to be good at what he does gave you the wrong info just to get you off his back on a product for a pet and something goes wrong. would you say oh their young i've been there before no big deal.

I am the younger generation. lol Don't get me wrong, I hate my generation, but i think it's the parents' fault. They spoil their todlers, and don't discipline them when they do wrong. Then they wonder why they turned out bad as teenagers. "it's just their generation" If you ask me, it started with our parents' generation.

I wish i could work at a petco reptile section. It'd be fun to actually teach people about the animals. Instead of just try and sell them like others do. I don't think petco and petsmart are equiped with the right supplies to maintain all the different species. So even if an employee wanted to help the animals, they couldn't.

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Originally Posted by chimp54321

Hard work builds character! Stick with it and pretty soon you'll be making bank.

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my dad started me in that type of work since i was 15. and now i work for him so im learning what has to be learned so that one day ill be running my own business.

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Originally Posted by andi8887

I hate having to deal with shops, the owners are useless..at the other shop across town you can't special order anything...A bag of black Aspen bedding add $30 *special ordering fee* Want a snow corn snake...dream on! I asked one of the employees if I could special order a juvenile snow corn female. Nothing special I just liked the look of them..he's like yeah sure ok..took down my name and number and said it would cost $90. I though ok that's fair shipping and all. So I pay up and was told my snake could be picked up in 2 days after 6:00pm. Went back in and the owner was waiting for me with my box..Inside was a hatchling Okeetee, unsexed and not in the best of shape..I'm like yeah that's not what I wanted and I want my money back.."ma'am you can't just choose a color, this is a living animal!" I got my money back and I'm sure he had a headache after the hissy fit I took!

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i was at a pet store before and a guy was going to buy a corn snake the owner took him around getting him stuff that he was supposibly going to need for that snake. i was standing in line behind the guy buying the snake without the snake price he must of spent nearly $200 just for accesories the store owner picked out for him

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Originally Posted by Pyrate81

The newer generation of workers don't really understand the value of hard work or knowledge of their jobs. There are a lot of factors that sometimes go into that as well. I worked at a Petco like 10-11 years ago and there was always someone in the store that knew their department or was able to cross departments. Of all the animals and workers I'd say there was less knowledge of dogs and cats than everything else. Now, I think that particular store is lucky if there are 1-2 people who know what animals are in the store.

A break down of the stores near me as a reference:

Petco- The workers seem to know little/nothing then walk away when I interject to help their customer. A far cry from what they once were.

Petsmart- Have knowledgeable workers with fish and reptiles(the one new guy is actually interested in learning). Not sure of other departments, but they run a clean store. Petsmart is one store I think does a good job of at least properly staffing departments, there is always 1-2 people per department.

PetsPlus(local chain/kinda mom and pop)- Pricey stuff but the workers are very knowledgeable. The head reptile guy runs the department for all the stores(3-4 I believe). One of the manager's has a nice setup in the store for his 3 foot albino mojave(I want to steal that snake in the worst way).

Hidden Reef(mom and pop)- An aquarium store that sells stuff for other animals and has a small reptile department. If one person doesn't know, they will point you to someone who does. The workers range in age and specialties.


My new favorite hobby is to window shop at any of these stores with a snake around my neck or hanging off me, then educate people on snakes or the animal that they are about to get/inherited a week before. Sent a few people to this site and to a turtle forum that I frequent. :)

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It really isnt fair of you to make a blanket statement like that and say that the younger generation is lazy. While there are some who can be lazy you cant say that about everyone. I for example work 2 jobs (one of which is at Petco) and 50 hours a week during the summer. Then when fall roles around I am a full time student at the University of Iowa still keeping both jobs but only working 40 hours a week. I am putting myself through school. I also am the reptile guy at my Petco and again you are making generalizations because while you are right that some major chains have really crappy animal care (I have seen plenty poorly taken care of animals at other Petco/Petsmarts) that is not true about all of them. At my store we have specific individuals who work in all the different departments and are certified in them. Usually the crappy animal care is because of corporate too. When it comes to the reptile cages there are only certain things that are allowed to be in the cages, certain products that we are allowed to use for treatment, etc. I really dont like being bundled in with "The younger generation" and being called lazy and having poor work ethic. There are plenty of people from "the older generation" who are lazy too. That is my rant of the night.

-Alex

So firstly my local petco has some herpers working at it so teh reptiles always look amazing and the staff is impeccable... I know its unusual but I am happy for it

Secondly yes I find this new incoming generation a lot of times wants something for nothing.. all the rewards and none of the work. There are exceptions to the rule but they are exceptions. They grew up where everyone got a trophy and society said they deserved things and rewards for existing. I got a trophy only if it was good, worked hard and earned it. I have some view valid viewpoint after teaching a few semesters of college classes. I had students come to my office hours after not reading the chapter saying that had trouble with it and couldn't even tell me what it was they needed more explanation on because they hadn't looked at any of it. I will not redo a whole lecture but happily explain further in depth the portions that were difficult and help find resources. I know the way I teach doesn't work for everyone so I would always find other ways but I am not willing to make an effort of student refuses to make any effort. They would fail and then it would be my fault for not teaching them well enough or motivating them. And these would be kids that didn't do homework or did did very minimal work, never asked questions or came to office hours or lecture. Had a kid who never turned in homework and took like one exam if i remember correctly.. so he was failed and he came asking why he got failed.. and I said you never turned anything in.. and he said yes so how could you grade me? I came to class... and he was serious. I had parents even email (and at 20 years old seriously??) Why didn't little Suzy get a better grade? Well she answered the question wrong. But she worked really hard and made an effort. But the answer was wrong. and it would go back and forth like this. And this a lot of time were pre-med students so i eventually ask.. do you want a surgeon that put in a real effort or did the procedure right?--- and off my soap box. That being said I had some very wonderful and amazing students and I am excited to see what they do in life. They were the ones that kept me going.

Judging from the husbandry tips given out on this forum and the recurring health issues experienced by many members of this site, I think it's safe to say that we have our fair share of pet store employees contributing to the forums.

Haha, yes, the newest generation is an interesting bunch. And yes, there are many that are NOT lazy sacks... but I will tell you, that number is the minority not the majority. Of course there are always going to be youth that are driven, responsible individuals that work their way through school and take their job seriously. However, no one can say there isn't an entitlement mentality going on with 90% of the youth. :colbert: All it takes is a little observation to see this. And, I don't really blame just parents. We've been blaming parents for our issues forever, time to let that one go. I've seen both extremes of the spectrum still turn out these type of youth. I AM a parent and I will tell you, a lot of times SOCIETY makes it a lot harder to raise kids than it needs to be. Now I will agree there are a lot more parents nowadays that coddle their children to the end of time. Honestly, all the emphasis on safety this, safety that has created a generation of PARENTS that have little control sometimes over the way their child is raised and taken away the responsibility of using COMMON SENSE. But, that isn't the only interaction in a child's life that molds what they become. How long has it been, exactly, when we as a people have faced hard times like some of the previous generations? We haven't had diseases the devastated our population, no wars that we close to home and in our face. Life has been a cake walk lately comparatively. We have technology to do everything for us. Just sayin'... there's more to it than just the effort mom and dad have put forth.