Nothing like a verbal assault from Petsmart....

[steveboos]

I also work at PetSmart and i believe me and Jay have been through this once before on the site.

It's a policy made for the best interest of the customers and shareholders. They want to promote a good image of animals and PetSmart does a great job of that. If someone walked into my store and asked if we had live feeders, I would reply "No, but we carry frozen feeders if you snake eachs frozen, if he eats live, try another pet store." Most customers don't mind and will leave knowing that just down the street is another store where they can buy as many as they want. We charge $10 for a rat and $7 for a mouse because people use them as feeders.

If your going to be sneaky and sleezy and try to con an employee into selling you a mouse for a feeder AND pay $7 for ONE MOUSE, then your the idiot and nothing else needs to be said. I get my adult mice for $.50 and can get a large rat for $1.75, but i digress.

I work at a PetSmart and have 7 snakes at home, so if you have any questions about them, i will gladly help out, but just don't expect for us to sell you live food. I always recomend what is best for the owner and snake a like, so the situation will vary my answer.

Don't hate on all Stores just because you had a bad expierience at ONE of them. Do you know how many thousands of stores we have??

[Theartisticgemini]

Born frozen!

Next time tell them no, you're not using them as feeders; they'll be humanely kept in a medical lab that researches genetic links to cancer and diabetes.

Got a laugh out of that one...lol

[ahunt037]

I never had to deal with that but i used to purchase mice and rats from Petco all the time and they knew that i was feeding them to snakes and they had no problem with it but they made me fill out the stupid paperwork on the mice and rats everytime i bought them i tried telling them they will be dead before u get off work in an hour so it doesnt matter but they insist on making me fill out the paperwork some are a lil more lazy or watever u want to call it and they dont make me do it which saves me some time at the register.

dont go yelling at me sayin o well i work at Petco and its company policy and we have to do it cuz i know u do its just i like to rant and rave about stuff that makes me mad

[packer43064]

I also work at PetSmart and i believe me and Jay have been through this once before on the site.

It's a policy made for the best interest of the customers and shareholders. They want to promote a good image of animals and PetSmart does a great job of that. If someone walked into my store and asked if we had live feeders, I would reply "No, but we carry frozen feeders if you snake eachs frozen, if he eats live, try another pet store." Most customers don't mind and will leave knowing that just down the street is another store where they can buy as many as they want. We charge $10 for a rat and $7 for a mouse because people use them as feeders.

If your going to be sneaky and sleezy and try to con an employee into selling you a mouse for a feeder AND pay $7 for ONE MOUSE, then your the idiot and nothing else needs to be said. I get my adult mice for $.50 and can get a large rat for $1.75, but i digress.

I work at a PetSmart and have 7 snakes at home, so if you have any questions about them, i will gladly help out, but just don't expect for us to sell you live food. I always recomend what is best for the owner and snake a like, so the situation will vary my answer.

Don't hate on all Stores just because you had a bad expierience at ONE of them. Do you know how many thousands of stores we have??

Absolutely agree! I've been with Petsmart for over 3 years. The policy is for the best of the animal. Petsmart does care about it's animals, they bring every one to the vet if any problem arise and that's policy.

[Jay_Bunny]

Yep our store cares a lot for our animals. We actually have a hamster the store has already spent over $400 on because she has a disease (the other hamsters are okay. Its just her). They say as long as she keeps fighting, so will they.

Not all pet stores are dumb. Yes, you will find a few stores here and there (like you will with any company that has stores across the nation) that are managed and staffed poorly, but for the most part, Petsmart is looking out for the best interest of the pet.

Think of how many people feed live incorrectly. I've had tons of people come into my store and tell me about how mice or rats bit their snake. Some have even brought in their snakes to show me the bites. And at least in my area you get a lot of those people that think its cool and tough if you have a big mean snake and they like to watch the snake kill a huge rat and are only feeding live for the thrill of it. (We get a looooooot of these people in our store).

And no, we do not judge you by how you look. We have people from all walks of life coming into our store and just because you are an adult male getting mice, we are not going to treat one customer different from another based on age, gender, or whether you feed snakes live at home or not. At least, we are not supposed to. I know that crap doesn't happen in my store.

Look bottom line is. I don't mind if you come on to this forum and say you've had a bad experience at that particular store, but when you start calling out an entire company and all its employees based on your experience at one store, I get a little peeved. I am a Petsmart associate and I do my job well and being someone who keeps snakes, I know that feeding live is fine for the snake if done correctly. Heck, I even feed live about 50% of the time. But I do understand that some people are not so happy to find out that snakes eat live mice. They would rather go on with their day believing that Petsmart wouldn't dare sell those cute widdle fuzzy mice as food for snakes. And Petsmart is trying to respect those people.

I mean, if I go into a store and buy a hamster. Most people assume I'm buying said hamster as a pet. They are cute, fluffy, run in wheels, and stuff their cheeks. Adorable, right? But then you here that I'm buying the hamster to feed it to my ferret, alive. I'm going to set the hamster in the bathtub and watch as my ferret hunts, kills, and eats the little hamster. Would you not be a little put off by it? Petsmart sees it like this. They have to look out for all their customers and how that customer feels. That is one of the reasons why we are not supposed to feed the snake in the enclosure. We have to remove the snake to the back room in another container to feed. This is mainly so that people don't have to see us dangling a newly thawed mouse baby into the cage while they are on their way to get dog food.

So please don't call the entire company out on your experiences with one store. It does not represent everyone, including myself. When people come on here and say that all pet store people are dumb, that insults me.

Maybe I shouldn't take it so personally, but I see it on this forum all the time.

[Lauren Moore]

I just had a similar experience at Petco. I don't get anything there except things I absolutely can't get anywhere else... like cheap feeders. I raw feed my cat and she likes the occasional mouse/rat so I started breeding them for her...

Anyways, I got a couple of albino mice the first time and then went in today and saw a couple colored females so I asked for them and they were all up in my face asking if they were just going to be feeders or pets because how HORRIBLE of me to breed feeders in the first place let alone try to use their FANCY mice.

They actually refused to sell me colored mice once when I went in and asked for a couple of feeders... I was SO mad. Now they've raised their price for "fancy" mice from 2.99 all the way to 4.99, makes them so unaffordable

Only thing worse is when they try to tell me how they'll kill each other if I put more than 2 together. Oh well, I've got 7 females and 3 males now so I'm good for a while!!

[mechnut450]

i only get my glass bottles forrodents there any more 9or petco what ever the store is ) i like picking up breeders/feeders when i can to keep the gene pull from being to straight lined. lol

i found it a real boom goingto the mom and pop places and getting rodents i come home several times over years with onthat drops pups with in 2-4 days and just happy lol..
just sucks still paying like 3 bucks a mouse and 8 a rat anywere down here.
not that i don't have my boa i need to figure out what to do with my retired rodents at some point .

be lucky you can have options i got 3 stores i can go get supplies without driving good 30 minutes to a chain store.

[SNIKTTIME]

Yep our store cares a lot for our animals. We actually have a hamster the store has already spent over $400 on because she has a disease (the other hamsters are okay. Its just her). They say as long as she keeps fighting, so will they.

Not all pet stores are dumb. Yes, you will find a few stores here and there (like you will with any company that has stores across the nation) that are managed and staffed poorly, but for the most part, Petsmart is looking out for the best interest of the pet.

Think of how many people feed live incorrectly. I've had tons of people come into my store and tell me about how mice or rats bit their snake. Some have even brought in their snakes to show me the bites. And at least in my area you get a lot of those people that think its cool and tough if you have a big mean snake and they like to watch the snake kill a huge rat and are only feeding live for the thrill of it. (We get a looooooot of these people in our store).

And no, we do not judge you by how you look. We have people from all walks of life coming into our store and just because you are an adult male getting mice, we are not going to treat one customer different from another based on age, gender, or whether you feed snakes live at home or not. At least, we are not supposed to. I know that crap doesn't happen in my store.

Look bottom line is. I don't mind if you come on to this forum and say you've had a bad experience at that particular store, but when you start calling out an entire company and all its employees based on your experience at one store, I get a little peeved. I am a Petsmart associate and I do my job well and being someone who keeps snakes, I know that feeding live is fine for the snake if done correctly. Heck, I even feed live about 50% of the time. But I do understand that some people are not so happy to find out that snakes eat live mice. They would rather go on with their day believing that Petsmart wouldn't dare sell those cute widdle fuzzy mice as food for snakes. And Petsmart is trying to respect those people.

I mean, if I go into a store and buy a hamster. Most people assume I'm buying said hamster as a pet. They are cute, fluffy, run in wheels, and stuff their cheeks. Adorable, right? But then you here that I'm buying the hamster to feed it to my ferret, alive. I'm going to set the hamster in the bathtub and watch as my ferret hunts, kills, and eats the little hamster. Would you not be a little put off by it? Petsmart sees it like this. They have to look out for all their customers and how that customer feels. That is one of the reasons why we are not supposed to feed the snake in the enclosure. We have to remove the snake to the back room in another container to feed. This is mainly so that people don't have to see us dangling a newly thawed mouse baby into the cage while they are on their way to get dog food.

So please don't call the entire company out on your experiences with one store. It does not represent everyone, including myself. When people come on here and say that all pet store people are dumb, that insults me.

Maybe I shouldn't take it so personally, but I see it on this forum all the time.

Not sure who you are targeting in this message, but I never said anyone was dumb. But no one from your side of the fence has answered my question yet either. If I was a 12-14 year old girl would I have been harassed by 3 separate employees while trying to make the purchase? I also had a 4 quart bag of bedding in my hand the whole time. And $400- to try to save a hamster... I said before that I never called them dumb, but boy am I tempted now.

[packer43064]

Not sure who you are targeting in this message, but I never said anyone was dumb. But no one from your side of the fence has answered my question yet either. If I was a 12-14 year old girl would I have been harassed by 3 separate employees while trying to make the purchase? I also had a 4 quart bag of bedding in my hand the whole time. And $400- to try to save a hamster... I said before that I never called them dumb, but boy am I tempted now.

If your under 18 they would have said "little girl, we can't sell any animal to you unless your 18 or accompanied by an adult or legal guardian, sorry" and that's that and nothing else would have been said.

It's policy to take sick animals to the vet. Ever been in petco or the like and see the nasty ragged looking hamsters that they DON'T take to the vet....it's gross. Petsmart even adopts these sick hamsters out after they go to the vet if it's not something minor. If they didn't adopt these out then my GF wouldn't have 6 hamsters right now, and they would still be all stuck at Petsmart or worse. Seems minor I know, but if your the animal in question it's not. Just see it in our minds. If you want to bypass the system go in and buy some "pets". I understand snakes and other animals eat live....I get it. But Petsmart has the right to refuse any sell if they see fit. Policy is policy is policy, they are NOT going to bypass this. I would not go to that Petsmart again and call our corporate office and put in a complaint. They will do something about it, I promise you. The customers are the backbone of this business, we need you. Someone might not get fired, but will get talked to or written up or at the very least it will be on their record. They shouldn't have treated you like they did, call corporate.

[SNIKTTIME]

If your under 18 they would have said "little girl, we can't sell any animal to you unless your 18 or accompanied by an adult or legal guardian, sorry" and that's that and nothing else would have been said.

It's policy to take sick animals to the vet. Ever been in petco or the like and see the nasty ragged looking hamsters that they DON'T take to the vet....it's gross. Petsmart even adopts these sick hamsters out after they go to the vet if it's not something minor. If they didn't adopt these out then my GF wouldn't have 6 hamsters right now, and they would still be all stuck at Petsmart or worse. Seems minor I know, but if your the animal in question it's not. Just see it in our minds. If you want to bypass the system go in and buy some "pets". I understand snakes and other animals eat live....I get it. But Petsmart has the right to refuse any sell if they see fit. Policy is policy is policy, they are NOT going to bypass this. I would not go to that Petsmart again and call our corporate office and put in a complaint. They will do something about it, I promise you. The customers are the backbone of this business, we need you. Someone might not get fired, but will get talked to or written up or at the very least it will be on their record. They shouldn't have treated you like they did, call corporate.

Totally agree with you here, and did talk to customer care the day of the original post. Basically the care agent's reaction was the reason why I posted to begin with, she was 100% on my side here. I will obviously post again once I hear back from them, was told 3-5 business days. I am not expecting anything to change on their part honestly, but you never know.