Ouch.. this sounds like the classic older-school snake keeper response to the more contemporary use of tubs that we prefer. People that visit us often comment in amazement on the "dresser drawers" our snakes live in, as if we are folding them up like laundry and storing them. I explain that..
Number one: The tubs have just about the same amount of floor space as a tank that you'd keep the snake in.. and none of that unneeded open-air space that is hard to heat and unnecessary for ground-dwelling BPs
Number two: a rack of 7 tubs is much less space-comsuming than 7 tanks!!
Also: I refer them to any big breeder's site. These people that know what they are doing and are dealing successfully in the husbandry of hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of snakes sometimes. If they use racks, I use racks.. go with the pros' husbandry, not the pet store down the road!