Who's responsible?

[icygirl]

A sales associate at a chain pet store sells a customer a reptile, but does not give adequate information about how to care for it. The customer takes the animal home and, although he loves his new pet, cares for it improperly because he doesn't know what he's doing. In a month the animal is on its deathbed due to the improper care it has received.

Who do you feel is the BIGGEST cause of the death of this animal?

1. The customer, because he did not do the necessary research before investing in the reptile.
2. The sales associate, because he did not have adequate information for the customer and therefore should not have sold the animal.
3. The store manager(s), because they did not properly train the sales associate about how to care for certain animals and allowed him to sell them anyways.
4. The corporate office of the pet store chain, because they do not encourage the managers they hire to make quality animal care and communication to customers their top priority.

I work at a pet store, and this question has been on my mind lately. I can't really decide on an answer. (**Note: I am not the actual sales associate in this story!)

[Patrick Long]

I would say, the customer.

You can never learn enough information on care. So many people put up so much different information.

The person should do more research other than a pet store employee.

[West Coast Jungle]

If you sell an animal you should be able to provide proper info on it's care and the equipment or info for the proper equipment for correct husbandry pratices. Unfortunately most large chains only care about the bottom line and hire the cheapest labor so they can get the highest return.

In a nutshell you should buy directly from a breeder that knows how to properly care for the animals and has experience to back it up.

We assume that a person in a pet store knows what he is talking about. That can be hit or miss, depending on the animal in question

[Bruce Whitehead]

I think corporate offices need to ensure their staff are properly trained.

But it doesn't seem that any of the large chains have any such process in place.

It infuriates me when I see how many pet store employees have to come online and do research on their own time to find out how to care for the animals in their employer's care.

Mites, RIs, improper husbandry, crappy cage furniture, etc. etc. etc.

But then again, if there was standardized care, it would revolve around products and not the animal's well-being. It would be about selling the package to the consumer.

Nice big glass tank... but no hydrogemeter. (Never got that one).

I hate putting it back on the customer. If they are told... "yeah, yeah, this animal is a dream to care for"...

I think people that buy from breeders are people who already know about bps. The average new pet owner, who is interested in a first time snake, does do what they think is proper research. AKA pet stores. But when the info is outdated, the staff are not properly trained, and the animal is sick to begin with, then they are pretty much in a lose lose situation.

How often do we see people come into forums, who have done LOTS of research, but get the same crappy outdate info over and over again? It isn't till they talk to other bp owners that they discover most of what they learned is not valid.

*ugh*

Bruce

[starmom]

The first BP we ever saw was in Petco. My son and I decided we loved it. The store employee gave us lots of (incorrect) husbandry information. We left the store, went home, and began our research that lasted for a couple of months before we felt okay to start looking for a BP from a breeder. We now have 8 (maybe 9) snakes waiting for warm weather to be shipped to us. In the meantime, we have our RBI cages (3) and RBI racks (2) all hooked up and steady on the temps, humidity, and everything. The only thing we still have to do is get the amp out of the room the snakes will be in. I am also encouraging one of my kids to move to Portland so that his younger brother can have his room and the snakes can have their own room! Ya know, this hobby pretty much takes on a life of its own!!
So, yeah, the pet owner needs to educate themselves prior to purchase. IMO.

[frankykeno]

I voted the purchaser because in the end, when you make a decision to take on any living creature, especially one that requires specific care and is long living and has the vast amount of information available for you to access on the internet - it's your responsibility.

[Brimstone111888]

Consumer, for the various reasons already listed.

[littleindiangirl]

I think it's great to have qualified staff that know their stuff, but it isn't their ultimate responsibility to teach the customer. Especially if most customers aren't interested in learning.

Just my experience with people in retail. Customers are your number 1 enemy. (I am a lil hateful )

Comes down to it, the customer has taken the responsibility when they bought the animal, the seller shouldn't have to be obliged to teach every single person that comes their way.

[MATT FISHER REPTILES]

i say the corprate office. for a couple reasons.
they are the ones at the end of the day that are not paying for the training of there sales people. as far as the person that sells it they are just doing a job. few because they actually like animals i bet. for the most part they are just trying to have a job and earn a living. and anyone that has a job to pay there bills i cant see to much fault with.

it seems that the coustomer should be at fault but who. petsmart / petco is souposed to know everything. most of them have a vet right there in the store. believe it or not there are many people out there that dont have the internet yet so the ammount of reasearch done is verry little after they get some advice from the store.

i was a petco the other day and i saw a kid walking out with a bcc and a critter keeper. and a parent that did not look to happy. the image i have of that snake in there in 1 year all balled up and cant move sadens me. or the alternative they let them go.

[Bojangles37]

If the sales rep gives INCORRECT information, they're at fault. If they give NO information, it's the customer's fault. If the rep doesn't have the right information, they should leave it to the consumer to do their own research.