clounge

Yeah there is nothing worse than a salesman jumping on your back with annoying small talk etc. But there is importance that the staff acknowledge you and let you know they are free and willing to help if you should need them. This can be as simple as a basic "hi" or eye contact with a smile or making themselves available though out the showroom. Not all behind the counter out the back talking etc While this should probably not be expected every time while the store might be busy etc. I would expect a reputable store to at least do this 50% to 70% of the time. I feel bad myself if I don't say hi to a person that comes in to my store. (After all they have made an effort to come and visit with probably a high expectation to spend or spend in the future) I know it is impossible to do it everytime ,and everyone has there bad days - and you can not keep everybody happy. But showing that you care about service is not a hard thing to do. If you ask a staff member a question - do they have a certain type of fish in stock and you get a blunt "no" and then they carry on working. This happened to me last week. Just Pathetic. Those types of answers just make me not want to ask any advice or for help to buy something. I ended up driving all the way over to Albany and was able to spend my money happily. Maybe I'm just expecting that my local fish store isn't just that and mainly they are just there for the enthusiast that already knows more than the average beginner.

I spend my money where I get the best service. Anyone who goes the extra mile to be helpful deserves to get my money. I have spent a lot of time reading these forums about fish keeping and other various sites. When I go to purchase something I will normally ask questions based on what I have learned and take it from there. Like I said I have been to Hollywood more than 8 times giving them ample chances just in case they were having a bad day / busy etc. But each time except once I have walked out of there in disbelief, how can they just ignore me and be so rude? I have read about HFF and how awesome these guys are but on the other 7 occasions they haven’t been a bar on Animates or other stores I have visited. I really wanted to spend money at HFF, hey it is only 5mins away, It is cheaper, they supposedly know a lot about fish (Never really had a chance to find out). Like I said no greetings - no one came and asked if I needed any help. And when I asked for help I got very basic short answers – Don’t bother me or I'm to busy to help you out attitude. You don’t need a degree in sales to be polite and helpful to potential customers who want to spend money on their hobby. It shouldn't matter if you are a learner or a ninja fish keeper it makes no difference. They should treat every customer with the potential of them maybe spending thousands. This isn’t a bring me down negative post, I’m doing it coz I see great potential in HFF and hopefully their staff or manager reads this and does give everyone a pep talk. While you could look at this as a negative post it is actually a great opportunity for HFF to come to the rescue of 3 potential customers (in the above 10 posts or so) – Easy money if you ask me.

I have just read this thread and feel compelled to explain my experience from Hollywood. I usually don't post. But I feel so frustrated with them, I think I should vent. I have been to Hollywood Fish Farm Mount Roskill over 8 times in the last month.(I only live 5mins away) I have only ever been greeted once and I have always had to ask for help even if I stand next to their sales counter with all the accessories, I'll get ignored for 10 minutes or more - who trained their staff? It comes across to me like a major hassle for any staff to help me out, which then makes me feel hesitant to ask for help. I get short quick answers like "no" and maybe 3 word sentences; this just shows you how much they really don't care. I have only received good service once and I think that was from the owner of the store. He spent quite a lot of time with me explaining things to me and finding a potential problem with my setup. (He also got a sale out of it) I was prompted to go to them by reading about them on this forum and how awesome they were and feel quite let down by the whole experience. Their Albany store is nice - I have been in there twice and have been greeted and helped out on each occasion. This resulting in me purchasing as well. Both stores stock range is impressive - but there is no point having the best displays if you can't back it up with helpful friendly service. I have also been to nearly every Animates store in Auckland to check out all there fish rooms and would have to say the Botany Store is great - MT Eden and Westgate store are really good also. I have always been greeted nicely by their staff in those stores and always made to feel welcome. I have asked for their fish expert and they have always been more than helpful and confirmed what I have already learned by reading and learning on this forum. Thus resulting in purchases. My wife has had mixed experiences with buying stuff from them though for our other pets. So I guess it does depend who you get. I have spent well over $2000 in the last month and always reward the stores that help me the most in terms of advice and friendly service. Animates has notched up well over $1700 of that $2000. While Hollywood only $300. (While I also knew that I could have saved quite a bit more if I did shop and buy everything from Hollywood) While I’m a strict believer in supporting the little guy like Hollywood, they would have to improve there basic level of service for me to spend anything there again. Their attitude to customers does not match their fish aptitude