New_to_fish_world Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 now compare that to the position vacant adds on here from hff and wow, i know where i'd go for good advice and healthy fish (unless i happen to be in palmy when you guys are working ) Got my first fish tank two weeks ago Since then I have meet one fish person and she has been the biggest help out. If I had used my brain right in the first place I would of Jumped on the net and done MY home work not just jumped in and believed what I was being told at a pet store Well lesson learnt it is good to know that there are some people who work in pet stores that know what they are on about tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 I have kept away from this but feel that I need to point out a few things Firstly, not all store are the same so you will alway get good and less than good second, a managers job is to manage and thats where their abilities should be at. Its possible that the managers are not up to it and that seem to be the case but its the managers job to employ people to be well versed in their areas or speciality as well as set the standards for service and make sure that those standard are being kept. I have found some very capable people working at Animates so by knocking Animates, your knocking some very good people as well as some that may not be quite as good. Ive also come accross people(staff) that have less knowledge in specialty stores not only in the live stock areas but also in appliance stroes. What I am trying to say (I think) is realise that a managers jobs is to manage not to have intermate knowledge in their products and that often the staff are there only to collect their paypacket. A good manager should be able to weed out those that are not all that good but each one of us will put extra effort in when the boss is around. When that boss has IDed a "problem" staff member what can he do? To be honest, not much at all as the empolyment laws do not allow you to dismiss someone for a lack of knowledge. Just some interesting things to thing about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 you'd hope though that they'd try to hire people with some knowledge of the animals and products they sell, or give them some basic training in them. They seem to be entirely focused on sales, which will mean they lose in the long term as people find alternative shops where at least some of the staff know their products. I remember the mt eden Jansens being really good for fish way back, i set up my first tank with advice from their fish person and never had a problem, good advice on stocking, tank set up etc. It was a shame when they sold out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 I employ people almost everyone lies through their teeth to get the job and it takes a lot of work and hours to sift out all of the bull. Ive even had WINZ tell a guy to tell me he had experiance in related work but on the first day, he showed that he had no knowledge at all. Now days, you can again place a person on 3 months trial but up untill then you simply were not legally allowed to hire that way. I had decided not to employ people untill that law was changed but now I can afford to give a person a go yet still let them go if they are not up to it. I have just taken another person on (on a 3 month trial) and know that although they are probably going to be OK, I can get rid of them if they prove not to be. One wonders how many "bad" staff members have been hired and now their employers cant get rid of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 One wonders how many "bad" staff members have been hired and now their employers cant get rid of them probably a few around the country Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 probably a few around the country Ah but theres something called a 3 month probation period. that usually weeds out the completely incompetent and stupid. the smarter ones will appear to their superiors to be competent for the first 3 months then start being useless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Ah but theres something called a 3 month probation period. that usually weeds out the completely incompetent and stupid. the smarter ones will appear to their superiors to be competent for the first 3 months then start being useless 3 month probationary period is only for companies with 50 or fewer employees, iirc. I believe Animates has one or two more than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 I'm sure there are some absolutely lovely people working at animates and have come across some myself. And having little animal knowledge does not make you an unlovely person at all.. but in a petshop it would be nice to have staff actually know their stuff. I once had a sales staff not know what a cuttlefish holder was and she started to walk over to the fish section, I mean come on! Professional Development in the core of their business (animals and pets and supplies) would go a huge long way to customer satisfaction. If I'm not sure about something I would like to have confidence that the person I'm asking questions of , actually knows what they are talking about and not just trying to sell me the item anyway. I have had both good and bad experiences at Animates.. but the bad were really bad and so I usually go elsewhere as my first port of call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axolotl-danio Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 I was in a lfs in Nelson a couple of weeks ago and neons were over $4.00! I just about had a heart attack all pet shops in nelson have neons at about $4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Far out, that's alot to pay for neons... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 there's three on trademe for $12.50, I wonder how much they paid if they want that much back after a few weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joliet Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 I have kept away from this but feel that I need to point out a few things Firstly, not all store are the same so you will alway get good and less than good second, a managers job is to manage and thats where their abilities should be at. Its possible that the managers are not up to it and that seem to be the case but its the managers job to employ people to be well versed in their areas or speciality as well as set the standards for service and make sure that those standard are being kept. I have found some very capable people working at Animates so by knocking Animates, your knocking some very good people as well as some that may not be quite as good. Ive also come accross people(staff) that have less knowledge in specialty stores not only in the live stock areas but also in appliance stroes. What I am trying to say (I think) is realise that a managers jobs is to manage not to have intermate knowledge in their products and that often the staff are there only to collect their paypacket. A good manager should be able to weed out those that are not all that good but each one of us will put extra effort in when the boss is around. When that boss has IDed a "problem" staff member what can he do? To be honest, not much at all as the empolyment laws do not allow you to dismiss someone for a lack of knowledge. Just some interesting things to thing about Quality assurance is the key thing when hiring staff. Animates is a store that specialises in specific areas so should be hiring staff who have knowledge of that area or should at least be training staff to have knowledge in that area. There is a massive difference between someone in an Animates store and say, someone behind a supermarket counter who doesn't need to know the stock inside out or answer specific questions asked by someone who is trying to care for a pet they have or are looking to purchase. I worked for a jewellery company for a long time and the first thing I was given when I started was a thick training manual that told me everything to know about the products we stocked and how to sell them to the right people. Without that knowledge or skill base there is NO way I could have had so many customers and so many sales. And I wasn't even dealing with a subject so close to so many peoples hearts (i.e., pets.) Some staff, SOME staff, at Animates are under-trained in both the products they're selling and customer service in general - and this is across the board, not just in the fish department. Now that I know it's not a franchise, they really have no excuse not to have a stock standard training manual that goes out to every employee so they know at least some basics, or hire a specialist person for each area of the store so that other staff members can go to them if they don't know the answers to a customers questions (I'm aware of maybe one store in CHCH that does hire a specialist, who never seems to be around anyway .. ). There is no doubt in my mind (because I'm a customer and a trained sales person) that Animates are losing customers every day due to poor customer service - not to mention the amount of fish that are dying due to poor advice given to customers and lack of upkeep in the stores displays. I'm not having a go at you I'm just trying to explain why it's not fair to just fob it off to managers only 'managing' people and staff members only wanting a pay packet when there are so many fine elements involved in working at a pet store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze-dragon Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Animates Kaiwharwhara staff are rotated almost weekly around the various stocks, fish staff to the small mammal enclosures etc. Which isint exactly a smart idea when they have brand new staff working, they aren't in the same sales area long enough to gain proper skills and knowledge. don't know if this happens everywhere tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moya Posted September 13, 2009 Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 Just furthering on joilets comment. Animates do have a training system in place, one each for birds, fish, dogs, cats, small animals, but this covers the basics only, and is no substitute for experience or passion. If the staff member has no particular intrest in fish then theyre not going to be any good at helping people who do! I personally miss the days where Jansens had Fishos and Petos. People who had a real passion for fish were employed as fishos. People who had a real passion for cats and dogs and other furry/feathery pets were employed as petos. Fishos were always present down in the fish room, and if you werent a fisho and someone came up and asked you a question about fish, well then, you could say "You know, ive got just the person for you, ill go and grab one of our fishos!". Not only did it mean these guys new their stuff, but the customer, i think, felt like they were getting a real proffesional service, having someone that specialised in aquatics. And yeah, salespeople are also silly. They think not knowing the answer means that they should make it up. Everyone go into an animates store tomorrow and tell them about the fish forums! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted September 13, 2009 Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 I'm not having a go at you I'm just trying to explain why it's not fair to just fob it off to managers only 'managing' people and staff members only wanting a pay packet when there are so many fine elements involved in working at a pet store. No problem at all and I do agree with you in a lot of areas. The thing that concerned me was that people were confusing things and having a go at managers where they are there for their knowledge of managing and not of the product (although I agree that they should have some knowledge). A lot of larger companies hire cheap labour rather than knowledge but my other point was that people say they know a lot but often simply dont, but this dosnt show up untill a month or two down the track after it use to be too late to do anything about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nymox Posted September 13, 2009 Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 Retail chains such as could do more to get their staff enthusiastic, they are on low pay and I know working in retail when I was younger, $12.50 just wasnt enough to make me want to be and helpful as i can all the time, Our Boss was smart enough to make sure we had huge insentives between the stores to out compete each other, he would send in under cover customers to access us when the managers where out. Top store of the week would be a meal out, or movie vouchers all kinds of things. And what I like the most is he would make sure we spoke to us personally every day at each store, he obviously couldnt come to every shop but a simple phone call or an email to keep his staff on more of a personal level. My last trip to animates I just ended up flirting with one of the staff members there, she didnt know alot about what I was asking but I could see she was making an effort, and was happy to admit she wasnt sure on something, and said she would ask around and look into it for me. But on other occasions (specially sat/sun) I tend to find its a little hard to get help, You get plenty of "hi" and smiles, but no can I help you's. Theres my 2 cents anyways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted September 14, 2009 Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 I also worked in retail for many years, with about 5 years as a retail manager. There are lots of different ways of making sure you get the right person for the job, and once you have them, making sure they stay motivated and continue to get better as time goes on. Barrie, your point about people not being honest during the interview process is a good one. I have been involved in a lot of interviews over the years, both as employee and employer. The most effective interviews are often the ones that appear to be an unstructured conversation but are actually designed to learn a lot about a person, their knowledge and their attitude. For example there is no point in a job interview asking someone if they are passionate about [whatever the product is]. Of course they will say "yes" because they want the job. If I were interviewing staff for a job in a pet store, I would walk around the shop with the interviewee and observe them with the animals, other staff and potential customers. I would chat to them and ask them what's their favourite fish [for example] and why is it their favourite? Would that fish be suitable in every tank? If not, why not? How about this puppy? If someone came in the store to buy that puppy, what questions would you ask them first? etc etc. They don't have to know all the answers, but they will reveal a lot about their interests, their attitude and their abilities during that process. I think problems with mismatched staff are 50/50 the responsibility of the staff member and the employer. The last job I applied for, the manager spent his whole time telling me what a wonderful company it is, and his great plans for the future. Then he gave me the job because I nodded and smiled at the right times and he liked me, but he knew absolutely nothing about my ability to do the job. He is currently involved in several legal disputes with other former staff as a direct result of his lack of proper recruitment, selection (and dismissal) procedures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted September 14, 2009 Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 Animates have a stringent process though... People are reviewed by the manager and 2IC with regards to the positions they require, followed by an interview, followed by review and interview with the regional manager etc.. Its a bit of overkill to go through when at the end of it they offer you peanuts :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted September 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 Animates have a stringent process though... People are reviewed by the manager and 2IC with regards to the positions they require, followed by an interview, followed by review and interview with the regional manager etc.. Its a bit of overkill to go through when at the end of it they offer you peanuts :lol: Gotta wonder how some of their slack staff and those with poor attitudes re customer service slip through the new then.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 Gotta wonder how some of their slack staff and those with poor attitudes re customer service slip through the new then.... Just gonna revive this thread for a minute. I went in yesterday because I ended up having unexpected baby swordtail's and wanted to go find some other food for them. Went there because it was the only place open after 5 on a Sunday that was close. Picked up Liquifry (they only had two types of food) and when I got to the counter figured i'd ask if it was the right one (even when I know what I want to buy I can't help but check with the "fish expert" in case they can recommend something better) and the girl was like "Um, ah, um it should be ok. Um, *reads label* um, I think you should buy this one". Not helpful, and she looked like she didn't want to be there. Yes, it's Sunday, yes you're almost finished work and i'm bugging you, but smile! Just glad that even though i'm a newbie i google everything half a million times so I can find out what I should buy and whatnot, because if I went in there knowing nothing and looking for medication or something she could be doing so much harm! Rather off-putting. It's not hard to say "I don't know i'll go and find someone who does" or if you're going to work there do some basic research because it's better than nothing. :roll: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 You don't need special food for swordtail fry anyway - just finely crush flake in your fingers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 I did that for the first day but they're my first babies so I got a bit excited and thought other food might be better. :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 i tried the crushed flake and liqufry but my babies didnt seem to grow very fast - so i got some microworms - from my experience they grow much much faster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 i find more frequent water changes really encourages growth too.. something to do with lower nitrates I read somewhere. I feed my platy fry decaps 3-4 times a day for the for first week and then just crushed flakes twice day and they grow really fast. BTW went to animates in the weekend to look for guppy but most the males had torn tails and a lot of females were clamping their fins.. so I didn't buy anything . My Platy i got from them however have been the picture of good health, but I went in week after week till I found some that looked good AND appeared healthy .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcase Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 Can't see anyone has mentioned that Animates is owned by MasterPet (in case anyone was wondering) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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