What do you wish your LFS had told you?

greybeard · Dec 1, 2010

pink4miss said: ↑

yes it is. and i feel i have to hit the LFS on their delivery day each week and leaving empty handed is rare. why is that? lol
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LOL you addict! (pointing three fingers at myself here right now!)
Imagine having a list of fish, corals and crawlies that is like 25 pages long to pour over every week! I need heart meds to slow it down as I go over all the cool stuff! LOL (getting the shakes the morning the list comes in is not unheard of!)

due to me being very new to SW I have to control myself sooooo much since I won't take in anything I don't know how to properly house and care for... so tempting to order THEN study sometimes but i've only done that once and hated myself for it afterward.

greybeard · Dec 1, 2010

gabbagabbawill said: ↑

Just now reading through your post and understanding why you posted your question (admittedly, I only read the title of the post) and reading a few other posts...

I have been to a few "honest" stores and I have seen one of them close in the past year. even though the owner was kind of a d@&che, I never felt he was in it to take all my money... He just didn't manage the business very well...

I don't think there's anything wrong with offering good advice, and many times customers will come to your store seeking it, I'm sure... I know I did when I was a noob and didn't know any better... but I know better now, and there are only a few LFS employees that I will actually listen to... they happen to be the same ones who seem to be interested in listening to me as well, so we have a mutual understanding... Though I have seen this same person who is very smart give bad advice to a guy who was buying their first set up by telling them that they "could" go without a skimmer... now, maybe so, but not without doing some research into WHY you could go skimmerless... but he didn't take it that far... he also told a newb that a duncan was an easy beginner coral to keep...ugg. I know this guy and I know he wasn't being malevolent, but he didn't give them the best advice.

anyway, I think you should tell folks who are just getting into the hobby exactly what they need to know to get started, and that it's going to cost some money depending on what they want to keep.

Don't lead them down paths to "save" them money knowing that they will just spend what it takes to get by and then come back later when they find out it really costs more to keep a reef...

I think there is a delicate balance between winning a customer and losing one because of initial cost. If someone told me that a reef tank was going to cost me 2K+ to really get it where I want it, I'd have been scared away.

At the same time, if someone told me that I could do it for $500 and I spent $500 and lost a bunch of animals because I didn't have the proper set up, I'd be unhappy when I found out I really needed to spend more to get there, too, and I wouldn't trust the LFS who told me that...

So, really, just be honest, and let a customer make up their mind about things... maybe steer them towards adding a little at a time, and work with them over the long run, instead of spending all their money today, get them to come back when it's time to add the next piece. Honesty is the best policy, and when you don't know the answer, don't be afraid to admit it... just say, "that's a good question, and I'll be glad to find out for you!".
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I kind of view my SW section as an information co-op. I acknowledge often that many of my customers know a lot more than I do and have never been afraid to say that simple " I'm not sure... let's both find out!" answer.

Honesty is the only policy if you want to last in business. At least that is my belief. Shame more retailers don't know that.

Thanks!
Greybeard

greybeard · Dec 5, 2010

Peredhil said: ↑

I read page 1 and skipped to reply.

What I wish they would've told me:

"I am a liar after your money"

A little heads up on that would've been useful ;D A little honesty goes a long way
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Ok... so far from this thread the two biggest things are proper care sheets for anything I sell and the one that shouldn't ever have to be said, honesty.

Really sad that so many LFS have burnt so many people.

Thanks for sounding off

GreyBeard

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