Does my LFS suck?

[Joekovar]

I'm fortunate in that I have multiple LFS relatively close. There's a couple I haven't even been to yet.

They all suck at something. They all excel at others. It's just a matter of what they focus their efforts on.

In your instance, I would mark that as a livestock shop, and look around for other places to fill other needs. Personally, I think finding decent livestock shops is the toughest part of the puzzle, and you're ahead of the game.

You may find that if you focus on the things you like about the shop while you're there, he won't pickup on negative vibes, won't get defensive, and conversations won't get rude in tone.

 

[fish farmer]

That’s a good point. Online is LFS to someone, right? Even WWC is someone’s literal LFS...

My "good" long distance LFS carries WWC frags.

 

[X-37B]

3 lfs in my area. All will price match. They are hurting do the current situation. Rude does not cut it in my book even if its the only store in town. To many online choices for any business to act that way imo.

 

[RCS82]

I understand the whole support your LFS mantra but I'm not doing much of that anymore. Our city has maybe 4 or 5 places to shop. None of them are really that bad or rude, but they just dont cater to hobbyists who have been around around a couple years i feel. All of them carry Ecotech and Neptune gear, stuff I'm not into, no fault to them really. I like my GHL gear, run metal halides, use Tunze pumps. That stuff is non existent here so if I have a problem with something I have to go online to deal with it anyways. I have a gen4 xr15 and the one LFS, that I bought a pair of these from, I asked twice last year if they could order me a diffuser to try, still haven't heard back. That was one of a few things I asked them to help me out with but no reply. Most of the live rock bins I see here are just dry rock that is cured and usually growing bubble algae and aptasia. Fish are hit or miss with disease.
So ya, I'll just stick to online shopping for the most part.

 

[Mario0240]

Also FWIW, he’s not always rude. Just when I bring up wanting to try dosing kalk, for example. It’s why would you want to do that. If it’s working don’t change it etc. he also doesn’t carry any kalk, one line of 2 part (which is fritz), and only IO salt (which is heavily marked up as well).

 

[andrewey]

I think it's also important to recognize when a LFS is providing "value". I've had instances where a LFS opened early so I could collect 100 gallons of water for an emergancy water change. Similary, I had another store hold all my stock for a week after one of my tanks cracked and started leaking. To me, a good LFS can provide services an online vendor can never touch (and don't get me wrong, they both have their place). For me, the extra cost I pay by shopping at the LFS simply supports a business that supports me as a hobbyist. If you don't feel like your LFS is supporting you, then by all means look elsewhere. However, you might be surprised to learn how your LFS is willing to help or what "perks" they don't advertise.

 

[Mario0240]

I understand the whole support your LFS mantra but I'm not doing much of that anymore. Our city has maybe 4 or 5 places to shop. None of them are really that bad or rude, but they just dont cater to hobbyists who have been around around a couple years i feel. All of them carry Ecotech and Neptune gear, stuff I'm not into, no fault to them really. I like my GHL gear, run metal halides, use Tunze pumps. That stuff is non existent here so if I have a problem with something I have to go online to deal with it anyways. I have a gen4 xr15 and the one LFS, that I bought a pair of these from, I asked twice last year if they could order me a diffuser to try, still haven't heard back. That was one of a few things I asked them to help me out with but no reply. Most of the live rock bins I see here are just dry rock that is cured and usually growing bubble algae and aptasia. Fish are hit or miss with disease.
So ya, I'll just stick to online shopping for the most part.

I just asked our place here to help with finding a power supply for an ATO that was given to me without the power supply. Needless to say I ordered it later that night knowing he won’t actually help me with it.

 

[Mario0240]

I think it's also important to recognize when a LFS is providing "value". I've had instances where a LFS opened early so I could collect 100 gallons of water for an emergancy water change. Similary, I had another store hold all my stock for a week after one of my tanks cracked and started leaking. To me, a good LFS can provide services an online vendor can never touch (and don't get me wrong, they both have their place). For me, the extra cost I pay by shopping at the LFS simply supports a business that supports me as a hobbyist. If you don't feel like your LFS is supporting you, then by all means look elsewhere. However, you might be surprised to learn how your LFS is willing to help or what "perks" they don't advertise.

Very good point. You’re absolutely right. He has helped me before. I needed some carbon after hours, and he left me some out behind his shop and let me pay for it a week later with no haste.

 

[tehmadreefer]

You see this with a lot of grumpy old guys that own stores in this hobby. I go in buy what I need and leave.

 

[fish farmer]

I agree 100%. But, in my opinion, him being the only fish store in town, why wouldn’t he want to keep up with the times? For what it’s worth, he also sells small animals like birds and reptiles too..

What "keeping up with the times" do you speak of? Does he have great looking reef tanks using "dated" methods.

 

[NS Mike D]

I guess I am very lucky in that I have 2 LFS that specialize in reef aquariums (I believe there are a few more within an 45min drive) that are well stocked and knowledgable. We also have a very good reef club which members donate a good deal for the raffle/auctions to help the club - I can pick up 3- 4 frags of common coals for $5 at any give meeting. (I love cheap frags).

We also have a number of hobbysist/commercial local coral growers that will work with you on great value coral packs - passing along the shipping costs..

Then there is Petco five minutes from my house for a lot of staples and box store pricing,

And, I can take a page out of PaulBs book and grab some mud/pods from the bays while out on my kayak.


I guess that is a fair trade off for sky high housing costs and round the clock traffic jams.

 

[gabrieltackitt]

FWIW.....

I always try and support any LFS(yes even online some are still LFS's). With this recent pandemic, I think you'll be seeing a huge dent in any local store, and not in a good way.

I have a few LFS in my area and anytime I need something I try to always call/message them first to see if they have it, I am more than willing to pay a little extra to get what I want locally. One store uses the same distributors as BRS and can get almost anything for about the same price so I always try there first. Nothing against BRS, love what they are doing for this hobby, but gotta support the local guys first, then turn to BRS.

A few of my LFS have even been doing home deliveries during all of this craziness.

 

[Doglips56]

That's usually what happens when we go to Burlington..the last time the dog got a new sweater.

This is off topic but Vermont is near and dear to my heart. My mother was born and raised in Barre and her family used to be a very large presence there but have all passed on now. I live outside Atlanta, haven’t been to Vermont since 2012 when I came to be with my dying aunt. Other than one cousin in Berlin I have no more living relatives there. My grandparents had a cabin on Lake Champlain too. What part of the state are you in?

 

[ENGReef]

Customer service is KEY!!!!!

Its hard for a brick and mortar store to compete as it is, but if they cant give basic customer service, I would be out.
Considering that the big online retailers have spot on service from what I have dealt with, I would be hard pressed to business with the owner that you're describing.

 

[NS Mike D]

Also FWIW, he’s not always rude. Just when I bring up wanting to try dosing kalk, for example. It’s why would you want to do that. If it’s working don’t change it etc. he also doesn’t carry any kalk, one line of 2 part (which is fritz), and only IO salt (which is heavily marked up as well).

I feel for LFS, shelf space is rent for them, so unless they have high volume that can move product they have to carefully limit what they carry. A good LFS on the other hand will order whatever you need and let you know when it arrives.

Some folks don't realize their lack of tact. I think "dont fix it if it aint broke" is a very good advice and understanding you motives to change up things is very useful in providing advice and guidance. but it is a skill to do so without insulting your customer.

 

[Mario0240]

What "keeping up with the times" do you speak of? Does he have great looking reef tanks using "dated" methods.

He has decent looking tanks in his shop. I won’t lie. Good looking fish and frags. He likes using the slow release tabs and not dosing individual chemicals. So I guess that’s what I mean by “keeping up with the times”...

 

[jcolliii]

There was a pretty decently stocked reef store up here a few years ago - a fair amount of corals, mostly LPS, but hey, I'll take it. Went in a few times for hermit shells, salt. Then, the one time I tried to buy a coral - was looking at a duncan he had in a tank - said something like 'Duncans - $20 per head' on the sign. So I pried him away from the hardcore flirting he was doing with a very young female employee, he finally comes over. I asked for three heads of that duncan - he looks in the tank and says curtly, "That's not for sale," with absolutely no explanation. I pointed to the sign and he (rudely this time) said "THAT'S NOT FOR SALE."

I went and found my wife who was looking at a lamp for the girl's gecko and told her to put it back and that we're never coming back here. We didn't. They're closed now. Good riddance.

 

[Mario0240]

There was a pretty decently stocked reef store up here a few years ago - a fair amount of corals, mostly LPS, but hey, I'll take it. Went in a few times for hermit shells, salt. Then, the one time I tried to buy a coral - was looking at a duncan he had in a tank - said something like 'Duncans - $20 per head' on the sign. So I pried him away from the hardcore flirting he was doing with a very young female employee, he finally comes over. I asked for three heads of that duncan - he looks in the tank and says curtly, "That's not for sale," with absolutely no explanation. I pointed to the sign and he (rudely this time) said "THAT'S NOT FOR SALE."

I went and found my wife who was looking at a lamp for the girl's gecko and told her to put it back and that we're never coming back here. We didn't. They're closed now. Good riddance.

I don’t blame you. I’d be out if there too. Fast.

 

[Mario0240]

I feel for LFS, shelf space is rent for them, so unless they have high volume that can move product they have to carefully limit what they carry. A good LFS on the other hand will order whatever you need and let you know when it arrives.

Some folks don't realize their lack of tact. I think "dont fix it if it aint broke" is a very good advice and understanding you motives to change up things is very useful in providing advice and guidance. but it is a skill to do so without insulting your customer.

Per haps that’s the problem. Not necessarily that he’s rude, just blunt and honest. Idk. I just feel like it’s a 50/50 shot going in there.

 

[Fishbird]

If your LFS has good looking tanks and will open just for you to get something you need outside of normal hours, I would say not only does your LFS *not* suck, but that it’s a pretty good one.
You ask why does it carry mainly Seachem products. I don’t think it would be possible for a local small store to have a stock room equivalent of Amazon, or even BRS.
I also don’t think it’s bad to ask you why you want to dose since there are a number of threads here where people start dosing because they think they “should” and run into problems. Perhaps he was asking to make sure you had a reason and weren’t wasting your money?

as for the price differences between small businesses and amazon...well amazon will always win. And amazon has so many problems with labor practices and terrible working conditions that I save up to pay for more expensive equipment because I’d rather support businesses that hopefully treat employees like humans and because I don’t want to live in a world where corporations are even stronger.