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What do you love about your LFS?


cadre

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It sounds pretty trivial, but this is important to me: Make the store have a relaxing, peaceful atmosphere. Make everything very clean looking and have a couple of nice comfy chairs with a coffee table, maybe in front of a nice display tank or something. People will be more likely to buy things if they're relaxed.

 

Ex: Customer walks in after a long day at work and lounges on the couch in front of a 300g display reef tank. There could be some calming music playing at all times. The customer will have their mind taken off the stresses of life from staring at this beautiful tank and then will be much more likely to buy something instead of being uptight about money and what else they need to spend or not spend on.

 

I'm not sure if you guys will know what I'm talking about, but this makes perfect sense to me!

 

I am a long time customer of www.toofishy.com Something Fishy.

Although i live an hour drive from there and have many other options such as thatpetplace.com this is by far my favorite.

The owner's wife runs retail and is extremely knowledgeable from nano's to monsters. It's clean, small, personal and has everything even the most demanding coral buff could ever ask for. Prices are very fair and there is no pressure. The kids that work there rotate quite a bit but if they don't know something they are well trained to go ask the lady of the house.

Overall, if i was going to open a store i would try to mirror this one. Their maintenance, setup service is also very much recommended as a friend of mine had a custom in wall installed by them and it is unbelievable.

For the size of the store the selection is incredible and i have yet to see or purchase a sick animal from them.

They are also up on all the new items (leds, t5 bulbs, ......)

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I like how the kid that works there remembers who I am. Which shocks me because I've only been in this hobby a few months and have only made 3 or 4 trips there. he always asks how the tanks going and talks to me about their different livestock including the stuff he knows I have no way of buying/keeping. It makes me feel more comfortable just walking around looking.

 

That's what I like too. I try to remember people who I interact with when I am my work as well.

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+1 on the professional look

I have like 3 lfs within 20 miles and they all suck. haha

IMO, a good lfs needs to have a variety of good quality cheap frags... like someone mentioned. And also, they need to have a good and reasonably cheap equipment/supplies section. come on, i need a bag of chemipure or some salt mix and i gotta pay $$$ more than I would online with shipping included. I realize that the price is going to be higher than online, but today a HALF unit of Chemipure elite was $25.99. needless to say, i didnt buy it. ha

and obviously all the good things, 'cleanliness, friendly/knowledgeable staff...etc'

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It sounds pretty trivial, but this is important to me: Make the store have a relaxing, peaceful atmosphere. Make everything very clean looking and have a couple of nice comfy chairs with a coffee table, maybe in front of a nice display tank or something. People will be more likely to buy things if they're relaxed.

 

Ex: Customer walks in after a long day at work and lounges on the couch in front of a 300g display reef tank. There could be some calming music playing at all times. The customer will have their mind taken off the stresses of life from staring at this beautiful tank and then will be much more likely to buy something instead of being uptight about money and what else they need to spend or not spend on.

 

I'm not sure if you guys will know what I'm talking about, but this makes perfect sense to me!

I understand this and I'm still debating it. My lfs has a lot of lookie-loos (spelling?), in other words, people that spend hours wandering around the store as if it's a zoo and will never buy anything. These people would quickly take over any seating areas and sit there for hours. While I don't really have a problem with that, I'd rather not have screaming children running around my department any longer than I have to.

 

a list of what came in this week on their website. takes 2 seconds to do yet noone does this. they'd rather sit on the phone answering questions about this?

I was thinking about this too. I'd love to be able to have a full list but I think it would be easier said than done. Not only does someone have to sit there and type up the list after things move out of qt but they would need to update it as things are sold. That's time that could be better spent somewhere else.

 

JaneG, thanks a lot for your post. I love the store that you linked. I'm really struggling to figure out how to make the store feel open and inviting while still maximizing livestock..

 

Here's a question for you guys, how much online presence is appropriate for stores and their employees? Can you be active on forums (tricky not to be banned) or should a store focus on email lists and their own website?

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the list wouldn't need to be updated. just have a list of what was in the shipment you got. usually its in the invoice.

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the list wouldn't need to be updated. just have a list of what was in the shipment you got. usually its in the invoice.

Well, I wouldn't to a list of the shipment because we qt everything and often for varying lengths of time. We would need to do a list when we move things out of qt which would be possible. I think that updating it would be important though. Would you want to drive a couple hours to the store that finally got in this exotic fish only to find it's been sold?

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@OP, at the LFS I work at (small local chain) the associates are allowed on the local forums, but once you hit management, you're not. Plus we're never allowed to say who we work for. Idk if that's what you meant, but there ya go.

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I wish my LFS had a larger variety of inexpensive frags. I have a 3 gallon tank so small frags is all I can add. I need a variety of mushrooms and other softies.

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The main reason we don't stock small frags is because nobody will buy them. The number of picos out there doesn't = the number of larger tanks. Our $10 frag section has just sat there for months. We thought it would be a bigger hit.

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having a list that wasn't updated would be better than no list at all. people can always call to make sure it's in stock.

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My LFS they don't try and sell you anything unless you have a question its a little store you wouldn't expect and all the employees have become a friend of mine fun to just shoot the brees and hang out there

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You know what I like about my lfs> its managed to endure the economy of my city up and down since 96 and still be the only non corporate fish store w corals

 

 

they always offered the most diversity of life and Kyle is willing to make a deal even on his prized specimens, thats square business good luck in future business to you Im starting another pico soon so you've got me for another grand at least lol

 

mr aquarium lubbock

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Willingness to frag corals that are for sale. I can't stress this enough.

 

Employees that are hobbyists.

 

Proven ability to keep high quality livestock and have it thrive through both an impressive display tank AND healthy coral universally throughout stock tanks.

 

If it's sick, showing necrosis, etc. Move it to the back, throw it away, whatever you want to do but get it out of your customer-viewable tanks. Nothing turns me off more to a store than seeing sickly livestock anywhere. If I see it, I immediately question the quality of the remainder. ESPECIALLY when most fish stores won't match the 15 day guarantee of online operations.

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Willingness to frag corals that are for sale. I can't stress this enough.

 

Employees that are hobbyists.

 

Proven ability to keep high quality livestock and have it thrive through both an impressive display tank AND healthy coral universally throughout stock tanks.

 

If it's sick, showing necrosis, etc. Move it to the back, throw it away, whatever you want to do but get it out of your customer-viewable tanks. Nothing turns me off more to a store than seeing sickly livestock anywhere. If I see it, I immediately question the quality of the remainder. ESPECIALLY when most fish stores won't match the 15 day guarantee of online operations.

 

Oh and dead fish. Remove them.

 

ARE YOU THAT LAZY LFS people?

 

I absolutely loathe going into any store with more than one employee and seeing a dead fish in the tank. Especially if you're not that busy.

 

SW isn't hydrochloric acid folks. Stick your hand in there and remove it. That's like going to starbucks and them having a big ass pot of coffee spilled in the dining room....for like 2 hours. Walk around your store and look for dead fish every hour. If you see one that looks ill...flag the tank and check more often or remove it to a back room. Don't cover it up to customers by saying "oh yeah that one has looked bad since it arrived I just hope he makes it..."

 

Because all I'm hearing is "oh yeah that one might look healthy enough for some other numskull n00b to put in his tank...no 2-week guarantee = your bad!"

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Oh and dead fish. Remove them.

 

ARE YOU THAT LAZY LFS people?

 

I absolutely loathe going into any store with more than one employee and seeing a dead fish in the tank. Especially if you're not that busy.

 

SW isn't hydrochloric acid folks. Stick your hand in there and remove it. That's like going to starbucks and them having a big ass pot of coffee spilled in the dining room....for like 2 hours. Walk around your store and look for dead fish every hour. If you see one that looks ill...flag the tank and check more often or remove it to a back room. Don't cover it up to customers by saying "oh yeah that one has looked bad since it arrived I just hope he makes it..."

 

Because all I'm hearing is "oh yeah that one might look healthy enough for some other numskull n00b to put in his tank...no 2-week guarantee = your bad!"

 

If I see dead fish, chances are I'm not buying anything at all. I see it more prevalently with coral, though. I don't honestly care if it's discounted. Maybe you're nursing it back from death from shipping. I don't know nor do I care. It's at least possible that there's something goin on in your tanks that doesn't agree with the coral and I want no part of it. Stick it in the back or pitch it. Livestock, be it fish or coral, has no place in 'for sale' tanks if it's not at 100%.

 

This hobby has too many variables as it is, and I've never thought to myself "Thank God I took a chance on that one fish/coral." All it takes is one infected, dying, hitchhiker-bearing piece and your life is hell.

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Willingness to frag corals that are for sale. I can't stress this enough.

 

Employees that are hobbyists.

 

Proven ability to keep high quality livestock and have it thrive through both an impressive display tank AND healthy coral universally throughout stock tanks.

 

If it's sick, showing necrosis, etc. Move it to the back, throw it away. If I see it, I immediately question the quality of the remainder.

 

That's kind of a weird way of reasoning. Fish stores get different items from different suppliers. Sometimes stuff does not look so hot when it first comes in. May even take a month or two to heal or show correct coloration. If every time something looked less than perfect you hucked it in the trash, you would not make much money. The display and retail tanks are the healthiest most attended to tanks. I would want things to be in the best environment possible for the best shot at any needed recovery. How about if something is noticeably less than tip-top, you offered a deal or discount. Of course if it's diseased with something communicable then get it outta there. A dead tip on an acro or acan with a half gone polyp are not good candidates for giving up on or moving to the tanks in the back that no one will ever check again.

 

 

Edit: Of course dead/dying fish do not apply to this. They have to go in the qt tanks and out of sight. But that isn't necessarily a death sentence. I have seen hypo-salinity and copper cause some crazy comebacks.

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That's kind of a weird way of reasoning. Fish stores get different items from different suppliers. Sometimes stuff does not look so hot when it first comes in. May even take a month or two to heal or show correct coloration. If every time something looked less than perfect you hucked it in the trash, you would not make much money. The display and retail tanks are the healthiest most attended to tanks. I would want things to be in the best environment possible for the best shot at any needed recovery. How about if something is noticeably less than tip-top, you offered a deal or discount. Of course if it's diseased with something communicable then get it outta there. A dead tip on an acro or acan with a half gone polyp are not good candidates for giving up on or moving to the tanks in the back that no one will ever check again.

 

My suggestion to 'throw it away' has more to do with "get it out of your for sale tanks" than literally toss it in the trash. Run a recovery tank in the back or something if it helps your margin.

 

Edit: Reading. I see your point, but it makes me skittish to see livestock with necrosis or otherwise. I've seen several stores (mostly in the Chicago area) that are nothing but exemplary. I don't know what they do with the shipping 'casualties' but they're not in the visible tanks and that's where I feel the most comfortable. Am I going to refuse to buy soemwhere because I saw one bleached coral? No. But if there are multiple, I wonder...

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I hate a store where you have to ask the price of everything. Clear pricing is my #1 demand in a LFS.

 

Oh yea, forgot to mention this. I really hate it when I have to ask employees about the price of something.

 

Ex: One of my LFS's has a frag rack in one of the display tanks. I see a birds nest frag that looks cool.

Me: "How much is this frag?"

Employee: "$75."

Me: ":o, Uh, okay. That's a little pricey but thanks."

Then I walk out after that awkward confrontation.

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My suggestion to 'throw it away' has more to do with "get it out of your for sale tanks" than literally toss it in the trash. Run a recovery tank in the back or something if it helps your margin.

 

 

Recovery tanks for expensive corals are usually the less expensive coral tanks lol. If anyone wants it now in this condition it's 20 bucks. But if it stays there for 3 months and heals up and looks great it's going back in the 60 dollar section.

 

Edit: Reading. I see your point, but it makes me skittish to see livestock with necrosis or otherwise. I've seen several stores (mostly in the Chicago area) that are nothing but exemplary. I don't know what they do with the shipping 'casualties' but they're not in the visible tanks and that's where I feel the most comfortable. Am I going to refuse to buy soemwhere because I saw one bleached coral? No. But if there are multiple, I wonder...

 

I think you would like where I work :D

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I guess I have another thought on this. I am a bit of a niche market. You get lots of new customers through expertise and that's fine. But that doesn't mean much to me. I trust the internet over LFS employees 90/100 times and if I'm in there buying, I've already looked it up.

 

If I've never seen it before, I'm using my phone to look it up. If you want me buying your corals, you beat the online retailers because it's all WYSIWYG and "Damn, that's a nice piece!". As soon as I know more AND the livestock is nothing special, I'll just get my value by buying online.

 

I think you would like where I work :D

 

 

Where at? I've been to a pretty decent store in San Antonio; wish I remembered the name.

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Well they haven't actually ever said that I can't name drop in forums but just to be safe I don't. I live and work in the Arlington/Ft. Worth area and that's where the store is. It would be easy to figure out lol. Our ORA sps frags OWN the interwebs offerings lol. Crazy encrustation on lot's of them, generally 5-10 dollars cheaper than anywhere I have seen online and of course no shipping.

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I guess I wierd or something but I like buying corals that need a little tlc if I can get a good buy on them it's like a challenge. My only store locally is petco so every coral needs tlc lol. I want to walk in a lfs and see lots and lots of zoa frags. And large colonys of corals not everyone wants to wait years for their tank to look full.

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