Appalling Petco experence

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dspch911

dspch911

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2012
Messages
7,963
Location
Chicago, IL
Went to Petco (for the last time) tonight, first problem we encountered was that the food in the rat tank had mold on them which I politely mentioned to the sales girl as we discussed rats. We when went around the corner and looked at the mice. Big problem there, perhaps my eyes are deceiving me, is that really a tank of males and females? Oh no its not, its a tank of over 20 females WITH ONE MALE! I no sooner point that out to the bf and the male mouse is mounting a female..... :gaah: :gaah: :gaah: Hey sales girl, "your going to have a lot of baby mice as you have a male in with all the females" Sales girl "There is? I would take it out if I could, but due to inventory I can't it will mess up the tank counts" :panic: Seriously, I bet a bunch of babies will mess up your counts too..... :panic: Me: "The male tank is below the females all you have to do is put it in the other tank" :wallbang: Sales girl "If it was up to me I would, but I can't because of the way inventory is done." BF "What about telling a manager" Sales girl "I would, but he wouldn't care or do anything about it". :rant: :rant:
Last purchase made! Immediately went home and sent off a rather polite yet nasty email to Petco where I did tell them I would suggest to all my pet supply buying friends and family to never purchase another item from Petco!!! Let's see if they respond - I'm betting on NO :rant:
 
id get the telephone#of corporate&district, make calls send letters etc. im a bit of a fanatic that way, stores do not want to cross me or I have a list of next steps...
 
ltukey said:
id get the telephone#of corporate&district, make calls send letters etc. im a bit of a fanatic that way, stores do not want to cross me or I have a list of next steps...
Click to expand...
I might just do that. I sent off emails to all my family members and friends that have pets or buy pet supplies.
 
sometimes collecting receipt's from other pet supply places you shop&mailing them to the sore marked lost profits also helps...w/a letter outlining why these people chose to shop elsewhere
 
ltukey said:
sometimes collecting receipt's from other pet supply places you shop&mailing them to the sore marked lost profits also helps...w/a letter outlining why these people chose to shop elsewhere
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Awesome idea! Because those receipts are undeniable proof that people spent money somewhere else. :nod:
 
ltukey said:
sometimes collecting receipt's from other pet supply places you shop&mailing them to the sore marked lost profits also helps...w/a letter outlining why these people chose to shop elsewhere
Click to expand...

That is a great idea. I have my sister asking Petsmart to get the products she can only buy at Petco so hopefully they will.
 
My Petco also carries exclusively female rats now too. I don't know if the angry letter I sent them had anything to do with that policy decision, but a few years back my petco had both males and females *escaping* from their cage and living wild in the store. My boys Wesley and Basil (RIP) were both born feral inside the store and captured by employees.
 
dspch911 said:
ltukey said:
sometimes collecting receipt's from other pet supply places you shop&mailing them to the sore marked lost profits also helps...w/a letter outlining why these people chose to shop elsewhere
Click to expand...

That is a great idea. I have my sister asking Petsmart to get the products she can only buy at Petco so hopefully they will.
Click to expand...

Petsmart is not much different, they still sell animals and support and encourage mills. If people continue spending money at any store that sells animals (regardless of whether they buy anymals or not) businesses will continue buying cheap animals to sell from horrific conditions. The only way to stop what you witnessed (because even if they're treated well at store level, they were not before nor are their parents ever going to be treated well) is to support businesses that do not sell animals, whether they're small independent stores or online only companies.
 
victoria said:
dspch911 said:
ltukey said:
sometimes collecting receipt's from other pet supply places you shop&mailing them to the sore marked lost profits also helps...w/a letter outlining why these people chose to shop elsewhere
Click to expand...

That is a great idea. I have my sister asking Petsmart to get the products she can only buy at Petco so hopefully they will.
Click to expand...

Petsmart is not much different, they still sell animals and support and encourage mills. If people continue spending money at any store that sells animals (regardless of whether they buy anymals or not) businesses will continue buying cheap animals to sell from horrific conditions. The only way to stop what you witnessed (because even if they're treated well at store level, they were not before nor are their parents ever going to be treated well) is to support businesses that do not sell animals, whether they're small independent stores or online only companies.
Click to expand...

I do agree and 80-90% of my stuff is bought through drsfosterandsmith.com
 
I am really lucky. Here where I live there is a family owned store run by the 3 sisters. If they don't have a product you want they will gladly order it in for you. I buy all my supplies from them now! :D
 
Good that you tried to do something and as Jorats said, it must have been very frustrating.

Several years ago I made the decision not to purchase anything from stores that sell animals as I refuse to support their practices.
No matter how good a pet store may seem, they are still involved in animal abuse re suppliers, mills, etc
I find it is very easy to only purchase from people who make hammocks, online stores that do not sell animals, and local stores that do not sell animals.
I would encourage everyone who cares about animals to try not to purchase anything from pet stores.
 
I, aswell have been trying the past few years to not shop at pet stores. For the rats, I order their hammocks and liners from The Rat Stash, and their food and toys come from https://www.theratshop.com/index.php My bird gets his food and toys ordered online too, from websites i've found on a conure forum i'm a member of, and the cats food is purchased at our local vet clinic. all other toys are either from the grocery store or dollar store, or hand made :]
 
I am going to try that and order online from now on. I really like drsfosterandsmith.com their stuff is cheaper that the pet stores and I can order liter and food in bulk. However, I am going to have to do some research on where to get the cat food from that we use.
 
dosent matter where you collect receipts from, if it hurts them financially they take notice. I wish I still had mom&pop stores but the big stores drove them out of business. I don't trust online shopping so im pretty creative getting the farm&feed stores to stock some basics. I love fosters&smith as you can order by mail...but sometimes you need something fast. there is no clear cut solution, so I make places w/questionable practices take notice...a few hundred friends sales slips w/pet purchases circled every month works wonders, getting ill practices in the news or getting flyers done(the stores competitors&shelters love to do this)help....just things that work here
 
Petco has been calling me for days- as I see it on the caller ID, but either I have been in the middle of something where I cannot get to the phone or haven't been home.
 
My sister had a similar experience at an English pet shop, Pets at Home when she bought my 4 rats. She explained what had happened to me, on several different occasions, and it sounded like they didn't really know what they were doing with rats. It was a shame, and my sister said she'd never shop there again. But then my friend bought a rabbit from a Pets at Home in town and said they were brilliant, and even rang a while later to check up to see how she was doing with it.

Poor fancy rats never seem to get as much attention as bigger animals :(
 

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