Local Petco-Sick Chameleon

Ok,thats a start...but is the petco CEO will assure that for the customers who purchase their chameleons??is there a satisfaction guarantee on the current policy that the General public will have peace of their mind,if they do purchase their chameleons???
 
jajeanpierre said:
How do you know that?
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I've seen it in a lot of stores. Very rarely is it a stuck shed issue, because if the store is doing what it's supposed to be the reptiles are supposed to get checked and misted if need be every hour. But the lack of vitamins or calcium given to the reptiles causes severe eye issues. And though the bulbs often don't bother them,petco can get some pretty young babies in, so I wouldn't be surprised if the bullbs bothered them.
 
Andee said:
I've seen it in a lot of stores. Very rarely is it a stuck shed issue, because if the store is doing what it's supposed to be the reptiles are supposed to get checked and misted if need be every hour. But the lack of vitamins or calcium given to the reptiles causes severe eye issues. And though the bulbs often don't bother them,petco can get some pretty young babies in, so I wouldn't be surprised if the bullbs bothered them.
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You really have absolutely no idea why any of these animals have an eye issue. It appears you are neither a vet nor have you examined any of the animals. Please be careful of what you pass off as fact. When conjecture is presented as fact enough times, people start believing it to be a truth.
 
**update** just received this email back from Petco. I'm impressed! I did visit the store about an hour ago and the chameleon was not in the enclosure anymore.

**************
Hello Ms. Bryan


After receiving your note of concern on December 29th regarding the chameleon in the California, MD Petco, we did some investigating. The store had taken the chameleon to the vet on Dec 23rd to have the eye examined. The vet determined that there was nothing necessarily wrong with the eye, but decided out of caution to prescribe a treatment of Neopolybex anyway. I reminded the store that if the vet prescribed something, there was an issue and that it should be medicated in the wellness center and not kept on the sales floor. The store has moved the chameleon back to our in-store wellness center and will continue with the treatment as directed.


I appreciate your concern, and thank you for bringing it to our attention. At Petco, we have a responsibility to do the right thing for all of the animals. If you do have any further questions, please feel free to call me at (858) 880-6598. I do hope you have a fun and safe New Year!

Thank you

Jason Pressly



From the desk of…

Jason Pressly

District Manager D43 Washington DC Metro

Petco Animal Supplies

P: (858)880-6598

F: (858)909-2713
 
jajeanpierre said:
Or you can buy from the internet. If everyone refused to purchase their reptiles and reptile supplies from the big box pet store chains as you have done, they might change the way they do things.
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Shipping a 30lb bag of dog food to my house is a bit much. As for the rest, the whole reptile world doesn't use these forums, so there is no organized effort. Lastly there are places where there are no mom and pop stores anymore, just because you can buy something from the internet doesn't mean people will. In many cases the shipping kills the person's motivation to buy elsewhere.
 
Andee said:
The petco store I work at feeds crickets everyday, and I personally dust everyone's crickets when I feed them. The issue is we don't have plain calcium for our feeders right now, none in store either. So I've gone to my manager and said, we need this, because none of the other associates care enough to. I am planning on becoming the aquatics specialist and making some changes when I do. Our veiled chameleon is aggressive with every other store associate but me but that's because I actually take my time with her and don't expect anything out of her other than hopefully no reaction of aggression. Everyone else moves to fast and wants to hold her, or forces her to do something she doesn't want to do. And everytime I try to explain that they can't do that, they give me the, "oh that new girl doesn't know what she's talking about," look.
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The Petco I got my chameleon from has one girl who knows how to take care of all the reptiles and she personally makes sure that they are taken care of and not many petcos or petsmarts have employees like that, who take the proper time and care to properly care for the pets. It is sad that big chain stores have employees that do not know anything about the animals that they are supposed to be caring for. I wish more pet store employees were like the lady that I got my chameleon from.
 
Another dead panther cham just pass away from our new member:(,we really need to get these thing resolve,people buy the chameleons from the pet stores,but the chameleon are already sick,Im really sick of being A)customer service and B)attending their dead cham funeral !!!!
IF THE PET STORE(IN GENERAL) CAN NOT TAKE GOOD PROPER CARE TO THEIR CHAMELEONS,DON'T EVER SELL THEM TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC,IT HURTS SO MANY NEW CHAM OWNERS FEELING,WHEN THEIR CHAMELEONS DIES IN THEIR OWN HOME,WAKE UP PEOPLE,THIS WILL NEVER BE STOP IF WE LET THIS HAPPEN OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!!!Grrrrrrrr
 
@Petco where I live only feeds their chameleon's mealworms too, which isn't good. Because mealworms are mostly hard exoskeleton which is harder to digest than other insects. I stopped shopping at Petco because of their insane prices on some pet supplies and their complete lack of knowledge on most things in my experience. Also, when I first got my chameleon from a breeder, AT FIRST I was buying my crickets from my local Petco. I was gutoading them for 3 days before feeding to my chameleon.

The problem, was that I was paying 14 cents PER CRICKET!!! that is OUTRAGEOUS. there were bait shops within 20 minutes of my house that sold live crickets for less (one sells them for 4 cents a piece, any size. the other sells them for 5 cents a piece, any size) and there is also a Petsmart within 3-4 minutes of my local Petco that was selling them for 13 cents a piece. then, Petco RAISED THEIR PRICES after a few weeks and now charge 15 CENTS A CRICKET, EVEN WITH THE PETCO LOYALTY CARD!!!!!! (they sell them for 16 cents without the card. what a whopping savings there, eh kids?)

I tried to price match the crickets from the bait shops with Petco, and they fed me some crap about how they don't price match live animals. I knew this, as their policy states that they price match stuff except for live animals or services. I asked if they can at least match their biggest competitor Petsmart and I got fed the same story. Although a cricket is a live animal, it's technically considered food for my chameleon. So it's not an animal, it's an insect, and it's dinner. Furthermore, I proved that other local bait shops sell live crickets for less, and Petco didn't seem to care. Like, how can you charge that much for a cricket when other places around you charge way less? You always have a cricket or two die.... and on top of that, I have NO IDEA what you are feeding your crickets before you give them to me. Judging by the poor kept conditions of a few of the animals I saw there at Petco, I can probably assume that the crickets there were poorly kept too. SO I got a little smart with Petco... I said "so you don't price match live animals and services but all else huh?" and I walked to their fridge and pulled out some wax worm containers. First one I opened, had a a few small black, dead wax worms in it. So I took it to the person whom I was recently speaking with, and told them that "this container is priced for 50 wax worms. The bait shop ALSO sells wax worms for lower price than you. By a whole dollar. And since you only price match LIVE animals ( I really enunciated the LIVE part) does that mean I get a slight discount on this since a few are technically dead?" She didn't seem to agree with that either....

I didn't wanna waste a 20 minute drive to get crickets from those two bait shops when Petco was 5 min away from me, and Petsmart was like 8 minutes away. But Petco left me no choice, and I told them I'm taking my business elsewhere. They are rude and didn't even seem to care.

The icing on this story is that, just for giggles, since Petsmart was closer than the bait shops, I decided to ask THEM if they would price match crickets from the same bait shops. Online, Petsmart's policy said they price match all stuff EXCEPT pets and pet supplies. In that wording. Exact same policy as Petco, but Petsmart used the word "pets" instead of "live animals".

So I figured sure, let's go try, since I don't know ANYONE IN THE WORLD who owns a cricket as a PET. So I go to Petsmart and talk to them about it. The manager has never had someone try to price match crickets.... so he had to go to the back office to double check what the policy states. THEIR POLICY that was apparently on a poster in the back room of Petsmart, stated that they don't price match LIVE ANIMALS OR SERVICES, in that wording. Well, online it said PETS OR SERVICES, but the store poster said LIVE ANIMALS OR SERVICES, ----- EXACTLY 100% the SAME THING that Petco's policy states.

I was ABOUT to tell them the same thing that I told Petco - that sure, a cricket is technically a part of the animal kingdom, but it's considered an insect, and a feeder, and is therefore food, not an animal in this matter.

Ok, now here's that icing.... BEFORE I COULD EVEN BEGIN TO EXPLAIN THAT TO THE PETSMART MANAGER, he said it to ME!!!! Like, he basically said all that, to me, without me saying a word. Took the words right out of my mouth. He comes out from the back of the store and says, "Well, our policy says we price match any competitor as long as it is an in-store price or a recent ad, and you either have to have the ad or the receipt as proof. We do not price match live animals or pet services. I know online it says 'pets or services' and it's the same thing really. And a cricket is food isn't it? That's what I would consider it. Nobody buys crickets unless it's for food for another animal."

I said "EXACTLY!!!!!" and went on to tell him how Petco didn't see it that way. He told me that Petco is the enemy, and he would be more than happy to price match the crickets for me.

SO EVEN THOUGH THE POSTER IN THEIR STORE SAID THE 100% EXACT SAME THING ON THE POLICY REGARDING EXCEPTIONS, they STILL were willing to do that.

THAT RIGHT THERE, is TRUE customer service. Not trying to rip people off. Needless to say, I've never walked foot into a Petco since. Petco sells their crickets for about the same price as Petco, but Petsmart was willing to make me a happy customer and not rip me off. They earned a customer that day, and from here on out as well.

Saved me a drive. Only reason I tagged @Petco is because maybe if ya'll are really the legit Petco people, maybe you can offer me a reason why it's okay to charge that much for a cricket AND EVEN RAISED YOUR PRICES BY A CENT!!!??? if others can keep them and feed them and sell them for 4 and 5 cents.... LOCAL BAIT SHOPS AT THAT..... then how can a multimillion dollar company not afford to do it? I know that the bait shops feed their crickets and don't neglect them because I specifically called them to ask them how they house them and what they feed them because I was leary of such a low price. They told me it's because they believe in satisfaction instead of greed gains like the pet giants. Maybe someone should take notes......
 
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"And since you don't price match LIVE animals ( I really enunciated the LIVE part) does that mean I get a slight discount on this since a few are technically dead?" She didn't seem to agree with that either....


sorry, had to fix that, as there was a typo in that portion of my reply and the edit time has passed. at first I typed "And since you only price match LIVE animals" which isn't what they do. they DONT price match live animals. typo. uggh. long day here at work. and that all took me a second to type. lol.

another typo (I tried to proofread as I was going, but kinda gotta watch it here at work with my manager walking around hehehe) "Online, Petsmart's policy said they price match all stuff EXCEPT pets and pet supplies. In that wording. Exact same policy as Petco, but Petsmart used the word "pets" instead of "live animals".

this should actually state : Online, Petsmart's policy said they price match all stuff EXCEPT pets or pet services. In that wording. Exact same policy as Petco, but Petsmart used the word "pets" instead of "live animals".

I accidentally typed "except pets and pet supplies" at first, and the "supplies" was the typo.

seriously.... TGIF, anyone with me on that? :)
 
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trickedoutbiker said:
@Petco where I live only feeds their chameleon's mealworms too, which isn't good. Because mealworms are mostly hard exoskeleton which is harder to digest than other insects. I stopped shopping at Petco because of their insane prices on some pet supplies and their complete lack of knowledge on most things in my experience. Also, when I first got my chameleon from a breeder, AT FIRST I was buying my crickets from my local Petco. I was gutoading them for 3 days before feeding to my chameleon.

The problem, was that I was paying 14 cents PER CRICKET!!! that is OUTRAGEOUS. there were bait shops within 20 minutes of my house that sold live crickets for less (one sells them for 4 cents a piece, any size. the other sells them for 5 cents a piece, any size) and there is also a Petsmart within 3-4 minutes of my local Petco that was selling them for 13 cents a piece. then, Petco RAISED THEIR PRICES after a few weeks and now charge 15 CENTS A CRICKET, EVEN WITH THE PETCO LOYALTY CARD!!!!!! (they sell them for 16 cents without the card. what a whopping savings there, eh kids?)

I tried to price match the crickets from the bait shops with Petco, and they fed me some crap about how they don't price match live animals. I knew this, as their policy states that they price match stuff except for live animals or services. I asked if they can at least match their biggest competitor Petsmart and I got fed the same story. Although a cricket is a live animal, it's technically considered food for my chameleon. So it's not an animal, it's an insect, and it's dinner. Furthermore, I proved that other local bait shops sell live crickets for less, and Petco didn't seem to care. Like, how can you charge that much for a cricket when other places around you charge way less? You always have a cricket or two die.... and on top of that, I have NO IDEA what you are feeding your crickets before you give them to me. Judging by the poor kept conditions of a few of the animals I saw there at Petco, I can probably assume that the crickets there were poorly kept too. SO I got a little smart with Petco... I said "so you don't price match live animals and services but all else huh?" and I walked to their fridge and pulled out some wax worm containers. First one I opened, had a a few small black, dead wax worms in it. So I took it to the person whom I was recently speaking with, and told them that "this container is priced for 50 wax worms. The bait shop ALSO sells wax worms for lower price than you. By a whole dollar. And since you only price match LIVE animals ( I really enunciated the LIVE part) does that mean I get a slight discount on this since a few are technically dead?" She didn't seem to agree with that either....

I didn't wanna waste a 20 minute drive to get crickets from those two bait shops when Petco was 5 min away from me, and Petsmart was like 8 minutes away. But Petco left me no choice, and I told them I'm taking my business elsewhere. They are rude and didn't even seem to care.

The icing on this story is that, just for giggles, since Petsmart was closer than the bait shops, I decided to ask THEM if they would price match crickets from the same bait shops. Online, Petsmart's policy said they price match all stuff EXCEPT pets and pet supplies. In that wording. Exact same policy as Petco, but Petsmart used the word "pets" instead of "live animals".

So I figured sure, let's go try, since I don't know ANYONE IN THE WORLD who owns a cricket as a PET. So I go to Petsmart and talk to them about it. The manager has never had someone try to price match crickets.... so he had to go to the back office to double check what the policy states. THEIR POLICY that was apparently on a poster in the back room of Petsmart, stated that they don't price match LIVE ANIMALS OR SERVICES, in that wording. Well, online it said PETS OR SERVICES, but the store poster said LIVE ANIMALS OR SERVICES, ----- EXACTLY 100% the SAME THING that Petco's policy states.

I was ABOUT to tell them the same thing that I told Petco - that sure, a cricket is technically a part of the animal kingdom, but it's considered an insect, and a feeder, and is therefore food, not an animal in this matter.

Ok, now here's that icing.... BEFORE I COULD EVEN BEGIN TO EXPLAIN THAT TO THE PETSMART MANAGER, he said it to ME!!!! Like, he basically said all that, to me, without me saying a word. Took the words right out of my mouth. He comes out from the back of the store and says, "Well, our policy says we price match any competitor as long as it is an in-store price or a recent ad, and you either have to have the ad or the receipt as proof. We do not price match live animals or pet services. I know online it says 'pets or services' and it's the same thing really. And a cricket is food isn't it? That's what I would consider it. Nobody buys crickets unless it's for food for another animal."

I said "EXACTLY!!!!!" and went on to tell him how Petco didn't see it that way. He told me that Petco is the enemy, and he would be more than happy to price match the crickets for me.

SO EVEN THOUGH THE POSTER IN THEIR STORE SAID THE 100% EXACT SAME THING ON THE POLICY REGARDING EXCEPTIONS, they STILL were willing to do that.

THAT RIGHT THERE, is TRUE customer service. Not trying to rip people off. Needless to say, I've never walked foot into a Petco since. Petco sells their crickets for about the same price as Petco, but Petsmart was willing to make me a happy customer and not rip me off. They earned a customer that day, and from here on out as well.

Saved me a drive. Only reason I tagged @Petco is because maybe if ya'll are really the legit Petco people, maybe you can offer me a reason why it's okay to charge that much for a cricket AND EVEN RAISED YOUR PRICES BY A CENT!!!??? if others can keep them and feed them and sell them for 4 and 5 cents.... LOCAL BAIT SHOPS AT THAT..... then how can a multimillion dollar company not afford to do it? I know that the bait shops feed their crickets and don't neglect them because I specifically called them to ask them how they house them and what they feed them because I was leary of such a low price. They told me it's because they believe in satisfaction instead of greed gains like the pet giants. Maybe someone should take notes......
Click to expand...
its called overhead
 
wodesorel said:
I'm not sure why, but my local Petco closed down a few years back, but then reopened in the same location 18 months later - but with practically no pets. They have bettas, feeder fish, small rodents and the occasional ferret, but that's it. No reptiles. No hermit crabs. No fish - and they used to have the biggest aquarium department in 60 miles! Yes, their reptile and fish sections are pathetic, but I don't mind having to look there for things now. The chain itself may be horrible, but I like the little mostly-pet-free shop here, it's refreshing!

Also - every Petco and Petsmart and chain shop should have a master book from corporate saying what the minimum care requirements are for each species. It's usually not too hard to find a disgruntled employee who will spill on what the books says. Those are guidelines written by vets and no store is supposed to deviate from it. If the minimums aren't being met, you can report it up the corporate ladder and someone should make the store comply. (ie, if the store manager doesn't care, alert the district manager, if the district manager can't be bothered, sent a message to corporate and watch them jump.) Granted, the basics are usually still awful care recommendations and you really do want the staff to be doing more, but if it's really bad at least it's something that can make a small difference. Just don't ask for the world and they'll take you seriously. I've done it a few times before when things got bad at my local Petsmart. (y) Submitted the form online and got followup calls from both the store and the district manager to make sure I was happy with the changes they made - which was just bringing it up to their own standards!
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I've heard from a local independent pet shop that Petco often does this. They open a store to test the market and see if they can outcompete existing independent shops. If the new store doesn't turn a big profit they close it down again.
 
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