Grrrrrr.........

[curiousme]

Today we traveled to the pet store about an hour away. We had called ahead of time to make sure they still had the B. Smithi that we had seen a few weeks ago. (We originally had not gotten it because it seemed too expensive, but have since learned it was a normal price of 79 bucks for a 3".) They still had it and i asked that they hold it for me, that i was coming today. They said sure, asked my name and said see ya soon.

We left the house less than half an hour later and traveled the hour long drive to the pet store. When we arrived, i couldn't find it on the shelves and assumed they had moved it somewhere. After inquiring about it to a sales rep, he left for the manager. She returned and told me the T i had asked them to hold for me had been SOLD. She then went on to explain that it was policy that if someone comes in and wants to buy what you have on hold, they have to call you and double check that you still want it, and if they receive no answer, they sell it. i wasn't asked for a phone number and it wouldn't have done any good because we were on the way there and do not have a cell phone.

i am fuming, what is the point of putting something on hold, when they sell it out from under you before you even have a chance to get to the store?

They offered to order me another one of the same size and price, assuring me that since it was a special order, no one could buy it. How nice! i accepted, but made my irritation known. Then came home and sent a frustration email to the company. i don't really expect anything to come of it, but it made me feel better.

i want my B. Smithi NOW!

 

[blazetown]

Long answer short. Alot of people don't conduct buisness worth <poop>.

 

[Boanerges]

You should order one from someone reputable off this site and when your order comes in from that store you should say never mind I don't want it any more, thanks for screwing me the first time ;P

 

[Protectyaaaneck]

why even go to pet stores anymore, when you can order online off of reputable dealers who have anything and everything you could want at a good price. usually pet stores are the ones with your good ol g. rosea and thats about it.

I feel your pain tho, that would suck to have to drive out an hour and not get what you were promised. I would be pissed too. maybe they will give you this one for a discounted price or for free ninety nine.

 

[samsbugs]

The problem with this is, I worked part time in a pet store, a verry good one that specialized in this for the most part.

Problem, people call all day as to what you have and asking you to hold it and almost never show, if someone is their with money now?????
Pet stores are in it for the money most of the time and I have never seen one that will hold an animal without a non-rufundable deposit.
Unless of course you where one of those people that lived their and spent hundreds of dollars a week.

 

[jehitch]

The solution: give them your credit card number and put down a deposit before hanging up the phone.

For you to call a pet store and ask them to hold an animal without a deposit costs you nothing, but potentially costs the pet store a sale. I can't tell you how many times people asked me to hold something, only to not show up to purchase it. We now require a 30% deposit to hold livestock (50% at expos) due to the number of lost sales on livestock we were holding for "customers" who never showed up to purchase.

Today we traveled to the pet store about an hour away. We had called ahead of time to make sure they still had the B. Smithi that we had seen a few weeks ago. (We originally had not gotten it because it seemed too expensive, but have since learned it was a normal price of 79 bucks for a 3".) They still had it and i asked that they hold it for me, that i was coming today. They said sure, asked my name and said see ya soon.

We left the house less than half an hour later and traveled the hour long drive to the pet store. When we arrived, i couldn't find it on the shelves and assumed they had moved it somewhere. After inquiring about it to a sales rep, he left for the manager. She returned and told me the T i had asked them to hold for me had been SOLD. She then went on to explain that it was policy that if someone comes in and wants to buy what you have on hold, they have to call you and double check that you still want it, and if they receive no answer, they sell it. i wasn't asked for a phone number and it wouldn't have done any good because we were on the way there and do not have a cell phone.

i am fuming, what is the point of putting something on hold, when they sell it out from under you before you even have a chance to get to the store?

They offered to order me another one of the same size and price, assuring me that since it was a special order, no one could buy it. How nice! i accepted, but made my irritation known. Then came home and sent a frustration email to the company. i don't really expect anything to come of it, but it made me feel better.

i want my B. Smithi NOW!

 

[Bill S]

Pet stores are in it for the money most of the time and I have never seen one that will hold an animal without a non-rufundable deposit.

That's reasonable - but the pet shop should be honest about that. They shouldn't promise to hold an animal (or any merchandise) if they have no intention of doing so. It's a very simple thing for them to advise the customer of their policy - and pretty hard to regain a customer's confidence once they've burned him.

 

[the nature boy]

The solution: give them your credit card number and put down a deposit before hanging up the phone.

For you to call a pet store and ask them to hold an animal without a deposit costs you nothing, but potentially costs the pet store a sale. I can't tell you how many times people asked me to hold something, only to not show up to purchase it. We now require a 30% deposit to hold livestock (50% at expos) due to the number of lost sales on livestock we were holding for "customers" who never showed up to purchase.

As likewise an independent retailer this completely makes sense to me.

--the nature boy

 

[Binky/Carol]

When I worked at a pet store it took them over 6 weeks to sell a hand raised love bird..
Why..
People came in Fri/Sat and WANTED it.. so asked to hold it till Sun/mon or Tues...
Then never came in OR then called and said they couldn't get it...
Every weekend for weeks this went on.

So i am sure it happens..
I am glad you showed your irritation at the store and the employees. You made it clear they never asked you for a number.
At least you may get another at that size for that price.


And for those that need to ask...
People go to specialty OR to pet stores to buy certain types of animals as it is WINTER... and shipping is hazardous at this time of year, and expensive.
If you can get a 79 dollar T, for the cost of 5 gallons of fuel which is running about 10 dollars.. VS 25+ dollars for shipping. And if you can get other T's Or reptiles OR supplies while out and about .. it makes the trip even cheaper.
That is why people go to specialty or pet stores to buy things. Its convient.

 

[curiousme]

That's reasonable - but the pet shop should be honest about that. They shouldn't promise to hold an animal (or any merchandise) if they have no intention of doing so. It's a very simple thing for them to advise the customer of their policy - and pretty hard to regain a customer's confidence once they've burned him.

Exactly!!! Had they asked for my number and told me why, i would have given a friend's cell phone to insure that it would be there. They didn't even bother to ask for my number and made it sound as if it was no big deal to hold it. They had held a H. spp. vietnam for me over night a few weeks ago, with no problem. i never imagined there would be any problems this time.

They are ordering me a 2-3" B. female, B. smithi for me. We looked for a better price online, but could only find smaller ones that would have been more expensive after shipping. i wish i didn't have to go back to get what i want, but alas my want for my T, outweighs my irritation.

 

[IrishPolishman]

I highly recommend ordering from SwiftInverts. Great experience and awesome pricing with freebies!

 

[JNG]

I highly recommend ordering from SwiftInverts. Great experience and awesome pricing with freebies!

them, or nwinverts. u could probly get it cheaper from any one of them. pet stores price it like they have a 10lb gold bar. they gota make their profit. i looked at the swift invert site. they both are really cheap. i got mine from nwinverts. oregon is closer to arizona than mississippi is.

 

[curiousme]

We ended up having the store order us another one. They actually ordered two, so we could pick the one we wanted. They were both female, so we picked the one that looked closer to a molt and didn't kick hairs at us. They were very accommodating and let us handle them in the store. (which made us a little nervous with all the people around) She has since dug down, covered up the entrance and hasn't been seen. We are crossing our fingers for a molt soon.

We looked extensively for one online and with shipping all of them were more expensive. So, i expressed my irritation even more when i picked it up and educated the guy a bit on T's while we were there.