Just Wait

It's always frustrating when greed wins over safety.

But time and time again I see it happen at work.
Where I tell customers that it's best to not buy fish the same time they get their tanks.
As there is a higher risk of said fish dying due to stress from the new tank.
I tell them that it's better to wait. Give the tank a couple of days to settle and then come back to get the fish.

Some customers listen.
Others don't.
I don't like the others. "Oh we'll just risk it" they say. >.< Well...how would you feel if someone said that to YOU dear customer? "Oh, we just built the house today, we have the walls up, but you know, you can survive the winter with just that right?"
Yah, pretty sure most people wouldn't stand for that.

Yet, they can stand for that for fish. *exhales*

I had that experience again today.
In case you couldn't tell. lol.

I had a couple come into the store.
One of those 'fresh college students" type of couples.
They'd originally come in with the concern that their water was super cloudy.

So I asked them how long they'd had the tank.
A couple of days.
Did they have fish in it?
A couple of gold fish.

Well....brand new tank.
With goldfish.

More than likely the water in the tank was still settling.
It's not uncommon for tanks to be cloudy for the first little bit as the water is stirred up and bacteria and other particles in the water go for a floating ride before settling wherever they settle.

So the cloudiness of the tank wasn't an issue really. It would be an issue if its still cloudy in a week,
but basically I told them to wait.

"Okay" they said. "We are just going to look at fish, what can go with them?"
To which I reiterated that their tank was still settling.
It wouldn't do well to add in fish already when they added in fish two days ago. It may stress out the ecosystem/bacterial environment whatever it's called, and get the fish sick and cause them to die.
They should wait at least a week before getting more fish.
Let the tank adjust.

For a little bit....they agreed with me.

But apparently the thought of having their 'empty' tank look fuller was too much for them.

"Well..." they said coming up to me. "We don't come up this way that often, so we want to get the fish today."
"Oh, how long is your drive?"
"Under 20 minutes"

*eye twitch*

Ugh. They must be from the city own south. Everyone from that city seems to think that they "travel from far away" but in reality they don't.

Under 20 minutes?
Please.
You can make the drive up this way anytime you want.
I'd be more understanding if it was an hour, or two, or three. As I have customers who do drive that far to reach our store since there isn't another Starsmet closer to them. I could understand the risk then.

But under 20 minutes?
No you're just being lazy.
You're being greedy.
You can't wait and give the fish the best possible chance for living.
No you want it and you want it now.

>.<
I bagged up their fish, internally seething.
Honestly, I hope that they have troubles with their tank now.
Perhaps they'll learn a lesson in patience then. XP

-Sarnic Dirchi