Lost

 There are trends that happen at work.

Where suddenly you have three people in a row buying the same dog food, or two people asking the same hamster care question in a row, or four people wanting the same combination of fish in a row.

It's amusing most the time when it happens. Confusing too. Like what are the odds multiple people would want the same thing in a row. 

Today was a slightly odder coincidence.

In that we had two people lose their wallets and call to ask if we had found them -which we had- and come pick them up.

Like it happened a couple of hours apart.

But loosing wallets...isn't that common of a thing at the store.

So to have it happen twice in one day?

Well...I blame the heat mostly lol. Makes people distracted. Forgetful. 

It's just a good thing they caught the mistake in time and that we had found the items in time and kept them safe until the customers could come back and pick them up. 

-Sarnic Dirchi 

Decide Before You Get Help

 Gotta love those customers who ask for assistance at the fish wall before they're actually ready to get the fish.

*exhales*

It's really annoying really.

To get called over to the fish wall because a customer 'needs help with fish' only to find that the customer had basically just gone to the cashier and said "I need fish" before they had even had a chance to look at the fish on the wall so they actually have no idea what they want.

Like...I get people wanting to make sure they get help.

But I for one, would want to 'know' what I'm getting first before I drag someone over to help me.

Like it's just...irritating to stand there awkwardly hovering near the customer as they stare at the various tanks still deciding on what fish they want to get. 

I could be finishing other tasks. I could be helping other people. There's nothing useful in me just standing there while you try and figure out if you want to get a tetra or a molly or a goldfish and take an age and a half to make that decision. *exhales*

-Sarnic Dirchi

Talking To Who?

 It's funny...how entitled people can be. How customers can think you're a mind reader. Or think that because they speak you're listening.

Like...there I was. Bagging up fish. 

I wasn't looking up. I was focused on the task at hand.

When I hear a voice say "Can you get me some crickets when you're done?"

I look up in time to see two girls passing by. Not even looking at me. And they continue walking along the fishwall to the front of the store.

A glance around shows me that I'm the only worker in the area.

And that there are other customers nearby.

But I had no idea who this girl was talking to.

Like I knew she was talking to me.

But like she didn't even wait for me to acknowledge if I'd heard her or not before she kept walking. 

It was just weird. I mean...I can't read minds. Saying that you 'want crickets' doesn't mean I automatically know what size of crickets the customer wanted nor how many she wanted me to get.

*shakes head*

So I just pushed it to the side and continued on with my task and finished helping the customer I was helping and then helped the other people who were still at the fish wall because again...the customer who randomly walked by and told me to bag her some crickets...wasn't around. Therefore her 'need' became a lower priority on my list because again, I couldn't even be sure she was talking to me when she didn't even stick around long enough to ensure that I had actually heard her and would help her.

She did come back eventually and I did bag up the number and size of crickets that she wanted after I asked her what amount and size she wanted.

But yah....kinda a weird occurrence that. 

-Sarnic Dirchi

Make Up

 I had a customer come into the store today claiming that they were here with their little dog to do a make up class because the customer had missed their last session.

Which, okay fair. It's not an uncommon occurrence as life happens and customers who sign up for training classes can struggle to make it to every single one.

But today was more notable because well...my dog trainer wasn't scheduled to work today.

They usually have today off.

So to have a customer claiming that they had a make-up class for today...struck me as not correct.

Because I'm pretty confident my dog trainer wouldn't schedule a make up class on their day off. They know their schedule well enough to not do that.

Which made it more than likely that this customer had misremembered the day.

Unfortunately...I couldn't tell from the dog trainer's records....when exactly this customer was supposed to have a makeup class....which meant I needed to call them and leave a message and ask when this class was supposed to be.

Yah.

The customer ended up being a day early. Their makeup class is tomorrow. Not today. *shakes head*

-Sarnic Dirchi

Flipped Signs

 It's kinda funny how customers think that if they don't 'see' a sign then it doesn't exist. That it will magically make whatever policy the sign is informing you of go away.

Like we've had the 'mask required' signs torn down when they went from recommended to required in my state. 

We have also had our "Bathroom Out of Order" signs torn down because the customers probably thought that the bathrooms were closed because of the pandemic and not because they were literally out of order and we couldn't use them. *shakes head*

And this week I haven't had signs torn down per se.

But we do have signs up in the store saying that our fish sales are suspended this week -as we're doing a deep system clean as a preventative measure for potential zebra mussels (though my store hasn't seen any signs of them)- and we aren't able to sell fish because of said treatment and how we're not sure how it will affect the fish.

But the fish sign has been 'flipped over' a few times this week.

Like...just because you flip the sign so you can't see the words saying that we aren't selling fish this week doesn't mean that we'll magically be able to sell you fish because you flipped the sign over. *shakes head*

It doesn't work like that.

Especially because the SKUs we use at the register to sell the fish have been deactivated this week so even if we tried to sell the fish...we wouldn't be able to because the register wouldn't let them show up. 

*shakes head*

Silly people.

-Sarnic Dirchi

Walk Down the Aisle

 I had a customer call the store tonight to rant at me that he'd just experienced the 'worst customer service ever' from us because a coworker who took the phone call -according to my coworker it was a girl who called us so I'm not sure why the guy called back super upset- told the person on the phone that we don't do stock checks currently due to short staff and that our online store should be accurate in telling the customer if we had said product they were looking for or not.

Which the customer did not like at all. They didn't like being told to 'look online' when we should be able to 'walk down the D*** aisle and check ourselves'

Like nevermind that the automated voice message the plays when you call our store tells you right off the bat that we're not doing stock checks right now.

The dude was furious.

Ranting at me about our lack of service.

Like dude....being told no isn't the 'worst customer service ever' I'm pretty sure you've had worse than that.

And honestly, we had been in the middle of a rush. We had been busy. While we can still do stock checks while it's slow in the store, it's not that easy to break away when we're helping the customer in front of us.

*shakes head*

Especially when said customer on the phone was going to be a complicated customer. Where they were looking for a specific size dog gate with specific dimensions.

Like it's one thing to take two seconds and see if we have a product in the store.

But if you're wanting us to tell you the height and the width and the length and the price and all this extra stuff...then it becomes more difficult and time consuming and you'd probably be better off looking online anyways since the dimensions of doggie gates should be listed with the product.

*exhales*

But yah. Dude just ranted at me and hung up. Didn't give me a chance to talk or anything.

Which if he'd been a bit more levelheaded then I could have informed him that I was free at the moment to go look for whatever item he was looking for.

But he never gave me the chance. 

*shakes head*

-Sarnic Dirchi

Something Wrong

 So the other day I had a customer come into the store with a couple of dead fish.

And in typical customer fashion, they wanted to know 'why' the fish had died.

So I asked about their tank and such, trying to see if there were any notable things mentioned that could cause fish to die. 

And the customer told me that they originally had the glofish in like a large 36 gallon tank. 

But because they had goldfish in the tank....the associate who helped them said that the fish should be in a different tank.

Which was...technically true.

Goldfish are a cold water fish. 
Glofish are a warm water fish.

Goldfish get 10 inches at least.
Glofish stay around 3 inches.

But at the same time....the rules aren't as applicable to bigger tanks as they are to smaller tanks. 

Goldfish are fine being in tanks that are heated. And if there's only one or two in the tank in a 36 gallon...then other fish can be fine with them for a while...until they get larger.

But the associate helping this customer said that the glofish should go in a different tank so the customer bought a different tank. A glofish specific one with the blue lights and everything and they set up the tank for the glofish...moved them in....and then the fish all died. 

It could be the transfer to the new tank. 

But it was only 3 fish in a 10 gallon tank. That's not a bad amount of fish to have.

But it did turn out that the tank didn't have a heater in it. So the cold water may have been the cause of the glofish dying.

So the customer bought a heater and a couple of new glofish.

Though I did suggest that they could just put the glofish back in the bigger tank with the goldfish.

As there were other fish besides the goldfish in the tank. A shark. Some other tetras and such. So the glofish would have been fine. Especially because that tank had a heater already.

But the customer wanted to try again in this smaller tank. So I caught them a couple more glofish to try and see if they did well.

And like the glotetras tend to be hardier than the other glofish. So I wasn't too concerned. 

But the customer came back today with the two fish. Dead. 

Apparently they died within two hours of being put into the new tank. 

O_o 

It's just....how? 

If the fish died that quickly....it sounds like it could be a chemical issue. Like the customer put in too much water conditioner. 

As the heater was new....so that shouldn't be on the fritz....and unless the water changed temperature quickly....an overtreated tank was the only thing I could think of as a cause...but the customer denied that that was the case. *exhales*

*shakes head*

I'm not sure what's going on with it but I suggested that the customer just get their money back today and wait a bit and let the tank cycle and see how it went from there....

-Sarnic Dirchi

Significance?

 A customer approached me today and asked me "What is the significance of a betta fish?" 

Which...I was rather confused by.

What did the customer mean by 'significance?' 

Like...it sounded like they wanted to learn about bettas and such....but I wasn't certain.

It was said in such a philosophical type of tone like one would ask "What is the meaning of life?"

Still...I did my best to answer the customer's questions. Like where they're from and why they live alone and what sort of care they needed.

Dunno if I actually answered what they were wanting me to answer....but hey I tried. 

-Sarnic Dirchi

Last Minute Shopping

 I will never understand customers that decide to go shopping at the last minute.

Take tonight.

I had customers right at 9pm when we closed asking me questions.

Two guys were wanting to know if we had another specific dog bed in stock as the one they found appeared to be stained.

I told them we didn't.

So they then wanted to know if they could get a discount on the bed because it was stained.

Which I said they could get 20% off.

But they were like "What is the stain?"

Like dude....I don't know. It's a brown stain. More than likely it's dirt. Who knows. It may not even be a stain at all. Just buy the thing and get out of my store we're closed. 

But nooo they then wanted to know if there was a specific dog food that I would recommend for their dog. 

And at the same time another customer needed help at the dog collars....right at close....wanting to know if there was a specific bark collar that worked better than another.

*exhales*

Like...how do people live like that?

Trying to shop right before a store closes?

Keeping the workers working after the store closes?

I don't get it.

I never will.

-Sarnic Dirchi

Closed Early

 The downside to closing early on a holiday....is that customers don't always get the memo that we've closed early.

Like they're so used to us staying open to a certain point that closing three hours early just...confuses them. 

I don't even know if they remember it's a holiday when they're confronted with closed doors. 

Like....I had a good 7 people calling the store after we closed --we didn't answer--

I had half a dozen people in the parking lot trying to come in. The doors were locked.

One lady tried to do a curbside pick up like half an hour after the store officially closed. 

Another tried to slip into the doors despite being told that we're closed only to be turned back outside because our registers were already shut down for the night.

One dude rang the door bell like three times wanting to be let in.

Like guys....GUYS.....we're closed.. Get it through your thick skulls.

You had alllll day to come to us. Why are you so insistent in coming in AFTER we closed?

*shakes head*

I don't get it. 

I mean...yes it's a pet store. Yes I get that animals need food too.

But it's not like there's anything so important that you need it 'right this minute' after hours.

If you're that desperate for food for your pet drop by the grocery store and grab a bag to tide them over until the morning. 

But like....you gotta pay attention to store hours. Especially on holidays. 

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Wall of Text

 Customers get upset over the oddest things.

We had this lady buy one of our smallest dog tags. Like one thats more the size of a nickel rather than a quarter.

And she got upset.

Because the tag couldn't fit all the information she wanted to put on it.

The tag says they can fit 'four lines of text' but like...the size of the tag does influence how many characters can fit on each line.

So obviously smaller tags will hold less information than larger tags.

And like....I only caught a glimpse of the screen. But the customer had this entire paragraph of text that she'd been attempting to fit on one side of the tag. 

Obviously it didn't fit. It wouldn't fit. The text would have needed to be microscopic in order to fit it all and what's the point of having words on the tag if you can't see them to read them? *shakes head*

She ended up buying a different tag and I didn't hear more after that so I'm assuming she got all the information on the new tag. 

-Sarnic Dirchi

Shifted Hours

 We have this old guy that regularly comes into the store to get his little dog groomed. 

He's notable because the dude always causes trouble when he comes in.

Mostly it's in the 'dude is set in his ways and refuses to change' sort of trouble.

As he always shows up like half an hour early for his appointment.

Which tends to be at like 830 in the morning. Though if grooming opens at 8am then he'd show up at 730. Dude is crazy like that. Has to be half an hour early.

And he never understands it when the grooming salon isn't open when he shows up. 

Like today. 

Due to short staff grooming hours have shifted so they don't open until 9am. 

But the dude showed up at 830 and was confused why no one was in the salon. 

Why? Because the hours on the door said that they're open at 8am.

*exhales*

Like yes. Technically they are open at 8. But again due to short staff we don't have enough groomers/bathers to staff the full hours. So they're only open from like 9-5. 

And the dude...just didn't get it.

"I always come in at this time!"

Like dude. Why can't you understand that things change? That our hours shift because of staffing issues?

Honestly...if he gets scheduled the groomers should schedule him half an hour later than planned at like 930 so he can come in half an hour early at like 9 and be 'on time' 

*shakes head*

I don't get it. 

And I'll probably have to deal with him in another month or so when he inevitably comes in for his next appointment. *shakes head* It's gonna be fun to deal with. 

-Sarnic Dirchi

That's Not A Parking Spot

It's gotten pretty common at this point for me and my coworkers to look at each other and roll our eyes when it comes to dealing with customers.

Because the way they think just isn't....logical in a 'normal' way most of the time.

Like the customers who get upset that we won't give them 'deals' on products and discount the price for them.

Or the customer who came in needing crickets for their spider that they haven't fed in two weeks only to get upset that we had none available to sell.

Like...sorry that our shipment didn't come in. But there's nothing I can do about your negligence in taking care of your pet. *shakes head*

But today....

The main 'odd customer' that took the cake was the lady who came to drop off her dog for grooming.

As when the Pandemic started...we set up a table outside so that customers could do 'curbside grooming' check in for those people who couldn't wear a mask or weren't comfortable coming into the store for various reasons.

But for the past few weeks...we've neglected to put the table outside. Like I feel like it's been a month or so really. And it hasn't been an issue for us because like...no one has been using the curbside recently as everyone has gotten to the point where they don't need to wear a mask anymore or are fine coming into the store to drop off their dogs there.

And the front of our store...it has this nice wide concrete ramp for people to walk up to our doors.

It's probably at least twoish parking spots wide this ramp.

But isn't used for anything besides a 'grand entrance' into the store.

But today.

Today an old lady decided that this concrete area -which is in no way whatsoever marked for parking at all- decided that it would be alright if she pulled her van up onto this concrete rampish area and park her car there while she had a groomer come out and do the curbside pickup for her. 

And I could see why she would pull up on the ramp...because I think the empty parking spots next to the concrete were both full? But like.....it's not that hard to park your car in an actual stall and just...wait outside the store...or wait in your car until the groomer comes out and then get out of your car....

But like...parking on the ramp where you're not supposed to be parking like....where was the logic in that?

"Oh, I can't park next to it therefore I'll park on it!" *shakes head*

I don't get customers. I don't get their logic.

Like I know their logic mostly involves a 'how can I get this cheaper or make it easier for me" mentality. 

But I do wish that they would show a bit of self awareness of other people and think outside of themselves on occasion. *exhales*

-Sarnic Dirchi 

Stolen High

 You see people steal some of the oddest things in a pet store.

Tonight I discovered an empty bottle of Hemp on the shelf. Hemp specifically created for cats to help calm them down and such.

And I can only bet the dummy who decided to dump the dusty stuff into their pockets thinks they're going to get a nice 'high' from the stuff.

But like....I honestly doubt it? Sure it may be a hemp product...but I don't think it can be used the way they're thinking it can be used?

So like...I do worry that the person will end up sick if they try to 'use' it in any fashion.

But yah...it's just weird. Like why steal that? Why not take the bottle? What did you put all the leafy stuff into? 

Who knows.

Hope they're okay...but I hope they realize how stupid that was.

-Sarnic Dirchi

Don't Train It That Way

 We had a couple come into the store today wanting to get a remote trainer for their puppy.

Why? Because the 'dog doesn't pay any attention to us."

And I can get why you'd want to train the dog to behave and such.

But the puppy they had was TEN WEEKS OLD.

Like can you seriously expect a puppy to know what to do when a human makes random sounds at it? No! The puppy is probably still getting used to being away from it's mother.

And the owners want to use a remote training collar on this PUPPY to get it to pay attention to them?

*exhales* It's like...you're gonna cause more problems for the poor thing instead of solving them.

We did our best to discourage the owners from buying the remote trainer.

But no dice. They insisted. 

XP Ugh. 

I wish they would have gone for a training class instead or something. The poor puppy. 

-Sarnic Dirchi

An Odd Smile

 I had a lady want to get a mouse today.

Which isn't that odd. 

Like people buy mice all the time -despite their smell, they've been quite a popular pet this past year.

But there was just....something off about the interaction.

Like the customer said they had a cage. Said that they had had mice before.

But the customer wanted the mouse to be put in a clear container instead of our usual box with holes that we put the animals in.

So they ended up spending like an extra $5 on a critter tote so that the mouse would be visible.

Which...was like a red flag in my mind.

Why would you want to spend more money on a temporary traveling container???

Which made me think that the lady might be getting this mouse as a gift for someone.

And it might be a surprise gift. Like a thing to ask out to prom or a prank or something.

Yet...this was a mother aged lady. It wasn't a dumb college student. 

So it made a prank less than likely....and maybe they were getting the mouse for their kid? Who knows.

I just know that there was something off about the situation. Like the way the woman smiled just spoke of her knowing something I didn't.

But like....there were no major red flags given to stop the sale of the mouse...*exhales* Sooooo I sold it....hopefully it does well.

-Sarnic Dirchi

Bark Collars

 You know....I understand the frustration of having to listen to sounds you don't want to listen to constantly.

Like the squeaking of dog toys in the store.

Or the constant barking of dogs.

Being sensitive to noise....they can get on my nerves quiet easily.

And so I understand it when customers call or come into the store looking for solutions to get the barking of a dog to stop.

And most of the time this barking is for the customer's own dogs. 

But I got a phone call from a customer who was...tired...of the neighbor's dogs barking all the time.

Apparently barking so loud that you have to have the TV turned up to full volume in order to hear anything.

And the customer was calling to see how much a bark collar would cost because they had -as well as other neighbors mabye?- contacted the owner and asked if they could get a bark collar and the owner said that they would...idk if it was look into it or what....

But apparently said owner hasn't gotten said bark collar yet for their dog.

And the customer calling was thinking it might be a price point issue so they wanted to see if that was the case.

Which yah. It can be. Our least expensive bark collar is like...$50 I think? Most expensive is up towards $200.

So I can see why someone wouldn't want to invest in one just yet.

Or maybe the owners just haven't had time to get one. Who knows.

I any case.

I tried to suggest to the customer that they could invest in a "Sonic Egg" which is a device that can be placed inside or outside and it doesn't involve any collars or anything but senses when the dog is barking (within 50ft) and sends out a sound to get said dog to stop barking.

Like they're pretty successful. I rarely get them returned. And it could be a more passive way to get said neighbor's dog to stop barking.

As I've seen news stories of 'good intentioned' neighbors who kinda...overstep and get the dog owner a bark collar for their dog...and it not going over well with the owner at all.

So I was doing what I could to mitigate that situation from occuring again by suggesting the sonic eggs as something the customer calling could do in their own home to stop the dog from barking....which yah might not help either...but hey it's better than a collar around the dog's neck.

*exhales*

Don't think this person was convinced though. They were very focused on the bark collar and the ability to shock or send vibrations to get the dog to stop.

Which...I can understand if you're listening to a dog barking all day long how you would go to any method to get said dog to stop barking.

 But yah...maybe let the owner figure it out? Maybe?

-Sarnic Dirchi

My Head Hurts

 So normally I don't mind it when customers speak to me with an accent. 

Like bravo to them for learning a second language and such.

And often times I just like listening to them speak and how they pronounce words and such.

But....

When I've had a migraine for like a week straight....

And I end up helping FOUR customers in a row -all of which had accents from different places....

It gets less fun because my brain ends up just...hurting.

Like normally it's not an issue, sure there's slight miscommunications here and there. But overall we're usually able to clarify and be understood between each other.

But today....all four customers were having trouble understanding what I was saying.

Which meant that I ended up having to repeat myself over and over and over.

And it's always antagonizing when I have to tell the same customer the same information multiple times because for whatever reason what I'm saying isn't computing to them...or you know...they weren't listening in the first place.

But to have FOUR people/groups in a row do this to me.

When my energy levels are really low and I'm suffering from a week long migraine.

Ha yah no.

I was sooo frustrated by the end of it.

Like I don't know what I can say to make my words clearer to you...but you need to actually pay attention to what I'm saying especially when you keep asking me questions that I already answered earlier in my explanation of things. 

*shakes head*

Yah I had to go hide in the back for a bit after helping all those customers because gah. Frustration does not help an aching head at all. 

Still...it was cool to hear those accents from all over the world despite the circumstances.

-Sarnic Dirchi

Not Engraving

 We had a customer complain that the engraving machine for our dog tags wasn't working right because they tried to engrave their tag...and the machine didn't engrave it.

So. I went over there to see what the issue was. 

And it turns out it was just....consumer error. *exhales* Like...I'm pretty sure the nice screen shows the user exactly how to place the tag in the tag machine so that the engraver can engrave it.

But this customer just ignored that part.

And when the lid unlocked so that they could lift it up and place the tag within -which there's this little knob that you hook the tag onto so that it's held in place when the machine pulls it deeper in to engrave it---instead of the customer placing the tag on the knob...they just opened the lid and tossed it inside.

*exhales*

Like...what did you expect? *shakes head* As that same area also is where the machine will drop the tag for you to reach in and grab -like a candy machine- when it's done engraving.

So if you toss it inside...it will just fall to the bottom where you can grab it again.

But it's not gonna engrave anything because the customer didn't place the tag in the spot where the machine could then do the engraving. *shakes head*

I was able to show the customer where to put their tag.

And I'm assuming it went off without a hitch after that because the next time I looked over there was a different person using the machine. 

So yah. Fun times dealing with people who can't follow instructions. 

-Sarnic Dirchi

Arrive Faster

 Had a customer come into the store with some concerns because they'd ordered some stuff online...but hadn't yet received the stuff they ordered and apparently the customer had tried to contact customer service multiple times only to apparently have no one responding to them. 

Well...turns out that the customer ordered their items to be shipped to their house and not be picked up in the store. They also ordered the product on a SATURDAY. 

Like...no wonder you couldn't reach customer service if it's on a weekend...people don't always work weekends....

And like...it's barely been two days. If an item is expected to ship to you the minimum would be like 2 days...and since you ordered on a weekend...more than likely the won't pick the order until today or tomorrow...and then they still will need to ship it to you.

Like the expected timeframe for people who order online at our store to get it shipped to their house is 3-5 days. 

And those 3-5 days are usually business days meaning M-F.

So more than likely the earliest they'll receive their order is Wednesday, but I'm thinking probably Friday.

In any case....the customer didn't quite understand that....I'm not sure they even understood after I explained what was going on to them.

But they were also concerned because one of the items they ordered was ordered in the wrong size and they wanted a different size.

I don't know why they thought we could help with that....as we only deal with orders that are meant to be picked up in the store. If it wasn't for store-pickup we have no control over what the suppliers send nor do we have a way to contact them to fix the issue. *shakes head*

I did tell the customer that if the item arrives and it's the wrong size they can return it to the store and we could give them their money back, but since the particular item that was 'ordered wrong' is one that we don't carry in our store I wouldn't be able to replace it. They'd have to order it again online. 

So yah....gonna be interesting to see if this customer actually comes back...and just how long it takes them to get their order. 

-Sarnic Dirchi