PetSmart

Hello,

As of today I will never ever set foot in this or any other PetSmart stores for any of my pets based on two recent experiences. The first experience happened a few weeks ago. The filter for my koi tank had broken and I went into this store to buy a part. I had just walked in to the section with the accessories for fish and was approached by an older woman with short hair. She said " can I help you"? Yes, I replied..I am looking for a part for my fish filter. Before I could even finish my sentence she said..."nope, you gotta go online for that". She never said PetSmart.com or offered a web address. She simply walked away after she made her statement without saying another word. I purchased my part online from another retailer. My part arrived yesterday and today, after I fixed my indoor tank, I decided to treat myself with a new fish. Another customer arrived at the same time I did and we happily made conversation about our fish. When the young employee arrived I let the other customer order first. He requested two cichlids and she bagged them with no questions. When I requested my koi she asked me what sized tank I had. I responded that it was 55 gallons. Without asking me how many koi I had in it, how large my koi are, what filtration I had, or how many times did partial water changes she said..." thats too small. You need at least 100 gallons per fish (not true). When I responded that in the spring my koi are transferred to an out door pond she then said "just so you know the ponds they sell at home depot are too small for koi (again not true) and any outdoor ponds should be at least five feet deep ( not true). She never asked me about how large my outdoor pond was but proceeded to tell me that I shouldn't introduce any new koi anyhow because koi are aggressive ( again not true). Had she bothered to ask I would have told her that I have multiple ponds and tanks and some of my koi that I have raised since they were 3 inches long are older than her. She simply would not sell me my fish ( I went to Petco and bought one). Is it a store policy to interrogate the customer before a purchase? Why was the other customer not interrogated before his purchase? I have been raising koi for many years and I a consider myself an expert. I am on countless koi web pages and people seek me out for advice and receiving wrong information in a snotty manner is truly insulting.