'P...... at H......' selling torts, geckos and dragons in Nov

[StasiD]

Our PaH in Edinburgh is good and bad. Their fish section was awful a while back, though it's all been upgraded now and is alot healthier and cleaner for the fish. The staff *can* be very knowledgeable, but it depends who you get. If the person is in his "section" then generally he has an interest and knowledge of the things he's selling, if he's been called over or temping for someone off sick, beware! They don't like to show their ignorance, or maybe aren't allowed to...

I've found individuals very responsive to being told what they're doing wrong, however in a large store as part of a large chain they have very little control over these things. They can advise customers "on the quiet" about things, and sell them correct housing etc, but some won't risk their jobs to do this.

Anyway, in all I think they're a good company, they just let themselves down occasionally/often, depending on the store and how much money they are allocated for staff training and animal set ups.

[tartaruga amore]

well yes thats fair coments

same can be said of any business, been in some great mcdonalds and some really crap ones

i guess what people forget is that they are just a business and the staff are just there for the wages
and if you think about it, their staff must get p/off with people going quizing them on their job, after all you never see anyone telling the M&S staff that they are not hanging the knickers up right!

[tartaruga amore]

but then surely you must also make sure they are correctly selling rabbits

what i was trying to say, is its not really the wrong imformation, its just not the same as you believe
and they are just there for the wages, do you really think they give a stuff about wether you agree or not

i understand that this is a tortoise group, so your main interests are tortoise, but why is it, that you just care that the tortoise info is right, lots of you have other animals, why arent you bothered about that

[janeL]

I agree with some of what you are saying, but stating an animal is UKCB when they are not is an absolute disgrace!!!!
Generally I think they do a pretty good job with the welfare of their animals, but I don't know about how other animals should be kept in the same detail as I do tortoises. I do know other people that have complained about the state fish have been kept in etc as this is where thier knowledge lies and I would hope others do it for other animals.

This is a huge chain of stores, not a local pet shop and if they can't get it right I think they need to be held to account and I will continue to challenge them. Having one specialist in a large shop is not good enough, they should all know their stock inside out. I feel it is our / my responsibility to help advance the care and knowledge given to prospective tort owners. I am never rude or angry in my interactions with staff although I am sometimes met with hostility , usually that is in the smaller pet shops.

[gwizz]

I just thought Id bring everyone the information

EJ your comment was a little harsh ..

Lets hope PaH get it right

[Alan1]

Originally Posted by StasiD

Our PaH in Edinburgh is good and bad

I've been in there a few times but they never have reptile stuff which is a pity because you then have to go in to that wee shop at Comely Bank is it? Edinburgh Aquatics I think it's called now. They had all their torts nicked a while back by ram raiders, saw it on the news.

EDIT.... it's pretty obvious the reporter hasn't got torts anyway http://news.scotsman.com/edinburghpo...-as.3348817.jp

[EJ]

I've probably seen more tortoises cooked by the sun or burned by heat lamps so I kinda fail to see the point... but... this whole exchange has brought to light a very important point which I have not seen addressed... Voltage. The UK uses twice the voltage we have here in the US. Given the the constant resistance per square inch of most heat mats... That means double the power = heat.

So far all the kits I've seen recommend the use of a rheostat for the very reason that was mentioned.

Again... I've seen some points being thrown around this particular thread that doesn't have much merrit outside of one persons personal opinion.

[EJ]

After reading what I wrote it was... a little harsh... but I don't think it was any more harsh than some of the others who have posted on the topic. This is another one of those debatable topics that can get the blood pressure up a little...

Well... I've got to go hook up the heat mats in my outdoor enclosures... temperatures are expected to hit the upper 40s (F) in the next week.

Originally Posted by gwizz

I just thought Id bring everyone the information

EJ your comment was a little harsh ..

Lets hope PaH get it right

[EJ]

This is a little judgemental without really having the facts. It could have been a sales person just passing along what they were told.

This is not too different to the people who pass along partial information to the new keepers who than pass that along as gospel leaving out all the information which is valid but not believed or practed by the original people who fail to provide all that information.

Originally Posted by janeL

I agree with some of what you are saying, but stating an animal is UKCB when they are not is an absolute disgrace!!!!
Generally I think they do a pretty good job with the welfare of their animals, but I don't know about how other animals should be kept in the same detail as I do tortoises. I do know other people that have complained about the state fish have been kept in etc as this is where thier knowledge lies and I would hope others do it for other animals.

This is a huge chain of stores, not a local pet shop and if they can't get it right I think they need to be held to account and I will continue to challenge them. Having one specialist in a large shop is not good enough, they should all know their stock inside out. I feel it is our / my responsibility to help advance the care and knowledge given to prospective tort owners. I am never rude or angry in my interactions with staff although I am sometimes met with hostility , usually that is in the smaller pet shops.

[janeL]

Ed, That is my point, if it was just a member of staff passing on info that they have been told, this is not good enough, they are a big company and all staff should know their stock completely! Having worked in retail as a student, it was a company expectation that I knew about what I was selling.

Since posting the original comment the Northampton tort group have had other dealings with other local stores, where people have been misinformed. You can call me judgemental but I would say it is a trading standards issue and stand by everything I have written.