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I agree, but, dangerous customers at a LFS?

Let me complete your jedi training, Cass, and you will become more powerful than you ever imagined!

"I dont think kids under the age of 18 should be working in any pet shop, tbh, unless it is selling dry goods only. I dont think 16 yr olds have the maturity and confidence to detect and ID someone who is underage and should not be purchasing animals."

I repsectfully disagree. Teens are more perceptive than you make them out to be. The fact of the matter is that most pet stores are looking for profit. Regardless of what age you are, they will sell you what you're yearning for, so long as greenbacks are there to back your words. Very few stores will actually refuse service to customers on account of poor maintenance. I myself have become quite adept at sniffing out bad aquarists, and I heed them not to buy certain fish if they are unable to adequately house them, but a vast majority go through with it anyways. However, my manager understands, and has a policy that DONs (dead overnights) will NOT be replaced, had the consumer been given ample warning against purchasing the fish. Furthermore, I am far more knowledgeable in the realm of FW fish than any other of my employees, so I would say I'm pulling my own weight in the business (save rift lakers, but there's a guy who does them, so whatever). Also, there are, IMO, very few hazards against the well being of an individual whilst working in a pet shop. Health and safety is not a major issue, although, again, you give teenagers too little credit.



Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 29-May-2005 13:05

I am with noodles!!!!! FULL OUT !!!!
THis is sad to see so many people saying teenagers are undependable, and the won't take the time to learn health issues so on and so forth.....



I have one thing to say Teenagers are our future!!!!!!!!!!


You don't give em a chance to learn and you'll get a bunch of idiots leading our old buts around.

I really hope that some of you don't have kids, there self essteem must be awful!!!


I for one am 20 years old and know for a fact that I know more about fish then both the managers at our LFS's, and I have also seen young people on here (14 or 15) Who could blow most of us out of the water with what they know.


At our LFS they don't do anything like that, in fact in our whole city, I don't think there are to many people who think like some of you do about young people and working.

I for one know I would hire someone who belives that children are our furture, not someone who is up on a high horse that has been out of high school for 25 years, mind you if your qualified I would still hire.

I am sure that there are bad apples out there, but if you think I bet they had people like this telling them the same same things I am reading here..............You not dependable, you don't want to learn, you think other things are important, that would make me be a jerk at work to


Well I am going to go play with my daughter, and make sure she knows if someone tells her she can't, she knows to do it ten times better then that person who told he she could not!!

Hopes for people to realize one day...
Angel Eel



EDIT: "Simple... ask for an application and tell them that you'd like them to keep you in mind for when they DO have openings. If they refuse based on age, then you have an issue. Unless they specifically tell you that you're too young, you don't have any grounds for a case"

Maybe there are lots of people ahead of you who have already put in the apps, what I would do is go right down and ask!!! Am I to young is that why you do not hire me? Or Is there alot of people ahead of me?? so on talk to them.


Last edited by angeleel at 29-May-2005 12:58

My LFS pretty much only hires young people (25 or under), but I think that's because only young people are willing to work for $2.00 above minimum wage. Anyway, before the person is hired, we make sure that they are going to be able to commit enough time to the job and that they really know what they are talking about. Every one of my co-workers is extremely knowledgeable about their special area of interest (freshwater, saltwater, or reptiles).

We get a lot more business and regular customers than the LFS a bit north of us that only hires older people, and we hear a lot that at the other place, the employees act superior to younger fishkeepers and act like they don't know anything (I can vouch for this too, in the numerous times I've been there they have never realized that I do indeed know what I'm talking about), and that drives a lot of people away. We also have more fish and higher-quality fish than they do (and for cheaper) as well.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

$2 above minimun wage is pretty darn good. I'll be working for about $.20 above minimum wage! Still better that delivering newspapers or lemonade stands or whatever kids my age are supposed to be doing.

Some of us are working 40-hour weeks for nothing at all, thanks very much. Ah, internships.

-Molly
Visit shelldwellers.com!

You don't give em a chance to learn and you'll get a bunch of idiots leading our old buts around.

So THAT's what happened.

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They shade the glow of it with their mossy-misty costumes,
They wear masks of silk, porcelain, brass, and silver,
So as not to mislead with their own, ordinary faces.

That IS what happend .......jk

"We get a lot more business and regular customers than the LFS a bit north of us that only hires older people, and we hear a lot that at the other place, the employees act superior to younger fishkeepers and act like they don't know anything (I can vouch for this too, in the numerous times I've been there they have never realized that I do indeed know what I'm talking about), and that drives a lot of people away. We also have more fish and higher-quality fish than they do (and for cheaper) as well"

That is so the case, older people (not everyone) seem to get superior to everybody, its a pain really, but I just think some people need to give younger people a chance!!!!

Bet alot of them would be surprized!
Well gotta go,
Angel Eel

Last edited by angeleel at 30-May-2005 12:50

I repsectfully disagree. Teens are more perceptive than you make them out to be

i think you missed my point. Employers, in the UK at least, are required to fulfil more health and safety criteria to employ 16-18yr olds. These make under 18's comparatively more expensive to employ, so it is not good business sense to employ them.

Therefore, I would be suspicious of any LFS which employed large numbers of under 18's, because it suggests that they have been lax with their employer duties, and if they are lax with them, then it suggests they will make short cuts in other areas. Therefore, I would not want to buy fish from them.

i find that LFS's which do not employ under 18's generally tend to be better, have higher levels of fish welfare and better customer service. Not because of the under 18's themselves being less good at their work, but because these places generally seem to be more lax in their attitudes.




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I like to think that whoever designed marine life was thinking of it as basically an entertainment medium. That would explain some of the things down there, some of the unearthly biological contraptions

I assume it to be different over here. I understand your concerns regarding employers duties, but the requirement of administering stricter health and safety measures does not necessitate the assumption that teens need them due to their a presumed lack of maturity and foresight.

teens need them due to their a presumed lack of maturity and foresight.

No, but IMO, they need them because of a lack of experience. For many, this will be their first job, and they need protection from unscrupulous employers who may expose them to unacceptable levels of risk, knowing that older employees would refuse to do the task.

Also because, as people who are still growing physically, they need protection from the more hazardous checmicals which can cause physical damage to growing bodies. Hormone supplements especially, can do long term, serious damage to people who are going through puberty. Teenagers would be more at risk and need a level of protection which recognises this special risk.



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I like to think that whoever designed marine life was thinking of it as basically an entertainment medium. That would explain some of the things down there, some of the unearthly biological contraptions

... There is just such a distrust of kids, especially teenagers, these days that i don't understand how people honestly expect you to be a well-balanced person when so many of them judge you before they even know who you are.

Want to know where this comes from? Allow me to give you a crash course.

Where I live, the teenagers I have the misfortune to live amongst are shot through with a level of recidivist criminality that makes police chiefs soil their underwear. And, when they're under 16, the police can't touch them unless they kill someone. And if you think that's judgemental, then I have compelling reason to be so.

Last November, I was waiting for a lift to an Entomology Society meeting that had been arranged in advance. I waited at the bus stop opposite my house, for the car to arrive. Five minutes before the car arrived, I was set upon by six yobs who tried to set fire to me with a firework. Yes, that's right, a firework. You know, one of those explosive devices that burns at a temperature of 3,000°C? By some miracle I escaped serious injury, but when I was interviewed by the police later, you know what they told me? Get this. They told me that if I wanted them caught, I'd more or less have to do it myself. The evil little so and so's that attacked me are still at liberty, and no-one in authority seems to give a damn.

When you've had that kind of an experience, you regard teenagers as a threat. As for curfews, I wish we had them here so that the streets were safe to walk at night. Actually, I'm reaching the point (after two more attacks) where I wish we had martial law.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Seriously I wouldnt recommend young kids for working in LFS, you get dangerous customers as someone mentioned earlier and the older staff just bully you and give you all the work to do...throught experience.

Mainly when the LFS hires people, its a person they trust, not just regular customers, but someone that knows their thing with fish, plants, equipment etc. When I joined my lfs about 2 years ago I only new my marines and how to breed some discus, cichlids and my marines. I got some training for 2 weeks and everything seems to be ok. Once in a while you get threats and similar things from customers, but its all cool. Many funny things happens when working in a lfs. And many fun things. The best times are when the new stock comes in, Especially the corals. We usually get in 10-15 boxes of coral all wraped in paper, always a suprise.

But most of all you get heaps of experience and you get to get the contacts to the suppliers etc Discounts are good as well.

I've been trying to get a job at a new LFS, they keep telling me that they are thinking about it, and the next day they hire some random people that only knows hows to clean tanks and catch fish. No knowledge at all. So sad these days, they rather hire no knowledge people than experience hobbilist. It was quite funny when my mate came into the store when they opened...and ask the guys if they could keep shrimps with trigger fish...they was like...yea you can...we have been keeping them together for years, here i show you, places the Blood shrimp ($200) in the tank with 4 triggers, 0.5secs later...eaten. Thats some knowledge isnt it? LOL They also seem to like to hire people that doesnt know english...and its in Australia...since I work on the same road as the lfs, they keep asking me to translate for them when they are working, might as well hire me for interpreter*

LFS these days, you cannot think what they are thinking.

Regardless of what age you are, they will sell you what you're yearning for,

Just noticed this too - in the UK it is illegal for shops to sell animals to under 16's unless accompanied by an adult. This may not be the case in the US, and that was where mycomment about ID comes from, I know (because I've been there) that most 16yr olds do not have the confidence to ID members of their peer group.

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I like to think that whoever designed marine life was thinking of it as basically an entertainment medium. That would explain some of the things down there, some of the unearthly biological contraptions

"in the UK it is illegal for shops to sell animals to under 16's unless accompanied by an adult."

Nope, no age restrictions here, 'least not on fish. As has already been said, money is the only obstacle to ownership.

"most 16yr olds do not have the confidence to ID members of their peer group."

At the store where I work, very few teenagers come in and purchase fish. I don't think that fish weigh very heavily on the minds of my peer group, despite the disproportionately large proportion of youngsters here on FP. Few teens visit my store, and fewer still actually buy fish. I don't see a problem with peers since there are so few of them, and since more lfs-working teens than you think are mature enough to deal with them as they would any normal customer.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

again, possibel cultural differences. I' ve seen kids come into pet shops to buy goldfish, rats, mice, rabbits, etc. Few aquatic shops here do just fish, most do reptiles or mammals too. Kids do come in and try to buy the cheap spiders or snakes, just for a laugh.

Also, when you've got fairs still giving away goldfish bowls as prizes, kids often come in for a goldfish to put in it. Again, I've watched them.

Personally, I dont think under 18's should be working full stop. I believe that enough welfare should be supplied to them to enable them to live without needing jobs - why, because however little you work, it impinges on school work and far more important things. It also gives people a distorted image of what work is, which makes it more difficult to make rational career choices. I stand by my belief that under 18's do not have the maturity to stand up to improper working pratices, and to have a good enough grasp of the law to know when they are being put at risk. I know, because I let my employer walk all over me because I was not old enough to learn my rights, and though I had union representation, I was not entitled to rights under the unfair dismissal laws, because of my age. I allowed my employer to get away with sacking me because I was a member of a union (NUS) and breaking all dismissal laws, because I didnt know any better.






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I like to think that whoever designed marine life was thinking of it as basically an entertainment medium. That would explain some of the things down there, some of the unearthly biological contraptions

Once in a while you get threats and similar things from customers, but its all cool.

Where do you live where customers threaten you?

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

I know what you mean.

WHen i went to get my gouramis, i was telling my dad how to tell the females apart from the males, and the guy heard me talking about it, yet he insisted to tell us again.

I think he knows i know what im talking about, but wants to act "smarter" than me.

I believe that enough welfare should be supplied to them to enable them to live without needing jobs - why, because however little you work, it impinges on school work and far more important things.

Many of us (at least around here) have parents who are not willing to pay for much anymore, and so we have to have some way to get money to buy what we need.

Pretty much the only thing my mom supplies me nowadays is a roof over my head, which although is very important, is not enough for me to survive all by itself. I pay for my food, my gas, my clothes, and everything for my pets... My mom doesn't pay for any of that anymore. Every morning I have to drive 30 miles (about 55 km) to school, and every weekend I have to drive 35 miles to work. My mom never drives me and never pays for my gas, which is why it is necessary for me to have a job.

I got the job a few months after I turned 16, and have dedicated much of my time there for nearly a year. During the school year I only work weekends, but during breaks I work eight hours a day, five days a week. Most of my friends also have jobs that they take very seriously, and I do not feel that it is appropriate for you to assume that just because we are young, we cannot be devoted to our jobs and to just clump us all together in that stereotypical teenage image.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Pretty much the only thing my mom supplies me nowadays is a roof over my head ... I pay for my food, my gas, my clothes, and everything for my pets ... Every morning I have to drive 30 miles (about 55 km) to school, and every weekend I have to drive 35 miles to work ... During the school year I only work weekends, but during breaks I work eight hours a day, five days a week

This is exactly where Tiny's coming from. She;s not saying (correct me if I'm wrong, Tiny) that you can't be devoted to your job - she's saying you shouldn't have to be. People in school should have the means to focus on school, on preparing for the future, on being a kid or a teenager. In an ideal situation, you wouldn't have to work 40 hours a week on your breaks - you'd be having fun, prepping college essays, enjoying the early part of your life.
It's not that young people aren't dedicated - it's that they're too dedicated to jobs, when they should have time for school and for being young people.

-Molly
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