Please let customers choose the fishes they want.

Just happened on to this site...............My name is Jeanie.
One would think that when you are in the business to "please the
public", and especially when you are selling live creatures to
us...that you would enjoy helping the person find their special new
friend.
There have been many times over the years that I too saw just that
perfect fish.
I am now age 57 with 2 tanks at home, 4 at work and my Son has 4 at
his home ( all of the above are 55 -125 gallon sizes ).
With some imagination and creativity; it isn't hard to sort a small
group out, knowing that the one fish is in there. Then just go from
there on the smaller scale !
makepeace1141@aol.com

I have a feeling the pet store has a very *good* reason for not
allowing people to pick their fish (I just typed fick their pish, that
is sad because I tend to talk that way, but I usually don't type it!).


If they are a small store and understaffed or really really busy,
letting every single person handpick every single fish would take
forever and a day. One clerk would be tied up with one customer, while
several other customers became frustrated with the wait and left.

(I can remember being a kid and spending an hour staring at the fish
before my mom finally became frustrated and told the poor clerk 'the
first one who swims into the net will be fine!' I never knew the
difference.)

I don't agree with the way the clerk acted, but I can understand one
of the possible reasons behind the rule and her frustration.

How can you single out a fish (in a school) follow it, then get the
clerk to net it? They all look the same to me and I have had two tanks
for twenty years.

I'm going to disagree with most on here about this. Don't think I am
going to hold back because of the disability aspect, that would be
doing you injustice. One they had a sign. Two it isn't very easy to
catch one fish from a tank full and the store is probably limited on
help. That said you did not deserve rude treatment and in that aspect
the employee was wrong. Hope you enjoy your fish.

i didn't know there was a store that wouldn't let you choose. freedom
of choice is one of the most important things to everyone. i'm sorry
that woman was rude to you, but some people simply have no manners. i
love wal mart. their prices can't be beat and they offer so many
things. stick with wal mart and let those other places where they
obviously don't know how to treat people fall by the wayside.

Great letter! I remember when I got pet geckos for my 11th birthday I
took hours staring in the tank and deciding which 2 to get. I can
totally relate to this letter. I would be upset if I didn't get to
choose what pet to adopt. It is something that you want to put a lot
of thought into. Some animals you can just connect with no matter what
species they are.

The "Can't you read?" comment is condescending disability or not. As
the previous poster said if she had been nice and explained it to you
nicely that it's hard to get the right fish that would have been ok,
rather than yelling it. Geeze.
I'm sorry you didn't get to pick your fish there. I would have wanted
to pick my fish too.

I think this is a great letter. Good for you for handling yourself so
well when you were treated rudely. I don't know that I would have
shown the same restraint in your position ;) But I certainly would not
have given this store my business, and I won't either, should I ever
find myself in need of a fish ;)

How's that Wal mart fish doing? :)

I think the OP was offended by the fact that the employee made a
comment about "can't you read the sign", which Billy though was
implying he was illiterate due to his condition, not using it as a
crutch.

Great letter, this is an excellent point. I think that if a customer
wants a specific fish, they should try their best to catch it, and if
it gets away, keep trying for other choices that look good.
Personally, when I purchase fish, I just get the ones that get caught,
but if they looked bad, I would most definately want to have a choice.

The did the right thing. He doesn't like the policy a store has so he
left and took his business elsewhere. He then wrote a letter to the
company explaining why he is not shopping there. He didn't ask for
freebies, he didn't threaten, he simply made a suggestion for a policy
change.

As for being offended by being asked can't you read, I think anyone
would be regardless if they have a disability or not.

I don't think the OP was offended that he could not pick the fish he
wanted - I think he was offended that the clerk asked him if he could
read.

I agree with the other person who said that the clerk probably says
that to everyone - I don't think you were singled out because you have
Down Syndrome.

I can't have goldfish because they die within 24 hours when I buy
them, but when I did buy them, I liked picking out my own too.

Glad you got taken care of at Wal-mart, Billy!

I'd just like to take a moment to politely educate people that it is
"Down syndrome," not "Downs syndrome." I prefer it with the "s"
myself, but gave up the battle long ago when the various official
organizations that represent individuals living with Down syndrome
made it clear that their preference was just "Down."

I feel if you wanted to pick out a certain fish then you go to a store
that allows it, not to one that posts they do not allow this.

How dare you use your diability as a crutch. You should be ashamed of
yourself. I know people with Downs and my Mother has worked with Downs
for 25+ years and for you to say that is ignorant.

I am happy to hear that you did however find the fish you were looking
for.

wrong

Wow.. are family members and friends already teaching you to try to
use your "disability" to your advantage? That has NOTHING to do with
your complaint. You clearly stated that the policy was posted.

"can't you read the sign you can't choose the fish other wise it will
take all day. I was kind of offended by this because i have down
syndrome."

This has nothing to do with your Downs Syndrome. It has everything to
do with the fact that the store has a posted policy.

While she was right, it can take all day (and ReadheadWithGlasses goes
further explaining), I agree that a pet store should do better to hook
people up with the right pet.

I'll bet she says "can't you read" to everyone, regardless of their
ability. That's the rude way of telling people that there is a sign
that spells out the rules.

What she should have done was to say, "I'm sorry, but we've found that
it really ties up the store to let people pick their own fish. I'll
tell you what... I'll try to get the fish you want, but if I can't get
it, then I'm going to have to revert back to store policy. I hope you
understand."

I have to admit that I disagree. A tank full of 100 guppies means
they stick the net in and you get the fish that lands in the net. I
grew up with a fish tank, and we never got to choose the fish, other
than the TYPE of fish, when we were at the pet store.

I would suggest you leave the Down Syndrome bit out. If you're going
on the net, typing letters to companies, and being so independent, the
fact that you have Down Syndrome is irrelevant. At this point, you
have to choose: Do you want to be like everyone else, or do you want
to use DS as a reason why you should get special treatment?

I agree with you. If this is a pet store, certainly they let people
pick the dog, cat, bird, hamster, etc. that they want. A fish is no
different. When we had an aquarium, my daughter handpicked each and
every fish, and the saleslady had a lot of patience even though it
took a long time. It's an important decision, and you shouldn't be
pressured into buying a pet you don't want. I think you did the right
thing by going somewhere else to buy your fish.

You're absolutely right. Since it's going to be your pet, you did well
to let them know they lost a customer. Going to another store that
cares better for their animals and customers is very smart!