Fishy Business

Reviews 3

KA

Katie Grigg

I am a long-time patron of Fishy Business. Im not a rude or impatient customer, nor do I believe "the world should stop because Ive entered the door" of a particular establishment. I want to love this store unreservedly, and I will continue to shop there because of the quality, selection, and prices, but the truth is that their customer service is consistently lacking, more so for new customers than for returning ones. For you newbies who have not been there and are planning a visit, being aware of a few things beforehand will make your experience more pleasant. First, the pros: The critters at Fishy Business are amazing--they have a great range of both salt and freshwater fish (my tank is freshwater) and I can get stuff there that I cant get anywhere else. Their stock is generally always healthy, and their prices are excellent. They have a ton of fish foods, supplies, and the like. Once you get to know the staff, they are very helpful. Special shout-out to Doug--hes helped me out a LOT when Ive had problems with my tank and hes always willing to answer my questions. The neither pro nor con: Be aware that they are VERY busy on the weekend, so expect that youll be waiting a while--they have a small staff, and wrangling fish takes time. Youll get helped much faster if youre able to go sometime during the week. The cons: There is really only one con, and thats the customer service, but its enough to make some people avoid the store altogether. For the most part, if you dont know one of the staff personally, expect to be invisible until you go up to someone and ask for help (once you have someones attention, they are generally very helpful and will stay with you until all your questions are answered). Even if you do know some of the staff, service can vary: Ive been standing at the counter when no one else was around while Josh was looking at paperwork, and he still didnt acknowledge me. (Sorry Josh, I like you, but its true.). Some of the staff can also be impatient or condescending depending on their mood--when I called to asked about an aquarium part, I was told "there is no such thing." (Yes there is--its on my aquarium!). Lastly, dont expect to be greeted or told "Ill be with you in just a minute" when you come into the store--they just dont do that. In summary, Fishy Business tends to cater to the serious aquarium enthusiast, so your level of service tends to increase in parallel with your number of visits, knowledge of fish, and acquaintance with the staff. If you are the serious enthusiast, definitely make the time to get to know the folks there--their knowledge is invaluable. However, if you are a causal PetSmart-type shopper who wants a single betta, you will most likely be very unhappy with the service.

JU

Juan Vila

Alright so Ive been going to fishy business for about 2 years now and this is without a doubt the VERY BEST freshwater aquarium store in Orlando. Over the course of these 2 years Ive tried every other store in the area and none come even close to fishy business in terms of stock and staff knowledge. So now I want to talk about their biggest problem everyone mentions..that staffs temperament. Theyve been in the fish business for OVER 25 years!! The amount of knowledge available by all the employees combined in the store is simply INCREDIBLE! HOWEVER because theyve done it for so long they have also answer the same questions for that same amount of time over and over. This by no means is an excuse to be rude but when a customer comes in having done little to no research and expect a 1hour lecture to learn everything they need to about fish, the staff will most likely get frustrated, and rightfully so. The fish hobby can get extremely complicated and learning at your own pace is very important. These people arent the magical answer to getting you from 0 experience, to successfully owning discus. This doesnt mean that you cant have a 1hour conversation with them while theyre slow just simply talking about the hobby in general back and forth, something Ive definitely done. Im two years in and finally ready to get my 6 discus from them (currently on order and very excited, thanks douge!!!). If you ever have ANY problems with your tank or fish they will also help you no problem. I actually got some sick blue ram for the first time a couple of months ago that ended up killing off one of my fish, not only did they replace the rams but they also replaced the fish that died, gave me free medication, and the steps to making the tank healthy again. Accidents happen guys! Especially with so many fish in one store coming from so many places. Anyway to sum this all up, I would not recommend any other store but this one for fresh water fish. They are 100% in it for the beauty and fun of the hobby. Dont come in asking tell me everything about the fish hobby. I stead do some research! Even at the store, I stay there for sometimes over an hour looking at interesting fish and researching them on my phone while being there. It really is a wonderful place that would be a huge loss if you didnt give a good chance. (Oh and I wouldnt recommend oceans direct next door for fresh water, their staff is VERY inexperienced in the freshwater field and have given me very very very incorrect advice that couldve killed off my entire tank. So unless you know exactly what your looking for, DONT go there instead!). -Juan

RA

Raja Raja

After reading some of the reviews, I was rather hesitant to go to this store but they are one of the few in the area that seem to stock some of the fresh water plants that I was looking for. I have now been to this store twice and I have to say, Im really rather puzzled by the customer service complaints. And I even went on the weekends. One weekend they were rather busy, about 6-8 people were already in there. Being a decent person, I realized those people were there before me and expected to wait. So I wandered around and looked at all the different fishes. I noted that the employees did seem to keep track of who had arrived before someone else and tended to those people in a first come, first served manner. Once those who had arrived before me were helped or at least asked if they needed anything, I was approached and asked if I needed assistance with anything, both times. Both times, the items that I needed were quickly bagged up and walked up to the front to be checked out. Honestly, I was helped so very much faster there than at any of the "big box" pet stores that Ive been to. Often at the chain stores, I have to go to the register to ask for someone to come to the fish section, after waiting around in the area for a good 10-15 minutes. At Fishy Business, I was helped in well under that time and without having to ask. And as for the store itself, the selection cant be beat. There are so many unique and "run of the mill" fish to choose from, both freshwater and saltwater. I was a bit sad to see the condition of some of the fish, mostly a four lined catfish that was there this weekend. He was in a container with another clearly aggressive species and no hiding places. His face/mouth was rubbed raw and red from swimming against the front. I have this same species in my tank, so I have a bit of a soft spot for them. While it made me sad, I do realize that they dont always know whats coming in and have to do the best that they can with the space and species that they have. Anywhere else and the four lined might have just eaten the others. Overall, if youre a decent person who doesnt think that the red carpet needs to be rolled out when you walk in the door, youll have no problems here. Just wait your turn and youll be helped shortly.

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