Pet shops

muddypaws

I was just wondering if boardsies would give me some pointers as to what it is that they like about particular pet shops, I'm more interested in bricks and mortar stores, but would also like opinions on on-line retailers.

Is price the most important thing, or customer service and staff knowledge? Product range, or do you go specifically for one thing that you know that store carries? Would you shop in a store if they sold live animals, or would that put you off?

sadie06

Customer service would be a big one for us. We do tend to buy online for food as you can get great offers, but for day to day things, we go to a store.

Our local maxi-zoo (a chain I know) has excellent staff that really know their stuff. I love that dogs are welcome to come in, and that staff sometimes take their own dogs to work. When we were buying a rain coat for our guy, the staff member tried a couple on him to make sure we were getting the right size. I really appreciated that, and that level of service is what would draw me to a physical store rather than buying online.

In terms of live animals being sold, it wouldn't put me off if it was animals suited to being caged in a pet store, and they were clearly very well looked after. It can be an added draw for families, as kids love to have a look around while the adults shop.

Other draws for us when we first got our boy as a puppy were in store info days (when a groomer and a vet were in store for a few hours to answer questions) and microchip scanning days, to make sure all was still well there.

Hope this helps.

Nody

Price (see Walmart in US beating up mom & pop stores that everyone loves), Price, Price, Knowledge and customer service (these really go hand in hand in my book; all the knowledge in the world don't help you with Mr know it all but neither will I give a damn if you recommend crap or can't answer my questions).

Now why price? Simply because with internet shopping you need to be competitive or they'll come in, ask your advice and order it online afterwards. It would be nice if a shop could live on the small purchases (think cable in a electronic store) but in reality that's highly unlikely to work. Now to compete on price you not only need to get what people buy but also the good alternatives to recommend but yet in small enough quantities to not tie up a ton of cash. One way to do that would be a store subscriber service where you order a bag of X every Y months for a person with an e-mail reminder that their new bag has arrived for example. That makes it easy for people to plan and you limit the stock in store.

Another thing I'd push heavily for is sample packs; while brand X may be among the best on the market if you recommend it and their pooch gets the runs for a week they are never coming back; hence sample pack with clear printed instructions (prepare these type of papers yourself and print them for low cost) with every sample pack. Have tick lists for new cat/dog/lizard/bird owners to take them through the store and have ready pre-listed packages of food, litter, toys etc. that they can easily go with if they don't know what you mean with "high quality puppy kibbles".

Now the above is mainly about knowledge and CS but here's were the price comes in. If you want to retain that customer you need to be competitive enough (does not mean equal or cheaper then Zoohit but with in 10% at least) that ordering online is not worth it. This also means for example cat towers should be sourced from China/Ebay (I can find the same cat tower in a shop for 300 EUR costing 60 on German Ebay) and stocking unusual stuff (for example UV lights that work (most don't), Odorxit (or other US only pee cleaners) that you buy concentrated can be sold watered down at 9 EUR a liter vs. 5 EUR purchase cost and still be half the cost of normal European brands for pee removal, strong UV light for spore / bacterial removal to be rented out for cleaning rooms etc.). In essence you want to be the expert store, with the friendly staff that's priced reasonably compared to online to get my business.

Now do I think the above can work? Maybe but I'm hesitant simply because you need so much foot traffic to make it work and I'm not sure the money is in there to make it happen (i.e. outside of Cork/Dublin I'd be hard pressed on it) so you would really ideally combine it with a online store version as well.

Amara22

I agree about the quality of customer service and knowledge of the staff. It's shocking when the staff are completely untrained, unable to answer questions or recommending wrong or even dangerous products. Puts me right off when it seems that their only goal is to make sales and not the correct husbandry for the animals. Wish pet shops in Ireland were better regulated!

Live animals don't really put me off unless they are clearly in distress or not being cared for properly. One pet shop I know of has a parrot that has been there a long time- hes clearly stressed and has taken to pulling out his feathers and self harming. Their solution? Put a cone around his head so he can't reach! That's upsetting.

aonb

Price of course
Range\quality of dog food would be the most important issue after that.
Knowledgeable staff
Wouldnt shop at a store that sold animals

angeldaisy

I echo a lot of what has been mentioned above.

I would also like to see some of the more unusual products that I can only get online.

Such as training toys or those intelligence toys. Unusual collars and tags etc.

But what really makes me go back to a shop is friendly knowledgeable staff and knowing that they help and support the local animal shelters.

Nody

Forgot to add; I think selling live animals risk becoming a loss leader if anything (children love to see them) simply because good pet care costs money and take up a lot of time which makes the store risk having a lot of stock not moving that costs a lot. If anything I'd maintain a list of other stores / shelters / breeders that can provide support and have in store shows etc. for free (while driving foot traffic in) along with open door policy (water at door, pets allowed if controlled with a leash etc.).

cocker5

Ok firstly I have to say I don’t shop in pet stores at all.. I but all my guys’ stuff online (that includes food, collars etc.).. reason is I’ve no decent pet store near me and any of the bags ones don’t sell brands that I use (i.e. taste of the wild etc.)

BUT I would use a local pet store (and I honestly would prefer to give money to a local store than online) if:

1.They had good customer service i.e. they were knowledgeable (not trained but could give some decent advise like some posters here on boards) and they actually liked animals themselves but would offer helpful advice if I had a query (not a medical query)
2.If they stocked decent brands of food and treats… and nit just pedigree and royal canin.
3.I would DEF NOT buy form any pet store selling live animals – not in a million years
4.If they were reasonably priced (they don’t have to be the cheapest but fairly priced)
5. More unique stuff we can only currently get online i.e. equipment for running / cycling with your dog –just as an example
6.Unusual collars / leads, training aids (unusual / decent ones)
7. Decent training guide books for new pet owners , maybe DVD’s
8.an Information corner ……..what to expect from a new puppy? why to consider adoption? maybe how to avoid a backyard breeder

For me to actually go to a local pet store the person would want to come across as this the passion, they have an interest in animals and this shows in the product in which they sell.

Maybe I ask too much

Pumpkinseeds

I tend to just buy online from either Amazon or Zooplus because it's cheaper and they don't sell animals. I don't drive so I have to take the bus if I need to use a bricks and mortar shop. There's one that's closer to me but sells kittens so I deliberately avoid that one on principal and go to the other one. The other one sells birds and fish, I hate the idea of caged birds and I only use them in an absolute emergency.

odckdo

With a few dogs, unfortunately for me it is down to price mainly. There are 2 small pet shops in my town and I only go to them when I am stuck.

My biggest expense every month is dog food and treats. The online stores offer really good value as I am buying in bulk. In saying that, Pet World Direct beside me sell Barking Heads dog food - twice a year this food is on sale but I always miss it - so something like a text message would be good. Also with dog food they give you a card that gets stamped with each purchase so after buying 9 bags you get the 10th free - something like this is a good idea.

Like everyone else customer service would be key. Staff that knew their stuff with no BS sales talk. Staff that own animals themselves and know the products. Also a facility whereby if a product is not in stock/available could be ordered quickly by the staff.

In saying all that a 'bricks & mortar' shop is still going to need a good website, isn't it? A new pet shop in a good location could do well but some sort of online website (even a basic/small one) could make the difference.

tk123

sadie06 wrote: »

Our local maxi-zoo (a chain I know) has excellent staff that really know their stuff. I

That's funny because some of the staff in our local MaxiZoo think they're knowledgeable but are actually clueless and give out crazy advise to people! But they're always helpful and friendly.

Price is a big thing for me - I don't mind paying an extra few euro but not 30-40% mark up on stuff.

Also range - there's one pet shop we drop into every now and again - half the time the shelves are really bare and the rest of the time it's just the same stuff they've had years. In that respect I like shopping online, looking at the new stuff etc

As far as live animals go I usually have the dogs with me so don't go near the animals in case the dogs frighten them but thinking back now I was in one of the three I frequent a while back and they were in awful condition - I didn't buy anything that day.

cocker5

tk123 wrote: »

That's funny because some of the staff in our local MaxiZoo think they're knowledgeable but are actually clueless and give out crazy advise to people! But they're always helpful and friendly.

Price is a big thing for me - I don't mind paying an extra few euro but not 30-40% mark up on stuff.

Also range - there's one pet shop we drop into every now and again - half the time the shelves are really bare and the rest of the time it's just the same stuff they've had years. In that respect I like shopping online, looking at the new stuff etc

As far as live animals go I usually have the dogs with me so don't go near the animals in case the dogs frighten them but thinking back now I was in one of the three I frequent a while back and they were in awful condition - I didn't buy anything that day.

agreed i have visited two maxi zoos' in recent months (Naas and Bray) both students working there without a notion! Nice staff but def not knowledgeable.. :rolleyes:

VonVix

I think I could complain more about the lack of choice in most pet stores than anything. I've noticed a LOT of pet shops have a really poor range of harnesses and not much choice when it comes to training treats.

That said, I've always had good experiences with staff in Maxi Zoo, very friendly, not sure if they are knowledgeable though because I've never had to approach anyone about anything in particular.

Pet stores are great and all, but I have had better luck online when it comes to buying things.

Inexile

I think its very hard now for small pet shop owners to compete against the pet chain stores and the online shops. But as with all stores they should have what marketing people called a 'usp' (unique selling point) then it can give a business an edge.

To give a, none pet example, my OH loves gardening. A lot of the smaller local places have closed and the choice is either the hardware stores type shops (Woodies, Homebase etc) or those massive garden centre/lifestyle places. But his favourite garden store is neither of these. Its about an hour away from us so its a bit of drive when you just want a few carnations! This garden centre does talks during the summer, about every two weeks or so - Ive been to one on container gardening, unusual fruit, vegetables etc. It lifts the shopping experience from just buying a few plants to a day out.

Ok - so back on topic I think a nice smaller pet shop could gain a bit more custom if it held talks on different aspects of pet care or even dog training. You wouldnt have to do a training class but just demonstrate the commands, let some customers try it and hand out a leaflet afterwards.

Just my tuppence worth