I think it's important to give people the benefit of the doubt, although if it happens over and over again, I can imagine that would get old real quick.
A lot of the time I see people who get pets on a whim, and think "Oh, I can do this!" and they kind of half-ass it, like do some research OR talk to someone who claims to be an expert (such as a pet store employee
....such as myself, Herps of NM) and take what they say at face value, rather than comparing sources of information.
I would like to think everyone has the best intentions... but at the same time, I see people getting bored with their pets and neglecting their needs.
It's not to say that we all don't mess up at times and have to figure things out the hard way, but there is a fine line.
5 days a week I deal with people that are bored, but also mindfully neglectful and flat out just don't care about what the pet needs. I'll admit, I don't know what I'd like to about the 120+ species of fish sold at the large chain I work for. I have no problem admitting not knowing what I would think would be a comfortable level of knowledge when it comes to even birds or our small animals.
If I had to put numbers to it, 7 times out of 10 I get customers that even after giving them basic knowledge (like establishing a nitrogen cycle, proper heating for reptiles, not keeping ANY goldfish in bowls and without filtration, UV lighting for day-active reptiles, humid hides for reptiles, etc.) REFUSE to listen. Days, weeks, months later they're back in telling me their pet died or had to go to the vet and the vet told me the same info you did.
Chip knows what I'm talking about. However, what frustrates me are these assumptions....
A lot of the time I see people who get pets on a whim, and think "Oh, I can do this!" and they kind of half-ass it, like do some research OR talk to someone who claims to be an expert (such as a pet store employee).
I've had doctors and lawyers come in that refuse to listen to any advice. I had a former supervisor that has been breeding various African cichlids and keeping various birds from finches to large parrots since the 70s have customers ignore his recommendations. I've watched as internet keyboard warriors type up mis-information within forums and even had them come into store spouting off about how they watched a youtube video that claims XYZ is a correct setup/food/temp/ etc. I had a lady tell me that my crested gecko habitat at work, with a high of 83°F was too hot and the gecko would die. I politely informed her I'd been breeding crested since 1999 and even 85°F was acceptable. She proceeded to badmouth me to her husband, then came back to look at the gecko. In the meantime I brought up numerous crested care guides via many respectable breeders' pages via my iphone. She didn't like that, said thank you and walked out.
Not every pet store employee is a blathering idiot that doesn't know an anole's cloaca from their own rectum. This assumption, particularly within various internet forums honestly pisses me off. I have customers that now will drive to Albuquerque, New Mexico from Las Cruces (226 miles away), Alamogordo (212 miles away), Grants (80 miles), Gallup (140 miles) , and Farmington (181 miles) New Mexico, shoot even Durango, CO to visit my particular store due to the customer reputation I've built. We, here in town, even have a local mom & pop store with even the same reputation, our own beautifullywild's husband works at one of them.
I could go on and on, but I'm not. Everyone's mind pretty much here or on leopard gecko forums, insert herp forum here, etc pretty much have their minds made up about pet store employees. Unfortunately for me, this current field is what helps pay my bills after obtaining a BS in Biology, having 26 years of personal reptile & amphibian keeping experience, and 6 years professional experience as a museum Naturalist. :realhot: :uzi: :sobstory:
