Don't let you children shop alone in this PETSMART!! My 14 year old son decided to get his younger brother a tropical fish tank 2 days before Christmas, so his mom left him alone in this PetSmart to make the purchases on his own. My son spent $283 dollars in cash for a 20 gallon fish tank, tank equipment, supplies and 18 tropical fish, all purchased at the same time. No one bothered to tell my son that he needed to set up the tank several days prior to buying the fish so that the water could be treated, filtered and set at the proper temperature with a heater. And with all the money spent he was not sold a tank heater or thermometer, no one at the store bothered to advise him that he needed these items for tropical fish. Furthermore, no one bothered to tell him that they sell fish starter kits that include a 20 gallon tank, all equipment needed, including a heater, for the total price of $95. When I arrived home 1.5 hours after my son made the purchase, I found him furiously trying to set up all the equipment in the tank, painfully aware that the bagged fish would not survive much longer. He had the tank filled with water and the filter pump running but the water was a thick murky white from the gravel dust. The fish were still sitting in the bags. Anyone with fish tank experience, including pet stores, know new gravel has dust that makes the water murky for a few days and is not suitable for fish. I told my son we needed to return the fish as fast as possible and that since he didn't have a heater or thermometer there was little chance the fish would survive in the murky cold water. When I returned the fish to the store and asked to speak to the manager she was very apologetic and said it was a new employee that sold my son the $283 worth of stuff. The manager told me it was store policy to advise customers set up new tanks two weeks prior to purchasing the fish and again said it was a new employee who dealt with my son. I told her that the cashier and others at the store should have also noticed a 14 year old buying a ton of new fish tank equipment and bags of fish at the same time. Since the manager was aware of the situation, the manager must have been aware at the time when my 14 year old was in the store and spending $283, against store policy, yet she did nothing!! I guess she was apologetic only because she got caught ripping off a minor! When I pointed out the $95 fish tank starter kits for sale, she offered no explanation as to why these were not pointed out to my son instead of duping him out of $283. I also found out later that it is against store policy to sell any live animals to unaccompanied minors. A few days later I returned everything my son purchased including the used equipment for a full refund. That was the only good thing about this experience. read more
