I'll reiterate, that right from the start, your employee is not telling you the truth. See below,…read moreand read the edited reply to the owner:
The woman with dark purple hair working in the bird room on 4/11 was very rude and off-putting. She needs to learn to speak respectfully, and not have an attitude or speak to someone with "I not going to say anything," and give an expression of 'you're irritating me.' Her whole demeanor was condescending and with 'I'm Queen of the Nile,' disposition. When someone says, "I think I made a friend," when talking about one of the birds who she permitted to step up into my hand and the bird let me stroke it behind its neck, you do not give a disgusted expression when questioned why she was giving that look, and you don't respond with, "I'm not going to say anything." Beyond rude. She needs a good talking too about customer service and how to talk to people more nicely.
Edit::
First and foremost, I asked for permission. I didn't stick my hands unnounced in on my own free will concerning the conure enclosure. I asked, "Would it be okay if I tried--"
Your employee said, "That's the only bird (conure) that will probably let you handle it." Her choice of words strongly implied that the other birds were unfriendly, which is not true of the Senegal. She did not explicitly state, "Do not touch any other birds," despite your sign.
At this point, our employees had the authority to ask me to leave the bird room. Not only did she fail to do that, but she also permitted me to continue holding the bird.
Your employee needs to improve her communication skills. As someone on the autism spectrum, I require specific, direct instructions to understand what is permitted. She did not provide that clarity. Her comment about the concur being the only bird likely to allow handling suggested to me that I might try interacting with another hookbill, with the caveat, "Don't be disappointed if you get the same results." This misunderstanding arose solely from her failure to communicate effectively. A simple statement such as, "I'm sorry, but only employees can handle any of the birds unless someone is very interested in adopting one," would have sufficed when I inquired about handling a conure. Her inability to communicate is not my responsibility--it's your employee's oversight and a failure to train your staff to engage with customers in a friendly and informative manner.
Furthermore, she did not explicitly instruct me with the words, "Do not touch any other birds," despite your signage. If she claims she did, then I regret to say she is being disingenuous to protect herself, which is common behavior to avoid accountability. I have visited your establishment multiple times, and in the past, your employees had no issues with me handling your birds, regardless of what the signs stated. This inconsistency has led to my misunderstanding of your current policy. Your employee should have approached the situation in a much more welcoming and helpful manner. She didn't even bother to greet me when I arrived with my advocate, instead acting as if she detested her job and did not want to be there.
About the sanitation station and the sink:
I asked if there was anywhere I could sterilize my hands because birds are highly likely to carry salmonella. Your employee said you did not have anywhere for me to sterilize my hands, not even a mention of rubbing alcohol you pump from a dispenser, which is mind-boggling especially since you own a pet store. I'm sorry my wanting to prevent the risk of procuring the possibility of salmonella was such a problem and put you out so much that you dared to mention it.
Your business and in the manner which you manage it and your staff are a joke.
