P@H "Large" Plastic Hamster Home - Review

[racinghamster]

I think Pets At Home do a good service having an in-house vet surgery and an adoption area. As said above, most of the people working there will indeed like/love animals, but sadly lack that extra intuition when it comes to cage sizing and husbandry, albeit basic. I suppose they can only sell what`s the store stocks

I always said pets At Home could be so much better if they (a) stocked a wider variety of caging/bigger cages and (b) had a more stringent sales pitch which might include a print out for potential owners to consider before they purchase their pet. Including things like initial layout costs, what they might expect to pay monthly for food, bedding, substrate and a rough guide to veterinary costs for the animal they are interested in.

These are just some of the changes they could make, but probably won`t.

[Thin Lizzy]

I'd like to see that also from P@H.
I've always had really good advice and they do care about animals. I'd love to see a bigger range of cages.

[Bess]

It's worth remembering that pet shop employee's however intuitive they are on pet care and housing sizes, have to follow rules same as everybody else in the workplace. It is a business and if they don't bring in money, the employee's have no job. If they don't follow rules set out by the managers, store owners etc, they can quite easily receive warnings and eventually the sack. Working in the animal sales industry is not easy and not for everyone, it's an extremely difficult balance. Working for a franchise is even more difficult.

I don't work in a pet shop but do work in an aquatics, and I know what our weekly target is - that is the minimum we have to take otherwise we start taking losses which of course puts us at risk of closing and no jobs. This often means we're pushed and under pressure to sell certain stock, whether it's to clear it or for other reasons.

That being said, if you have a particular cage in mind, be direct about it and that you're not willing to budge. The problem is, working in the animal sales industry 95% of customers do not have the compassion nor the slightest desire to get the biggest/best housing for their pets. They want something compact, aesthetically pleasing and often the cheapest thing. Businesses just can't get by on the 5% who go to extra lengths for their pets. No demand = no supply.

You may find pet shop employees going home with dismay every night because nobody wants to buy spacious, suitable accommodation for their pets, so the store doesn't tend to stock it for those few that do because quite simply it doesn't sell. You'd be surprised how frustrating it can be. All businesses can order stock in, so talk to them, ask what they have available that's not in store. If you have the receipt, absolutely go back and talk to them about swapping for something you feel is more suitable. You can still try now. They do have more range of cages, available to order in. Hope this helps.