Very Sel-Fish

CONTENT WARNING: Animal Cruelty

My coworker and I are taking turns assisting customers with fish. A fun fact: customers don’t know fish. They’d be willing to throw a goldfish in a gallon tank if we let them. My coworker approaches me.

Coworker: “These people are trying to get fish without having their tank cycled or anything. I told them they should wait at least a day, but just a heads-up in case they ask you.”

Me: “Okay, thank you.”

Sure enough, they come to the registers and the customer continues complaining to my coworker.

Customer: “So, we can leave the tank waiting until after supper?”

Coworker: “It’s really best to wait at least a couple of days.”

Customer: “We’ll be back later.”

It’s obvious she wants to come back when my coworker and I are gone.

A few hours later, she comes back. My coworker has gone and I am in the last hour of my shift. We informed our manager earlier on.

Customer: “I’d like to get some fish.”

I go back and inform my manager, as earlier the customer told her grandson he could get eight fish for a ten-gallon tank, which I wasn’t going to do and I wanted a witness.

I walk over to the tanks and explain to her that I can’t sell her eight tetras; I can sell her at most three.

Customer: “It said on the box that we could get ten fish!”

Me: “That’s actually the gallons, and unfortunately, these fish grow to about three inches, meaning I can’t sell you eight; it’s cruel to the fish.”

She turns to her grandson.

Customer: “You can only get three fish.”

Grandson: “Why?”

Customer: “Because apparently, we’re living in the Soviet Union.”

Grandson: “But we can come back and get the other five tomorrow, right?”

Customer: “Of course.”

They got their fish and left. I told my manager what their plan was so they could keep a lookout. She came back at least two times to get replacement fish because the ones she had continued dying.

Please listen to employees who work with the animals in question. We want what’s best for them!