Bad News :(

[SerpentLust]

The manager took me aside today at work and said I have a week to speed up my work habits or I'm fired. She confessed that she wanted to fire me today but the owner told her to give me a chance.

Her general problem is that I do things thoroughly. So pretty much, stop taking care of the animals.

From day one I can honestly say that this woman has not wanted me here. My mom thinks there's some other reason why she wants me gone and we both agree that I'll be gone in a week regardless. She's already made up her mind.

So, I don't know what to do. I don't want to work my hardest just to be fired next Friday. I might hand in a letter of resignation.

My main problem is that I am not sure, but I THINK I'll have to give the sick animals back which means they'll be killed. I can't keep the leopard gecko unfortunately however I'm hoping at least mom will let me keep the cornsnake. After I get him eating on his own, or even now if someone would like to take him (for free I might add, as long as you pick him up) that would be wonderful.

So, I'm hoping that Aaron will tell me to keep the cornsnake. And after that, I'll find one of you nice people who I TRUST with snakes to take her under your wing.

So, I guess that's it for my affecting change from the inside. There's no room in the "evil" pet stores for actual animal enthusiasts. From now on, I'll hunt out the good pet stores, however few and far between they are...

*sighs*

So now I'm upset...one way or another, I'm gone in a week

Jenn

[Lisa]

I'd say talk to the owner.

[Siretsap]

yep talk to the owner and let her know the condition of the reptiles and what good you are birgning to them. If you still get fired, let us know where you worked, we could go pay her a visit and complain how all the reptiles are in bad shape (after you are gone) ...

[Samba]

I would too... I would also check with your local employment laws as well... You are obviously doing what you were hired to do, therefore it seems to me that you are being fired for personal reasons. Being fired for personal reasons may or may not consitute discrimination, and, if you can prove that your employer had no professional motives to get rid of you that may or may not constitute wrongful termination. These are just ideas, but keep in mind I am a former legal assistant to a very prominant attorney who worked with cases such as this. Keep us posted, and whatever you do, Don't Quit! You're there for the animals! Good Luck, Jenn!

[reptilez]

I agree with every on above.
Good Luck,
-Reptilez

[Big Mike]

OR....you could get proof (pictures etc.) of the sick & mistreated animals there and take them to the media...just to stir up some trouble. It might make a good story if you tell them how you were fired for trying to help sick animals.

I'd say take the evidence to Animal control but they usually don't care about reptiles.

[Yve]

definately don't bow out gracefully....the manager is probably intimidated by your good work ethics and might be thinking you're a threat to her position. Talk to the owner....be strong....you might win this one if you let them know you won't be bullied and most importantly.....wrongfully dismissed.

[Lisa]

Originally posted by Samba
I would too... I would also check with your local employment laws as well... You are obviously doing what you were hired to do, therefore it seems to me that you are being fired for personal reasons. Being fired for personal reasons may or may not consitute discrimination, and, if you can prove that your employer had no professional motives to get rid of you that may or may not constitute wrongful termination. These are just ideas, but keep in mind I am a former legal assistant to a very prominant attorney who worked with cases such as this. Keep us posted, and whatever you do, Don't Quit! You're there for the animals! Good Luck, Jenn!


unfortunetly it is legal to fire some one unjustly but there is a process involved. the gist of it is they have to give 2 weeks severance pay.

[Wrath]

I think that if you talk to the owner, and have done everything that you can do, and you KNOW that you are going to be fired in a week anyway--> you should resign. That way you can always say that you left the job for whatever reason, and not because you had a difference of opinion with the management, or that they did not think you did a good job.

Maybe things are different up there in Canada, but here in the US, thats what I would do. Over here, staying till the bitter end can make you look bad, I've seen it happen to my friends. :-/

Whatever you end up doing, good luck!

On a side note, this is a pet store right? Not a pet hospital? You should definitely get some animal realted authority involved. They should not drive animals to illnesses in a place that sells animals to the public.

[Oliverian]

I agree that it might make you look bad, but you probably wouldn't want to resign just before you think they're going to fire you, because of the chance that they might not. But it sucks that they feel that way... I know you were doing so well and trying so hard to do the best you could for those animals.
~TR~

[lilyskip]

i agree that you should talk to the owner with evidence of animal neglect, and don't give up. from my view, it seems like all of this is happening because you were doing a fantastic job and were well on your way to reforming the care of the animals in the store. don't let this threat defeat you. there's no struggle without resistance...

[reverendsterlin]

I really don't think you'll have much luck, it is a petstore, not an animal care facility. The purpose is to sell, not care for outside your own good sense. They are a business and if someones sales and/or task completion rate are not up to standards they do have a reason to terminate them.(but I'm not on their side, petstores seldom see a penny of mine)

[Invictus]

Don't resign. You don't know for sure how this will turn out. I do hope it works out for the best for you Jenn, and if it doesn't, hey... you gave it a warrior's effort, and you deserve to feel proud for taking on a job whereby you actually tried to make a difference, not just collect a paycheck.

[Youkai]

It's sad, but your story is quite familiar.
In two years, I've worked at two pet stores. I figured it was something I could do to help pay tuition.
I've found that the last thing the employers want is someone who takes the animals seriously.
Despite the fact that I was one of the best sales people in the store, supervisors HATED me because I knew stuff. It threatened them, and they wanted to ignore things instead of address problems.
It did not matter that I was a hard worker.
It did not matter that I would have the best sales in the store.

I have friends that work in other pet stores. They suffer the same. I recently left a place that takes deplorable care of the reptiles. I mean, they keep like 10 anoles in a tiny plasic critter keeper (no more than 3 gallons) that does not get proper heat or light. They've kept chams like this until they started dying. In fact, the reptiles are lucky to get a proper tank with proper temp gradients and light. When I gave suggestions to you know...help keep them healthy and alive...the owners would get more and more grumpy with me. The same when I insisted sick animals should not be for sale, I was met with hostility. The same with the fish.

Anyway, do not feel bad. You've probably done a fine job. But nothing hurts more then working as hard as you can, and then being treated unfairly because of your knowledge.

They don't want the extra work.
They don't want to bother with the extra money it may cost.
They just want someone to sell anything to anyone.

You will find, that unless you find an unusually amazing pet store, that caring about the animals and knowing your $*** will make working in the store quite challenging.

[sapphire_moon]

You know what. Let them fire you and if you are truely determined to either shut this store down or make them change do something like that. Get a camara.....go in the back while you still work there and take pics, of how the animals are housed when you don't do it, take pics of the display animals, all of them, not just the herps. Take pics of everything from how the food is kept (freezer burn for f/t mice, not enough food, water or gut load for crickets anything you can think of ) and get doubles printed of them, get more if you can afford it. Give the owner one set of pics and tell them that they basicly have a month to change. (This might be considered black mail).If you don't want to do this, just send a set of pics to everyone that can affect the pet store. I'm sure that the pet shop has to have some kind of liscense(sp) to run, send it to the people that issue the liscense (sp?) And keep a set of pics and the negatives for yourself...........I would do this if I had access to the pet store by myself for a few min.........Take the pics to the local paper, or send a few pics to the editor with a letter.........go to your local t.v station.......Did I mention that this pet store I'm talking about is keeping 2 wallabee's (sp?) in something about the size of a mini van?????? Good luck what ever you do! (Try and get pics of everyone that works there to!)

[Smilts]

are you still fissh department or have they moved you over if its before six months they can do anything they want but never give up. Theyve been trying to fire me from the prison i work at for two years. Ive ben under investigation for nothing and have had like forty UA's just do your best good luck.

[SerpentLust]

I think Youkai understands me the most here. The general jist of it was "You're gone in a week, here's your notice"...I can't take pictures of animal neglect because *I* changed all the reptile enclosures. I keep them well fed and clean. I take care of any minor problems such as shedding, humidity, etc. So honestly, I can't get them in trouble for neglect.

The other thing is. She's telling me, the only chance I have at keeping my job is if I neglect the proper care of these animals like everyone else does. Quite frankly, I am not willing to work at a store that enforces that upon its employees.

The owner will do nothing either. Although he likes me, he is the one who supports throwing all ill animals in the freezer and doesn't really give a damn. He just enjoys it when I teach him about snakes.

Tomorrow I'm going to Aaron (the fish guy) and talking to him about how I'm most likely fired and if that's the case if I can keep the sickly reptiles. My argument being that without special care, they'll die anyways, and as they are now, they'd kill them. So either way, all they're going to do is sentance these animals to death.

*sigh* But it really hurts when you think you're doing your best only to realize that you were TOO good. And it's been under 6 months, I'm on probationary period right now so yes, she can do whatever she wants. If I am forced to leave, I'm leaving on MY terms, not hers. I won't give her that satisfaction.

Jenn

[eyespy]

I'm so sorry for the whole rotten situation. Unfortunately I hear the same general theme over and over from folks who work in pet stores. It's "too expensive" or "too slow" or "not part of company policy" when employees practice good hygiene, change out soiled substrates, feed an appropriate amount of food, etc. etc. etc. Not that there aren't many excellent pet stores out there, it's just that for every good one there's a whole fleet of profit-motivated stores. :(

Retail businesses thrive on word of mouth and good public opinion. Getting the media involved to show that the animals were not properly cared for before you came might indeed be a good way to get this manager to reconsider her position.
I should hope she's professional enough to consider things from a marketing angle rather than a personality issue. If not, you are better off in the long run not working for her. Publicity might also give you the opportunity to keep those animals from going back to the store that made them sick in the first place.

[Youkai]

It feels like a personal insult, doesn't it?
The thing is, 95% of pet stores carry reptiles simply because they sell. Any more effort and...well, they probably figure you're digging into the profit. And they really do not want someone who understands what is going on.

At the place I just left, that was the single worst issue. It was family owned, this store. Large and the only one in town. The owners are very shrewd people. I could see through them, I could see what their motives really were, and they KNEW it.
I've seen puppies die because they 'might be better in the morning.'
I've seen snakes sold from a tank full of animals where there was at least one death per week - and suspected Inclusion body disease!
My coworkers were mostly kids. Not trained very well, and never bothered to learn more. This is the way it is in most stores. Stuff goes on that they just don't see. We do. The managers/owners/supervisors hate that.
I would have gone public with this store I just left. However, I'm actually moving tomorrow. I never had time.

I would leave on your own terms, whatever those may be. At least don't give them the satisfaction of sacking you.

[sapphire_moon]

No but you can go back in there and with a little voice recorder and tape a conversation with her or another employee about how bad the place was/is going to be after you leave, and about the practice of throwing even slightly ill reps in the freezer. Or go in there after you leave, and when you see it get bad again, then take pics......I don't think there is really anything they can do....it would be about the same as going to a car lot and taking pics of cars. Your not stealing them, hurting them, or otherwise jeopordizing (sp??) their health........and if this is a small pet store, then remember, word of mouth can really hurt their business........you could always go to a local news paper and talk about the treatment of all animals in a specific store, but not mention their name.....

[Snip3r]

Well I shall be working in a pet store shortly...within the next month or so. This shop will be owned and managed by people who love reptiles. We're not going to sell fish. Just reptiles and such. Well if it matters, Im proud of people who work in these places who DO care about each and every animal in the store. Thats the way it should be...and if you ever feel like moving into the Staes, you can have the manager position here LoL.

From the business aspect of this...if a snake becomes sickly...it is cheaper to freeze...I know its awful, but Ive listened to the owner and the manager of this store talk, and when an animal becomes unhealthy, it has to be terminated. It just becomes too time consuming and such to take care of animals that fall ill. I hate this and I shall do my best to keep all of the animals very healthy...

But I do agree, do not give her the satisfaction of firing you, because apprently thats what she wants.

~Snip3r

[eyespy]

It might be cheaper to freeze, but it's also illegal to do so in the United States. Denying a reptile veterinary care is against federal law every bit as much as denying a puppy the proper care is. If somebody calls Fish and Wildlife Service or a local animal control officer who is actually willing to enforce the laws protectiing reptiles you as a store employee can be held liable for your actions. If I were you I'd make it very clear to the owners of this store that they are asking you to break the law when they tell you to freeze a sick snake. You don't want to risk being fined for something that is against your better judgment and a very cruel thing to do. I should think the store owners would not want to risk all their animals being confiscated or the loss of their business license as that is not exactly economically feasible.

I've been on the other side of this issue, working as a licensed wildlife rehabber I often report pet stores. While I'm glad to see laws enforced it breaks my heart that employees who never wanted to freeze animals are sometimes the ones who get the worst punishment. Please protect both yourself and the animals and refuse to freeze sick reptiles.