I went for my interview at Petco last Tuesday. It went very well (it lasted 1 hr and 15 mins, mostly us just chatting and hitting it off). I interviewed with the store manager. She told me at the beginning that since we had talked numerous times about bettas (starting with my complaining about their conditions one time I went!) that we could just do a more informal interview.
The most "interesting" thing she asked was about how I would deal with company pet care recommendations if I didn't agree with them. She gave an example that she has an employee that argues with her constantly because this employee believes that birds should ONLY be fed pellets, while petco's official recommendation is 70% pellets, 30% fresh foods/seeds/treats. I personally agree with the employee (this is what I fed my parrots when I had some) but Petco's recommendation is far from bad, in fact better than most pet stores.
So I gave her an example of what I would do regarding bettas. I personally would never house my bettas in anything less than 2.5 (because I don't want to do full WCs, and want to cycle it, as well as more space). But, if Petco's rec. was that bettas be housed in at least 1/2 gallons, for example, I would tell the customer this. However, I would THEN explain to the customer the upkeep that comes with .5 gallons, the WCs, the possible ammonia burns/poisoning if they don't change it every other day, etc. Of course I wouldn't be preachy about it, but matter of fact. If this then lead the customer to spend more money on the lower maintenance 2.5 +, the so be it. I wouldn't go against company policy, but I would also be responsible to educate the customer on the needs that come with such a small container, and in the process steer them towards the larger tank. She was happy with the response.
So it looks like there's a good chance I'll get the job, but it may only be 4 hours a week, maybe a little more. She seems to want me only in aquatics so I can help out with busy weekends. I don't NEED the job, but it would be nice extra money, so any hours would be good. And since I couldn't work many hours during the school year, she couldn't just hire me "seasonally". But, if I lose my teaching job I can fall back on this and hopefully move to full time. She also liked the idea of me being an "adoptions ambassador" with the local animal shelter. I used to work there for 7 years and be in charge of the volunteers so this would be right up my ally :)
I also found out that the manager of the aquatics used to own her own pet store and breed bettas!! We talked about dragons today, and the new line that is coming in. I also found out that I used to teach her son when I taught elementary school, and I'll have him again in two years... thankfully her son liked me
So I should hear back soon! Sorry for the long post
- thought it might help anyone looking to apply at Petco!
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