Fish stores Calgary

[subnet88]

The only "Smell" I could think of, and I frequent Concepts a lot, and will continue to do so, is the smell of cigarettes. Concepts is not the only place in town that seems to have smokers smoking within the store.

[Fin2you]

Hi Dave,
In your post you say Concepts has not partnered with Riverfront, yet on Riverfront website I read they are moving & merging with Concept Aquariums. You may be a separate identity but you are working with/have working for you (another thing quoted direct from your own words) A man charged with MULTIPLE HUNDREDS of animal cruelty charges!!! He may have 22years experience to your 2.5, but if that's the kind if experience you wish to draw from, that is your choice. Congrats on bringing in new suppliers of amazing species, but as an animal lover I could care less what you are getting if it's b/c of someone charged with animal cruelty again & who has been convicted of many other cruelty & animal abuse charges in the past. Other people will make their own decisions but I for one will not set foot in your store again you do not deserve my hobby money. But I wish you all you deserve going forward with your business.

Originally Posted by dave_C

Ok I think i need to clear the air here on what is been said about concepts

first point

riverfront aquariums has not partnered up with concepts! we are our own identity
-Wayne is just an employee and is helping me setup our fresh water area
-no we are not getting in to reptiles, maybe just a few dart frogs but thats about it lol
-i wouldn't comment on what is happening at riverfront as i don't know the full details and I didn't think people shouldn't jump to conclusions as there is not much information out there
-wayne has 22 years in this business(i have 2.5) so he is helping me learn the ropes from bring concepts from a hobby to a real business for me.

second point
as far as the place being dirty,smelly and empty tanks, that has to do with the changes that we are under going so please be patient with us as we try to finish up. Just keep in mind, in the last month with only three employees we added 180 tanks for the fresh water area so that has taken a lot of our time and money! so yes the marine side has been lacking of shorts. Now as far as the place being smelly, that's got me as i have asked a few people about this and the only responds is that it smells like any other fish store

Wayne/jason/matt lol has also convince me that our marine fish tank display area needs to be redone and have come up with a great design that should be very interesting to bring to live. To add wayne has also bought in new suppliers that i have not even heard off before, so going forward we will have a lot more marine shipments coming in.

one exciting thing that is starting very soon is we will be flying down to LA every two weeks and we will be able to cherry pick from the new suppliers some of the corals we will be able to import.

so yes things are changing and hopefully it will be for the better

and like some have said we are not everyones cup of tea! we have our goods and bads but i think so does every other store out there

Thanks Dave
Concept Aquariums

[Metrontech]

Couldn't agree more. 22 years experience = hundreds of animal abuses? Odd

I'll be spending my money elsewhere

Good luck Dave

Originally Posted by Fin2you

Hi Dave,
In your post you say Concepts has not partnered with Riverfront, yet on Riverfront website I read they are moving & merging with Concept Aquariums. You may be a separate identity but you are working with/have working for you (another thing quoted direct from your own words) A man charged with MULTIPLE HUNDREDS of animal cruelty charges!!! He may have 22years experience to your 2.5, but if that's the kind if experience you wish to draw from, that is your choice. Congrats on bringing in new suppliers of amazing species, but as an animal lover I could care less what you are getting if it's b/c of someone charged with animal cruelty again & who has been convicted of many other cruelty & animal abuse charges in the past. Other people will make their own decisions but I for one will not set foot in your store again you do not deserve my hobby money. But I wish you all you deserve going forward with your business.

[dave_C]

Originally Posted by Fin2you

Hi Dave,
In your post you say Concepts has not partnered with Riverfront, yet on Riverfront website I read they are moving & merging with Concept Aquariums. You may be a separate identity but you are working with/have working for you (another thing quoted direct from your own words) A man charged with MULTIPLE HUNDREDS of animal cruelty charges!!! He may have 22years experience to your 2.5, but if that's the kind if experience you wish to draw from, that is your choice. Congrats on bringing in new suppliers of amazing species, but as an animal lover I could care less what you are getting if it's b/c of someone charged with animal cruelty again & who has been convicted of many other cruelty & animal abuse charges in the past. Other people will make their own decisions but I for one will not set foot in your store again you do not deserve my hobby money. But I wish you all you deserve going forward with your business.

Hi Fin

Thank for your input and i will agree that it does not look good on the surface but I must disagree with some off what you have posted

first fact
-riverfornt has not been charge with MULTIPLE HUNDREDS of animal cruelty charges! the news reports is there was 333 animals seized and multiple charges laid not hundreds off charges. What that means is any ones guess

second fact
-riverfront nor wayne has ever been convicted of these charges and this started in 2014 from the news reports that i have seem, again i leave that up too people to decide what that means.

third fact
-these charges were all related to reptiles and amphibians which i have no interest in carrying
-of these charge between 2014 to 2015 i know of 13 charges from news reports that i have read(this i may be wrong on but it is what i reminder reading) none have they ever been convicted of.


so i don't think it is cut and dry as some have made this out to be but again i will leave it up to you on what you will make of it

I will just say this, just like i told wayne when we first talked
we will try it out for 6 months and see where it takes us and when/if he gets convicted we will sit down again and talk about what the future holds

I know by posting this I open up myself to a lot of questions just like what Albert was talking about, but i hope if I am ever down and out in the future, someone can give me a second chance to prove myself and make a living too provide food on the table for my family also! I don't think is right to condone the man until the courts play this out, as I/we don't know all the facts that goes with this story yet.

From what i have seem in the month that wayne has been here is that man works hard and cares for the animals he cares for. I just hope people give him a chance and see for themselves before making a judgment because of the media reports out there, I am not saying they are wrong but it is only one side of the story and wayne will have his say in may when they go to court.

The last comment I will make on these is wayne is only one part of the team here at concepts and there is two other members of this team that bring other aspects to this family. Does hiring wayne look bad for conepts, I am sure some will think it does but i really hope some will look pass this and wait until it plays out in the court system before passing judgment.


Thanks Dave

[jordanc_17]

Interesting read. For me the timing seems off. Why not wait the 2 months until his court date? If he is innocent, hire him. If not, well that's your choice.

[Fin2you]

It is a matter of public record not just in the media. The # of charges against, spanning multiple years does infact add up to the hundreds. Yes I agree in 2nd chances but to continue to make the same mistakes over & over again it just to me shows blatant disregard & lack of what I believe would be common sense of learning a lesson... But that's just my opinion.

[fixerupper]

I thought this was discussed here before. Naturally, I can't find the post now but the upshot was that an animal rights group has targeted Riverfront multiple times and (if I remember correctly) the conviction rate was zero or at least WAY lower than fine-per-animal initially reported. Additionally, the media outlet that reported about it was widely seen as sensationalizing an ongoing issue. Old news, slow news day, whatever.

This is in no way an excuse nor a promotion of that store. Perhaps there are some serious issues there. Frankly, I wouldn't know. What I do know is that if an organisation has got a bone to pick and targets your establishment (justified or not)...you might be found innocent but your reputation takes a huge hit.


Where the heck is that thread...

[Fin2you]

Well my personal choice not to support riverfront years ago had nothing to do with what I had ever seen or heard in the news (which was actually nothing!) but what I saw with my own eyes in the shop which was dead fish all over the floor & tanks full of other dead & injured fish. Sorry not the kind of visual impression I appreciate.
I chose not to give Reef Wonderland my business when they were open either, b/c when I was there you couldn't see into the tanks for the algae growing on the glass so thick it was discusting.
I am choosing to no longer give Concept Aquariums my business b/c they have chosen to make business decisions I personally don't find acceptable. That's the great thing about this forum & thread, it was started as a way for a bunch of us to discuss our personal experiences at the shops in Calgary!

[Skimmer Juice]

Went to riverfront 1 time after the move from downtown and knew I would never return the place was the definition of a dump . All the animals looked in very poor health and the conditions were disgusting . So even if he avoids charges does not matter for me , you could tell me he cares about animals and I just wont believe you sorry .

I however will still shop at concepts for certain things just preferred the store when Denny was around he was much friendlier than the current staff .

Also never understood the "this store smells" dont all fish stores smell ?

[fixerupper]

Wow, you sound very defensive. I was not making any judgement as to your personal choice where you shop. Indeed, the place sounds sketchy at best. Obviously we should all spend our hard-earned dollars where we feel best. Believe it or not I'm in Calgary every 2 weeks and I've spent way more there than Edmonton. I must have missed where it was stated that anyone outside of Calgary couldn't comment or have an opinion. My apologies.

Originally Posted by Fin2you

Well my personal choice not to support riverfront years ago had nothing to do with what I had ever seen or heard in the news (which was actually nothing!) but what I saw with my own eyes in the shop which was dead fish all over the floor & tanks full of other dead & injured fish. Sorry not the kind of visual impression I appreciate.
I chose not to give Reef Wonderland my business when they were open either, b/c when I was there you couldn't see into the tanks for the algae growing on the glass so thick it was discusting.
I am choosing to no longer give Concept Aquariums my business b/c they have chosen to make business decisions I personally don't find acceptable. That's the great thing about this forum & thread, it was started as a way for a bunch of us to discuss our personal experiences at the shops in Calgary!