So what do you think....

[howdy20012002]

I just wanted to start a thread to ask those that have made it by the store what they think...
are there suggestions you have to make the store better.
are the prices fair.
what other livestock would you like to see being offered.
I look forward to any and all constructive criticism.
just please remember this is a family board....lol
I am trying to make Marine Experience a player in the saltwater scene within Edmonton and would appreciate your input
I will try in the future to offer more pictures of current stuff as I am sure that is a bit of concern for some..I am trying, just really busy as usual.
thanks in advance
Neal

[Coralgurl]

Havent been to the store but do enjoy the photos. Are you shipping?

[Proteus]

Haha Neil. I drove to north end. Went on Canreef to get address and found you were closed. Next time

[howdy20012002]

hello Coralgurl
at this time, I am unable to ship due to weather and my lack of time
thanks for the thumbs up though.
Neal

[howdy20012002]

Any other comments??
From posts on other threads, my perceived attitude on my posts is problematic for some people.
I am sorry if my wording on my posts comes across rude..that is not my attention.
I am a very practical, honest, straightforward guy that speaks his mind.
I spent 14 years as a member of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and it has apparently rubbed off on my personality in my directness.
If I have offended some with my posts, that is not intention.
I hope that others that know me would testify that, in person, I am a good guy that is very easy to talk to and passionate about what I do.
I truly do love this hobby and am trying my best to offer my customers the best I can.
on the other hand, my 14 years as a infantryman has also given me tough skin..so if you do have comments about things you don`t agree with, please let me know those as well.
thanks
Neal

[Leah]

Although I have never met you, I completely understood what you were saying, and agree. Been there, done that. So frustrating waiting for people who do not show.

All the best, by the way.

[sphelps]

The only way these threads work is if your remove peoples accountability otherwise you won't get honest replies. While some can still hide behind usernames for the most part I think Edmonton is one of the most actively meeting cities so chances are you know who people are or could easily find out. Now not saying you would hold grudges but most probably just won't take the chance, despite the fact you're trying to improve things people will take the easy way out and remain quiet, everyone would rather remain friends than enemies with LFS unless the store offended the person in some way.

That said I've never had an issue speaking my mind and although I've never been to the store I find a couple things about it troubling and I think others might agree but maybe not.

First relates to your quarantine procedure which just sounds quite strange. 3 weeks, where does that come from and exactly what are you achieving with that? Unless you have multiple setups that you rotate fish to and from and you only bring in orders every three weeks I see no way of it being effective at disease control. Obviously there is cost involved in treating all your fish, off site I might add, so customers are paying a premium for it so I think they should now more about the process and what's involved.

The second thing I have troubles with is the fact the store is located in your basement. Basement operations are not typically something I favor, while it's one thing to sell some frags or start out small and home based with the intention of eventually moving up to an actual store front it's a whole other thing to actually setup an official store with business hours in a residence. It's amazing you can even be zoned for that, you must have good neighbors because I sure wouldn't like it if my neighbor opened a shop in his home. Personally I think if you want a salt store open a salt store with a retail location like everyone else and compete on an honest level. You already have an off-site quarantine location so why not open the store there? You could use your basement as the off site location for quarantine instead.

That's it from me and why if in Edmonton it's unlikely I'd stop by. I did speak with someone from Edmonton shortly after your opening and it was mentioned things were disorganized and not overly clean perhaps suggesting the official opening was premature. I have no idea if it's true or not or if it is to what scale. It was just briefly mentioned during normal conversation.

[howdy20012002]

Leah, thanks for the support.
Sphelps, thanks for the reply.
I can appreciate the fact that people are not willing to be negative..but that is actually more what I am looking to help me better the store.

For the quarantine process, I am actually going to reduce the process to a 2 weeks process as the financial costs to go for so long are quite high.
I have 6 various quarantine systems which I rotate the fish through.
when I receive an order, I remove all current fish that have been previously quarantined in a system and put them into other systems that have previously be quarantined and place the new fish in that system.
if I do leave any fish in the system then they do not get taken out of the system for at least 3 weeks (soon to be 2)
I then replace the fish in the store that are sold from systems that have gone through the quarantine process.

As for the fact that it is in my house, i dont have the time to run a full time store as I have many other irons in the fire.
the quarantine systems are set up in my limo shop which is zoned industrial not retail, which is why I don`t have the store there.
I may look at opening a full retail store in the future, but all depends on the response (although I am going to be applying to grad school for my PhD in Psychology, so dont see it happening in the near future).


I certainly feel that I am operating on a honest level and my prices are certainly not going to cause people to come running because I am undercutting others.
I am trying to offer a good, healthy selection of stuff at reasonable prices.

As to the comment about being disorganized and dirty, to be honest i am not really sure where that is coming from.
I admit, the store is not completely finished (missing trim here and there), but everytime that I have had the store open, things have been clean and organized as much as possible.
it is a tight space, but I feel that I have done well with the 600 square feet that I have available.

thanks for the input and the concerns.
Neal

[sphelps]

I still don't understand the quarantine procedure, is it for disease control or just observation? Perhaps the intent is to keep things secretive but IMO you're basically advertising your livestock is healthier/better than the competition because of this procedure. To me it just seems like you have some tanks off site that essentially act as disease breeding grounds and you presoak all your fish in them for 2 weeks prior to sale. You'll need to share specific details if you want to use the procedure to add value to your store stock. I really don't see the point, 2 weeks is nothing in terms of real quarantine and only resulting in more stress. You will still introduce disease into your store tanks just like everyone else.

I don't want to comment too much on the other stuff as it's exiting the point of the thread but most businesses start from nothing and risk is always involved (why business loans and grants exist). Not wanting to take risk is not an excuse and whether you realized it or not operating the same business as others without the same overhead is undercutting them, regardless whether the money ends up in your customers pocket or your own. Personally I think you're on a very fine line with major home based business regulations.

[howdy20012002]

Hello again
I am not trying to be secretive in the least about my quarantine process..I appreciate the oppurtunity to clarify my position

the quarantine process allows a few things.
First, I am currently treating my quarantine systems with a very rigidly controlled and frequently tested therapeutic level of cupramine to ensure disease control.
I have struggled to find the most viable way to quarantine.
Thanks to Aquattro's suggestions, I am doing more research into chloroquine phosphate as a viable option.
However, there are some limitations to its use as well and I am trying to get more answers. Hence the current use of cupramine in my quarantines.
I started out using hyposalinity. However, the process is too long of a time period to be effective and it is not effective against marine velvet

Further, if the system has any fish that have an unrecognized disease or there is excessive amounts of death in that system, I will not sell anything from that system until there has been stability or lack of any sign of serious disease for at least 2 weeks.

As well, beyond disease control, every fish in my store eats. If I have not physically seen the fish eat, it will not be in the store.

In a couple of instances I have sold people fish shortly after their arrival it has been at the request of the customer and they received a reduction of price accordingly.

Overall, in the first two weeks of a fish landing from overseas, I would estimate about 25 percent of those fish die within the first 2 weeks.
Therefore, by holding the fish for those 2 weeks, I am absorbing the cost of the fish that will die within that period, verses the customer having them die in their tanks.

For your other concerns:
I didn't state that I didn't want to take the risk. I am completely self-employed and know all about risk.
I am not starting a "true" storefront, not because of risk, but because I can't commit to such a venture, as I have another business to run.
I have over 40 grand invested in this fish business as it sits right, all of which came from me..not a bank because they don't like self-employed individuals.
Those who aren't self-employed may not realize as to how difficult it is get money from anyone when you don't have a set paycheck.
Self-employed individuals have an almost impossible time receiving any financing thru banks and grants are near impossible to receive for a venture such as this.

As for unfair competition:
I gutted my basement of its one bedroom apartment to start this business at loss of 1000.00 per month in rent.
When you consider I have only about 600 square(if that) of usable space, I am actually paying more per foot for my store than my shop where I store my limos.
My other operating expenses are on line with other vendors as I still have to pay electricty, etc.
Even without taking into account of the rent, my current revenue is certainly not covering the cost of the livestock and operating expenses or even close.
Hopefully, in the future as my customer base will grow, and I will actually be able to make some return on my investment.

As for the fine line, I can ensure you that I was totally upfront of my intentions of my business when I applied for my business permit and it fits well within the legal boundaries as set forth by the City of Edmonton.

I realize that we probably aren't going to see on the same page on this debate of home-based businesses.
But I hope I did address your concerns as much as i could beyond me closing the doors for good.

thanks again for the input.
Neal