My Own Fish Store Build!

I could not agree more with Inwall's advice!!

With that said, here are some things I like about my LFS - who knows maybe you will see something in here that might help make yours unique and special to your clientele.

This is from the viewpoint of a newbie to the whole reef thing - I am always appreciative of the fact that when I wander into my LFS to make another purchase or even to just sit and drool over the inventory (pretty much every few days or so for me!) that someone "remembers" and asks how my latest fish is doing etc. Even if the particular staffer cannot specifically remember my tank contents, they remember "me" and ask me to refresh them on my tank setup.

I have been told flat out that a particular fish would NOT be a good investment either due to my inexperience or in-tank compatibility issues- and it was said in a way that was not ever presented as "elitetism" or simply being curt or rude to a newbie - yet it was not "candy-coated" either. I trusted that and if anything, it made me think to the future as to what i need to learn / do in order to be able to safely and properly care for that particular fish or coral - especially if i am hell-bent on acquiring it sometime.

Another thing that impressed me very much about my LFS (and this is what got me hooked). The owner has a small shelf of several books that he will "loan" to you on an "honor-system" basis. Several months ago when i was just starting to look into finally making a long time dream come true by starting a reef tank - i wandered in, the owner took time with me, and before i left he handed me a book about reef fish to take home and look at (this was in the summer). My initial reaction was "wow he just handed me a book and he does not even know me or if he will ever see it again..." in these times - that seems to happen so infrequently (sad but true - yet understandable)...

That book sat in my house for 3 months while i would periodically pick it up, read a bit, look at all the fish in it and do some more thinking / financial figuring, budgeting, internet surfing, etc etc. Sometimes it sat there unread for a couple of weeks or more then I would pick it up again - it always reminded me why I even brought it home in the first place.

Needless to say - when I was ready, I finally brought the book back in October along with my VISA card and became a loyal customer! I now have one of his coral books since I plan to start purchasing corals in January.

It's the little things / personal attention that will gain you loyalty and trust. Ask around, perhaps there are fellow reefers here or elsewhere who might be willing to sell, donate or trade gently-used reef related books so you could set up a small "library" shelf someplace with a chair or two. To me it shows that the store does not just blindly sell things - they provide a simple area/means to educate a customer.

The other touch i really like is the ambience of my LFS. They play calming low-tempo lounge style or reggae-type music that even on a cold crappy day here in Western NY - can warm me up while I am admiring the tanks (nothing loud or obnoxious - just a nice volume in the background). It definitely helps put me in the right mindset to be further mesmerized by the inventory and more inclined to make a purchase. They keep a couple of bean bag chairs around for kids or even adults to plunk down and stare at tanks, there are also some simple benches placed near / in front of some of the main display & retail tanks - even rolling chairs or folding chairs easily accessed - so that a customer can sit and view the inventory while in a seated comfortable eye-level position - no rushing, just a chance to slip your coat off, sit down and fully peruse the main coral or fish tanks at your leisure before making a selection / key purchase. It reminds me of how art galleries make sales - after all, reef corals and fish are certainly works of art, arent they?

Just a few thoughts from a newbie....who has a VISA card and a love for this!

Best of luck - keep on keeping us all in the loop with this project!

 

maaaaan onefishtwofish!!! i should go and visit your store...sounds like a piece of heaven!

 

Exactly....they have done a great job in creating a simple, relaxed and comfortable ambience where once you walk in the door, you can very easily ignore all the stress, crappy weather, daily demands etc. and escape for a bit - even if you do not make a purchase. If you can make a person feel that way about your establishment, you can take pleasure in knowing that they WILL be back and WILL spread the word.

Just like Inwall mentioned, my LFS also has a 4-legged staffer who is very popular with everyone who visits, and keeps many kids entertained so mom and dad can check out the merchandise.

I have a feeling that the new place ColoradoReef is creating will likely do very much the same - no doubt Rocky will be a busy "helper" in the new shop - btw, I meant to compliment his cage - it is beautiful!

(hopefully we will get to meet Rocky via a pic or two sometime as well)

 

OnefishTwofish,

Thank you very much for the incite on your experience. I appreciate the details you have given me. This will make me think more of there experience in the store....The available seating, the honor system books and the music.

We did already think of the music and have composed some play lists on the Ipod! Rocky will get a lot of attention at the store. The kids love to see him. My kids are in high school and all of there friends go straight to the parrots area in our house. We also plan on taking our dog to the store. We want it to be like home away from home since we will be there so much!

Again I appreciate the help!

 

One piece of advice that I can say is customer service. Take the time to listen and do whatever you can to helpout. That goes along way with me and others. I will deal with someone even if it cost me a little more if the customer service is there. If its not I do not do business with them anymore JMO. another thing is to keep a lot of accessories and supplies on hand bulbs, tanks, skimmers, sumps etc. I know it cost some money but I believe you will make money in the long run because when people need or want something they will usually come to you if they dont want to wait.

I wish you all the best with the store and keep us posted.

Merry christmas

 

Ugh I can't wait to visit this place next time I'm in Colorado...

If I end up going with a certain major in college, I'm highly interested in a Fall Semester internship with Colorado Ski Country USA. So, if that happens i'm sure coloradoReef and I will get to know each other very well

And I agree with Inwall 100%. The full time employee at the old LFS we went to was very good at remembering names and tanks. If the store was empty, we'd be greeted with a loud *shout of our last name*. If there were other customers, he still said hi, just not in a loud obnoxious way But the owner of that store went nutzo crazio and fired that guy, and now as I've said in other threads the tanks are crashing, he's treating every customer the same, and the area in front of their 300g reef has become a daycare. Complete with toddler play pen. It's rather difficult to look inside the tank when there are women and children sprawled out on the floor. We've since then switced our loyalties, and our happy with what we have now.

Another thing you might want to consider is some sort of special ordering for customers. You may not have high competition in your area with other LFS's, but you will be fighting tooth and nail against online companies. When I worked at a hobby shop, we always assured customers that we can "order it for you, and it will get here as fast as it would online, but you don't pay shipping. You'll get a phone call from us when it comes in." And we had a basket under the back register with all the special orders that had come in, complete with the customer's name on it. I recommend price matching and some sort of special order deal. That way, if you don't already have it in stock they'll get it in the same amount of time as ordering online, at the same price as the cheapest they can find it, and they don't have to pay shipping. You won't get as much profit initially, but you'll gain a loyal customer, and word of mouth is as good of an advertisement as you can get.

I've worked in retail since I was 16. Well, I worked in retail until I was 18 anyways. Then I ditched that mad house for better jobs But if I think of something else to add, I'll be sure to add it.

 

just a few ideas. you can put the fish that you are just getting in into your display tanks. their isnt any need to mess around with a qt system. as long as you have a good uv system and keep a medication level of copper (.15) in that system (tell your customers the their is copper in the system) anything that the fish would bring in from the whole salers would be killed. just make sure to acclimate for 3-6 hours.but if you have qt tanks on the floor then people tend to drive you insane because with the ammount of fish that will be comming through your store some will die and some people can under stand that and others seem to dwell on in. but it is good to have 1 or 2 40's in the back because some fish dont ship very well and you dont want them on display.

for live rock the best thing that i have found is very large rubbermaid containers. they allow everyone to look in and find the best looking rock. they also hold a ton of rock, dont look bad, and they are cheeper. i would deff go with the 2 rock tanks because when you order rock from wholesale they say that it is cured and most of it is but there still is die off and this way you can have one tank that has fresh rock in it and on that has rock in it from a month ago.

nice lay out tho. if you go with my idea then in the back i would put inverts i didnt see them on your drawing. i would be more than willing to help you with any thing else. i wish you good luck. pm me if you need the names of wholesalers.

you say that you have alot of flyer miles. i think that you could fly out a few of us 3reefers and we could help you out

 

We had a small lounging area where people could sit and talk. We also had a flatscreen DVD player and stools for little kids to watch Finding Nemo and such while mom and dad talk about an expensive purchase with an employee. (Trust me, that's better than them getting bored and hitting tanks or even worse screaming so that mom and dad get embarassed and go home).

 

One other piece of advice.......KEEP THE STORE CLEAN!!! I'm not just talking about the tank glass and the tanks. Don't leave rubberbands, bags, test kit reagents, nets, etc all over the place. PR's floor was mopped a minimum of 3 times per day. Have several air nuetralizers around the store so it smells nice when you walk in.

If you sell it, use it. You either believe in the product or you don't. If you don't believe in a product, you can't sell it honestly....it's really that simple. This is also an amazing sales tool. You see someone looking at an ABCXYZ skimmer on the shelf, take them to where one is running and show them the skimmate and how it's plumbed. One of my partners didn't believe in carbon because he had heard old wives tales about it. I kept telling him, we needed to be running carbon in all the systems but he was adamantly against it. I said OK, well I'm going to run it on this particular tank only (without his knowledge). He was gone for 4 or 5 days. When he came back, he said, "OMG, what on earth did you do that this tank looks so clear?" I smugly replied with one word....."Carbon".

 

UPDATE:
Due to me giving the city to much information, I had to move the tanks back against the wall (No area behind the tanks or at least 3' behind them). They didn't like the cramped quarters!

This is not a problem and probably just as well anyway. The tanks system I purchased are designed so you can access everything from the front.

I also am adding a sink and 3 floor drains and I am removing the carpet in the L/R and QT Area.

Against popular opinions I am going to try and keep the carpet in the front area. If I end up needing to remove it that will be easy. I want a comfortable atmosphere in the front.

The bow fronts will also have corals in them

One of the coral flats will have 2 -400W Mogals and 4 -2 lamp t5 4'
The other will have 4- 4 lamp t5 4'

I am also working on a deal for a 4' round zero edge for the display tank.
(this is a huge maybe)---This is not cheap.


Here is a pic of the layout at this point.
(click on image to enlarge)