First things first...PetSmart and Petco are actually both fairly concerned about worker's rights. Working multiple shifts without a break is basically unheard of unless you're a manager, and even then, you're salaried and you're still expected to have at least four hours off between shifts. It's company policy, and no matter how shitty your store is (and mine was), it's adhered to—your managers will get in trouble with the district manager (who reviews your clock-ins and clock-outs) if they're not giving you adequate time between shifts/time for breaks. If your DM doesn't do anything about it, when they submit their reports to corporate, someone in HR catches it and then you're in really hot water. It's not life and death—it's retail. No one wants a lawsuit.
Second...while I like how dedicated this character is to fish, the set-up at a corporate pet store is such that if you love fish, you're going to be very disappointed, very fast. There is no "saving lives". There's a sick tank, where anything that's too sick to put out on the floor is put, but there's really no veterinary care for fish. Apart from minor parasites like ich, which are easily treated, just about anything else is going to result in the death of the fish. There's a dead log that's filled out twice a day—once in the morning and once at night—with all of the fish that have died during the day logged.
Inventory is done overnight, when there are no customers in the store, or in the early mornings. For pet care, inventory is done once every two weeks, during the 6-9AM period where there are no customers in the store. Inventory is carried out by one of the pet care leads or by the manager. Ordinary associates don't help with it. Unlike a lot of other retail places, too, inventory isn't done electronically—at least, not immediately. Inventory is logged into a book that's kept in the department, and entered into the computer whenever someone has a free minute, usually after close.
Aprons aren't worn as part of the uniform at either store. Everything you need is kept either at the "podium" (where the plastic bags and everything are), or in your pockets.
Hanging out by the wall of fish was more or less where we were supposed to be at all times, unless we were actively stocking or had something else to do in the department (usually but not always carried out by leads). Mid-day procedures meant cleaning tanks (done at least every two days, with a gravel vacuum done once a week for all tanks), or, depending on the day, putting fish out, or processing new small animal shipments/bird shipments.
Finally, middle of the day is the quietest time at the pet store. Early morning shift has all of the feeding/cleaning to take care of, and close has feeding/medication to dispense. Midday is usually dead. Evenings are when the most people come in, and when it's craziest.
...I dunno, if you have any specific questions, PM me. I can probably give some insight into how things were done. I kept fish for years, too, so...
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Second...while I like how dedicated this character is to fish, the set-up at a corporate pet store is such that if you love fish, you're going to be very disappointed, very fast. There is no "saving lives". There's a sick tank, where anything that's too sick to put out on the floor is put, but there's really no veterinary care for fish. Apart from minor parasites like ich, which are easily treated, just about anything else is going to result in the death of the fish. There's a dead log that's filled out twice a day—once in the morning and once at night—with all of the fish that have died during the day logged.
Inventory is done overnight, when there are no customers in the store, or in the early mornings. For pet care, inventory is done once every two weeks, during the 6-9AM period where there are no customers in the store. Inventory is carried out by one of the pet care leads or by the manager. Ordinary associates don't help with it. Unlike a lot of other retail places, too, inventory isn't done electronically—at least, not immediately. Inventory is logged into a book that's kept in the department, and entered into the computer whenever someone has a free minute, usually after close.
Aprons aren't worn as part of the uniform at either store. Everything you need is kept either at the "podium" (where the plastic bags and everything are), or in your pockets.
Hanging out by the wall of fish was more or less where we were supposed to be at all times, unless we were actively stocking or had something else to do in the department (usually but not always carried out by leads). Mid-day procedures meant cleaning tanks (done at least every two days, with a gravel vacuum done once a week for all tanks), or, depending on the day, putting fish out, or processing new small animal shipments/bird shipments.
Finally, middle of the day is the quietest time at the pet store. Early morning shift has all of the feeding/cleaning to take care of, and close has feeding/medication to dispense. Midday is usually dead. Evenings are when the most people come in, and when it's craziest.
...I dunno, if you have any specific questions, PM me. I can probably give some insight into how things were done. I kept fish for years, too, so...