Tractor Supply Employee Knowledge About Chicks

[cparian]

I won't buy chicks from them. Last time I was in there during chick days a mom was at the bins with her son. She let him pick up a duckling & the next thing I know I hear a crack on the floor. She let him drop it. They quickly put it back in the bin & walked away. Made me shudder.

 

[AlienChick]

Laurie's Silkies :

The employees at Tractor Supply and Feed Stores don't need to be Poultry experts but they should know the breeds of chicks that that store is carrying and if they are straight run, pullets or cockerals. and also standard or bantam. I don't think thats too much to expect. Also that a Cornish Cross is raised strickly as a meat bird.

I agree! They are in the business of SALES.
A salesman has at least a minimal knowledge of the stuff he sells.

TSC only sells maybe three (3) varieties of chicks at a time, so it's not rocket science to learn that the red ones are RIR's and the black ones are Australorps and the little chipmunks are EE's. You know? Something like that. Keep it simple, but know what you're selling. And they should know what the word "pullet" means.

JUST BASIC STUFF!

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[kuntrygirl]

Quote:

I agree! They are in the business of SALES.
A salesman has at least a minimal knowledge of the stuff he sells.

TSC only sells maybe three (3) varieties of chicks at a time, so it's not rocket science to learn that the red ones are RIR's and the black ones are Australorps and the little chipmunks are EE's. You know? Something like that. Keep it simple, but know what you're selling. And they should know what the work "pullet" means.

JUST BASIC STUFF!

I agree.

 

[LaBaze]

I went to TSC the other day and they has assorted bantams but even though the lady the helped us didnt know about chicks she showed us a spot with books on breeds. Very nice lady

 

[BarnGoddess01]

In my area in Canada, chicks have to be ordered, usually months in advance. You get a limited list of breeds to choose from (including layers, dual-purpose, broilers), sex, and delivery date. As far as I know, feed stores here don't sell chicks in "bins" including TSC. (Definitely a good thing in my case. I'd likely have 5,000 birds if those little fluffy buggers were there to tempt me all the time!) If you happen to show up on a delivery day, you may hear loads of babies chirping behind the counter but the birds are all pre-ordered. It's also still very difficult to find EEs here. I had to drive hours to get mine.

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:
That is why I hate the way they house the chicks and ducklings! It could be a disease nightmare if someone with sick birds picks up the chicks. Internal injuries may mean that the person who buys the baby takes it home, only to have it die.

NO ONE should be allowed to pick up those chicks, ever. They should have a designated employee that will pull out the ones the customer points out.

 

[19hhbelgian]

Quote:
I work at TSC... not everybody that works there knows nothing just because we are supposed average minimum wage employees. Unfortunately big companies cannot hire only people who know a lot about everything in the store.

 

[AlienChick]

TSC does not have to hire people who "know everything." And it's certainly not about how much money someone makes. Heck, in this day and age, if you HAVE a job, you're one of the lucky ones!!

In my opinion, TSC should have an employee meeting just before Chick Days to say something like this:


"Okay, now you all know we're gonna get a s#*tload of annoying loud baby chicks come next Monday. The paper that was handed out to you shows the three chick breeds that are coming from the hatchery. I want you to look at the photos of the baby chicks and remember the three names. It's kinda easy to identify 'em since the red-looking ones are called Rhode Island Reds and those bright yellow ones they call Golden Comets. The ones that look like chipmunks are listed as Ameraucana's but most folks just call them Easter Eggers cuz they lay the colorful eggs. They will all be what's called "pullets." That's just a fancy way of saying they're all girls. If you have any questions, see me after the meeting."


I think this would solve a whole lot of problems and reduce a whole lot of stress.

 

[teach1rusl]

Sometimes I encounter folks with excellent knowlege at our TS, and sometimes I don't. I don't think making minimum wage is an excuse...if you're getting paid for a job, you should at least TRY to learn the basics...that's just basic good work ethic. I know diddly about tractors, but I'd certainly brush up on the basics if I worked in a place that dealt with tractors or tractor parts. Of course, the employees with more knowledge have probably worked there quite a while (or maybe just have a lot of farm experience), while I'd guess that the less knowledgable are fairly new and still learning.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
I have always tried to spend my money with our local, small business owners but during the last year or so, prices have increasingly risen. In the past, I would frequent a local feed store that has been in business about 100 years. They are the most friendliest people around, know me by name and will send messages to me back from other customers and have the mind set of farming/raising chickens from about 50 years ago. However, they are not familiar with current and up-to-date methods, illnesses, etc. They believe that chickens don't need worming (even if they have worms). They say that the worms "will pass and go away". Because of this, the medications on their shelves are expired or are not there because they really don't believe in medication, etc. They also think that throwing a hand full of corn out to your chickens is a great diet for chickens. Their prices can be up to $3.00 more in their store compared to the local chain stores and I understand about stores buying in bulk. This is perfectly understable and I am not complaining. With this economy, I had to make a choice as far as stretching my dollar and at the same time, not lowering my standards as far as feed and care for my animals. I have tried to patronize at least 3 local small businesses in the last years but the prices killed me. I found a small business that is about 1 1/2 hour away from me that I frequent every 6 weeks or so. It is a local feed mill and they sell feed in bulk. I purchase about 2,000 lbs of feed from them and I only pay about $240.00. If I purchased this much feed at TSC, I would be paying over $500.00 for 2,000 lbs of feed. I do purchase a few Purina products from TSC such as starter/grower for my baby chick and also lay pellets and that is VERY expensive in my opinion. I tried purchashing this type of feed from the local, small business feed stores but there was always a problem. When I would purchase the starter/grower for the chicks and the layer crumble, the crumble was the consistency of sand. The first couple of times, I was burned because I purchased these products on a Saturday and they closed at noon. When I went to open the bag, I noticed the crumble was dusty and sandy, so I was stuck with feeding my animals this crap over the weekend. I had to wait until Monday to contact the feed store to let them know. Of course they apologized and it was not their fault and I did not fault them. It was the company that they received the feed from. I know all local, small business feed stores are not like this. It's probably just my bad luck but it takes a toll on the customer when there is always a problem of some sort. I am lucky enough that I don't have to call feed stores to get info on illnesses, emergencies or anything else about my animals, so that part of the customer service is no use to me. I research the problem on my own or I log on to this forum to get the info that I need.

When I go into TSC or these other chain stores, I already know off the bat, that the cashier or young worker will most likely NOT have the answer to my question, so I try not have a question. The last time that I went in to TSC, I had a question about what products did they have on hand that I could purchase to use on chickens for lice/mites. HER response was, "Oh, I don't know, you can check the medicine cabinet in the back". I was like, "HUH". The reason for my question was to see if they even had anything and if they didn't, I was going to turn around and get back in my truck. Now, I have learned to call before I go in to make sure that they have the product before I drive 10 miles to the store. I get their name, so that I can ask for them when I get to the store. If the information is not accurate when I get there, I politely explain to them that I drove 10 miles to the store because they said that they had the product that I needed. And because I know the Manager at TSC, I will let him know the problem that this person has caused me. Hopefully, this will teach them to be more accurate in information that the give out to customers.

I applaud you and your business and the great customer service that you provide.

Too bad that I have to drive 1 1/2 hours away to purchase my bulk feed. But at least I'm not giving all of my money to the chain stores. I'm still supporting the "general store" type of small business feed store.