Tractor Supply Employee Knowledge About Chicks

[Apyl]

I love my TSC. The chicks and ducklings are never there long enough to be sitting in filth. I have never seen a dirty bin that the chicks and ducklings are held in. They have them safely blocked off so kids and careless adults wont hurt them and the employees are really nice. Its not their jobs to know everything there is to know about chicks, its the person buying the chicks that should be doing there research long before they go and purchase an animal. TSC is the only place I buy my feed and get odds and ends that I may need for the yard , coop, equipment, ect. I agree with the previous poster, if people think TSC is so bad then don't go there. Order on line or go to a breeder it's really that simple.

 

[mstricer]

Same old same old!

TSC this, TSC that.

I did this, TSC employee did that. Am I the only one that gets oh so tired of hearing this?

Simple question:
If TSC is so danged bad, why are these complainers still doing business with TSC?

I find my local TSC is about average when judging employees on knowledge. But what the heck they have what, maybe 100,000 different items in inventory. I bet even the know it all complainers would have a hard time knowing everything about the inventory.

I do. Everyone PLEASE understand TSC, is not a hatchery, the do not have to carry chicks every year, they do out of convenience to their customers. If you want your chose or want knowledgeable people call a hatchery. The TSC only has chicks once a year. I do imagine they hate this time of year. They have people coming in complaining about how they know nothing about chicks. I think everyone that keeps on complaining, will ruin it for the others.
Michele

 

[suzeqf]

I agree most feed stores only have chicks for a few months out of the year and usually only have one or 2 chicken people and the rest just work there. My advise is if you want chicks do your research and then check out the feed stores to see what they have them and if you want a certain breed order them and start with 4-6 and go from there. I've had really good luck at Buchiets and they have one or 2 chicken people that actually know something and they have carry a variety of breeds but it varies from week to week what they have.

 

[Keileigh]

I understand what the last few posters are saying, but I do feel like employees should be expected to know the basics -- which breeds they're selling, what purpose the breed has, whether or not they're sexed, and what basic items are required to care for them. Yes, they only carry chicks for a few weeks, but during those weeks they are a featured item. That means there will be a lot of customers coming in specifically for that item, and there should be some formal preparation for the staff to deal with basic questions or at least refer customers to someone who knows the answers. I've worked minimum wage retail jobs, but I still was expected to learn product details and answer customer questions.

I actually emailed TSC this morning suggesting that they advertise for and hire seasonal help for this time of year, people with chicken experience and knowledge who could make sure that customers get what they're looking for and are prepared for what they get. Even if they just brought a local "chicken person" in for a pre-Chick Days store meeting to go over some basics with employees, it would help.

Yes, ultimately the responsibility to do prior research and preparation lies with the customer, but I think everyone knows that a good number of chick purchases are impulse buys. Does that mean that TSC has no duty to ensure the welfare of the animals by making sure the customer knows what he or she is getting into?

 

[ButchGood]

If I owned or managed a TSC I would require all employees to know the basic info on ALL our items. Or at least be able to find the answers customers are looking for. For chicks....Basic knowledge is 1. What kind of chicks these are.
2. approximately how old are these chicks.
3. what do I need to care for these chicks.
All my employees must know these 3 facts to work in my store. Three facts, that's it. You can sit your employees down and teach them these 3 facts it less than 20 minutes. If someone asks a question you cant answer....refer them to this web site or many others like Mypetchicken.com. Pretty simple thing to train your employees to do.

 

[PaintedCavalry]

If I owned or managed a TSC I would require all employees to know the basic info on ALL our items. Or at least be able to find the answers customers are looking for. For chicks....Basic knowledge is 1. What kind of chicks these are.
2. approximately how old are these chicks.
3. what do I need to care for these chicks.
All my employees must know these 3 facts to work in my store. Three facts, that's it. You can sit your employees down and teach them these 3 facts it less than 20 minutes. If someone asks a question you cant answer....refer them to this web site or many others like Mypetchicken.com. Pretty simple thing to train your employees to do.

I agree to a point, but I would not require ALL employees to know that. 1 employee on the clock at a time minimum or so. There's no reason to teach the old gentleman who knows the ins and outs of all the tractors and how to fix everything to do with something that runs mechanically to learn about chickens. His expertise and knowledge belong in the other section. I think the best solution is to have a pamphlet with how to take care of chickens and some basic FAQ's that goes with every chicken purchase. It would include some additional links and references to books for additional reading. That just makes more sense, then the new owners can refer back to it repeatedly and know where to go to if they do need additional help.

Some TSC's are better than others because of the employees themselves. A TSC in a very strong horse community is going to know a lot about the horse section and probably some of the bovine.

However I don't rely upon someone at a store for all my answers. I have my own brain, I can read on the internet or buy a book. Before my husband and I got in to our chickens, we made sure we read up and knew what we were getting in to.

 

[ButchGood]

All my employees would have to know the BASICS of ALL merchandise in my store. That chainsaw runs 2 cycle oil and gas. Not how to repair it. That come a long can pull 5000 lbs. of dead weight. not how to place new cable in it. That tractor is diesel power and comes with a post hole digger, plow and backhoe attachments. Those chicks are 2 week old production reds, that need chick starter feed.

 

[dixiegal62]

I enjoy TSC in our little town. Very helpful and when I have asked somthing they didn't know they've got on the phone to find out. It's one of my favorite stores around here. Our co-op is another matter, they won't help with anything, so I pay a little more for better sevice.

 

[mstricer]

I understand what the last few posters are saying, but I do feel like employees should be expected to know the basics -- which breeds they're selling, what purpose the breed has, whether or not they're sexed, and what basic items are required to care for them. Yes, they only carry chicks for a few weeks, but during those weeks they are a featured item. That means there will be a lot of customers coming in specifically for that item, and there should be some formal preparation for the staff to deal with basic questions or at least refer customers to someone who knows the answers. I've worked minimum wage retail jobs, but I still was expected to learn product details and answer customer questions.

I actually emailed TSC this morning suggesting that they advertise for and hire seasonal help for this time of year, people with chicken experience and knowledge who could make sure that customers get what they're looking for and are prepared for what they get. Even if they just brought a local "chicken person" in for a pre-Chick Days store meeting to go over some basics with employees, it would help.

Yes, ultimately the responsibility to do prior research and preparation lies with the customer, but I think everyone knows that a good number of chick purchases are impulse buys. Does that mean that TSC has no duty to ensure the welfare of the animals by making sure the customer knows what he or she is getting into?

So you as the company would hire seasonal work for one month, it cost a company a lot of money to hire someone, just to let them go. Question #2: can you identify chicks of multiple breeds in one tote? Everyone get real. I have been on my job for 10 years, do I know how to do every job in our warehouse, NO...... At there others that can do it yes. When you are expecting a boat load of chicks and are kept to the bare minume of employees there is nothing you can do but wing it. Give them a break they don't have to carry them at all. The more complaints they get the more likely they are not to carry them again.

 

[nicolets]

I've got to say, yes, TSC haters don't need to be at TSC. But neither do TSC-hater haters need to stay on this thread if they're offended. And if anyone bothered to read the first couple pages, the thread was created for amusement. People thinking turkeys are 'probably leghorns' IS pretty funny!

And while we should also be thankful TSC sells chicks, and customers should know the basics if they're buying an animal, customers can't be expected to know exactly what breeds the store has, or the genders if they are unmarked. It is the responsibility of the employee to inform the buyer of the details like this on what they're buying. The TSC management, however, could see if they can get their employees that may have knowledge of these topics working in the right sections of the store, since having everyone know everything about everything is impossible.