I had a SUCCESS re: educating a shop owner!!!!!! COME GLOAT!

Went to a local garden centre today which is a small family owned place, they have ponies & goats & chickens there, not for sale, as an attraction for children. So they have an "animal" reputation. I have met the owner once before as its a smallish village.

Well saw they had this hutch there - OH.MY.GOD. - I am not kidding you, it was tiny. It was about - really - 2 foot long and 1 foot tall! Seriously. I didnt actually know they were even made that small. And horror upon horrors, it was £40!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I felt truly sick thinking of some poor rabbit or guinea pig being put in that shoebox and inevitably being left there for its sad life. I even got teary about it.

So I pulled my courage together and found the manager. I said I was sorry to be a pain but I had to complain that what he was selling was inhumane. I said to him that any person who would be willing to buy that for their pet would also leave it there and neglect it. That it was abuse. I told him it did not even remotely meet the RSPCA advice on suitable rabbit housing. (he was shocked by that!) And also, to seal the deal, I told him he was totally pricing himself out of the market as 5 minutes down the road P@H have one for £10 more which is around 4 or 5 foot x 3 foot. And that Willow Palace was not a long way off and it was huge. I saw it at P@H the other day it was around £75 and it was easily 15 times the size of this pathetic one though I obviously didnt have the measurements memorised for a hutch I dont own. I told him that only a cruel fool would buy that hutch. I didnt say it in EXACTLY those harsh words but trust me I made it plain but delivered kindly. I also said they had a reputation for being good with their animals and that they were truly letting themselves down selling this hutch.

He took it all very graciously, he said he was sorry that he was ignorant of what he was selling. He orders from a pet supplies company and just sort of said something along the lines of "send me your average stock for X amount of money" and he sells what they send him. But he admitted that wasnt good enough. And he said thank you to me for speaking to him and not just bad mouthing him by word of mouth, and that he would speak to the company rep about it ASAP.

I told him that people are getting more aware of their animals well being and that I hoped he would never make a profit on that sad excuse for a hutch. I even plugged HH and said if he wanted good friendly advice on a better way of doing things to log on and have a look!

So all in all, it was very informative (for him!) and amicable, and he was gracious and suitably ashamed that one of his customers was so appalled at his lack of animal welfare instinct, for lack of a better phrase. So SUCCESS!!! HOORAY!! I cant believe I actually made a difference for the better!

Wooooo!

Well done you!

thank you! I am so excited! I know its nothing compared to what a lot of people on this forum do but it was what I was capable of.

Well done you. Always better to have a positive approach than to go in teeth and talons.

Oh that's excellent news. It would have been so easy to just leave and slag him off or go in guns blazing and watch his defences go up. Isn't that wonderful that he took it in the spirit it was meant and decided it wasn't good enough. It's a rarity in this world.

Well done you for making a difference to somebuns' life.

Good job for talking to him and trying to educate him in a friendly manner!

I kinda did the same thing about a year ago in a petshop near my house.
I saw some of the rabbits housed with guinea pigs, and one rabbit looked ill. So I went to the store's website and emailed the owner. I was very friendly and just told her what I observed and my thoughts on it and she emailed me back saying she was very glad that I had said something and that she would fix it. I went back in a few weeks later and the rabbit and guinea pig had been seperated and I was told the sick bun had been taken to the vets.

Go Erin! well done you!

NickieM wrote:Always better to have a positive approach than to go in teeth and talons.

Sorry but that made me laugh a lot

Well done Erin, I'm glad he took it all on board

Thanks

Jay wrote:

NickieM wrote:Always better to have a positive approach than to go in teeth and talons.

Sorry but that made me laugh a lot

Well done Erin, I'm glad he took it all on board

Tears and snotters is another one!

Fantastic, well done you!