Pet Supermarket — Local services in Vero Beach

I've been in this store five or six times since I recently moved nearby. Each time, I am hit by a wave of indifference from the management. The young girls at the register have greeted me as I come through the door, but in stark contrast, their supervisors/managers are awkwardly slow to acknowledge, even when I am the only person in the store and standing at the register. One lady didn't even look up from whatever she was doing at that register. This might be normal for a convenience store, but pet stores tend to treat me as part of the family of animal lovers - including other branches of this same chain.

On to the product line... I bought an Aqueon aquarium from there, got it home, and found it was cracked. Took it back and they replaced it in another awkward conversation with the supervisor/manager, who ignored the cashier's need for clarity on how to proceed. Got the replacement home, only to realize I needed a heater. Went back, and couldn't find a heater appropriate for the aquarium; they only had very large heaters. A different supervisor/manager was busy up front, but I got her attention long enough to get her to verify there was no appropriate heater in the store for the aquarium I had bought there. I also tried to get some extra filters, and they didn't carry filters appropriate for that aquarium, either. I drove to the next nearest pet store and got what I needed, from people who were eager to help.

On to the outcome... I followed the instructions that came with the Aqueon aquarium, adding the included conditioner and waiting the prescribed 24 hours before moving my sweetheart of a scarlet betta fish into it. He lost all of his color by day two, and was dead the morning of day three. Yes, it's my fault. Yes, it's my responsibility. But during his decline, I searched desperately online for answers, and learned how new fish tanks must go through a much longer nitrogen cycle before adding fish. The product instructions didn't mention this. The pet store staff didn't mention it when I bought the new aquarium. They apparently are not experts on the pets that they sell - the fish anyway. The online forums suggested asking the pet store to house your fish in their established aquariums while he recovers and the new aquarium gets through the nitrogen cycle. When I pictured asking this particular store for this favor, I pictured a flat, offensive, heartbreaking rejection. I was going to try anyway, but the fish died before the store opened the next morning.

Again, my failure is absolutely not their fault. But I have to put a shout out to other pet owners to drive the extra distance to any other store where the staff is knowledgeable...

Unfortunate experience within the fish department today. We purchased four fish for my son’s fish tank from their fish department, and as soon as we got home, we noticed one of the fish had died in the bag (it was only a 10 min. trip home). The other three were very healthy and happy, so we properly acclimated them to the water by placing the bag in the tank to get them to tank temperature, etc. Once that took place, we used a net to take the three live fish out and put them into the tank where they are doing great with the transition.

Less than three hours later, we brought the dead fish back in its original bag with the original water from pet supermarket (we never took the fish out of its original bag because it was dead), and they refused to do a refund or an exchange because “the water sample that we brought in was not from our Fish tank“. We showed them pictures of all four fish in the unopened bag, one of them of course dead, and they still wouldn’t accept the fish back. We were told we still need to bring in a water sample of our tank. Why would I take a water sample from a tank when the fish never swim in the tank? Tell me how this makes any sense?

We ended up just giving the fish back and left. The person we dealt with was also a bit rude and VERY condescending. We don’t like to leave bad reviews, but this was absolutely unnecessary, and a very poor way to manage an easily solvable problem. It’s unfortunate that they will lose future business from us over a three dollar fish, but this experience has really turned us off from this place. We will not...

5/5 stars I recently visited Pet Super Market and had an exceptional experience thanks to the outstanding service from store clerk Ben! He went above and beyond to help me find everything I needed for my furry friend Max. Ben's knowledge and genuine care for animals is truly impressive. He took the time to answer all my questions and made sure I left the store feeling confident and prepared to give Max the best care possible. The store itself is well-organized and stocked with a wide selection of high-quality products. But it's the people like Ben that truly make Pet Super Market stand out. Thank you, Ben, for all your help and for making Max and me feel like valued customers!...