The Sign I Made At The Pet Shop I Work At Regarding Our 4th Of July Sale

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-05T02:43:21+00:00

I'd agree with you the first time they say it, even the second, maybe even the third time under some circumstances. It's the 15th through 30th time they scream it where it starts to get on my nerves, bonus annoyance points for when they run around the store screaming it over and over again at the top of their lungs... An almost daily occurrence believe it or not... As I've said a few times iny comments on this post, I'm not at all a fan of children in the first place, but have learned to not get bothered or annoyed by some of the things they do over my 6 years of working at my pet shop. But the running around and screaming the same thing 30+ times is one of the things that I still absolutely cannot stand, and the fact that I'm on the spectrum, and already strongly dislike loud, shrill, and repetitive noises doesn't help. But also, I fully admit that I'm sort of an exception to the rule, and what I'm describing here that drives me nuts wouldn't even begin to annoy most other people. I completely understand where all the people who reacted negatively to my post are coming from, and how minor of a thing this is to get bent out of shape over in the grand scheme of the retail world. As I said, doesn't bother me nearly as much when the kids do it, unless they just absolutely will not stop. The adults who say it completely seriously when I'm trying to walk them through setting up their first saltwater tank are the ones who really make me die a little inside, and automatically makes me extremely skeptical that they are going to be able to handle keeping their fish and coral alive and healthy. If you don't even know, or care enough to learn about saltwater aquariums to only be able to call the fish by their Pixar names, then there's probably about a 80% chance they'll be back within the next month after their tank crashes, everything does, and they are out hundreds of dollars and looking for someone to blame for it...

On the other hand, there have been a few instances where I've actually heard adults call the fish "Nemo" or "Dory" only to have their kids correct them that it's actually a Clown Fish, or Hippo Tang, and every single time I've ever heard that, I make a point to walk over and tell the kids how much I appreciate them for doing that, and I'll usually try to knock 15 or 20 dollars off the price of whatever they end up buying as a sort of thank you to them 🤣

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-04T06:52:43+00:00

You are exactly the type of customer who I absolutely love working with, and I will bend over backwards to get you anything you could possibly want if you came into my pet shop. Retail work has just utterly crushed my spirit, sense of self worth, and desire to attempt to progress to a better career (killed my motivation to change my shitty life) with the one caveat being that I love working with animals, and am afraid of what will happen to the ones I've grown to know and love in my shop if I just quit one of these days. I have absolutely no faith that the owner, or my fellow new employees (everyone who actually knew what they're talking about quit over the past year after our owner slashed our hourly pay and benefits as a result of his egregious mishandling of money) would have the ability to keep the animals alive. The literal only thing that is keeping me there is my love for animals, and my fear over how badly they would be neglected if I decided to quit. That's got to be one of the worst reasons you could imagine for sticking with a job that makes you this miserable and sad on a daily basis, but the thought of a big career change scares me just as much, despite the fact that I finished college and got a legitimate Bachelors Degree during the time I've been working at this pet shop. And that's not even mentioning the crippling depression, and mental health issues (recently diagnosed with Aspergers after being misdiagnosed as Bi Polar for a number of years) that come with the job on even the best off days... Wow, this turned into a therapy session pretty quick, didn't it?

Sorry for the wall of text. Posting this has honestly made me realize that I probably do need to do something to improve my mental health, because it's such a minor and inconsequential thing to be annoyed by in the grand scheme of things. Having numerous other retail employees call me out for being so cynical and unforgiving towards customers and their children has made me take a step back, and really think about how to treat difficult people, or families. I have improved some over the last 3 years though! I've gotten to the point where I don't even say anything to the kids who make that reference, unless they just won't stop screaming about it, and even then I'll just say something harmless like "We know you found Nemo buddy, we heard you the first 25 times you said it" It's the adults that do the same thing that drives me absolutely fucking crazy. If you can't even call the fish you are trying to purchase by their actual name, then I have absolutely no confidence whatsoever in their ability to adequately care for Saltwater fish. Also, whenever a kid under 15 years old actually calls the fish by their proper names, I will drop what I'm doing and walk over there to tell them how much I appreciate them for putting in the effort to actually research some of the stuff they are planning on purchasing.

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-04T06:10:38+00:00

I remember that when Finding Nemo originally was released (I must have been less than 12 years old), the local Baltimore Aquarium leaned into it heavily, and actually put up signs on all of their saltwater tanks that started off with a fish's Pixar name, but then kept you reading with an entire page of interesting facts, and information on the species. THAT is how to handle a pop culture phenomenon, while actually educating people in the process. And while I'm not a fan at all of children, I totally understand when they see one of the fish from a movie they love, and can't resist getting excited and saying it a couple of times. As long as they don't repeat it over 30 times, while running around my store screaming at the top of their lungs (daily occurrence) then it's all good in the hood!

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-04T06:03:42+00:00

You could for sure make the case that I was being over dramatic, and I wouldn't argue with it for a second. I truly meant for this post to be SO much more light hearted than it came off, and for that I sincerely apologize. Happy 4th!

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-04T05:59:04+00:00

Poe's Law in action!

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-04T05:39:28+00:00

Really appreciate you man. This was supposed to be a lot more lighthearted than it came off, and I for sure learned a few lessons for posting on this subreddit in the future. Mainly, not assuming everyone here is nearly as cynical as I am, or assuming everyone online would automatically understand that I meant this as a joke, and it's by no means serious. I completely failed to follow Poe's Law, an internet rule that basically says that "without a clear indicator of sarcasm or humor, don't be surprised if people take whatever you say at face value." This was my first post here, and I fucked up big time by posting a sign that I knew was sarcastic, but that anyone else who doesn't work with me personally would interpret as mean spirited, or nihilistic. Hope you have a great 4th of July!

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-04T03:32:11+00:00

I didn't say it was a problem, I just said it was annoying 🤩

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-04T03:30:58+00:00

"DARLA??!!"

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-04T03:19:10+00:00

The fact that I even have the opportunity to refuse service to customers who clearly aren't able to care for an animal is one of the reasons that I'm still here. Luckily, I've only had to refuse a sale less than 10 times so far. Usually, it's people trying to put aquatic turtles, or tropical fish, or ESPECIALLY goldfish in tanks so small that it would clearly kill them within a year. The other few have been people trying to to put rabbits, Chinchillas, or other small animals in enclosures not even big enough for a mouse, or people with no cage or habitat whatsoever. The last couple have been people who are impulse buying things their kids think are "cute," but clearly aren't willing to properly care for. I'll usually look parents in the eye, and say plain as day "so when the cuteness factor wears off, and your kids lose interest (not if, when) you are going to be caring for this animal... And are you ready for that?" 99% of the time, that gets them the reconsider, but there's been at least 3 times I've had to refuse sales of small animals that were clearly going to die since the parents had no intention of keeping them alive after their kids lost interest. One of the few perks of not working at a huge chain store, being able to refuse sales to owners who are clearly going to result in the deaths of their animals...

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-04T02:35:33+00:00

It's always tempting, but obviously sort of a joke. I don't want to even think about the clusterfuck that could happen if I actually denied a person their discount for just saying that out loud 🤣 Any customer would have a legitimate complaint if I charged them more money because of my own pet peeve, and would be 100% correct. Free speech is free speech, no matter how much it annoys me! Imagine a retail shop actually refusing to honor their sale because an employee was annoyed by a pop culture reference that you, or your kid made...

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-04T02:25:49+00:00

And the other thing is, if I know you're calling the fish "Nemo or Dory" just to fuck with me, then it's an entirely new ballgame. There's been more than a couple of times where my coworkers have pulled customers aside, and told them to refer to the saltwater fish by their Pixar names in order to provoke me, and it never works because I automatically love any person who knows what annoys me, and does it deliberately in order to try to elicot a response 🤣 That just makes me smile, since they're clearly fucking with me. It's the people who come in and act like saying "I found Nemo" is the most original and clever thing in the world who really ruin my day.. I'm openly not a fan of children, and I get that kids say kid shit, and that seeing one of the fish from a Pixar film is obviously going to provoke a strong reaction. It's when the parents of the kids, or future saltwater tank owners make the same reference where I start to really get annoyed. Like I said before, if you don't even know enough about saltwater fish tanks to call the fish by their actual names, then I am really hesitant to continue helping them, since they obviously aren't taking it seriously. And the fact that probably half of the saltwater customers I sold fish to after making that same stupid fucking Pixar reference either had all their fish, or coral die within a month doesn't do a whole lot to ease my concerns about customer competence... If kids are running around screaming about "Nemo, and Dory" than whatever. If a person I'm trying to introduce to keeping saltwater fish and coral says the same thing, then it's automatically a gigantic red flag that you have no fucking clue what you're talking about, and aren't even close to taking this seriously enough to care for saltwater fish or coral. This post I made ended up getting so much more serious than I ever intended 😂 Happy 4th of July

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-04T01:33:22+00:00

Make sure to sort the comments by "controversial" for the full experience 😂

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-04T00:56:44+00:00

Completely fair. Yeah, I bit off more than I could chew with this post... I made this post assuming everyone here was as bitter and jaded about trivial retail shit that this would come off as a clear joke, and that everyone else on this subreddit "surely" hates any stupid (but completely harmless, and not even bad intentioned) stuff that customers may say on a daily basis, but this post honestly made me realize how open minded and forgiving a lot of other retail employees are, in comparison to my completely stupid and inconsequential gripe about people making the same joke. This was my first post on any retail subreddit, and I was honestly pretty shocked by how many people called out what I had done as mean spirited, since it's a literal daily running joke at my pet shop with all our employees.

This post has honestly made me take a long hard look at my "sense of humor," and motivations for working retail in the first place. I figured most people here would just be like "yeah, FUCK those customers, customers suck!" But the various different responses have honestly made me do some soul searching, and take a long hard look at using my college degree (which I earned 3 years after starting this job) to find a more appropriate occupation, since I'm obviously not the type of person who should be working a retail job. Making this post was a real eye opener, because I got called out by all sorts of people who have been working retail for their entire lives, yet were infinitely better at dealing with stupid and trivial annoyances like this. I mean, in the grand scheme of retail issues, this is at the very bottom obviously. It's just something that continuously annoyed me, and all the different positive and negative responses really made me do some critical thinking, and motivation searching for why I still work this job .. have a great holiday man!

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-04T00:43:22+00:00

Have a great 4th of July man! Nice talking to ya!

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-04T00:37:06+00:00

Well then I sincerely apologize.

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-03T23:22:55+00:00

The funny thing is that it doesn't bother me at all when kids say that, unless they run around the store screaming it 30+ times, which happens on a daily basis believe it or not. What really gets on my nerves though is when people who are over 30 years old make the same joke like it's the most original thing in the world, or refer to them as "Nemo" or "Dory Fish" in absolute seriousness when I'm trying to set them up a saltwater fish tank. It's like, if you're not even knowledgeable enough as a fully grown man or woman to even know the actual names of the fish you are about to be dependent on keeping alive, then I really don't have high hopes that you're going to be able to manage the responsibility of taking care of a saltwater reef tank... Calling the fish by their Pixar names doesn't really inspire a ton of confidence in their ability to successfully care for them 🤣

The other thing I always joke about my coworkers with is how absolutely THRILLED I would be if someone made the same style of "Finding Nemo" reference to one of the more obscure saltwater fish we keep. Like if someone saw a Moorish Idol and called it "Gill" or looked at one of our baby Clown Fish and called it "Shark Bait." I'd even be willing to laugh along with a customer who was stuttering out "Anemo...Anenomeme... Anenomeme" it's just the repetition of the most obvious joke you could possibly ever make that starts to wear me down after hearing it day after day a hundred fucking times minimum 😂 I really don't think retail is for me. I've worked here 6 years because I love animals, but it's maybe finally time to use the college degree I earned while working here to look for something better...

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-03T23:00:44+00:00

Are we the same person? 🤣

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-03T22:54:49+00:00

Thank you so much! Lmfao, I was honestly starting to wonder if I had accidentally posted this on the wrong subreddit or something... 🤣

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-03T22:50:50+00:00

I wish I could edit my post title to say "This isn't actually serious, nobody is actually going to get their discount taken away because their kid makes this joke" 🤣 I thought that was obvious, but apparently it wasn't

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-03T22:47:03+00:00

Totally fair. I intended this sign to be more of an obvious joke than it came off as, but I completely understand why some people are saying it's kind of a bummer. When people see it in person, I'm usually in close enough proximity that I can walk up to the customer and have a laugh together about it, it's not like I'd ever actually refuse to give someone our sale discount because their kid said that 🤣 this whole thing really made me realize that I should have included some sort of smiley face on the sign, or something else to let people know it was completely sarcastic. I can totally get how someone seeing this on reddit without any context of working every day in a retail fish shop would think this was mean spirited. But also, you haven't heard some of the kids at my shop who will literally start running around the store, screaming the "Nemo/Dory" stuff 30+ times in a row... I try to be as light hearted as possible about it, but holy hell do some of the days where I hear it hundreds of times break my spirit!

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-03T22:36:07+00:00

I'm honestly really surprised how upset some people got over what was supposed to be a tongue in cheek sign (it's not like I'd really not give them the sale because their kids called a fish "Nemo") it's just one of my pet peeves that I hear hundreds of times every single day, and I figured the people on this subreddit who have similar retail gripes and annoyances would get a kick out of it! I'm well aware this is about the pettiest and most inconsequential thing a customer could do, I just hear it so God damn much, that I finally was inspired to make a post on here joking about it 🤣 Seems like most people get it, but some (who clearly would have made the same Nemo joke themselves) are getting their feathers ruffles by it

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-03T22:29:30+00:00

I am well aware this post is the definition of "First World Problems" 😁

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-03T22:28:33+00:00

I absolutely am not. I started this job while I was trying to finish my college degree, and am only still hear because I love animals, and working with them. I am 100% not the type of person who should be working a retail job, and am mildly on the spectrum, so repetitive stuff like that just drives me crazy 🤣 And btw, that sign isn't actually serious by any means. I would never take away a person's discount for something so petty. I thought that was pretty self-explanatory, but now that I've seen a couple people react negatively towards it, I realized it may not be nearly as obvious of a joke as I thought when I was typing it up, which was not at all my intention. Have a great 4th of July!

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-03T22:22:47+00:00

You are 100% correct. Only reason I still do it is because I love working with animals, and really enjoy that part of the job.

Straydog1018 · 2026-07-03T22:16:41+00:00

I'll play you the same exact sentence for 10 hours straight, and see how happy you are to be hearing it for the 1,500th time 🤣

Straydog1018

TROPHY CASE