Bad Guy - Wendy Childs, Reptile Addictions (2024)

That was the only factor I struggled with. Myself and my employees where running back and forth all day long bagging feeders. It is a 7000 sq ft store. Feeders are /were at the back and register at the very front. I am witness to the mileage. I have lost 35 pounds in 4 months we have been there.

I have had 3-5 people on shift and still can not accommodate people fast enough. People get mad because they have been waiting 10 min "just to get a dozen crickets".

All for 0 profit. And for almost 10K a month in wages to employees

You will say why are they way in the back of the store? Two reasons. People steal. People steal alot. I wont even put the number out there because it will make the "crew" smile. The feeders are of my last theft concern, and when designing the store I thought the exact same thing, they will have to walk by everything else first to get to them.

People interested in feeders make a V line straight down that one row and out they go. Few wander. They are on a mission. Just like the rest of us with a hustle bustle day. I KNOW that people appreciate the cheap feeders. We are 1/3 the cost of even the cheapest guy in town. When they are ready to buy an animal they will and do come to me first.

My decision did several things. It cut my employee wages in half. It saved me many of arguments with employees and customers. A few customers have got mad. Even belligerent. But when I explain that the store is closed and we are only doing feeders am and pm that they have our undivided attention, dont even have to get out of your car. Then they are happy Lastly, it has made my life 210 % easier.

2 weekends ago I was ready to throw in the towel. I posted signs saying that if the business couldnt pay for itself this month (slow months these last 2 as usual) that I would close the doors. The community was up in arms. People bought whatever they could. Made donations. One of the Iguana rescues previous owners donated $1500. AND,The animals needed to be cared for in a more efficent timely manner. Working 16 hours a day and paying 3 people to work 8 is too much financially for the store to endure.AND, the loads of bookwork the other store was causing me needed to stop. Detaiils I wont go into here because I can not ultimately prove the nasty disgusting underhanded things they have been doing.

Ultimately it came down to me. I am one of the lucky few who gets to do something I love every day. But this store had become a burden. Mentally. I had to make some drastic changes for me. I tried to make changes that were of benefit to me and the community.

I will never be able to please everyone. I have just done my best to please most and keep my sanity in tact while doing so. I made feeders easier for me and most customers, I made the showroom completely feed cleaned and watered in the 2 hours only the feeders are open, and I hired a bookkeeper to handle the drama.

Today I woke up and I am not tired, grumpy, I dont feel like a semi ran me over. I can do my job and do it with a smile. I have brought this community something they have never had before. Clean,well cared for, health animals. Animals displayed beautiful that they can see could be ascetically pleasing in their home. Children have been educated, even if they only learn that geckos feet really arnt "sticky". At the end of this I know I will never get to go to Tahiti on vacation. I myself have still not taken a paycheck. But, I have taken an initial 10K and turned it into 500K. One day when I want to retire I have something to pass on to someone that will let me feed myself and pay someone to wipe my butt.