P@H

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i went p@h yesterday but forgot to look to see if they still had the balls silly me ::)
 
my p@h still have pigs and bunnys together, they have seperate cages but i always seem to find a bunny in with the pigs ::)
 
I had the same message back from P@H as everyone else did, saying that it was a mistake and the packaging is being changed. P@H in Nuneaton and Coventry had none of them in over the weekend, if I do see any again I’m just going to inform the staff that the balls have been recalled because they are dangerous.
 
maisynpoppy, i can let them know if you let me know which store!
 
I think head office have the bright ideas but they aren't being followed through at the stores!
 
Just been down to pets@home. The bad news is the balls are still on the shelves but the good news is they've crossed out the picture of a guinea pig with a big black marker pen! Also on the extra large ball where it says suitable for guinea pigs they crossed that out as well.
I'd still prefer it if they took the balls off the shelves completely but I suppose this is better than nothing being done at all.
 
They promised they would put a big sign on the shelf under the balls in every store saying 'these balls are dangerous for guinea pigs'. But, they havent. I have emailed the manufacturer of the balls again, who has passed the message on to P@H, and emailed me back to say that the whole situation will be rectified by thursday. I dont really understand why it will take until thursday!
 
Maybe they have to make signs? If any improvements are to be made then I think we have to give them some time and if they aren't then we can act upon them. :)
 
They are waiting for cover stickers. I just received an email from them saying the large balls have been taken off the shelfs and the smaller balls have had the picture and wording crossed out but the large balls are still on the shelfs! There are just the two balls by savic right? The smaller one with the picture on and the large one which just says suitable for guinea pigs?
 
Yes, just those two, and a really small one for mice.

Savic didnt change the wording on their website either! I emailed them to say what is the point in the shops changing the wording if they dont on their website? They have now changed it, apparently.

Your right S&T, we should give them time, i agree. But they should have said this. They originally told me that they had ALREADY put up signs, when they quite obviously havent.

I'm going to pop into my local P@H on the way to work.
 
I just wish they'd take them off the shelves.
We just have to keep checking.
I'll go down to P@h everyday if that's what it takes!
 
I really am fed up with all the moaning about this petstore forums have been sued for millions because of slander else where. Please can you all just calm down its getting stupid . The product will probably have to be sold off before they can reconsider not stocking the item. It is not the shop assistant that orders these items in store. Its hard enough working in retail without do gooders going in to have a rant and a moan at what is being sold etc. Please think about what I have written here. If you do not like the shop don't buy from it :)
 
Pumpkinpiggie said:
I really am fed up with all the moaning about this petstore forums have been sued for millions because of slander else where. Please can you all just calm down its getting stupid . The product will probably have to be sold off before they can reconsider not stocking the item. It is not the shop assistant that orders these items in store. Its hard enough working in retail without do gooders going in to have a rant and a moan at what is being sold etc. Please think about what I have written here. If you do not like the shop don't buy from it :)
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I'm sorry PP but I have to disagree with you. I think we should shout out if there is an injustice being done or cruelty to animals is being promoted whether intentional or not. I fail to see how any firm could sue a forum for what is basically an opinion being aired. I agree that to boycott the stores is a good idea but feel we should also comment on here to make others aware of the problems. The shop assistants are very often the frontline and only contact the public have with the store so that is why they get the flack - they're usually paid a wage and this covers customer care i.e. taking flack about bad products.
 
I don't shop at pets@home,I've just got involved in order to stop these balls being sold as they're not suitable for guinea pigs.I just went down to check if they'd stuck to their word and placed banners on the shelfs that stated they are not suitable for guinea pigs.I think what we are doing is a good thing.I certainly don't go down there giving the shop assistants grief because of it.I email customer service with my concerns.
 
PP, I sympathise with you there, as I also work in retail, and know that customers can be a pain in the bottom!

I don't feel that I am being a 'do-gooder' as such though. I am not trying to be annoying. I do shop in P@H for some things, and generally I think they are great, The staff are very hard working and caring and do the absolute best they can. I just feel that they dont all, understandably, have all of the knowledge about all of the animals they sell, and therefore they need to be better trained. In my email to P@H I praised the staff I have dealt with and said that I felt they did a good job.

I let lots of things slip when I go into shops because I realise the staff get a hard time, but these balls are dangerous, perhaps deadly, to animals, and so this is an animal welfare issue, not just a 'customer is always right' issue. I hate to moan, and rarely complain in shops and restaurants, but feel I have to speak up here as animals are at risk of suffering, and none of us as animal lovers want that.
 
If we don’t do something no one else will. I agree that it’s not the shop assistance sole liability but if this is who the shop decides is the first point of contact for the shop then C’est la vie, perhaps the shop should employ shop assistants with some animal knowledge rather than the person who will accept the lowest wage.

I helped a woman the other day who was looking for advice on guineas, the shop assistant knew nothing, said they would “stay fairly small†(mine are both around the 1200g mark now) and are perfect children’s pets because “they take very little effort to look afterâ€. The customer was advised to buy “any cage from P@Hâ€, “any food suitable for Guinea pigs and to put a few leaves of lettuce or some fruit in every day to “increase the guineas water intakeâ€.

Slander is spoken untrue word, liable is written untrue words, no one here has stated anything that is untrue,
It is a fact that these balls are dangerous to pigs and by not stating so animals are being put at risk. I am sure that this is not the intention of P@H who I am sure would like to claim that they are a caring and well educated supplier of pet products, and good luck to them for the quick resolution of this matter.
 
I'd just also like to add that I have never moaned to a member of the retail staff at P@H, and I have never moaned about them. I am always polite to them. I went straight to the Managing Director, and told her that my problem was with the balls, and with the lack of training the staff recieve, neither of which is any fault of the retail staff, who do a good job with what knowledge they have.
 
I don't think this is moaning, its about trying to offer friendly advice. (Well it is in my case) I have found the staff at my two P@H stores to be great, I've never had a problem with products but there is nothing wrong with letting the consumer know that a product isn't safe.

I know how hard retail is, but it wouldn't stop me e-mailing or chatting to the staff about unsuitable products.
 
The bad news is the balls are still on the shelves but the good news is they've crossed out the picture of a guinea pig with a big black marker pen! Also on the extra large ball where it says suitable for guinea pigs they crossed that out as well.
I'd still prefer it if they took the balls off the shelves completely but I suppose this is better than nothing being done at all.
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P@H are stocking the product because it is suitable for other animals...which was the whole reason why they were stocked in the first place....not for guinea pigs! Ultimately it's the manufacturer who has got things wrong on the packaging, which they are changing.
 
neep_neep said:
The bad news is the balls are still on the shelves but the good news is they've crossed out the picture of a guinea pig with a big black marker pen! Also on the extra large ball where it says suitable for guinea pigs they crossed that out as well.
I'd still prefer it if they took the balls off the shelves completely but I suppose this is better than nothing being done at all.
Click to expand...

P@H are stocking the product because it is suitable for other animals...which was the whole reason why they were stocked in the first place....not for guinea pigs! Ultimately it's the manufacturer who has got things wrong on the packaging, which they are changing.
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I agree it is the manufacturer who is at fault and it's thanks to everyone who emailed them that they are going to change the packaging :)
 
Ditto guineafriend. Everything said above about guinea pig balls etc is true, even backed up by the response of the companies, so it's certainly not slander.

The only thing I would be careful of is posting emails word for word - that's a copyright issue.
 
All stores will have either removed the balls from sale until further notice or have amended the packaging.
With over 200 stores it will take time and surely the most important things is that they have listened to your concerns and are sorting it out.
Maybe you efforts would be best used emailing the online pet stores that are still stating in their descriptions that they are suitable for piggies.
At the end of the day the manufacturer is the one at fault, they gave people the impression that they are safe to use.
 
It's a pity pet shops don't research more the products they sell - just look at the crappy treats available for pigs. Personally I think high street pet stores are a bigger concern than online stores since that is where the majority of people make their purchases, particularly the impulse ones.
 
It is great though, that the manufacturers of these particular balls admitted they didnt know they were unsuitable for pigs. Although, I'm not totally sure how a company gets away with making products without researching their suitability.

I never wanted the balls removed from stock. I realise they are suitable for other animals. I wanted the stores to display a sign to say that the balls are unsuitable for guinea pigs. Some P@H stores were already doing this, so I see no reason why the rest couldnt do so too. In the stores that were already doing it, I suspect it was because they had a guinea pig mad member of staff who came up with the idea.

I was told in an email at first that ALL stores would be immediatley either putting up a sign stating this, or putting stickers/marker pen over the picture and wording. Some stores did this straight away, others didnt. All stores recieved (apparently) an email that same day asking them to do this. I popped into my local store for water bottles and food bowls earlier, and the balls are still on sale with no sign, and the pictures and wording intact. I'm a bit shocked with this, as I gave the name of my local branch in my first email, so kind of guessed they'd definetley change things in that store straight away, as they would expect me to check up.

But, as I said earlier, the manufacturer has given me this thursday as the date it will all be sorted out by, and I think it is only fair to allow them this time they have asked for.

The manufacturer has also told me that the guinea pig recommendation has been removed from their website today. I havent had chance to check yet though. as I have just got in from work.

I want to say again that I have no problem with P@H as a company, and that the problem is present in all pet shops, not just P@H. I buy things in P@H quite often, such as food bowls, hay racks etc, and have always found their staff to be incredibly friendly and helpful, and I will continue to shop there. I am pleased with the service and the products I recieve there. Apart from these balls, and that sometimes rabbits and pigs are kept together, I do not have a bad word to say about them.

I think training and education are the problem, but we cant expect everybody to be as knowledgable about guinea pigs, or other species, as us fanatics are!
 
daftscotslass said:
It's a pity pet shops don't research more the products they sell - just look at the crappy treats available for pigs. Personally I think high street pet stores are a bigger concern than online stores since that is where the majority of people make their purchases, particularly the impulse ones.
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I agree - when we adopted our first piggies we practically ran rampant in these shops wanting to spoil them and bought them all sorts of rubbish to feed them. That stuff stayed in our house for approx 2 days until I was informed that these treats probably was not the best things for them, and of course, they were right (they were thrown out shortly after) but when you look at the sugar, the colours, the chemicals etc - it's ironic, I'm so careful about what I buy for us with regards to chemicals etc, but it didn't occur that they could be found in pet food :-\ Still you live and learn!
 
Black Jack said:
Pumpkinpiggie said:
I really am fed up with all the moaning about this petstore forums have been sued for millions because of slander else where. Please can you all just calm down its getting stupid . The product will probably have to be sold off before they can reconsider not stocking the item. It is not the shop assistant that orders these items in store. Its hard enough working in retail without do gooders going in to have a rant and a moan at what is being sold etc. Please think about what I have written here. If you do not like the shop don't buy from it :)
Click to expand...

I'm sorry PP but I have to disagree with you. I think we should shout out if there is an injustice being done or cruelty to animals is being promoted whether intentional or not. I fail to see how any firm could sue a forum for what is basically an opinion being aired. I agree that to boycott the stores is a good idea but feel we should also comment on here to make others aware of the problems. The shop assistants are very often the frontline and only contact the public have with the store so that is why they get the flack - they're usually paid a wage and this covers customer care i.e. taking flack about bad products.
Click to expand...


I was a member on a parenting forum that was sued by an parenting expert that chucked her dummy out of the pram when us parents, disagreed with such out fashioned methods. It was all over the news ect. A lot of members were banned from the website for questioning these methods I was one of them :)
As for the poor shop assistant no your not payed to take any flack unless your on a customer service desk. Having worked in retail at a higher level that just a assistant I know the ins and outs of it.
The company that makes the product is where the complaints should go. I have seen the balls for sale in just about every single pet shop in my town so a better idea would be to channel a this towards the media O0 that way the public and all pet owners will know how bad the product is O0
 
I remember that Michelle, I am not a member of that forum, I do post on BabyCentre though and have modded there and you do have to be careful what you say although BabyCentre take on people to be mods without them having any basic knowledge of moderation, that is something I have as I volunteered for AOL as a Host and they were red hot on what you can and couldn't discuss. I read the Daily Mail, I must be mad as it's a terrible paper but I read online and I noticed on some stories you can't leave comments, thats because of libel.

I know all about flak in retail, I was manageress of two florists and it was one headache after another, if only I got paid well enough to take that flak! Peter works for PC World, oh the customers are so funny! :D They play a game for 6 months then want to bring it back and use expletivies when they can't have their own way!

Great idea about getting the info out to the media, P@H are only a small fish in a very big pond. :)
 
LOL I don't buy papers, they cost too much for the rubbish they print! :D
 
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