Posted on 04/24/2013 11:14:40 AM PDT by nickcarraway
A Fort Myers business is charging you $2 before you even set foot inside the store.
Some customers are calling it ridiculous.
But the owner of Pet Kingdom said it is a necessary step.
We got to the bottom of this new store policy.
We asked customers their opinion on the cover charge.
"It will keep people away, it will keep families away, it will keep people on a budget away," said said Tony Alvarez, a LaBelle resident.
A couple weeks back, pet kingdom started asking customers to fork over two bucks before they walk in the door and shop.
And as you would imagine -- it's causing controversy.
"It's kind of scary. What if they charge you that to get a price on tires?" said Alvarez.
Pet Kingdom's owner says it's a way to take back control of the store.
Charlotte Hornsby says she only charges the fee on weekends.
She says that's when crowds were becoming chaotic and bothering customers who were there to shop.
"It was wall to wall people, kids running around everywhere. We were their free Saturday and Sunday amusement park," she said.
The owner says the experience at Pet Kingdom is different than other pet stores. There you can do things like hold a ruffed lemur in your hands.
"It was $4 for all 6 of us and I mean if you go anywhere with a family this big you're paying a lot of money," said Jamie Jones, a Cape Coral resident.
If you buy something at the store, you get the two bucks back.
You can also pick up a $5 club card, which will get you in for free the entire year.
"Of course we had some people who said oh I'll never come there again. I'm not gonna pay $2 to come in and look at the animals. I say go to the Naples Zoo and take your kids there and spend $20," exclaimed the owner.
The owner doesn't expect the new policy to be bad for business.
It was put in place after 32 years of free visits to pet kingdom.
Interesting... Brilliant if it works and keeps the annoying people out and sales don’t drop.
Sounds like a good plan to keep out the people who will never actually buy anything.
Good policy.
The pet store is in business to sell things and not to be a petting zoo and free entertainment for the kids of deadbeat parents.
Let the people that have money and are willing to spend it have clear access to the store.
She says that's when crowds were becoming chaotic and bothering customers who were there to shop.
I'll say it => Do they wear hoodies?
I've always discovered that businesses that think they are theme parks don't need my business.
Other businesses in the same industry will always let me browse their merchandise and services for free and those are the ones that get my money.
When I visited Florida in the 1990s, it was free for locals to do a number of things (including go to the city zoo) but out of staters had to pay to get in.
Somehow they don’t like it when someone does it to one of their own.
the headline sounds ridiculous but the way its explained makes it sound okay
The malls in Miami and Boston area charged for parking yet if you bought something, you could get some or all of your parking fee validated/comped.
I have been to this shop on the weekends. It is a magnificent store with an enormous variety of animals kept in spectacular displays, all for sale. Thousands of people visit on the weekends. It can be difficult to get into the store.
This is a perfect solution to a serious issue. I hope to have the same problem here at Father Fish in Venice in a few years.
Sounds like a very clever maneuver to keep the uncivilized “N” word number manageable.
In the city you no longer can leave your garage door open because as soon as you leave the beautiful people with royal like privilege walk right in to take inventory.
When you challenge them they innocently say ‘I thought you were having a garage sale’.
Wait until the local school kids instigate a flash mob.
MMmm—anyway to separate a section just for petting? Should approach it as bring your kids for free petting and get a discount coupon for a purchase. Give your potential customers a reason to come for free and maybe they feel obliged to purchase something. I works on me very often—just saying...
If it were my business, they’d probably get charged a $10 cover fee. IF they were well behaved, it would be refunded when leaving. First sign of “trouble” and they would more than likely find a size nine shoe up their wazoo. Animals don’t need a lot of noise, aggravation, and disruption. I only have cats, dogs, and horses to deal with, and having no kids of my own, I am on pins and needles when someone with kids does visit. My animals are my “furbabies” and as usual, kids will be kids. They want to play, pet, and cuddle with them. Some of them (kids) have NO idea how to behave with or around animals since they have none of their own. I have had to admonish kids a few times when pulling tails, or ears, only to have parents that get PO’d at me. I just plainly tell them....the animals live here....YOU don’t.
Years ago I used to take care of a coin-op laundry. Every laundromat in town was vending 75 cents a load on their toploaders, except for one place that was 35 cents. All the owners LOVED that 35 cent place. It got all the cheapos and deadbeats who would otherwise be in THEIR stores overloading and abusing equipment and lying about losing money.
Is this a pet store? I have been in pet stores hundreds of times in my life but have never bought anything there. Just a “free zoo” distraction if you have your kids to the mall. I can kind of see where they are going here.
Do they let you pet their lemur?
I’m thinking the ulterior motive is cutting down on the inventory loss out the door !!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.