Your ideal pet store?

I prefer a small to medium sized pet store (I really don't love warehouse stores) with a knowledgeable staff.

Lots of whatever, as long as it's all nice quality. I like to see things that you can't get everywhere.

Groomer or no groomer doesn't matter to me.

I don't like it that pet stores sell animals.

Price isn't a huge factor. I'd rather pay more to a locally owned business than support the big box stores.

I drive 20 minutes+ to get to the grocery store. The closest pet supply store is 30 minutes away, and the one I prefer is a good 45 minute drive.

i like going into small to medium sized stores. we only have dogs and cats. so the things that are top on our list when choosing a store are:

1. good selection of foods/treats that arent necessarily available elsewhere.
2. good selection of quality toys
3. good selection of collars and leashes.
4. somewhat knowledgeable and friendly staff. the store we buy food from has recently hired some new staff. as this is the only store that stocks the food we feed, we are very disappointed that the new staff members are neither knowledgeable nor friendly (at least not to the point that other people they employed have been)
5. i dont mind paying a little more to support a locally owned business, but it has to at least be competitive. i dont want to feel like i am being ripped off to support the little guys.
6. if i am regularly going into a locally owned business, i expect them to at least know me by recognition. (ie. not that they necessarily know my name, but should at least recognize the fact that i am in there a lot)
7. i dont like for a store to feel crowded. the petsmart near us has the bird/small animal cage right in the middle of main isle along with a lot of other stuff, and everytime we go in there i feel like i am having to hack through a jungle just to walk through.

just some ideas off the top of my head.

One pet shop I visited had an outreach program from a shelter. Instead of having puppies and kittens from mills it had some animals from the shelter. The price was a little more than the normal adopion fee in the shelter but it was still reasionbal. Many people who go to a pet shop for a puppy don't realize that they could also go to a shelter for puppies so it really helped their busness and gave animals anouther chance.

I also like puppy starter kits, a package sold with everything you need for a new friend. Food/water dish, blanket, toy, puppy treats and a puppy book. You could do the same kind of kits for older dogs and kittie kits.

I like mid sized stores with everything very well orginized. A groomer whould be nice. Reptiles are somewhat hard to know exaclty where they come from when you buy from a supplyer but seem to be in high demand.

I concur with everyone that has posted.  More options for quality food.  I dont think the groomer is important to me.  I like to see a variety of food/water bowls.
Maybe a little indoor grass area to potty.  My pup doesnt like to wee wee on the cement floor so i usually have to drop all my stuff and run him outside right quick.
It never fails....he wont go before we get in the store but will have to once in there.
That rascal!

I prefer dog/cat stores to be seperate from "fish" stores, if you know what I mean.  Around here, the dog/cat stores are doing well, we go to a really nice, small store where the staff love Maddi, they usually have a good selection of foods and other items, and I can ask questions and get good answers if I need to.

Fish type stores have more to be desired. I wish the staff would tell people that oscars need 75g tanks and bettas shouldn't be kept in bowls... but *sigh* THAT will never happen. I also like small fish stores... the bigger the store, it seems like the more problems... you start seeing more dead animals and fish and a dumber staff (by that I mean you could ask them how big a clown knife gets and they'll say 1ft... yea right!).


Anyway... sorry if this wasn't helpful. I like smaller-medium stores for shopping. The bigger pet stores are for socialization [].

Well, since I'm getting older and don't LIKE walking around a huge store, I'd have to say medium sized, excellent selection of quality foods, good choice of toys, stuff like halti's, gl's, easy walk harnesses, auto seat belt harnesses, the like....if not a groomer, someone who can clip toenails quick and easy.....just a few off the top of my head thots....

Yeah, toenail trims alone would probably bring in good money. Especially if you had a groomer who agreed to do toenails free on the grand opening day.

"Grand Opening. Big Sale. FREE NAIL TRIMS!" would draw in all sorts of people.

My feelings are very similar to those of cyclefiend. Friendly, personable staff is very important to me. I don't want to be chatted up at the grocery store but a pet store is different - I love it when people take an interest, pet my dog, talk to me about their experiences with different foods or toys. I want to feel like I am among fellow pet owners, knowledgeable pet owners, not just some random people who punch out and collect a paycheck. I also like a store that creates a pet-friendly environment. I like to bring my dog to the store with me, so I appreciate things like water bowls and maybe a bowl of sample treats. Again it just gives the impression that these people care about animals and not just about business. As cyclefiend said, I am willing to pay slightly more for this but not "designer" boutiquey prices.
 
Beyond that, I'd prefer a small to medium sized store that offers some items not commonly found in pet stores - for instance I never see no-pull body harnesses anywhere in stores, they only ever have the regular harness or head harness. Unusual toys, some of the more useful little gizmos like the waist clip for keeping puppies with you - that would be cool. Maybe even - if the local demographic would support this - some more of the things "alternative" or health-conscious pet owners would use/buy, like food dehydrators and herbs & tinctures and such.

I like one that is on the bigger side, because I'm not always thrilled about being right on top of strange dogs when Sally's with me.
 
However, good staff is a MUST.  Our fav around here is pet supplies plus.  The staff is very friendly, and they all know Sally.  We don't often encounter rude people there.  As a plus, the one guy that worked there who I did NOT like (he was very tall and would deliberately loom over the dogs with his hands on his hips staring right at them), has transfered to a different store....

another thing i like about the pet store we buy food from is that they carry out the food to your car whether you ask or not. not a big deal for me to carry 2- 20 or 40 lb bags of dog food, but when my wife stops by herself it makes it easier for her. 

I too like the small to medium sized stores. It doesn't matter that much to me if fish and bird supplies are there, but I find it a hassle to have to weed my way around the actual animals. I like to see a nice varied selection of premium foods, toys, leashes and collars, bowls, etc. The groomer part doesn't matter to me either way, although I like what someone else mentioned about nail trims - cool idea.

I drive about 15 minutes to get to my favorite store, and two larger ones are the same distance, or closer. I am willing to pay more for my food. The one thing I SO like about this store is that the people there know me, and the staff is caring and knowlegeable. They KNOW their foods. They give my dogs scritchies, and ask me when I'm bringing them back. They chat and help me decide things about food, and listen to my ramblings. I also like that they carry the bags out for me!

Just a few things I like. I DON'T like huge stores... the concrete makes my feet hurt.

The small store I shop at also carries out the food for me.  This is great for me because I shouldn't lift over 30 pounds, let alone 45!

I want a store that sells rats for my snake, but doesn't sell puppies or kittens.  Unfortunately the only stores that sell rats for food, also sell dogs and cats. 

Most of my other desires mimic what others have said.  It's tough though to have knowledgeable staff in stores like that because head count is expensive and if you want knowledgeable, it's even more so!  So they typically get the high school/college age that just need a job.  The small store is actually better because it's family owned and they all work there instead of hiring out.

i guess what i meant by knowledgeable, is the employee should be able to answer some basic questions about the products they carry. i wouldnt expect for the store to staff a canine nutrionist or anything like that. []

I'd say small or medium store.  Lots of quality foods, good selection of toys (especially for the destructo chewers) nice leashes, and very knowledgable staff.  Groomer isnt very important to me.  Maybe a small grooming operaiton, but i dont feel comfortable leaving a dog somewhere where it will be in a back room in a cage for hours until its ready to be groomed. 
 
The main animals you would have to carry items for are cats and dogs, maybe fish too.  I don't know many pople who have birds ot lizards. 
 
Price isnt too big of a factor to me, like some others have said, supporting a local buisness is worth it to me.  Of course, i'd like to get a large fish tank for under 300 dollars[:@].
 
I like stores that DO NOT sell animals.  The only exception is fish.  I avoid stores that sell puppies and kittens.  however, allowing a local animal shelter to bring a few dogs and cats a few times every week is a plus.  I like how petsmart has the local shelters bring some animals because not only do the animals usually get good homes when people see them, but it raises awareness of all the animals in shelters.
 
And i would drive a good distance to go to a quality store with friendly and knowledgeable staff.