Category: | Pet Supply Store |
Address: | 8485 Plaza Blvd NE, Spring Lake Park, MN 55432, USA |
Phone: | +1 763-572-1337 |
Site: | oddballpetfactory.com |
Rating: | 3.3 |
Working: | 11AM–7PM 11AM–7PM 11AM–7PM 11AM–7PM 11AM–7PM 11AM–6PM 12–5PM |
JA
Janie Marie
1.0 star rating 9/4/2016 I dont even know where to begin. I went to Oddball on a whim. I am interested in getting a pair rats. I had my little pup with me so I asked the owner if it was okay I carry her in, he said yes. I walked passed the reptiles first because they make me happy (especially snakes and Bearded Dragons) but what I saw didnt make me happy at all, it made me very upset. Most of the reptiles were kept in tiny unkempt aquariums with hardly anything in them. As I was looking at them, the owner approached me and promptly insulted me by asking what kinds of pets I had besides my pup and I said "Just another pup right now" and he condescendingly said something to the effect of "Ugh, a normal pet owner. You will probably like the other side where things have fur then." I ignored his stupid comment and asked where his rats were and he brought me over to the pet rat section where I found two 3 mo old medium sized males kept in a tiny 10 gallon fish tank. I feel like it was an inadequate space for two rats their size and lacked proper ventilation. I know little babies are in aquariums for a while but these boys seemed too big for that space. It also looked like it hadnt been cleaned in ages. He told me that his wife was the breeder so I started asking questions about her breeding practices. Instead of talking her up, he decided to take the opportunity to talk about how awful all breeders are but her but didnt really give many substantial reasons why. When I pushed for clarification, he snapped "You just get two healthy rats and you breed them. Its as simple as that, its not complicated!" Then he made it clear that I wouldnt be able to interact with the rats at all before I bought them, that he has no warranty and then started going off on some random tangent about China. On my way out there was a young boy looking at the two baby alligators and he snapped a picture (no flash) with his phone. The owner snapped at him "NO PICTURES! THIS ISNT A ZOO!" In a different place I wouldnt have thought much of an employee saying that to someone, but after seeing how some of the living spaces were for these animals, Im thinking he maybe doesnt want pictures getting online. I walked out really upset and have felt sick to my stomach all afternoon. I urge anyone researching the place to read the reviews on Google as well. * Id like to say that I just talked to a girl who knows the owners of this shop and she assured me that they take good care of their animals at home and are reputable breeders. She said that the animals are only in the shop for a short amount of time til they are adopted. I cannot confirm or deny any of this to be true but thought I would add it in anyway to give a different perspective. She said I should give them another try. Id like to clarify that I am in no way saying she isnt a quality and responsible breeder, just that my experience there in the store wasnt good.
ST
Storm Charday
So Ive gone here three times, really wanted to like it since its really the closest store that carries frozen thaw rodents for my ball pythons. First time I walk in there and hit by this nasty smell, I have been in several pet stores and none of them have smelt anywhere close to anything this bad before. The tanks are dirty and arguably too small for the animals being housed in there. First visit there and I hadnt even had my ball python yet so I went by the snakes and I was checking them out. The owner himself comes up and starts talking to me, my parents, and my friend. He seemed very arrogant and rude, also pushing very hard to make a sale. He asks me if I have a snake yet, when I replied with we were picking one up later that day he asked me from who and where- again pushing for a sale again. I said I had found a decent breeder from craigslist. He immediately started saying that every breeder out there is going to have disease ridden, unhealthy snakes that wont reach the quality and lifespan of his. He then continues on to ask about my set up , replying to everything I have as a rip off from China and saying all this other stuff about how anyone can put things online as a manual for taking care of BPs. Bought my water bowl ($12 for a ceramic dog bowl) and sat in the car until my parents got out. Second time we were in looking for a different enclosure since my first snake had grown too big for his 10 gallon temporary enclosure, didnt see the owner thankfully but employees were very standoffish and didnt offer any help. Third and LAST time I went there was for feeder mice. Since my first visit I had gotten 2 BPs from the same breeder he said wasnt going to be able to live longer than a year. I had been going to a different place for mice, but I had wanted to change my snakes to rat pups only to find out they didnt have pups, pinkies, or weans- just small rats. I asked to see the small rats and when the lady behind the counter held them up I said they were too big and asked for the size below that. My dad came up to me to ask me about the monitor lizard they had in the back so I left my mom at the counter to supervise and pay. She handed my mom the bag and we left. It was in a brown paper bag that was stapled shut so I didnt think of double checking the size. Low and behold today when Im supposed to feed my snakes they gave me small rats- the size I told them was TOO BIG. Bad customer service, unsanitary shop, and several mistakes. I would never recommend this store ever.
KE
Kevin Hill
I really wanted to like OddBall. The shop is a bit dingy, but the animals seem well cared for, and I like that its local and family owned. That said, I have had consistently mediocre-to-poor customer service on multiple occasions, and today was the final straw. I was in earlier in the week to buy a dozen pinkies. An employee I had never seen got them for me, and was checking me out when the owner got back. I felt the bag I was given, and thought the pinkies seemed a bit large. I asked the employee if they were pinkies, and he assured me they were. Since it was stapled closed I took his word for it. When I got home, I was disappointed to find a dozen fuzzies (next size up from pinkies). Not only this, but I also realized that he had not put them into a plastic bag first, only straight into the brown bag, and worse, he didnt given me a discounted rate for buying a dozen. I gave the shop a call and spoke with the owner. He said I could exchange them for pinkies, but he was short with me, telling me the kid was new, and said he would "get on him." Its not the kids fault - he need to be trained!! But it gets worse. When I finally found (made) time to return them today, the owner tried to refuse my return. He didnt have any pinkies and didnt want to credit me the purchase price, instead trying to give me back just my receipt (not the product) and have me come back when he had pinkies in stock. I told him I would prefer a refund, so then he went back and counted the mice I brought back. I was one short - I had told him on the phone that I would take the smallest one to try - but he actually tried to say I was two short, claiming that I would have been given a "bakers dozen" when I bought them. I certainly was NOT - again, the new, untrained employee. So rather than doing the right thing and crediting me back the full purchase price - to cover the major hassle that resulted from OddBalls mistake - he credits me back for 11 pinkies. He may have saved himself $1.17, but hes lost a customer for life. I previously managed a locally-owned three-store pet supply chain, and my brother owns a specialty reptile shop, so I know a bit about what quality and customer service look like. From what Ive seen, OddBall doesnt make the cut. Im going elsewhere for my needs.