On October 2, we called Petland to inquire if they had any Lutino cockatiels in stock. They stated they did.
Upon arrival at the store, we found they did not have a Lutino, but would we like to try a different cockatiel, as it would be a couple weeks before they would have any more Lutino's. We did agree to try a Pied Cockatiel.
We returned the Pied in a couple days, as she was unfriendly, and elected to go ahead and wait the two weeks for the Lutino to come in from the breeder.
We called each week and were continually told that they should be in in a week, soon, don't know for sure, and a myriad of other time frames. After seven weeks, we found another Lutino. Being somewhat rare and difficult to get, we purchased the new Lutino on the spot.
After our purchase, we called Petland to inform them of our purchase elsewhere, and to ask for a refund, as it appears that they could not produce what we paid for. They stated they had the bird now and it had been in the back for five days. When asked why they had not notified us immediately, as we had requested, they said they apparently had a miscommunication problem. They refused to refund our money, but would give us in house credit.
When finally able to talk to the manager, Mariah Rettman, she agreed that there had been a miscommunication on notification to us, but immediately placed the blame on our salesperson, Devann, and stated she would discipline her and place a report in her file. She further stated she had never had a conversation with us, and Devann was wrong about all she told us.
We told Mariah that Devann had been a terrific salesperson and had gone out of her way to assist us, and asked that she not be punished. Mariah stated that she had to discipline her, as he was making her look like a fool. We stated we would like to write a letter of appreciation and compliment Devann, but she refused to furnish Devann's last name due to privacy issues.
Upon contacting Corporate Headquarters in Ohio, they advised they could not help due to the fact that the Lewis Center Store was a franchise store, and they could not intervene. We would have to talk with the owners.
When asked, Mariah refused to give us the owners names, and stated we would have to make our comments thru the Corporate Office. Around and around we go...
We ultimately went to the store and took the Lutino, so as to not have Devann responsible for the bird, and also so as to not have the bird returned to the breeder.
This has been a very good insight into the operation of this particular Petland. It appears that what is right/wrong or fair, does not have a place in this Manager's character. She remained defiant in her stance over a paltry sum of $135.00.
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