A whiteboard of wishes
Behind the aquatics counter there is a whiteboard, or a notepad, with requests from customers: a group of a particular rasbora, a specific pleco, a pair of a certain dwarf cichlid, a larger size of a common fish. Each has a first name and sometimes a phone number. Some are months old. Some were rubbed off by mistake.
Every week, your fish suppliers send availability lists, often long spreadsheets or PDFs with hundreds of species, sizes and prices. The buyer places the order from the list in a hurry before the cut-off, mostly for your regular stock. The rasbora on the whiteboard was on this week's list. Nobody noticed.
Why requests are missed
Special requests are small individually and easy to lose. Matching them against long supplier lists, written with scientific names, trade names and codes, takes time the buyer does not have on order day.
- Requests are written on a whiteboard or notepad without full details.
- Customers use common names; supplier lists often use scientific names.
- Availability lists are long and arrive in different formats.
- Order day is rushed, so requests are not checked.
- Customers are not told whether their request is likely or not.
What missed requests cost
A customer who asks for a particular fish is telling you what they want to buy, and often they will buy equipment, plants and food around it. Missing the request loses that sale and makes them less likely to ask again. Some will order from an online livestock seller instead.
Timing makes it worse. A species may appear on a supplier list only a few times a year, so missing it once can mean the customer waits months, by which point they have usually found it somewhere else or changed their plans.
The buyer also misses useful information: requests show what fishkeepers in your area are interested in, which should shape your regular stocking.
A request list that meets the supplier list
- Staff add requests on a tablet at the counter: species, preferred size, quantity, and the customer's contact details and consent to be contacted.
- Each request is matched to a scientific name from a reference list, so common names and trade names line up with supplier lists.
- Weekly availability lists from suppliers are loaded as spreadsheets, or extracted from PDFs and checked, and matched against open requests.
- On order day, the buyer sees which requests are available this week, from which supplier and at what cost, next to the normal order.
- When the fish arrive, the customer is messaged with the collection details, on whatever timescale your team sets for new arrivals.
- Requests that stay open for a long time are flagged, so staff can let the customer know honestly.
| Step | Whiteboard | Request list |
|---|---|---|
| Taking the request | First name and a species | Full details and consent |
| Names | Common names | Matched to scientific names |
| Checking supplier lists | Rarely | Automatic each week |
| Customer update | When remembered | Message on arrival |
| Insight | None | What local keepers ask for |
Whether a species is suitable for a customer's setup is a conversation for your specialists. The system only makes sure the request is not forgotten.
Order day with requests on the screen
The buyer opens the supplier availability matches alongside the regular order. Three requests can be filled this week, so they are added. When the box arrives and the fish are ready to go, the customers are messaged and come in to collect, often buying plants and food at the same time.
Over months, the list shows which species keepers keep asking for. Some become regular stock, and customers learn that asking at your counter actually works.
Are fish requests fading on a whiteboard?
- Special requests are written on a whiteboard or notepad.
- Supplier availability lists are not checked against requests.
- Customers are not told when their fish arrive.
- Requests have been lost or rubbed off.
- You do not know what local keepers most often ask for.