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garbage customer service from local pet store,,, sea scape

Discussion in 'Off Topic' started by gearhead, Feb 27, 2015.

  1. gearhead

    gearhead Inactive User

    271
    Ratings:
    +0 / 0 / -0
    I have purchased thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from here and use to recommend the place to everyone religiously, but it seems to me like they only care about money not customer relations . The reason I say this is they are the only store that I've ever shopped at that if you receive a defective product that they would not return your money within 24 hours, and I'm not talking fish of course I'm talking equipment,, I was told to contact the manufacturer to fix my problem , I bought it at 5:00 yesterday got home around 7:30 hooked it up and it didn't work by that time they were closed so first thing this morning I called and asked if I could bring it back for a refund or a replacement .I was told there would be no refunds or credits for anything sold at the store because they would have to eat the cost on faulty product because they would receive refurbished product and could not sell it which is not true I talked to the manufacturer they said they only send out new units to retailers. after getting upset the only thing they offered was to try to get another one it would be a week or so . while on the phone with the manufacturer they told me that it was at the retailer's discretion whether to give my money back or not but it sounded like good customer service and apologize to me about what had happened and said they could not control what happened at the store they don't represent it but could guarantee me I would have a replacement product within 3 days,,my advice if you want to spend money and wait is to buy online also if you want Good customer service buy online if you're looking for something local there's always Adams kinda pricey but good customer service I've purchased products from Adam before they've been defective and always refunded my money or give me another product when I walked out ,which is expected if A retailer Can't stand by the product he selling why would you buy from him. I hope everyone take this into consideration next time they decide to make a purchase,
     
  2. blackx-runner Administrator Website Team Leadership Team

    Cedar Rapids, IA
    Ratings:
    +738 / 5 / -0
    From what I have seen that's not all that uncommon when dealing with equipment. Often times there is a note with the warranty card that says do not return to the store. But still, from a customer service standpoint, if they had the same thing on the shelf they should have swapped you out and handled the warranty claim. It sounds like the manufacturer is taking care of you as quick as possible so that is good for you.
     
  3. gearhead

    gearhead Inactive User

    271
    Ratings:
    +0 / 0 / -0
    The manufacturer is taking care of it the problem is by going there and buying the product I felt like they would help me out with any questions or problems at least for 30 days and they didn't have another one and won't for a week or two that's why I asked for a refund , if I wanted to wait two weeks I could have just ordered it on line , and to be honest if they had just gave me store credit I would have just spent it on fish and came back and bought the product when it came in but that goes with customer relationship, when u buy something you want to feel like you got a good deal and can trust that the place where you bought it is going to stand by the product they sell for at least 24 hours ,, lol ,,
     
  4. Nik Experienced Reefkeeper

    Windsor Heights
    Ratings:
    +13 / 0 / -0
    What was the product?
     
  5. Kpotter2 Expert Reefkeeper

    North liberty, IA
    Ratings:
    +7 / 0 / -0
    I would agree! I would have expected a refund or store credit as well! Poor customer service will lead to online buying thats for sure!
     
  6. gearhead

    gearhead Inactive User

    271
    Ratings:
    +0 / 0 / -0
    It was a control for my lights , it's stupid it's only 100 dollar controller ,, and the price and product shouldn't matter it's all about customer service and this isn't the first time I've had problems with things I've bought there before but had the product for a while so I understand it being my problem then but , but fresh out the box it lost value like a car off the lot , probably not so how would it cost them to have a supplier just send them a new one , and give me my money back ? Nothing right , but by handling it the way they did they lost customers I wonder what's worse, ,,,,that's when you gotta ask yourself do you want one customer that comes in and spend a million dollars or do you want million customers that only spend a dollar ,,,,
     
  7. tangman

    tangman

    248
    Ratings:
    +39 / 0 / -0
    Sorry to hear this, hoping that this is an isolated incident. Have also heard that Adam's Aquatics is pretty against the GIRS website. Not 100% positive in that regards, might just be here say. Anyone else know of anything?
     
  8. gearhead

    gearhead Inactive User

    271
    Ratings:
    +0 / 0 / -0
    I'm not sure about how adams feels about girs just saying that he takes care of his customers even thow his prices are kind of high , I mean if a person walks in to a pet store he already knows he paying for the convenience of not having to get on line and wait witch is normally 40 to 200 percent depending on the store it's like paying to go out to eat and the food sucks if the service is good you can over look the food but if the food is great and the service sucks your sure not to return ,, so if a store makes you feel good about a product and the product sucks but customers service is good you over look the crappy product, but when u get crappy service and a crappy product you don't go back and spend your hard earned money some where else and recommend others do the same
     
  9. Blaze

    Blaze

    114
    Ratings:
    +8 / 0 / -0
    Holy crap I want to see this million dollar tank!! Lol
     
  10. wouldtick Well-Known ReefKeeper

    381
    waukee
    Ratings:
    +85 / 3 / -0
    I was nervpus about buying a reef octopus hob skimmer from them just for that reason. I asked them what the policy was if it didnt work and was told i would have to work it out with the manufacturer. I bought it and didnt have any issues
     
  11. jeremy Acro Addict

    Davenport, IA
    Ratings:
    +836 / 4 / -0
    That's just messed up. Both the stores I go to anytime I have ever had a prom lemme which was only 2 times after I had equipment for a while. I brought peice in and they fixed it for me with new parts off their shelf for nothing. If it is past warranty they still fix it for me but charge just for parts. I guess if I had to deal with that place I sure as hell wouldn't go back.
     
  12. gearhead

    gearhead Inactive User

    271
    Ratings:
    +0 / 0 / -0
    Where do u shop sounds like the spot for customer service ,
     
  13. jeremy Acro Addict

    Davenport, IA
    Ratings:
    +836 / 4 / -0
    Coral Haven and Aquatic Environments in Bettendorf and Davenport. Aquatic has parts on hand to fix most equipment and coral haven can get whatever you need. Both stores have excellent customer service and great knowledge.
     
  14. gearhead

    gearhead Inactive User

    271
    Ratings:
    +0 / 0 / -0
    Thanks
     
  15. FishBrain Expert Reefkeeper GIRS Member

    New London
    Ratings:
    +396 / 6 / -0
    Yeah that's not good business.
     
  16. hart

    hart Well-Known ReefKeeper

    730
    Ratings:
    +131 / 0 / -0
    I have had extremely poor service at seascapes several times. I avoid the place for a while but always hope it will get better. Always bums me out with all the money I have spent there. The manager Tim has been good to me but on some things his hands are tied and he isn't always there. I would not go there anymore but there are not many other options.
     
  17. GoodGreef Well-Known ReefKeeper

    681
    Clive, IA
    Ratings:
    +239 / 2 / -0

    I have been going there for years and agree with Hart. And I will add, the way the place is setup has always bothered me. It's like the fish/corals are there just to draw in customers that don't have tanks as an attraction so then they buy other non-aquatic stuff while there. The two giant tanks in the main retail area and the shark/stingray pool don't have anything for sale. They are nice but that is wasted retail space. The new frag tanks are nice, but unless you are 3 feet tall or kneel down you cant see anything in them. They have the top down viewers but the way it's designed you can't use them to look at anything except on the outter edges. The zero edge tank is nice but perpetually looks like it's being decommissioned or there was a hurricane recently. I don't know what the books look like, but I've always though the Seascapes part should just open on it's own somewhere and specialize rather than be carved out of a dog and cat supply store. The dry goods section is ancient and offers little different from petco/petsmart at higher prices. There's skimmers and a few other odds and ends. The lighting options even for T5 is limited and never seen any MH products. They stock limited Kessil's on occassion but that's about as far as the real reef LED selection goes. Of course they will order just about whatever you want, but from a business standpoint most people aren't going to pay someone a markup just to click buttons on the internet they can click too and pay less for the product. In today's retail environment the people that are going to buy from brick and mortar do it for 3 basic reasons (or a combination): impulse, personal view of the product, local loyalty. So when a retailer tells me, "No but I can order that for you." no thanks, and I'm thinking I don't need a concierge. I've never had problems with Iowa Pet and will continue shopping there, but as said it isn't because I love to but by lack of choices locally. That being said I don't have much experience buying dry goods from there as some of it may have been on the shelf when my training wheels were removed.
     
  18. Maureen Experienced Reefkeeper GIRS Member

    Urbandale, IA
    Ratings:
    +329 / 0 / -0

    I have reef octopus and love them. I bought mine on line and call CoralVue directly when I need something for them. They are always very helpful. My point is that sometimes brick and mortar stores just can't compete with on line. The store knows what kind of loss it can handle and has to adjust its policies accordingly. As long as they are up front with their policies to begin with I feel that the other services they offer like seeing fish in person before we buy them, having products on hand when we need them immediately those are the things we go to stores for. As consumers we would love to have the kind of service we used to get from stores before they had to compete with the on line stores but the playing field has changed. We tend to want the very best, right away for less and unfortunately most of the time we can't have it all. It would be nice if we could.
     
  19. Kpotter2 Expert Reefkeeper

    North liberty, IA
    Ratings:
    +7 / 0 / -0
    There is no reason that a store can't provide the service he wanted. They just chose not to and use policy to hid behind. I hate that and it sickens me! He went to the store because he wanted to support them and possibly needed the product as soon as he could.
    In turn you looked to the Local store to provide. I don't think it's much to ask for them to give him store credit before he asked for it! Unless the customer is a *** you alway listen and try to make it right in some cases no mater the cost. Store credit would have cost much less then a unhappy customer that will never go back and give others bad feedback about the business they conduct.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 24, 2015
  20. Kpotter2 Expert Reefkeeper

    North liberty, IA
    Ratings:
    +7 / 0 / -0
    By the way I love my RO and the company stands behind its product. I bought on second hand and the pump went bad after about 6 months. I called them and they gave me a hell of a discount on a new replacement pump. Coralvue is great!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 24, 2015

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