ACC

[njtiger24 aquariums]

Ok as others I have my own thoughts on ACC

Now my first time at ACC was a great experience; in fact so good when I left I thought it would be my number one LFS to shop at. Being as south as I am ACC is about an 1 hr drive for me (I don't do the tolls) but I wanted to check out different LFS beside the ones near me. I took my whole family who just 'loves' going to LFS with me lol . I don't believe the store was busy in fact I might had been the only customer in the place at the time. The staff was very nice and friendly to us. They even got a bin of toys out from behind the counter for my girls to play with while I was walking around. The person at the counter and my wife got into a talk about how far we were away and what not (with is odd cause my wife doesn't like talking to anyone lol). I looked over their whole store but mostly spent my time at their small cheap frag tank (the one right near the door) looking there. I talked to one of their sales person about one of the frag in that tank. He explained what he knew about it but was 100% up-front with me that he didn't know SPSs that well (he was more of a softie guy). He did question me about my tank (like lighting, equipment, etc...) and after providing the answers he said he believes it would do just fine in my tank. Now this was my first SPS and it did well in my 54 until I had to break that tank down. I also picked up two well priced fish that my wife liked (which both ended in my 54 after I broke the 36g down)

Now my experiences with ACC has gone down since then. There been times I have walked in and walked out with nothing due to pricing. In fact when I started my 36 backup I saw a deal for a bubble tip. Now the ad was totally clear and no confusion on what it covered but when I got to ACC they didn't have any of that bubble tip left. I stopped back other times and again never had a bubble tip in a price range I was willing to pay. Now let me also note I went to many other LFS and couldn't find a bubble tip in the range I was willing to pay.

Now over the years (about 2 or so) I have gotten corals and fish from ACC and I never had any issues with any of them. When ever I look in their tank I see healthy corals and fish. I put ACC is the same list of all my other LFS I visit. I go to a place in mind for something and a price in mind but I am also willing to walk away if I don't find what I am looking for or the price I am looking for.

 

[Aquarium Care Center]

Thank you for the input it is very much appreciated. We are working hard on all aspect of our business trying to make sure our members do not have any of the issues. We finally have ACC live running so we are putting the store back together with our prices etc so they are way easier to figure out. We also are working on hiring and training more staff to keep up with the demand. 2018 will bring some great things to ACC but first and foremost addressing issues had by great customers. We care and we will rise to the occasion.

You can always reach me directly at john@aquariumcarecenter.com if you should have any more suggestions or would like to discuss more.


John

 

[Jeremy Brito]

I’ll provide my input as well since I’ve stocked my entire tank(so far) with the exception of my brain coral from ACC. I enjoy going into the store, always get attention if I have questions, get good advice, and believe many of the frags are priced right.

For me, I think the selection of the moderate priced corals is great and look forward to continue to shop there. I tend not to pay much attention to all the sale adds but when I go in the store they always explain the current promotions to me so I can figure out if that is something I am interested in.

Keep up the good work guys.!

Inside guy

 

[JRWOHLER]

John since you are following this I will reply sort of directly. I really try to get you when I come in because a) you know what you are talking about and b) you are attentive.
I think ACC has the best deals on inverts you can find generally speaking. Corals I have had mixed luck. Though I admit I a very Darwinian tank. what grows is huge and what doesn't croaks. Fish I also have had mixed luck though I did appreciate when I asked about the Bangaiis John you did point out that they were in tanks with wild fish. My son's tank has fish from ACC but have lost some pretty quick too. John has supported the club in the past and done right by us for sure. But constructively some of your recent hires are maybe not up to your standards?

 

[MadReefer]

I have good luck with fish purchased from ACC, corals are hit and miss but will not hold that against them. Some corals do well and others don't; can be the tank itself other corals or fish bothering it. My concern is the staff and what I consider misleading info.

 

[Aquarium Care Center]

John since you are following this I will reply sort of directly. I really try to get you when I come in because a) you know what you are talking about and b) you are attentive.
I think ACC has the best deals on inverts you can find generally speaking. Corals I have had mixed luck. Though I admit I a very Darwinian tank. what grows is huge and what doesn't croaks. Fish I also have had mixed luck though I did appreciate when I asked about the Bangaiis John you did point out that they were in tanks with wild fish. My son's tank has fish from ACC but have lost some pretty quick too. John has supported the club in the past and done right by us for sure. But constructively some of your recent hires are maybe not up to your standards?

Thank you for info-

One thing that I stress to everyone . If you buy something that does not make it let us know. We have a 15 day no questions ask on all frags and even extending to coral colonies. We will have guarantees up to 30 days on fish with our new membership program too. We currently offer 72 hours on fish . I promise you one thing if you have an issue at ACC and email me I will fix it asap. We have even extended our 72 hour on fish sold at 50% off. We have been listening and making changes to our platform any time we can.

 

[Jeremy Brito]

Thank you for info-

One thing that I stress to everyone . If you buy something that does not make it let us know. We have a 15 day no questions ask on all frags and even extending to coral colonies. We will have guarantees up to 30 days on fish with our new membership program too. We currently offer 72 hours on fish . I promise you one thing if you have an issue at ACC and email me I will fix it asap. We have even extended our 72 hour on fish sold at 50% off. We have been listening and making changes to our platform any time we can.

What about the bait and switch issue ? With certain adds nothing bugs me more then when I see an add that lists something an I drive all the way to the store and get told sorry its actually only select things. In the begging of this thread I said I have had great experiences at the store.. And some not so great its the little things like good customer services and transparent adds that makes a store great not paid memberships

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[Aquarium Care Center]

Let me start by saying ACC would never purposely create a "bait and switch" deal. Anyone who feels they got this treatment email me and Ill make sure you get that deal.

We give away 10 k in prizes a year, price deals, meals we serve, parties, hosting club events, and other things we do throughout the year we hoped would say we are not here to get over on anyone ,especially with a flower anemone deal. Having said that we have seen that our adds can be confusing and sometimes misleading based on your feedback.

Lets talk about what we have done and are doing to make sure it does not happen again after reading your feedback-

All deals are reviewed with staff prior to release. We have been doing this but sometimes things happen during day that are not relayed to staff properly.
Much better descriptions of what is and what is not included in deal- example the flower anemone APP deal today as well the coral clearance deal.
A promise to all members if you should happen to catch a deal that was not spelled out properly we will honor that deal as its read. I have instructed all staff as of yesterday to let me know about any issues with Deals so i can get involved on the floor to make sure everyone is happy.

As 1018 unfolds a month or two we will have more about memberships which I understand some or skeptical about but once you see how we present it I hope you see its true value. It is designed not to put dollars in ACC pocket for collecting membership dues its about offering everyone the best product, best prices with all of the bells and whistles that come along with your membership. It helps us run events, give away and much more. We want every experience at ACC to be unique and special. Having said that you do not need to pay for a membership to shop at ACC, you will still be able to come in and shop just like you do now. We hope everyone understands that.

We are working on increasing staff and making sure our staff knows its OK not to know everything. If you do not know just say so. We spend time every day working to make sure we are all learning as much as we can.
We have also put some new protocols into place for customer service with our staff. I hope you see some bid differences there as well.


We hear all of you and promise to make changes based on your positive feedback.

I hope we can move down the road and have some fun reefing and keeping fish!

Oh someone was looking for flame angels and we do have some coming in next week. Many of our shipments were held due to the cold weather and that was one of them. Hawaii is coming in next week....

 

[MadReefer]

I agree Jeremy. I went for the 3 coral sale or whatever they call it. I asked about the sale beforehand. Then I made my selections and advised staff. It was at this time I was told oh those corals are not part of the sale. So I had to be very specific in questioning what was the sale. They should separate them and advise when I first asked not later.

Another time bought a yellow tang. Picked a smaller one cause I wanted my fish to be simulate in size. After I got home and reviewed my online receipt I realized was charged for the bigger one. Granted price difference was about $10 but it's more the principle to me.

 

[Aquarium Care Center]

I agree Jeremy. I went for the 3 coral sale or whatever they call it. I asked about the sale beforehand. Then I made my selections and advised staff. It was at this time I was told oh those corals are not part of the sale. So I had to be very specific in questioning what was the sale. They should separate them and advise when I first asked not later.

Another time bought a yellow tang. Picked a smaller one cause I wanted my fish to be simulate in size. After I got home and reviewed my online receipt I realized was charged for the bigger one. Granted price difference was about $10 but it's more the principle to me.

Mark sorry to hear about fish. If that should ever happen just email us and ill fix it asap. We are now offering reviews of all sales at register to there are no errors. So sorry and I would like to offer you the $10 back next time you are in. If you message me Ill put it in the system so its there for you. again thank you for the feedback.

John

 

[Trio91]

I'm too far north to comment on the place (FWIW I've only been there once and that was years ago) but like @JRWOHLER mentioned, ACC has taken care of the club over the years in multiple ways....and just by taking the time to respond to folks over the forum, to me shows great customer service.

I also think the fish and coral guarantees they are offering are good deals

 

[mikem]

I just have 1 complaint. I dropped a $1000 bill on the floor somewhere. Waiting on John to see if it will be replaced..lol

On a serious note. I never had 1 complaint visiting ACC. John and the crew always welcomed me with open arms. If I wasn't 100% sure what the special meant, I asked someone. John even went out of his way to show me that with my purchase, I qualified for the scratch off card on the App for my phone. I won 10 or 20 free snails.

Thanks John and crew. Keep up the great work and thanks for helping with our members concerns.

 

[Juano908]

Same here, I’ve been at ACC many times already and I’ve recommended to many other people too.
I’m from Elizabeth but I take the ride and always make sure to give John a call before I go there.
I’ve never got any corals from there but fish and never had any loss.

Just my 2 cents.


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[Ajaykay]

Just wanted to add some more unsolicited testimony on this topic as I've always had a positive experience shopping at ACC.

When I got back into reef-keeping I wanted an all-in-one RSM tank and ACC has, without a doubt, the best prices on the Red Sea tanks. So I picked up an E-170 and it came in broken. Long story short....John contacted his distributor and Red Sea for me and got me the replacement within 10 days. Not only that but, Red Sea sent me over $200 worth of supplies (test kits, starter kits and even an extra pump) for my new tank and for the 'grief' I suffered with the first broken tank.

Since then (May 2017), I've stocked my tank with mostly their corals and fish and could not have been happier with the quality. Price may vary, as it always does in the retail market, but you can always count on their stuff being top notch! It's the old adage, you usually get what you pay for.

As far as store help goes, John is great (but he always seems to be busy when I stop by) and Chris is no slouch either. Both are very knowledgeable and usually have the right answers to my many questions. I've only been in the store once since Trop closed, but I imagine it could get pretty crowded at times with ex-Trop customers. If business booms, who knows, maybe John will be looking for a bigger venue down the road. In any case, if he does need more personnel to handle the influx of Trop business, I'd recommend a few of the guys that were working over there who might be looking for work now.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents -- a VERY satisfied ACC customer.

 

[kschweer]

Though I don’t have a tank set up at the moment I would like to chime in. As you guys know I can be very picky when it comes to coral and even pickier when it comes to fish that I put in my tanks. With that said when my tank was running 3 of my 5 fish were from ACC mystery wrasse, borbonius Anthias and a bullet goby. All were over a year old and had no issues. I also did have a decent number of Corals from them. While I did experience having a hard time getting help in the shop a few times I would say my overall experience was very good.

From the perspective of being a past club president I want to say that ACC went above and beyond multiple times for the club and it’s members and that says a lot in my book.

Also their participation in this thread speaks volumes. Many times especially in this hobby shops become defensive and argumentative. I applaud the fact that John is taking this thread for what it is, constructive feedback, and by the looks of it will be using the feedback for the betterment of the shop. Which will only be good for everyone in the long run.

 

[Edwardw771]

Though I don’t have a tank set up at the moment I would like to chime in. As you guys know I can be very picky when it comes to coral and even pickier when it comes to fish that I put in my tanks. With that said when my tank was running 3 of my 5 fish were from ACC mystery wrasse, borbonius Anthias and a bullet goby. All were over a year old and had no issues. I also did have a decent number of Corals from them. While I did experience having a hard time getting help in the shop a few times I would say my overall experience was very good.

From the perspective of being a past club president I want to say that ACC went above and beyond multiple times for the club and it’s members and that says a lot in my book.

Also their participation in this thread speaks volumes. Many times especially in this hobby shops become defensive and argumentative. I applaud the fact that John is taking this thread for what it is, constructive feedback, and by the looks of it will be using the feedback for the betterment of the shop. Which will only be good for everyone in the long run.

Well said Man. I agree no store is going to make everyone happy all the time, the fact that the ACC team is on here offering to do right by people speaks volumes.

 

[Jeremy Brito]

I'd like to take a moment to kinda steer this thread back,on the rails so to speak. Just to be clear this thread was started in a manor of voicing concerns about a few issues that were experienced when last in the store an in no way was a bash ACC forum. To be fair I did say I have had good experiences there as well, in fact I had even recommened the place to others in the hobby especially new comers looking for a place to buy fish and corals.
I am happy John the owner joined in on the conversation it is good to see that he takes these concerns seriously and looks for ways to rectify problems and help make our experiences better cause guys lets face it the small Mom and Pop type stores that supply our specialized hobby are fading .. Just today I found my self wishing places like trop and animals and things were still around with there large inventory of tanks in store because petco and pets mart dont carry much in stock over 55 gallons an none are reef ready.. So when we have places like ACC still around it is important to us that they are good and knowledgeable and care about the hobby just as much as we do.
On one last note and this is not a jab at anyone or any store just a word of point since this forum took a turn in the those for and those against in defensiveness. I understand that this club cheerishes its loyal vendors but we the members pay our dues to be members and just because vendors support the club shouldn't be a point of argument when it comes to the voice of the members that's almost like saying your point doesn't count or shouldn't be voiced because so and so or such and such pays are campaign money so we should look the other way so not to upset them or they may not support us later. I get that the club is very appreciative of the support it gets from its vendors but as seen in politics on tv regularly we should be more concerned if the people that support us are doing the right thing because if we are represented by vendors that do wrong and we promote them it makes us look bad as well..
Again that last part was not a jab at any vendor nor a way of saying any vendor was doing wrong so please don't take it that way.
Also I wrote John about my recent experience and I eagerly await his response

 

[Mark_C]

I agree no store is going to make everyone happy all the time, the fact that the ACC team is on here offering to do right by people speaks volumes.

Also agreed. Note in my original post I mentioned how John is a great guy and very helpful.
ACC hosted an NJRC meet, in shop, 2 years previous that was phenomenal. Its still talked about at meets.
ACC hosted a second party last year and sponsored gifts at this year's summer party.
Personally I've bought a load of my equipment there, tank/stand, lights, a recent ATO, etc.
Also buy livestock there, including that recent beauty of a Phantom Clown about a week ago thatss doing great. I've had some fish die within a week and never mentioned it as it was out of warranty, its the chance we take when we intro fish, while others, purchased for same tank at same time have done well.
I've stood in the store, on occasion, with one other customer being attended to, and have left as I hadn't even been acknowledged after 10 mins. But, if I'm there questioning a $40 frag and another is there questioning a $2000 system, and there's 1 person on the floor... its a business, though, as a customer, I'm not happy about it.

ACC - I think this is a positive thing.
There are a few minor quirks you're hearing, probably due expansion, that may cause a bit of miss.
I had 2 members at separate times at my place today (and a third with no discussion), and was talking with one last night, and the thoughts were the same regarding this thread.
ACC is a definite positive experience, though there are common concerns voiced.
The wait times is a common factor for a while now, but the general service seems to be the vocal issue of late.

Think that the confusing ads, which have occurred in the past a number of times, was a starter (I chimed in on this point as I've experienced it myself)...
The waiting times on the weekends where 2 or 3 are servicing dozens, or even on weekdays where there are 2 or 3 customers yet the single staff member focuses on one customer for 20 minutes (again, experienced myself)...
The expansion and the general stress of the shop, the new hires, etc...
The new website...
The new membership plan, telling folks they were current members that will eventually have the option of participating further, without detail (announcement may have been a bit early)...
Trop closes doors, though known in advance, and a new influx of customers...

The stressors of so much s*&t going on, and the feeling of change, I'm sure is influencing opinions.
And, as this is the net, once snowball begins to roll...

ACC is stepping up to be the top brick and mortar in the region, maybe the top in NJ. Lotta more stress coming in.
Hopefully they won't bite off more than they can chew, keep the basics grounded and focused, and run a slow expansion they can control and present well.

They have my respect for addressing all this within 24 hours and working to make it right. You don't see that very often anymore.

 

[myrjon]

Well put mark . expansion blues .Maybe hire some more knowledgeable people.john and chris you are doing a good job , Keep going strong.

 

[MadReefer]

I agree with Mark_C maybe ACC should take a step back and slow down.