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Allquatics...what happened?

S

Subliminal

NJRC Member
Last time I was in Allquatics was months ago. Maybe 6 of them. The store was really nice. Tons of coral, tons of inverts, tons of fish.

I went into the store about 2 days ago, needing some snails and crabs, looked around for about 5 minutes and walked out.

The store looks like it's on its last leg. 1/2 of the fish tanks were empty, the coral tanks were so sparse they weren't even worth looking in, and the invert selection was terrible.

What happened to this place?
 
Phyl

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I know they had a big sale last week or so, maybe they cleared a lot out then. You could PM Allquatics Dave and see what's happening? That's one of the benefits to having them as a sponsor as well. We can always reach out to them to have our concerns heard or give them feedback directly!
 
RichT

RichT

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I know Dave has been tied up with a massive pond project. Plus, I from what I understand, there's been some changes in the store personal. Give it a chance and I'm sure they'll get things straightened out.
 
S

Subliminal

NJRC Member
I hope they do get it straightened out.

It was really depressing to go into that store, remembering how it used to be.
 
Tazmaniancowboy

Tazmaniancowboy

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
RichT said:
I know Dave has been tied up with a massive pond project. Plus, I from what I understand, there's been some changes in the store personal.
Click to expand...

This sounds right. It has been the story since the first month or two that they opened. The pond side of the business has always been priority no 1. I had a past employee say that he used store stock and supplies for the ponds and maintenance, which left the store without. When asked to order livestock for the store, he didn't want to spend the money. I've seen a few good employees come and go and a couple that I could not believe stayed longer. Although I understand that this is all hearsay that I may have heard from disgruntled employees and customers, From my experience with the store I do not believe that the truth is far from it.

I was happy to hear they were expanding the livestock section and actually shocked that they became a sponsor to NJRC, but I have never had a warm and personal relationship there as I have in a couple of other stores. I have never been in contact with anybody who owns or runs a store or business like this, but I am sure it is hard and takes a lot of time, ideas, and patience. I have seen the many ups and downs with this place constantly struggling, but honestly I do hope they can get straightened out and become a good store.

Taz
 
I

Ironhorseiv

Take this from a newbie persepctive... My DW and I took a "road trip" this AM and went across I 195 (from exit 31B to exit 2) to Allquatics. Our evaluation is based with our interaction with other LFS, i.e "Trop" in Ocean and one or two LFS in Brick and Point Pleasant NJ that we have been customers of for over 15 years. We cannot comment on the condition of the saltwater livestock - our experience is only with freshwater.
A member of the staff greeted us when we came in and from what we could catch by eavesdropping all the staff were friendly and knowledgeable. There is a nice SW display tank on the right when you come in, past the used and new tank displays. On the opposite side is what appears to be pond merchandise(We did not go there). Going up the ramp there are other display tanks and the main tank area. WE looked around for about a half an hour and a member of the sales staff again offered to assist us.(When questioning him about the Silver Arawna he indicated he had only been there a few months and wasn't sure how long the Arawana had been in the store)
It appeared as if most of the tanks had stock and I watched a purchase of coral from one.The freshwater tanks had a nice selection of livestock(I did notice a few "floaters).
I have a smattering of retail experience and can say that the store is in desperate need of a good cleaning and face lift. Nothing major that attention to detail and a concentrated 5 S program wouldn't markedly improve( What are the Five S's?
Sort - Set In Order - Shine - Standardize - Sustain)First impressions are critical and for both new and repeat customers it can be the deciding factor for continued business. The pricing, as far as dry goods and the freshwater livestock appeared to be in line or slightly better than what we see here on the Jersey Shore.The dry goods stock did not appear to be "shelf worn" indicating a decent inventory turn.
The store has a lot going for it, easy access from major highways; proximity to major urban area and of course, its association with New Jersey Reefers Club.
. . .just my 2 cents. . .
 
A

Allquatics Dave

HELLO EVERYONE. Sorry I havnt been posting much but Ive been extremly busy working on many different projects . as for the livestock we where having air conditioning issues for the past three months. so I was not bringing in much stock its been fix now for about three weeks and Ive been bringing the stock levels back up but as fast as thing come in there going out the door .i WILL BE STOCKING UP MORE AND MORE SO STAY TUNED And again im sorry for and dissappointment this may have caused and also I would like to thank all the people that support us that means alot and I hope everyone has a great labor day weekend
 
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