Buyer beware!!!!!!!

[mnat]

I was not going to wade into this thread at all but I think we might need a little reality check here.

I once bought a 300 dollar Rhomboid Wrasse there and it was acting a little batty in there tank the day I picked it up. I got it home and after drip acclimation I went to net the fish and it jumped out of the bucket and behind my tank. After a minute or so, I got him back in bucket, he was in bad shape!! He came back to his senses and I dropped him in display. Well he went into shock and got bit up a little by my tank mates because he just dropped to the bottom and looked like food... He lived for 2 days and died. I had a private meeting with the owner of Trop the next day about another matter. At the end of the meeting I came clean with him and told him exactly what happened. I was honest. I could have lied and said the fish just died and his policy would have given me a new fish or credit.

So a fish died because you made a mistake and you want credit for it? You then say you came clean with the owner, so did you lie at first? This whole thread boils down to "The business did not make an exception for me therefor they are evil".

I like Trop, they are probably my favorite fish store out there so I am incredibly biased. We all know the common complaints about them. Yes thier prices are a bit high for the area, yes you can get ignored in there. We are on a first name basis with almost everyone in there and sometimes it even takes us a while to get something we want. What I do know is that I get excellent advice and my fish from Trop live which is something I cannot say for every fish store.

Rob, did they offer you store credit or a different test kit (obviously one that was not expired if they had it)?

We allow people to openly talk about retailers here as we believe discussion is good for everyone and we do not censor. However, let's be a bit reasonable here. I can nit pick and take shots at every fish store on here but really it is all nit picky type stuff.

Everyone take a deep breath and lets keep this civil.

 

[DarthSimon]

No I did not lie, and I wasn't looking for a credit. I was looking for the store to work with me. Possibly get another one at a discounted rate!!! I thought that being honest with someone that i had a good relationship with would lead into that store working with me some how... I did assume some blame here... I was also told by the Store the Fish would be fine... It was a freak accident...That's what you do in a small retail business! You work with your customers!!! You take care of your customers...

 

[DarthSimon]

I'll give you an example.. I sell Humidors in my retail business... They are wood boxes that keep cigars fresh... If one of my customers bought one, and I sell 300 models, and damaged it in some accidental way, he brings it back and tells me what happened, I would offer a replacement at my cost to keep this customer happy... In 2 seconds!!! Wouldn't even think about it... You have to satisfy your customers at all costs... A mistake is a mistake.....

 

[Jcurry@wesketch]

I'll give you an example.. I sell Humidors in my retail business... They are wood boxes that keep cigars fresh... If one of my customers bought one, and I sell 300 models, and damaged it in some accidental way, he brings it back and tells me what happened, I would offer a replacement at my cost to keep this customer happy... In 2 seconds!!! Wouldn't even think about it... You have to satisfy your customers at all costs... A mistake is a mistake.....

If one of your humidors is damaged in shipping does the manufacturer replace it or give you credit?

I'm not sure if everyone knows this or not but livestock from a wholesaler is not guaranteed. All the losses are absorbed by the LFS no matter what. So selling a fish at "cost" is a loss.

I don't think you can compare the selling of manufactured goods to selling live animals.

 

[DarthSimon]

The LFS does get credit to an extent... And again I wasn't asking for them to absorb it. I was asking for them to work with me and not blast me on the replacement....

 

[mnat]

I bought a suit from the Brooks Brothers outlet recently and took it too a tailor to get altered. The tailer informed me the suit did not fit me correctly and to bring it back (I have lost a bunch of weight so I need new suits and am not quite sure what size I am). I threw the reciept away as I normally do but brought the suit back, still with tags that I obviously bought there (thier outlet line is different from thier store line). They gave me about half of what I paid on a gift card because I did not have the reciept which is my fault. I took the card and moved on cursing myself for the stupidity.

A store has a policy for a reason. I have talked to many store owners about some of the crazy things people do/say with fish and wanting refunds and what not. That is why certain stores don't offer any type of guarantee with fish because people will always try and take advantage of it. BTW, asking for a credit and asking the store to work with you is semantics. They are the same thing.

To fit your world, If I bought a humidor from you and took it home and dropped it destryoing it, you would offer me credit on the next one?

 

[DarthSimon]

Please read my posts!! I didn't ask for a refund! And if you were a good customer I would replace the humidor at my cost to make you happy... If you returned things regularly, would be a different story!!

 

[dnov99]

The LFS does get credit to an extent... And again I wasn't asking for them to absorb it. I was asking for them to work with me and not blast me on the replacement....

Having been in the hobby for 10 years and now recently employed at a LFS I can relate to this on on both ends. First off in response to this statement LFS do not got credit in any way for a fish that is dead, even if it dies the same day it arrives.

Quite frankly I am shocked at the complaints in this thread directed towards TROP, from the OP and several others in this thread. Most of these complaints are for petty issues IMO. For some reason many people in this hobby cannot wait post on the forums about a complaint, but rarely post about a good experience at a store, and its a real shame that this takes place. I can assure you that maintaing a store of TROP's caliber or ours for the matter is a massive undertaking and one that you will never be able to relate to until you work at a store. Just imagine trying to maintain your own tank and multiply it by 100, as that is how much work is involved.

I find TROP to be one of the best stores in the state for selection and quality of fish and dry goods. The biggest complaint I always hear from people in NJ is that all their LFS basically "suck". Well here is an example of one of the best there is and everybody is bashing it. When all the LFS in the state close down and you are stuck getting pulsing xenia and kenya trees from each other dont complain that there arent any good LFS to choose from. I always go out of my way to support a LFS, even if it means purchasing something for a few bucks more than I can get it online, but that is just me and I am sure many will disagree with me. Well thats my 2 cents about this thread that I think is people crying over spilled milk, and its over a store that is a competitor to mine.

 

[DarthSimon]

Trop was one of the best stores in NJ and they knew it.... They never had any real competition in the area until AAC opened across the street. Trops customer service is the issue and its awful!!! If they treated me right I would still be there..... But this is America, we can all have our opinions, experiences, and let our money dictate where we shop!!


Also the comments on Trop being a massive undertaking ? I don't get that!! They charge 229 dollars for a 5 inch Naso tang??? Really?? The guy across the street is 119... Come on.... I'm tired of getting my butt opened at Trop on live stock pricing...

 

[TanksNStuff]

Feels like this thread is getting a lil heated. Maybe we should all step back and take a deep breath?

Let's just leave this as a lesson to try harder to prevent this in the future. I can see your opinion that a store should try to do "something" to help a loyal customer... but you also have to see the stores opinion on why they don't feel responsible when the loss may have been prevented if you had done it properly and/or with better care.

 

[NikkiT]

I like trop.

I have better long term survival rates from Trop than from any other LFS or online retailer I use.

If I have a sick fish, I know that they will take the time to talk to me and try to help me get it healthy again. To me, that is worth a lot. I can't even begin to count the number of hours I have spent there, talking to them.

Are they expensive? Sometimes. Sometimes livestock is more expensive from one retailer or another because they use different wholesale companies. Sometimes it is because one retailer ordered something on special, and another did not. Sometimes it is because a store ordered several fish, and had low survival rates so the prices on the survivors are higher. But we all get to choose where we take our business, and Trop will continue to get mine.

 

[dnov99]

Also the comments on Trop being a massive undertaking ? I don't get that!! They charge 229 dollars for a 5 inch Naso tang??? Really?? The guy across the street is 119... Come on.... I'm tired of getting my butt opened at Trop on live stock pricing...

Exactly my point! You don't get it! Look at what undercutting TROP did for the prior owner the location across the street. And it's unfair to compare prices, as there is something called a difference in overhead. That's like trying to compare acan prices from a guy selling frags from his garage to the ones we sell.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DarthSimon]

Lol the guy across the street failed for different reasons, not undercutting Trop!
Lets just all go where it makes is feel comfortable. I know where I won't take my business...

 

[NikkiT]

Exactly my point! You don't get it! Look at what undercutting TROP did for the prior owner the location across the street. And it's unfair to compare prices, as there is something called a difference in overhead. That's like trying to compare acan prices from a guy selling frags from his garage to the ones we sell.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I like ELOS Acan frags

 

[mrehfeld]

No one can deny Trop has a great selection and you'd be hard pressed to beat their tank prices, their staff are for the most part knowledgable and give spot of advice, that is when you can get their attention. I think their prices are in line with what they think the market can bear and turn a profit. If I don't like the price of something I move on, my will is good.

I wish they were more attentive to customers needs, but like I stated above, once you have their attention it's great.

 

[Mike S]

I cant say that I've been in there more than a dozen times, but each time I've been asked within a few minutes if I've needed help. They have seemed to have a good selection of healthy fish also.

 

[Hockeynut]

Wow I know this thread has gotten out of hand, but for a thread like this to get so crazy there has to be something going wrong with there staff and policy.
I personally have never asked anyone for a fish guarantee I take my chances with every fish purchase I make. With that said I quarenteen all of my fish. My problem with them is the lack of caring weather there customers leave there happy or not and the small things that make the difference. Yes Mike they did give me store credit but that didn't help me that day. I had no cash in my pocket and was in need of a test kit because my tank was in a tail spin. I wanted to take my cash and use it where they had a test kit which was not expired.
I felt it was the least they could do for me being they should have not even sold it to my wife in the first place!!!
They know test kits expire and should check there rack occasionally. It sure seems like they don't because some people (like my wife) don't know any better will buy them and never look at the date. I say this because there were a lot of expired kits of all different types on that rack which I showed Michelle when I was there.
My comments are personal I know this, maybe some are treated good there I cannot say I am one.
I have always felt like I was bothering the staff there with my questions or even when I ask them to net a fish. I don't know if my thoughts are justified but it seems by this thread I'm not the only one.

 

[Hockeynut]

One more thing, I never asked my LFS to hold my hand and tell me everything Is going to be ok or any thing like that, I'm not that needy. What I do ask for is for them to take responsibility for there actions and that is it....

 

[AnthonyJerseyShore]

Oh dear. This thread sure has gotten out of hand. Guys, it really just boils down to this. If you aren't satisfied with them, or their customer service, take your business else where. Theres no reason to bash people or stores online (well, to a certain extent is fine. But open hostility isn't very nice). Like I said in my earlier post, I bypassed them completely simply because I've heard poor things about customer service.

@The guy who bought the 300$ Wrasse:

It always sucks to spend a lot of money on a fish and lose it quickly. We all know it, it's happened to all of us. But, on the other hand, you can't really expect them to do anything when it was completely your fault. Something similar happened up in Sparta by me. A guy came in and bought three Hippo Tangs that were about 3". He set them up to drip acclimate, and left them for 12 hours. By the time he had come back, the bucket was overflowing and the fish had all fallen out. He went back to the store and asked them to honor his purchase. Now, I deal with these guys regularly (Fin City Aquatics), and they are a great group of guys. But, even they told him that when something like that is done, and there is no fault on their end, they can't honor stuff like that. That, is basically honoring stupidity. Now, I'm not trying to call names, so please don't take that the wrong way (We've ALL made mistakes before). But, you can't blame them for something that's your fault. Should they have worked with you a little bit on pricing on the next fish? Yeah, it would of been the nice thing to do. Do they have to though? No, they don't.

Sorry about the essay guys, and especially sorry to the wrasse guy if I sounded like I was attacking you, I really didn't mean for it to sound like it. Just find a new place you feel comfortable with, and stick with them. But, you'll find that even with a new place, there is a limit to what they'll do for you too. Unless of course, you buy thousands of dollars worth of stock from them a month (In which case they most definitely will work with you ).

On a last note, remember, we're all in this hobby to enjoy it. Take a look at your tanks, and enjoy it. That's the whole point, isn't it?

 

[SHLUZER]

NJRC unites us, and 'united we stand' a chance to :
1. keep each other informed about bad business practices of some vendors
2. make some vendors improve their practices to attract our business, or risk loosing more than one customer.

By shopping locally we're making local vendors a favor. And they should appreciate it.
There are on-line sellers that honor even 'stupidity' warranty, have free shipping on reasonable orders, and healthy fish and corals.