How a dream becomes a nightmare

[Meldrath]

I was the one that called them and let them know that a mistake was made. They had no clue. The first person said ok we will take care of it. That was on a Friday. On Monday I hadn’t heard back so I called again. They said they didn’t know anything about it. I had two chances to keep the wrong item that was worth much more than the item I originally ordered. I contacted them immediately when I found out about the mistake. I was joking about it. It was a simple mistake. No big deal. The second call was a little frustrating because I was being honest and trying to resolve the issue. She said they would set it up to have it picked up at my house. That was not the case. I was having to pay for that after they had told me twice that it would be taken care of. I was honest and forthcoming from the beginning with them. I didn’t ask for anything other than to have it picked up at my house. It is below freezing and the UPS store is over a mile away and it is snowing. They agreed to do that. Then they didn’t do it. Twice. After the third time I just did it myself. If I am being difficult then

I know I shouldn't reply to this but I will. I have dealt with a situation recently that gave me large pause to customer service from a large well known company. I was affected in such a way that I had no running water in my kitchen for 2 weeks over Thanksgiving. I literally and am not joking or exaggerating about this, spoke with 11 people, 2 managers, 1 district manager and 1 store manager (with many of these people claiming to be able to solve my issue and not doing a thing about it) before getting a real tangible resolution to and I kid you not... getting a dishwasher installed.

I know you know this, but life can throw you lemons, sometimes it rains lemons... sometimes it hurricanes lemons and limes. Keep your chin up, try to be fair with the people you deal with, be flexible when you can, offer solutions to help the situation. Remember at the end of the day, after you resolve the issue you have the power to decide if you want to interact again with a company with your voice and your wallet. There are other companies that will want your business and will earn it. As to your dream, if you truely want to make something happen, there is only one person that can do that, you.

 

[Tamberav]

Just wait until you get sent a coral that looks nothing like the photo or fish with disease or a DOA policy that doesn't cover 'almost dead' or corals packed like crap. Heck I have been sent the wrong fish before...what do you do when they send you something you didn't want and no LFS to bring it to? What if they don't cover shipping delays on livestock?

You going to have to learn to deal with worse then this. Definitely read the fine print on policies.

 

[Ippyroy]

Just wait until you get sent a coral that looks nothing like the photo or fish with disease or a DOA policy that doesn't cover 'almost dead' or corals packed like crap.

A tank isn't a living thing. No big deal. Nothing had to die.

I realize that will happen. I am only above freezing for about 4 months a year. Was still figuring that part out. That is a different issue. How the company deals with that problem is all that matters to me. If they are willing to help me and follow through to best of their ability I am ok. But saying they will help and then not doing it is unacceptable. If I sold you my Apex but sent you sump, you would be a little upset. You would contact me and if I said sorry. I’ll send the correct item out to you right away. Then after a few days you have to contact me again and I say what? I don’t know anything about that. How would you feel? Would you trust me for anything else? I canceled the order for the tank. What happens to me if the tank leaks as soon as I get it? Not the companies fault and it does happen somewhat often. Hence the need to slowly water check your tanks. I feel like instead of them trying to help me they would just use duct tape and good luck.

 

[Tamberav]

I realize that will happen. I am only above freezing for about 4 months a year. Was still figuring that part out. That is a different issue. How the company deals with that problem is all that matters to me. If they are willing to help me and follow through to best of their ability I am ok. But saying they will help and then not doing it is unacceptable. If I sold you my Apex but sent you sump, you would be a little upset. You would contact me and if I said sorry. I’ll send the correct item out to you right away. Then after a few days you have to contact me again and I say what? I don’t know anything about that. How would you feel? Would you trust me for anything else? I canceled the order for the tank. What happens to me if the tank leaks as soon as I get it? Not the companies fault and it does happen somewhat often. Hence the need to slowly water check your tanks. I feel like instead of them trying to help me they would just use duct tape and good luck.

The rational thing to do if they can't meet your expectations is to not purchase from them anymore. There's tons of venders to choose from.

If someone screws me by not working with me to cover their mistake... I give them some words and dispute it with my CC if needed and move on.


Hopefully you didn't order a red sea tank them because there was/is a whole thread out how they were deleting complaints on Facebook and blocking people before admitting their tank was defective.

 

[Greg P]

It's not the end of the world. Many of us have had catastrophic failures worse than this ...
Get your replacement tank and move on ...

Start a build thread when you get the replacement tank and we'll watch that thread

Build thread please !! :)

 

[Silent]

I can see you are a person of integrity and expect when people say they are going to do something you expect it to be done. Nothing wrong with that, I get it, but it is not what happens to you it is how you handle the situation that ultimately determines the outcome.

 

[MnFish1]

I was the one that called them and let them know that a mistake was made. They had no clue. The first person said ok we will take care of it. That was on a Friday. On Monday I hadn’t heard back so I called again. They said they didn’t know anything about it. I had two chances to keep the wrong item that was worth much more than the item I originally ordered. I contacted them immediately when I found out about the mistake. I was joking about it. It was a simple mistake. No big deal. The second call was a little frustrating because I was being honest and trying to resolve the issue. She said they would set it up to have it picked up at my house. That was not the case. I was having to pay for that after they had told me twice that it would be taken care of. I was honest and forthcoming from the beginning with them. I didn’t ask for anything other than to have it picked up at my house. It is below freezing and the UPS store is over a mile away and it is snowing. They agreed to do that. Then they didn’t do it. Twice. After the third time I just did it myself. If I am being difficult then

1. This really (according to how I understand it) is a post that should be in the vendor forum - where you and BRS can resolve it - without all of the back and forth with everyone else.
2. That said - I agree with others that though a rarity - some people shouldn't own a reef tank - whether its location, expense, lack of local 'support', etc etc. It seems like you have several potential pitfalls.
3. THAT said - maybe a nice freshwater tank would be an option - much easier - easier to maintain, etc etc - yet still providing some of the 'relaxation' that sounds like it would be helpful to you.

BTW - I do not drive - buy nearly everything from BRS - and have not had a problem (that was not quickly rectified) - at no cost. I might suggest to you that the email that you called 'snarky' may be you misreading tone of the written word during an emotional time in your life.

I honestly want to have 'empathy' for you - and hope you take the suggestions above in the spirit in which they were offered.

 

[Greg P]

I am done. I tried. I failed. I am a horrible person that can't deal with small problems. Fine.

TheOne and Sarah24 are awesome people who tried to help and encourage people. Thanks to the company for at least trying.

I'm out. BYE and good f riddance to the rest of you that would rather tell someone how they are wrong.

If they are willing to help me and follow through to best of their ability I am ok.

Take a very Deeeep breath and just slow down .....

It's not the end of the world and you Can work past this.

We ALL have problems we face with our tanks, and our tank builds, and our daily lives ...

C'mon man, shake it off and ...

Start a tank build thread !!!

 

[CWR24]

Well they did try. UPS came by to pick it up. Four hours after I had already dropped it off. I’ll own up to that one. But still a dollar short and a day late.

Ladies and gentlemen.....we have some clarity and a BINGO!!!!

Hopefully I can clear up at least a small portion of your angst and YOUR misunderstanding.

We will focus on YOUR lack of knowledge with UPS, in regards to their holiday schedule and what service was offered this past week.

So reading thru all this thread I notice this issue with the incorrect item being shipped and you feeling you were dealt with improperly, and action was not taken fast enough in your eyes. I wasn't on the call but we will take your word for it.

We'll just say I have a lot of knowledge with UPS ok...... :)

Now, what you wanted Bulk Reef Supply to do was issue a pre-paid pick label (this is referred to as a Call Tag). Again reading other posts in this thread by you, you said you called Friday. Depending on what time of day you called them and when they put the pickup request into the system it's possible the Call Tag wasn't printed and ready til Tuesday. Meaning if you called later in the afternoon then the ticket for pickup was not processed in system til Monday and then would be given to your driver Tuesday.
Just because you want something picked up a driver isn't gonna miraculously show up at your door with a pre-paid label 2 hours later......can take 2 days. More if you factor in the weekend and holiday(s).

But wait a moment, and here is where YOU need to pay attention. BOTH New Years Eve AND New Years Day are considered UPS HOLIDAYS!!

And what this means is that "ONLY" NEXT DAY AIR & 2ND DAY AIR deliveries are made on both those days.
And for what matters to you is the pickups on these two days, and there are NO PICKUPS MADE unless they are scheduled ahead of time and are NEXT DAY or 2ND DAY air pickups ONLY!!

So even if BRS processed that ticket when you called, your driver would not have been given that label to attempt Tuesday due to service guidelines for holiday service. Wednesday there is no service whatsoever. And judging by your post he came to your home Thursday attempting to pickup when full service resumed......and it's YOUR FAULT you were not home nor felt safe enough to leave it out for him.

You speak of how cold it is there and all the blowing snow etc......I would hate to be the driver standing out at your door freezing my back end off filling out notices because YOU arranged a pickup and decided not to be home for the attempt.

@Bulk Reef Supply .........I feel is the one owed an apology. You jumped the gun by not knowing or taking into consideration the delivery companies schedule, got all worked up about the pickup not being made. But all the while the guy did process a return label for you, and it was in the pipeline to be picked up, but you acted very impatiently and dropped the ball this time.

BRS screwed up first and tried to correct the issue.......second screw up is on you for not waiting......looks to me like we have an even draw here folks. Time to drop it and move on. :)

Sorry to be so long winded here folks, but if I didn't paint a very clear picture for someone it would still be all up for grabs. And then again......

 

[jgvergo]

After reading more of the thread, I see @Bulk Reef Supply stands accused. I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

However...I have been a BRS customer for 4 years and I must add my 2 cents. I have never received anything except simply outstanding customer service from them and I have bought 100's of items over the years. In the rare instance they made a mistake, they bent over backwards to correct it. They also do more to advance the hobby and inform us all of best practices and the latest innovations in a fascinating an entertaining way. To me, they optimize great customer service.

 

[Ippyroy]

Ladies and gentlemen.....we have some clarity and a BINGO!!!!

Hopefully I can clear up at least a small portion of your angst and YOUR misunderstanding.

We will focus on YOUR lack of knowledge with UPS, in regards to their holiday schedule and what service was offered this past week.

So reading thru all this thread I notice this issue with the incorrect item being shipped and you feeling you were dealt with improperly, and action was not taken fast enough in your eyes. I wasn't on the call but we will take your word for it.

We'll just say I have a lot of knowledge with UPS ok...... :)

Now, what you wanted Bulk Reef Supply to do was issue a pre-paid pick label (this is referred to as a Call Tag). Again reading other posts in this thread by you, you said you called Friday. Depending on what time of day you called them and when they put the pickup request into the system it's possible the Call Tag wasn't printed and ready til Tuesday. Meaning if you called later in the afternoon then the ticket for pickup was not processed in system til Monday and then would be given to your driver Tuesday.
Just because you want something picked up a driver isn't gonna miraculously show up at your door with a pre-paid label 2 hours later......can take 2 days. More if you factor in the weekend and holiday(s).

But wait a moment, and here is where YOU need to pay attention. BOTH New Years Eve AND New Years Day are considered UPS HOLIDAYS!!

And what this means is that "ONLY" NEXT DAY AIR & 2ND DAY AIR deliveries are made on both those days.
And for what matters to you is the pickups on these two days, and there are NO PICKUPS MADE unless they are scheduled ahead of time and are NEXT DAY or 2ND DAY air pickups ONLY!!

So even if BRS processed that ticket when you called, your driver would not have been given that label to attempt Tuesday due to service guidelines for holiday service. Wednesday there is no service whatsoever. And judging by your post he came to your home Thursday attempting to pickup when full service resumed......and it's YOUR FAULT you were not home nor felt safe enough to leave it out for him.

You speak of how cold it is there and all the blowing snow etc......I would hate to be the driver standing out at your door freezing my back end off filling out notices because YOU arranged a pickup and decided not to be home for the attempt.

@Bulk Reef Supply .........I feel is the one owed an apology. You jumped the gun by not knowing or taking into consideration the delivery companies schedule, got all worked up about the pickup not being made. But all the while the guy did process a return label for you, and it was in the pipeline to be picked up, but you acted very impatiently and dropped the ball this time.

BRS screwed up first and tried to correct the issue.......second screw up is on you for not waiting......looks to me like we have an even draw here folks. Time to drop it and move on. :)

Sorry to be so long winded here folks, but if I didn't paint a very clear picture for someone it would still be all up for grabs. And then again......

If this is true, why did I receive a package at my house from UPS on Tuesday? Whay did we receive 5 packages at work on Tuesday. All of them were regular packages, not next day air. And why when they contacted me on Thursday did they say they had just reached out to UPS and set up the pick up? He wrote that he scheduled it that morning? Just looking for clarification. I only mentioned the company's name once and quickly changed it. I was and am not trying to talk bad about them. I am just frustrated.
So either the company is bad at communicating since I had to talk with them 3 seprate times. All 3 times they said they would set up the pick up. Not why say they will be there on Thursday. I know when he will show up at my house. He does it at the same everyday. I am always at work and sometimes I leave so I can put the package inside.
Or, I am in the wrong. If I am, I will own it. Like I have said repeatedly, I make mistakes. But it seems to me that the mistakes are still on them. Either they didn't do it, or they didn't communicate the info to me.

 

[NeutronMan]

Here’s how I see things: It’s like going to college and getting a difficult degree. Everything cost a lot of money and a lot of learning involves failing. I had to fail a lot and spend a lot to make it through my degree. It cost me a lot of time, money, and sanity, but look at me now?!

See this hobby as a college degree. You have to buy your classes and materials, study a lot, take failure and criticism, and keep plugging along.

A fish only reef is like a BS degree. Want corals? That’s a MS degree. Want Acroporas? That’s a PHD degree (or BS in Engineering :cool: )

Edit: no idea why “BS” got edited to “crap”. I meant bachelor of science.

 

[MnFish1]

If this is true, why did I receive a package at my house from UPS on Tuesday? Whay did we receive 5 packages at work on Tuesday. All of them were regular packages, not next day air. And why when they contacted me on Thursday did they say they had just reached out to UPS and set up the pick up? He wrote that he scheduled it that morning? Just looking for clarification. I only mentioned the company's name once and quickly changed it. I was and am not trying to talk bad about them. I am just frustrated.
So either the company is bad at communicating since I had to talk with them 3 seprate times. All 3 times they said they would set up the pick up. Not why say they will be there on Thursday. I know when he will show up at my house. He does it at the same everyday. I am always at work and sometimes I leave so I can put the package inside.
Or, I am in the wrong. If I am, I will own it. Like I have said repeatedly, I make mistakes. But it seems to me that the mistakes are still on them. Either they didn't do it, or they didn't communicate the info to me.

Seems clear they made a mistake in sending the protein skimmer - and miscommunicating some of the logistics. My 2 cents - Its a busy time of year - they made a mistake - and perhaps gave you misinformation when they thought something had been done. I dont for a minute think it was done in a mean way - and there could be lots of explanations for what happened.

 

[MnFish1]

Here’s how I see things: It’s like going to college and getting a difficult degree. Everything cost a lot of money and a lot of learning involves failing. I had to fail a lot and spend a lot to make it through my degree. It cost me a lot of time, money, and sanity, but look at me now?!

See this hobby as a college degree. You have to buy your classes and materials, study a lot, take failure and criticism, and keep plugging along.

A fish only reef is like a crap degree. Want corals? That’s a MS degree. Want Acroporas? That’s a PHD degree (or crap in Engineering :cool: )

Edit: no idea why “crap” got edited to “crap”. I meant bachelor of science.

I know - its because the abbreviation for bachelor or science is also an abbreviation for some ' vulgarity' - which is not allowed.

 

[NeutronMan]

I know - its because the abbreviation for bachelor or science is also an abbreviation for some ' vulgarity' - which is not allowed.

Ah I see. You can tell I was a “Cs get degrees“ student.

 

[TheShrimpNibbler]

I’ve had two good experiences with saltwateraquarium.com. I think it would be worth giving them a try.

 

[TheOne]

Shipping anything during the holidays is such a pain. I had two packages this holiday shipped to my location and then shipped one and two states over before being shipped back days later. I was following another package thru usps and it just disappeared. Luckily that was thru Amazon 2 day shipping and they just refunded me after a week went by without delivery.

OP, Maybe next time you could have them schedule a pickup at your workplace? I once had a kayak delivered to my workplace in a tractor trailer because I knew I wouldn't be home till late that week, ha!

 

[Ippyroy]

Shipping anything during the holidays is such a pain. I had two packages this holiday shipped to my location and then shipped one and two states over before being shipped back days later. I was following another package thru usps and it just disappeared. Luckily that was thru Amazon 2 day shipping and they just refunded me after a week went by without delivery.

OP, Maybe next time you could have them schedule a pickup at your workplace? I once had a kayak delivered to my workplace in a tractor trailer because I knew I wouldn't be home till late that week, ha!

That is the plan for the 120. It would be dropped off a block and a half from house otherwise. This was a smaller package.
My second package was shipped from a town about three hours away. It went to Salt Lake City then to Billings. Pretty funny to watch. It came within a hour of my place the first time and a block and a half when it to Billings which is about eight hours away. All of this I understand though. But I find it funny.

 

[Terri Caton]

Lord have mercy!!! TBH I'm tired of this thread popping up for me to look at.

How in the world can this subject be debated for so long?

I can't stand whining. Either stop threatening to get out or actually get out. Or stop whining and make some positive steps happen.

I'm not trying to be rude. Just saying what I think a lot of people would like to say.

 

[Silver14SS]

Ah I see. You can tell I was a “Cs get degrees“ student.

What do you call someone who finished last in their med school class? The same thing you call the person who finished first, Doctor.

I’ve had two good experiences with saltwateraquarium.com. I think it would be worth giving them a try.

Or Marine Depot, Aquacave, Premium Aquatics, Amazon, Aquarium Specialty, etc. I don't understand letting my enjoyment of a hobby be ruined by one vendor even if they have the reputation of being "the best."