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My experience with Salty Bottom

Please read here before posting. Outside comments are not permitted per R2R's feedback forum policy. This is to allow the buyer and seller to have a streamlined conversation and hopefully come to a mutually satisfactory resolution in a negative transaction. If you would like to contribute your own feedback experience with either the buyer or seller, you may do so by creating your own feedback thread. Only the thread starter and vendor will have posting access. Thank you.

Scdell

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Ok. I ordered 4 fish from Salty Bottom. Three Chalk Bass and one Barnacle Blenny.
4 Days after I placed the order I get an email that says the Barnacle Blenny is not in stock, but they will look and see the next day
When I placed the order it said in stock.
They offered me other Blennies, some that weren't even reef safe.
I originally emailed them back saying that was the one fish I really wanted and I'd like to cancel the order.
I never heard any thing back. I slept on it and in the am I emailed them saying I still would like the Chalk Bass. Instead of the Blenny I'll take the equivalent in dwarf cerith snails.
Next email I get is that my order has been shipped.
I had to ask if I'm getting the Blenny or the snails. I was getting the snails.
As soon as I got the shipping notice I diverted the shipment to a place in town 15 miles away where I would receive it by about 10 am.
It was shipped UPS. I am on the outskirts of two hubs where I live. I get next day air real late. Sometimes as late as 9PM!
Every vendor I get next day air from welcomes that I do that, some demand it.
I got notice from UPS that my package is diverted to a UPS store in Wilmington and it will be there by 10:30 Am.
I was at the UPS store when the brown truck showed up. No package.
I go in and make sure the package isn't there. Now UPS stores are individually own access points. They have nothing to do with UPS except in name.
They don't care in the least bit.I was told to keep watching the tracking #.
I have a UPS account and have the follow my delivery thing. I get back home and check that. I see the truck that has my package is about 100 feet away from the UPS store. Back to town I go. Sadly the truck never stops at the UPS store. I check and its heading to my town. Ok, it's getting delivered to my house. I wait there for it.
No package.
Meanwhile I'm emailing Salty Bottom with what's going on. No response at all.
I get an email the next morning from UPS saying my package is ready for pick up.
I email Salty Bottom to ask them whether I should go get it or not. I wanted to know if the fish would survive that long.
They said go get it. The fish should be fine.
Off to the UPS store for the third time. I get there and I'm told there is no package.
At this point I'm done! I've spent 3/4 of a day now doing what UPS should have done.Get my package here the next day.
I ask for a # to call from the UPS store. I call. Automated BS phone system that can't find my tracking #.
I email Salty Bottom. I said I'm done with this, I've put what I think is a major effort into getting the package. If I do get an email saying my package has been delivered? I'm not going back again. These fish most certainly last that long.
I get an email back saying because I redirected the shipment it's my responsibility to go get the package and to contact my local UPS.
Now shippers have a contract with UPS.They have way more pull to find out what's going on the the receiver. They did nothing.
I get an email form UPS saying my package has been delivered about 10:30. A day after it was supposed to be there. Think I'm frustrated by now?
I decide I'll go get the package. They have an arrive alive guarantee. Take pics of dead fish and I'll get a fefund.
I get back home and open it up. Much to my surprise the fish are still alive, barely though. I acclimate them. After about 20 minutes one doesn't look real good. It's dying. I decide to give them a shot and put them in the tank. Maybe they'll be OK. The first one darted into the rock work. Second one sat on top of the rocks not moving. Just hanging on. The third one that was dying couldn't do a thing. The current swept it away. I found it a few minutes later head stuck in a rock tail straight up. I took pics, emailed I was removing it. I found another one dead. Emailed the pic. They said I'll get back up with you. That was over 24 hours ago.
In my opinion Salty Bottom's customer service just plain sucks!. Guess I bought expensive hermit crab food! Haven't seen fish one in 24 hours.
 
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Scdell

Scdell

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Update.......... I was looking at the tank yesterday and look and behold there was the lone Chalk Bass alive and well! Lucky fella. I've received corals packed in more water than these poor fish were packed in. Yet he survived two two days in that box!
I even emailed Salty Bottom with the news. No response.
The last I heard from them was 9 days ago saying "I'll get back to you" Until today.
Here is what I received:
"You were waiting for Debbie to talk to me and get my opinion on this matter.
I would have said to give you the refund, but tell you in the future that our policy is this…...
That was until I saw your post on reef2reef. From that point, I'll refer you to our store policy, that you agreed to upon check out.
You changed your shipping location, you then blame us for problems you created."

Here's what I find really weird.
This is vendor feedback. Most vendors will respond to negative posts.
Nope. I did get a "like" from them tho.
 

threebuoys

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Sorry to be disagreeable. It seems to me the minute you changed the delivery instructions you shifted the problem to one between you and UPS. What happened was terrible, but once it left the premises the seller assumes everything has been taken care of as you instructed. I hope your survivors do OK.
 
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Scdell

Scdell

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Sorry to be disagreeable. It seems to me the minute you changed the delivery instructions you shifted the problem to one between you and UPS. What happened was terrible, but once it left the premises the seller assumes everything has been taken care of as you instructed. I hope your survivors do OK.
Maybe you should read the post. The reason I do that is because UPS says next day air is anywhere between 2PM AND 9PM. I have gotten shipments at 8PM. Never at 2PM.
I do agree this is a UPS issue.
Quality vendors deal with that. I've bought enough online to know which vendors are reputable or not. Salty is not. BTW did you read the part of 9 days with no response? You want use them? Go ahead.
Also do you realize that vendor feedback is only for the vendor and the buyer to respond?
 

threebuoys

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It was not my intention to defend Salty Bottom. I have no experience with them. I did read your post. Sorry I bothered.
 
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Scdell

Scdell

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Funny thing about people. They read what they want to read and they hear what they want to hear. Then they form an opinion from that.
Until you walk in ones shoes then you have no right to an opinion. You don't have all the facts.
But this is social media and everyone has their right to chime in.
I'm not the one lurking on here "liking" posts and not responding.
I told my story the best I can without writing a book.
 
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Scdell

Scdell

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I'm going to chalk this up as a loss and a lesson learned.
This did turn out to be a UPS problem in the end. But that was just the icing on the cake of an overall bad experience with this company.
I do have much disdain for UPS next day air. They will honestly tell you there's no guarantee on delivery time but we are going to charge you for it antway. If it gets there on time you pay. If it doesn't then you pay also. They just don't care.
And honestly that's how I feel about Salty Bottom.
Four days after placing the order for something that was in stock I get an email saying they don't think the fish is in stock, but they will check in the am. But we can get these fish instead. Nothing was asked about what kind of tank I'm running and some of the fish they offered weren't the least bit reef compatible.
When I informed them that I would like to cancel the order I got no response back.
In hindsight I should have let it be, but I let my wants get in the way of better judgment.
When I thought about it and substituted snails for the fish the next day I got an email saying my order was shipped with an invoice for the original fish I ordered. I had to ask if I was getting the snails or the fish.
When it was obvious UPS screwed up the shipment I emailed them informing of the problem. Again no response.
When I got totally frustrated with UPS and said I'm done chasing this package around I got chastised for changing the pick up location. Saying it was now my problem in short terse e mails.
Then after nine days after they said they will get back up with me saying that normally they would give a refund but since I wrote on r2r about my experience with them the refund is no longer applicable. I've had better personal experiences with the greeter's at Walmart than these people.
So... Yes in retrospect this is my fault for not going with my gut feeling in the beginning and letting my wants get in the way. Lesson learned.
 

nickp9054

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Funny thing about people. They read what they want to read and they hear what they want to hear. Then they form an opinion from that.
Until you walk in ones shoes then you have no right to an opinion. You don't have all the facts.
But this is social media and everyone has their right to chime in.
I'm not the one lurking on here "liking" posts and not responding.
I told my story the best I can without writing a book.
Jeez calm down why did u post it if u can’t handle criticism. Don’t attack him for looking at something objectively
 
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Scdell

Scdell

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I am calm. I don't post for people's opinions. Nor do I post to accumulate "likes".
If 200 people read this thread there will be at least 100 different takes on it.
That's just human nature and a result of social media. Not one of those people experienced what I experienced. Opinions are derived from how someone reads and reacts to what they read.
Half the people are biased toward one way or another before they even start reading.
I posted my experience. People can take it the way they want, form an opinion and go on.
I don't care want they think. I know what I experienced and that this is a company I'll stay away from. End of story.
 
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Scdell

Scdell

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Here you go. Both fish within 5 minutes of putting them in the tank.
Anyone notice how the fish that's in the rock has no tail? That's the way I received it.
PXL_20210121_175143914-1.jpg
PXL_20210121_175738495-1.jpg
 
Please read here before posting. Outside comments are not permitted per R2R's feedback forum policy. This is to allow the buyer and seller to have a streamlined conversation and hopefully come to a mutually satisfactory resolution in a negative transaction. If you would like to contribute your own feedback experience with either the buyer or seller, you may do so by creating your own feedback thread. Only the thread starter and vendor will have posting access. Thank you.
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