Terrible experience

[blkhawk10]

I'm getting back into the hobby and I wanted to start the tank off right with some OG's. The last sale this company had, had a beautiful WD so I jumped on it and added a couple extra cause why not. What I received compared to what the picture showed on the website was completely false advertising. The only reason I purchased all of these corals was because of the WD and this is the one that was false represented on the website. I was given a $50 refund for the WD which I appreciate but I spent over $200 for everything and I wouldn't have bought anything if it wasn't for the WD. The description of the frag on the website was WYSIWYG - This beautiful Walt Disney Acro is roughly 1.5" tall and has 4 arms! You won't find deals like this often! The WD Acropora Tenuis is one of the most beautiful and most popular rainbow acros available. What I received was the same frag pictured but was mostly skeleton and stn'ing covered in algae which to no surprise has already perished. I've attached an image of the photo of what I thought was buying compared to photos of what I received. What a waste of money and faith in websites representing what they are actually selling.

 

[PharmrJohn]

OK, that officially bites. How old is your tank?

 

[blkhawk10]

Over a year old and ready to roll.

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

This is why I gave up on buying expensive acro frags online.
If I can't see it in person now, I won't buy it

 

[hunterallen40]

That looks like orange passion to me. Disappointing for sure.

 

[ReefStable]

Not sure how I missed this being posted. Anyhow, I'm sorry again for that WD. That photo was true to the coral when it was taken. The arm that died was in the back so it wasn't noticed when bagging.

Just to clarify the details missed in the original post.
The Acro was $140 for the 4 arms advertised. Since the one arm was missed, and part of the base, I offered a refund.

The typical policy (linked in the website, confirmation email, and tracking info email) states that refunds are only issued as credits to the website. Since this was my miss, I offered a $50 cash refund, making that WD only $90 (far less than the normal price) OR I offered $75 as a gift card to make it right!

You chose the $50. While I understand, I just want to be fair to the review posted that a higher value option was offered.

I understand the frustration, and I just want to be honest and say sometimes things are missed. It happens to the best of us. I tried to make it right and you seemed to be okay with the refund offered. I'm sorry I let you down, and hope to do better in the future.

 

[ChiCity]

The arm that died was in the back so it wasn't noticed when bagging.

… so you sent him a tenuis
that’s clearly going through stn?!

and it’s not just the “arm” but at the base as well.

(really isn't a stable reef with all that valonia too)

 

[ReefStable]

No, it looks like the place it was at cause shading on the back side. Which was the one arm and small part of the base on that back side. It was an honest mistake.

If it had been STN, the coral would not have had algae on the skeleton, as more of it would be dying off.

 

[ReefStable]

You can see from the plug, this wasn't a fresh cut acro. It was over the period of a few weeks.

Again, I tried to make it right, and the customer agree to the refund. I know that my best bet is to let this matter rest at this point. I just wanted to add the additional details of the resolution.

Unfortunately, I make mistakes as well. I try my best to make them better, but sometimes things don't work out.

I don't have a team of people to handle things like this for me, it's a 1-person operation. So I apologize again that I made a mistake.

I hope we can all understand that this wasn't intentional nor malicious by any means.

And unlike other coral retailers, I am not going to block anyone from future purchases because of negative feedback. Things happen. I would be happy to try to meet expectations in the future, but I understand why that won't be right away.

I took the feedback from the email and will try to improve for the future :)

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

Im actually on the side of the vendor here. It sounds like he was and is acting in good faith. If he wasn't, he would pretend not to notice this entire post.
It seems that the customer doesn't have the experience to realize that any time you purchase online you're taking a calculated risk. Personally, Id never buy online, but that's a decision for each individual to make.

We have no proof that the buyer had the perfect parameters fkr the coral or that the coral arrived in the shape he makes it out to be. Although I dont intend to imply anything negative about the buyer whatsoever, the vendor clearly tried to make this right.

 

[ReefStable]

Im actually on the side of the vendor here. It sounds like he was and is acting in good faith. If he wasn't, he would pretend not to notice this entire post.
It seems that the customer doesn't have the experience to realize that any time you purchase online you're taking a calculated risk. Personally, Id never buy online, but that's a decision for each individual to make.

We have no proof that the buyer had the perfect parameters fkr the coral or that the coral arrived in the shape he makes it out to be. Although I dont intend to imply anything negative about the buyer whatsoever, the vendor clearly tried to make this right.

Thank you!

Don't get me wrong, when I got the email, I took fault for the part that was dead with algae. They replied quickly and with algae on it, it happened before shipping. That's why I was willing to break standard DOA and do a cash refund for that part of the coral, or a substantial store credit. I will own that.

I can't speak to anything after that. The buyer did have a valid reason for their disappointment and I tried to help make it better. That was still a substantially large WD for $90 I thought.

Im not trying to create a divide or anything. It's perfectly fair for the buyer to give their opinion. I just wanted to provide the details that were left out.

I know it's a bit late compared to the original post. I honestly never saw it.

It happens. I'll keep doing my best though and hopefully I won't disappoint in the future! :)

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

Thank you!

Don't get me wrong, when I got the email, I took fault for the part that was dead with algae. They replied quickly and with algae on it, it happened before shipping. That's why I was willing to break standard DOA and do a cash refund for that part of the coral, or a substantial store credit. I will own that.

I can't speak to anything after that. The buyer did have a valid reason for their disappointment and I tried to help make it better. That was still a substantially large WD for $90 I thought.

Im not trying to create a divide or anything. It's perfectly fair for the buyer to give their opinion. I just wanted to provide the details that were left out.

I know it's a bit late compared to the original post. I honestly never saw it.

It happens. I'll keep doing my best though and hopefully I won't disappoint in the future! :)

The fact that you're actively responding without trying to ignite an argument shows a lot. I don't think you did anyone wrong personally and you tried to make the customer happy after hearing he or she was disappointed.
You really dont need to say more to defend your company imo.