Waterbox Experience

[mfrumkin]

I posted this on the WB official FB page. I was told it is pending admin approval. I'll be interested to see if they approve it. "This is what happens when a company grows too fast and their customer service supply chain cannot keep up. My LFS recently became a Waterbox dealer. After going on the WB website I decided to order a Marine Plus AIO 30.2. This is the middle of June and the website says in stock ships 1-2 business days. The website also says, "Standard with every AIO system is a premium return pump and filtration media." I text WB to find out the specs of the pump. I am told there is no pump supplied. I point out that it says there is on the website. I then get a phone call from WB telling me that they do have a limited number of pumps but that they are not very good, and that I'd be better off ordering the Nyos Viper 2.0 So I go to Marine Depot and order it. They STILL have not changed their website to indicate that the pump is not included. After a week I ask the LFS whether they have received a shipping notice. No, they have not and the rep won't answer emails or phone calls. So I call WB myself and get a very nice woman on the phone who goes looking for the order. She locates it and tells me it won't ship until mid-July. I ask why? Because one of the items the LFS ordered is back ordered and they want to ship everything together. I ask if they can ship my tank directly to me? Yes, if the LFS calls them and says it is ok. The LFS calls and we get a shipping notification that the tank will be delivered on 07/01. It isn't. And the freight company can't tell us anything and WB says it is out of their hands. Furthermore, I find out that my AI Prime light is being dropped shipped separately from AI. I could have ordered it from Marine Depot and I would have had it already. So what is the point of offering the Plus version? I'm sure once I have the tank and it is all set up I will love it. But WB should spend less time at Reef a Palooza and more time getting their act together."

 

[Waterbox Aquariums]

Hi Mike, As the Admin of the Waterbox Aquariums Official Group, I wanted to reach out and explain why your post was not be approved, as well as, address your concerns. First, we wanted to let you know that we are happy that you joined our Official Group page; this is a place for hobbyists, such as yourself, to document builds, share techniques, get inspired, ask questions, guide fellow aquarists. The Official Group is not a Customer Service forum. You can view the rules of the page by clicking the pinned post under the Announcements section at the top of the page.



I want to take the time to address all of your concerns thoroughly, and please don't hesitate to let us know if you have further questions. The information regarding the return pump has been updated on our website - if you are still seeing this, please let us know so we may fix the problem. For this, we would be happy to provide a pump for your AIO system. The pump will be an AquaTop MaxFlow Submersible pump. Specifications can be found here: https://www.aquatop.com/products/aquarium-aquatop-submersible-pump-swp-1300. Please send an email to [email protected] with your mailing address and we will get that shipped out promptly. I apologize for any issues that may have incurred during delivery from the freight carrier. Please note that the freight carrier is a third-party company, and while we do our best to select qualified shippers, we do not have control over their process once the shipment is in-transit. I have tracking the shipment with the carrier and it was successfully delivered on 07/02/19. Any complaints that you may have regarding the handling/delivery of your order need to be made directly with the delivery carrier itself. All equipment sold on WaterboxAquariums.com is shipped direct from the manufacturer. The advantage to purchasing a Plus model, rather than buying the lights and mounting arms separately, is that the Plus bundle provides built-in savings.



We want all of our Waterbox family to feel good about their purchase, so please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further assistance. You may reach our office at 1-800-674-2608, we are available from 10:00am - 6:00pm EST. We will be closed tomorrow, July 4th.



Thank you for choosing Waterbox Aquariums!

 

[mfrumkin]

Hi Mike, As the Admin of the Waterbox Aquariums Official Group, I wanted to reach out and explain why your post was not be approved, as well as, address your concerns. First, we wanted to let you know that we are happy that you joined our Official Group page; this is a place for hobbyists, such as yourself, to document builds, share techniques, get inspired, ask questions, guide fellow aquarists. The Official Group is not a Customer Service forum. You can view the rules of the page by clicking the pinned post under the Announcements section at the top of the page.



I want to take the time to address all of your concerns thoroughly, and please don't hesitate to let us know if you have further questions. The information regarding the return pump has been updated on our website - if you are still seeing this, please let us know so we may fix the problem. For this, we would be happy to provide a pump for your AIO system. The pump will be an AquaTop MaxFlow Submersible pump. Specifications can be found here: https://www.aquatop.com/products/aquarium-aquatop-submersible-pump-swp-1300. Please send an email to [email protected] with your mailing address and we will get that shipped out promptly. I apologize for any issues that may have incurred during delivery from the freight carrier. Please note that the freight carrier is a third-party company, and while we do our best to select qualified shippers, we do not have control over their process once the shipment is in-transit. I have tracking the shipment with the carrier and it was successfully delivered on 07/02/19. Any complaints that you may have regarding the handling/delivery of your order need to be made directly with the delivery carrier itself. All equipment sold on WaterboxAquariums.com is shipped direct from the manufacturer. The advantage to purchasing a Plus model, rather than buying the lights and mounting arms separately, is that the Plus bundle provides built-in savings.



We want all of our Waterbox family to feel good about their purchase, so please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further assistance. You may reach our office at 1-800-674-2608, we are available from 10:00am - 6:00pm EST. We will be closed tomorrow, July 4th.



Thank you for choosing Waterbox Aquariums!

First off I really like the aquarium so far. I can't believe how quiet it is. And if I had been aware of Water Box 4 years ago when I bought my 125 FOWLR I probably would have bought a Water Box. My "complaint" is with your lack of adequate customer service. I'm sure you are building a better mousetrap and I hope you are still around in 4-5 years when I get a new tank.

 

[mfrumkin]

I hope the admin reads this. I have had my WB set up for a little more than a week. The tank is amazing. Excellent build quality and nearly 100% silent.

My issue is with CS and product fulfillment. At the time I ordered my WB a friend of mine ordered his from the same vendor. When his tank showed up it was with a black stand, not white as indicated on the PO. Clearly, someone in the warehouse was not paying attention. On Monday, nearly a week after receiving the tank, my AI Prime arrived. I spent 5 hours trying to get it synched and finally gave up. Tuesday I called AI. They looked up my light and told me there was sometimes an issue with USED REFURBISHED LIGHTS. My response was, "What?? This is supposed to be a brand new light I ordered from WB with my tank." The rep then hemmed and hawed and said maybe he was wrong. I was able to get the lights working.

Yesterday, I get a call from the LFS I had ordered from and was told that a stand I DID NOT ORDER had arrived. They were charged for it, I wasn't, and they are going to keep to put a "floor model" on.

C'mon WB, you need to get your act together. I do love the tank and I would recommend it to anyone and I'm sure once it is completely set-up and I don't have to deal with you, except for the occasional sock filter order, it will be terrific. In the meantime, unless you have something that is patented or proprietary, some other vendor is going to replicate your product and just by providing adequate CS eat your lunch.

 

[alvinhsu]

I hope the admin reads this. I have had my WB set up for a little more than a week. The tank is amazing. Excellent build quality and nearly 100% silent.

My issue is with CS and product fulfillment. At the time I ordered my WB a friend of mine ordered his from the same vendor. When his tank showed up it was with a black stand, not white as indicated on the PO. Clearly, someone in the warehouse was not paying attention. On Monday, nearly a week after receiving the tank, my AI Prime arrived. I spent 5 hours trying to get it synched and finally gave up. Tuesday I called AI. They looked up my light and told me there was sometimes an issue with USED REFURBISHED LIGHTS. My response was, "What?? This is supposed to be a brand new light I ordered from WB with my tank." The rep then hemmed and hawed and said maybe he was wrong. I was able to get the lights working.

Yesterday, I get a call from the LFS I had ordered from and was told that a stand I DID NOT ORDER had arrived. They were charged for it, I wasn't, and they are going to keep to put a "floor model" on.

C'mon WB, you need to get your act together. I do love the tank and I would recommend it to anyone and I'm sure once it is completely set-up and I don't have to deal with you, except for the occasional sock filter order, it will be terrific. In the meantime, unless you have something that is patented or proprietary, some other vendor is going to replicate your product and just by providing adequate CS eat your lunch.

I recently purchased a Waterbox (freshwater) and had the same exact experience and echo the same sentiment. They build a great mouse trap, but they are quite terrible getting it to their customers. My order took 8 weeks to get to me, and they were suppose to ship with the lights as per their FAQ, and it did not. I tried calling several times, over a one week period and was able to reach zero people. I just kept getting their prompt. I finally got in touch with them through their customer service portal (took almost 2 weeks) , and I finally find out I will be getting my light almost a month after my tank is delivered. I also hope that I do not get refurbished light after all the pain it took to get them it would be quite upsetting. It be deceptive marketing at best. If I knew this was the case I could have gotten new AI lights for cheaper during Black Friday. Thanks for letting the community know that this is a potential issue with going with the +Plus option with WB.

As far as the product quality, can't really complain, they make a great tank, and the stand is bomb proof, 3/4 inch baltic birch plywood, the tank seams all perfectly aligned, beautiful glass, it's work of art. In fact, its pretty much on par with comparable ELOS offerings. I would recommend this product to anyone, with a caveat though. The customer service is severely lacking, you may or may not get everything you order in a timely fashion, the website may or may not be an accurate description of what you will be receiving, and you might be getting refurbished lights if you go with the +Plus systems.

I was planning on upgrading my crowded reef to a WB 130.4 later this year and I hope that WB gets their act together.

 

[Weevo]

I have 2 waterbox tanks and absolutely love them. Customer service has been perfect for me so sorry to hear all this. I also have a red sea tank too and I like wb better all around. Especially customer service.

 

[HeadStrongGrafx]

I posted this on the WB official FB page. I was told it is pending admin approval. I'll be interested to see if they approve it. "This is what happens when a company grows too fast and their customer service supply chain cannot keep up. My LFS recently became a Waterbox dealer. After going on the WB website I decided to order a Marine Plus AIO 30.2. This is the middle of June and the website says in stock ships 1-2 business days. The website also says, "Standard with every AIO system is a premium return pump and filtration media." I text WB to find out the specs of the pump. I am told there is no pump supplied. I point out that it says there is on the website. I then get a phone call from WB telling me that they do have a limited number of pumps but that they are not very good, and that I'd be better off ordering the Nyos Viper 2.0 So I go to Marine Depot and order it. They STILL have not changed their website to indicate that the pump is not included. After a week I ask the LFS whether they have received a shipping notice. No, they have not and the rep won't answer emails or phone calls. So I call WB myself and get a very nice woman on the phone who goes looking for the order. She locates it and tells me it won't ship until mid-July. I ask why? Because one of the items the LFS ordered is back ordered and they want to ship everything together. I ask if they can ship my tank directly to me? Yes, if the LFS calls them and says it is ok. The LFS calls and we get a shipping notification that the tank will be delivered on 07/01. It isn't. And the freight company can't tell us anything and WB says it is out of their hands. Furthermore, I find out that my AI Prime light is being dropped shipped separately from AI. I could have ordered it from Marine Depot and I would have had it already. So what is the point of offering the Plus version? I'm sure once I have the tank and it is all set up I will love it. But WB should spend less time at Reef a Palooza and more time getting their act together."

Worst experience myself! Horrible company and good luck seeing any negative post on Facebook page!

 

[HeadStrongGrafx]

First off the shipping frieght they use scheduled for Monday delivery, took off work and waited to get a call mid day saying they needed to put on a different truck and it will be delivered first thing next day. Take another day off work waiting to get a call late morning saying dispatch never updated and now they need to deliver of Fri. So now 3 days off work waiting and it gets delivered.

Get ready to assemble stand and missing hardware!! So had to wait for that to arrive. Now FINALLY get to assemble stand and I get to the doors and now they sent 3 Tall hinges and 1 short!
Suppose to have 2 Tall for outside doors and 2 short for inside doors! Now have to wait again for this to be corrected!

Quality control is HORRIBLE! If business is growing faster than you can keep up and I lose quality control, then watch your business tank! No pun intended!

 

[Tagareef]

Never.again.

 

[Thespammailaccount]

Yes equipment ordered from them will arrive independently mine came right before my tank did like my ato pump socks and protein skimmer probably because they are made from a different company and not waterbox. I received everything including the tank in about two weeks. Absolutely worth the wait. Everything is flawless and work seamlessly together. Couldn’t be happier

 

[Thespammailaccount]

I recently purchased a Waterbox (freshwater) and had the same exact experience and echo the same sentiment. They build a great mouse trap, but they are quite terrible getting it to their customers. My order took 8 weeks to get to me, and they were suppose to ship with the lights as per their FAQ, and it did not. I tried calling several times, over a one week period and was able to reach zero people. I just kept getting their prompt. I finally got in touch with them through their customer service portal (took almost 2 weeks) , and I finally find out I will be getting my light almost a month after my tank is delivered. I also hope that I do not get refurbished light after all the pain it took to get them it would be quite upsetting. It be deceptive marketing at best. If I knew this was the case I could have gotten new AI lights for cheaper during Black Friday. Thanks for letting the community know that this is a potential issue with going with the +Plus option with WB.

As far as the product quality, can't really complain, they make a great tank, and the stand is bomb proof, 3/4 inch baltic birch plywood, the tank seams all perfectly aligned, beautiful glass, it's work of art. In fact, its pretty much on par with comparable ELOS offerings. I would recommend this product to anyone, with a caveat though. The customer service is severely lacking, you may or may not get everything you order in a timely fashion, the website may or may not be an accurate description of what you will be receiving, and you might be getting refurbished lights if you go with the +Plus systems.

I was planning on upgrading my crowded reef to a WB 130.4 later this year and I hope that WB gets their act together.

I am sorry to hear about your experience. My vendor had mine shipped early. However I did see other vendors with a 4-8 week ship time probably related to a lot of people wanting their tanks. The additional equipment I ordered I make a mistake and forgot to include my apartment number. Contacted waterbox through email and received a reply in less than an hour. Not only did I receive a reply the rep corrected the shipping label and then notified the sender and updated the shipping address through them and had it send out. Hands down one of the best services I have ever received

 

[Eder]

I feel terrible for those of you who have had bad experiences. There are two sides to every story but regardless, these stories shouldn’t exist.
We have a waterbox 230.6 and absolutely love it. It’s quality is pristine and we received everything perfectly with the exception of a chip on our sump which they replaced immediately no questions asked.
Sorry to hear about negative experiences from a company that has been nothing but wonderful to us

 

[Tagareef]

What's really troubling is that I went through my nightmare with WaterBox last March and it seems to be still happening.