What's with the terrible BRS customer service after the sale to Aperture...?

[salty150]

Wow... never had such terrible customer service from BRS lately - after the sale to Aperture...

Sent an e-mail on February 3, 2023:

One question regarding the Pentair UVs...

The very latest posted review on your website states:

"We are an aquarium installation maintenance company and we've had at least a dozen emperor aquatic UV's of all sizes melt thru the casings. It does take a year or so to happen but it will happen. Pentair knows about this and does nothing! We switched back to AquaUV."

Has BRS had complaints like this about the Pentair UVs at any time...?

Let me know.

Thanks again!

Never received a response.

So sent a followup e-mail 5 days later - never received a response.

So sent another followup e-mail 8 days after the second one (13 days after the original) - never received a response.

Still have not received a response to this day.

This never happened before the sale to Aperture - they would always get back to you by the next day.

Randy left very shortly after the sale - he saw the writing on the wall.

Ryan was demoted/took a demotion to "Customer Advocate".

Just another example of a once great company being ruined after being bought out.

 

[argiBK]

Have to disagree here with you.

I bought an eFlux return pump a couple weeks ago, the day after Current USA announced they were closing shop. The day after I saw the same pump had been reduced in price by nearly $60.

I immediately reached out to BRS on R2R about getting reimbursed the difference, and they got back immediately to contact their customer care team, but to expect a response on Monday (was contacting them on Sat).

By Monday noon, they had reimbursed me the difference in price in my requested form (Rewards pts). Even after I hadn’t seen the points in my account, I immediately emailed, and they had them to me within minutes.

——

Also, not sure what BRS can do with regards to Pentair UVs, other than maybe take them off the shelves (which would then reduce our options): Do they own the company? Are they responsible for providing support for the units? Especially after failures seem to happen well past what I assume is the warranty date?

Having recently been in the market for a UV, I knew from feedback here and on other boards, Pentair was to be avoided (I ended up with an IceCap UV). Also, every online retailer is paying close attention to feedback and reviews on site and likely here on BRS. At the very least, whenever making a purchase, I buy with a credit card and seek support through there if I should ever need it.

——-

And look, I know that plenty of us were taken aback by the acquisition and consolidation (RIP Marine Depot ) to the point where I probably avoided purchasing from BRS for quite some time. Monopolization is bad on any front, but, it’s allowed other companies to step up and offer worthy shopping alternatives, which I hope is keeping BRS on their toes.

 

[Cflow]

I would call them. They are usually great.

 

[salty150]

Also, not sure what BRS can do with regards to Pentair UVs, other than maybe take them off the shelves (which would then reduce our options): Do they own the company? Are they responsible for providing support for the units? Especially after failures seem to happen well past what I assume is the warranty date?

My question in the e-mail was a very simple one:

Has BRS had complaints like this about the Pentair UVs at any time...?

Let me know.

Thanks again!

Never received a response.

They have touted, and indeed "Recommend", Pentair UVs on their website and YouTube videos.

I wanted to know if they had received any complaints directly - like the negative reviews on their website are stating.

Or it they had indeed encountered the same problems with the Pentair UVs they use at BRS.

Would help me make a UV decision.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Have to disagree here with you.

I bought an eFlux return pump a couple weeks ago, the day after Current USA announced they were closing shop. The day after I saw the same pump had been reduced in price by nearly $60.

I immediately reached out to BRS on R2R about getting reimbursed the difference, and they got back immediately to contact their customer care team, but to expect a response on Monday (was contacting them on Sat).

By Monday noon, they had reimbursed me the difference in price in my requested form (Rewards pts). Even after I hadn’t seen the points in my account, I immediately emailed, and they had them to me within minutes.

——

Also, not sure what BRS can do with regards to Pentair UVs, other than maybe take them off the shelves (which would then reduce our options): Do they own the company? Are they responsible for providing support for the units? Especially after failures seem to happen well past what I assume is the warranty date?

Having recently been in the market for a UV, I knew from feedback here and on other boards, Pentair was to be avoided (I ended up with an IceCap UV). Also, every online retailer is paying close attention to feedback and reviews on site and likely here on BRS. At the very least, whenever making a purchase, I buy with a credit card and seek support through there if I should ever need it.

——-

And look, I know that plenty of us were taken aback by the acquisition and consolidation (RIP Marine Depot ) to the point where I probably avoided purchasing from BRS for quite some time. Monopolization is bad on any front, but, it’s allowed other companies to step up and offer worthy shopping alternatives, which I hope is keeping BRS on their toes.

I never email - I call and always get answers needed.

 

[vetteguy53081]

My question in the e-mail was a very simple one:

Has BRS had complaints like this about the Pentair UVs at any time...?

Let me know.

Thanks again!

Never received a response.

They have touted, and indeed "Recommend", Pentair UVs on their website and YouTube videos.

I wanted to know if they had received any complaints directly - like the negative reviews on their website are stating.

Or it they had indeed encountered the same problems with the Pentair UVs they use at BRS.

Would help me make a UV decision.

@Bulk Reef Supply

 

[cdw79]

Never had a bad experience on the phone with them. Wait times are usually negligible if any, too. If the question is that pressing, if it were me I'd much rather call and get the answer in 5 minutes than wait even a day for an email

 

[ryshark]

Wow... never had such terrible customer service from BRS lately - after the sale to Aperture...

Sent an e-mail on February 3, 2023:

One question regarding the Pentair UVs...

The very latest posted review on your website states:

"We are an aquarium installation maintenance company and we've had at least a dozen emperor aquatic UV's of all sizes melt thru the casings. It does take a year or so to happen but it will happen. Pentair knows about this and does nothing! We switched back to AquaUV."

Has BRS had complaints like this about the Pentair UVs at any time...?

Let me know.

Thanks again!

Never received a response.

So sent a followup e-mail 5 days later - never received a response.

So sent another followup e-mail 8 days after the second one (13 days after the original) - never received a response.

Still have not received a response to this day.

This never happened before the sale to Aperture - they would always get back to you by the next day.

Randy left very shortly after the sale - he saw the writing on the wall.

Ryan was demoted/took a demotion to "Customer Advocate".

Just another example of a once great company being ruined after being bought out.

Just call them, they answer the phone and have always been helpful. I ordered 8x ATI bulbs the other day and one arrived broken. One quick phone call was all it took for my replacement to be shipped out the same day. No other questions asked. I’ve had many positive experiences with them like this.

 

[Bulk Reef Supply]

Wow... never had such terrible customer service from BRS lately - after the sale to Aperture...

Sent an e-mail on February 3, 2023:

One question regarding the Pentair UVs...

The very latest posted review on your website states:

"We are an aquarium installation maintenance company and we've had at least a dozen emperor aquatic UV's of all sizes melt thru the casings. It does take a year or so to happen but it will happen. Pentair knows about this and does nothing! We switched back to AquaUV."

Has BRS had complaints like this about the Pentair UVs at any time...?

Let me know.

Thanks again!

Never received a response.

So sent a followup e-mail 5 days later - never received a response.

So sent another followup e-mail 8 days after the second one (13 days after the original) - never received a response.

Still have not received a response to this day.

This never happened before the sale to Aperture - they would always get back to you by the next day.

Randy left very shortly after the sale - he saw the writing on the wall.

Ryan was demoted/took a demotion to "Customer Advocate".

Just another example of a once great company being ruined after being bought out.

Hi @salty150 , I'm sorry to hear about the lack of response! If an email successfully hits our system, you'll get an automated reply letting you know that we've received your message. If you didn't get this reply, your email likely never made it to us. Make sure you're sending your message to [email protected].

But to answer your question directly, we haven't had many reports of issues with the Pentair sterilizers, which is why we've typically used them over alternative options in the past. I will say that any sterilizer can start to get brittle over time, but that's just the nature of putting the housing in contact with UV light 24/7. It's smart to check your sterilizer housing at each bulb change and inspect for any signs of deterioration.

 

[ThaBeast]

Wow... never had such terrible customer service from BRS lately - after the sale to Aperture...

Sent an e-mail on February 3, 2023:

One question regarding the Pentair UVs...

The very latest posted review on your website states:

"We are an aquarium installation maintenance company and we've had at least a dozen emperor aquatic UV's of all sizes melt thru the casings. It does take a year or so to happen but it will happen. Pentair knows about this and does nothing! We switched back to AquaUV."

Has BRS had complaints like this about the Pentair UVs at any time...?

Let me know.

Thanks again!

Never received a response.

So sent a followup e-mail 5 days later - never received a response.

So sent another followup e-mail 8 days after the second one (13 days after the original) - never received a response.

Still have not received a response to this day.

This never happened before the sale to Aperture - they would always get back to you by the next day.

Randy left very shortly after the sale - he saw the writing on the wall.

Ryan was demoted/took a demotion to "Customer Advocate".

Just another example of a once great company being ruined after being bought out.

Think you are way off base calling Ryan's new position a demotion. I would venture to say he asked for such a role so he can follow his passion, helping others become better reefers

 

[rtparty]

They have been fantastic whenever I needed them and I certainly did with my AI Blade issues.

Phone or live chat has the question above resolved in less than 5 minutes usually.

 

[billyocean]

Say want you want about BRS and the buyout and what not...but customer service is on point.

 

[salty150]

Hi @salty150 , I'm sorry to hear about the lack of response! If an email successfully hits our system, you'll get an automated reply letting you know that we've received your message. If you didn't get this reply, your email likely never made it to us. Make sure you're sending your message to [email protected].

Received the automated reply.

Your request (#1006587)

I suggest you check it out with: Codey (Bulk Reef Supply) <[email protected]>

Good to know about the UVs...

Thanks!

 

[twiatr2001]

Whenever I have called it's been fine, I don't usually need to call them for anything, but last few times that I have inquired about product details via the live chat, it's been crickets, no reply, and I ended up buying them from another supplier because they took the time to answer and if they didn't know they researched it and got back to me promptly. It may be a staffing issue, you never know, or they cut back on staff for online because of the economy.

 

[vetteguy53081]

As you can see, I tagged and a near immediate response.
Admittingly ive been upset with an entity and need to respect delays
An apology would be fitting but its not my call to push this

 

[Wasabiroot]

Also, I think it would be a tough sell to get any company to say "the products you potentially bought may melt in a year" as that would be a legal minefield unless it was conclusively happening

 

[chino402]

dang u r salty lol