Why I would never shop at Bulk Reef Supply again.

[r33fnoob]

long story short, I am new to the reefing hobby. I recently purchased a six-stage RO/DI unit which arrived last week and didn't work. I realized BRS is only open when most of us are working. I called Monday and found out it wasn't assembled correctly so I fixed that. I called again today because I noticed the same unit is $45 cheaper and I was told they don't price match but would've done it as an exception if I was within a week. I pointed out I didn't get my unit till last Thursday and I was told that I purchased it on 7/31 and today being 8/9/23 I am over a week, I thanked the gentleman and disconnected the call. I know BRS saved themselves $45 but just lost a customer for life. It was my first and last purchase with them. I would be willing to pay more to Amazon or other vendors where I know I will not get the runaround. I can't believe companies still try to get away with these nonsensical policies knowing fully well, how easy it is for the consumer to just go somewhere else. Have you guys had a similar experience with BRS? Thanks

 

[Bulk Reef Supply]

Hi There,

I'm so sorry to hear about this experience, based on what is described here it sounds like we should have price matched that for you. I see there were some issues with the product upon arrival on top of a sale happening after purchase. We'd like to make this right for you, so that we don't have any personal information publicly disclosed, you'll see a PM from us in just a moment.

 

[Bulk Reef Supply]

We appreciate you following up to our PM so we could better assist you.

I have initiated a refund in the price difference of the sale that's happening now back to your method of payment. This may take 1-3 business days to reflect on your statement, should you have any issues with this please let us know. Due to the hassle of getting a price match and the assembly mistake, I also have a complimentary 6 stage filter kit and Ryan Chili plushie heading your way. They should ship today, and you'll get a tracking number for this as soon as it ships out.

This should have been handled better from the start, so I have gotten in touch with our customer service leadership to help get all agents on the same page. I am very sorry that this happened to you, especially as part of your first order.

 

[r33fnoob]

We appreciate you following up to our PM so we could better assist you.

I have initiated a refund in the price difference of the sale that's happening now back to your method of payment. This may take 1-3 business days to reflect on your statement, should you have any issues with this please let us know. Due to the hassle of getting a price match and the assembly mistake, I also have a complimentary 6 stage filter kit and Ryan Chili plushie heading your way. They should ship today, and you'll get a tracking number for this as soon as it ships out.

This should have been handled better from the start, so I have gotten in touch with our customer service leadership to help get all agents on the same page. I am very sorry that this happened to you, especially as part of your first order.

Thank you for reaching out to me to resolve this issue. As we discussed the refund isn't the biggest issue what meant more to me was your empathy and willingness to learn from this experience and the steps you outlined you have taken to mitigate this from happening again with anyone else. You see, back in my collage days my marketing 101 professor used to say there are two types of unhappy customers a business deals with. The first one is the one who will let the business know they are unhappy and they are easy to cater to. The 2nd type is the silent type. They will simply take their business elsewhere without trying to get it resolved and they are the most difficult type of customers for a business to manage. I like to think of myself as the 2nd type of customer. If I get a bad service at a restaurant I don't go up to the manager and demand some sort of recompense. I simply never go to that restaurant again I just let everyone else know what an awful place that restaurant is. I wasn't expecting anyone from BRS to reach out to me here. I was simply sharing my opinion of the service I received, if you had never reached out I would've just gone on with my life avoiding BRS even if it meant spending more of my hard-earned money with one of your competitors. Once again thank you for going above and beyond my expectation.