morally bankrupt specialty store

[prairiemantis]

im writting this in response to the horrible service i received from a local pet store in marengo illinois,
, im angry not because of the killer fish so much as i am about the lack of regard. i have since learned something.
now, i have spent about 1000$ over the last year exclusively at thisexotic pet store, while building my salt water aquarium.
one thousand dollars is not much to some but to me it has taken a long long time to do and in doing so i relied heavily on the advice of there " fish experts" id speak clearly and pointedly about what we were looking to achieve with our salt water experience, seeking there"professional" advice, as this is how they sell themselves, as professionals. my problem is this: i have since been sold close to 200$ worth of fish, that have subsequently been killed by one fish in particular. when i brought this up to the owners of the store, they were very rude, and dismissive, not admitting any fault or sympathy to us; the long time paying customer, by refusing to take the fish back, and by NOT taking the time to return our numerous phone calls, we asked for a credit of a mere 20$ about half what the killer fish cost initially. they said it was "not there problem." i asked for them to consider taking the fish back and i would just start again, with the view point of doing my own research in a more thorough manner, they dismissed such an idea.
i have since read that anyone in the profession of marine fish should advise against buying or selling said fish ( spotted gouper) due to the size and the aggression this fish displays. now when i bought this fish it was about 1'' in size, now about 4'' in size, and growing meaner everyday, its obviously a predator fish.
i feel that it is irresponsible and unprofessional to push this type of sale, especially knowing the customer being dupped is a long term and repeat spender.
i advise strong caution to anyone before taking the "professional advice" from anyone in that establishment. i will not be giving them any more of my business and all the people i know have said the same. this problem would have gone away as a simple learning experience had they not treated me and my girlfriend as though we were peasants in a rich mans hobby.

 

[nycbob]

sorry to hear dude. most lfs r out to make $$$$$. the best source and advice is from the internet. u cant really blame the lfs 100%, since u also hv a responsibility to do ur own research.

 

[meowzer]

Yeah, sorry to hear about that too, but you learned a hard and expensive lesson....do your own research....MOST...not all LFS's are in it for the sales....It is always better to go to a place with your own research and knowledge on what you are looking for.
You will find a LOT of GREAT info on this site....

 

[jetskiking]

Originally Posted by nycbob
http:///forum/post/3124319
sorry to hear dude. most lfs r out to make $$$$$. the best source and advice is from the internet. u cant really blame the lfs 100%, since u also hv a responsibility to do ur own research.
This is true. The first rule in this hobby is reseach research research. The second would be never listen to what lfs employees tell you unless you are absolutely sure they are competent and moral. Being pretty knowledgable yourself will help you decide if a person knows what they are talking about. Having worked in an LFS myself I have heard some whoppers. I love going into a new fish store that nobody knows me and playing dumb. You would be surprised on how little most LFS employees know.

 

[deejeff442]

most lfs are half retarded.
there is one here in ft worth i hear they have almost a million dallors in this store and it really looks like it .sweet rare fish clean tanks but you can ask one guy one thing and get a different answer from another there.
plus with all that overhead the fish cost double or triple for what i can get somewhere else.
i used to go out to a lfs in dallas over an hour one way just for the service and knowlage.called saltwater solutions.what a great store very dumpy looking at first but the fish were all healthy.
the owner was almost always there and she only had one helper and he was just as knowlagable.she would never sell me a fish if were to be a problem.
i sometimes would have to stand there and look around for 2 hours just waiting for her to finish with other customers before me.but once she got to you you had her full attention.
she would not hire anyone because she wants her reputation to remain good.
but her helper got skin cancer and instead of hiring someone she shut down the store.now she just does tank maintanence .bummer
very rare to find a place like that one.
i can understand doing research but isnt the lfs supposed to be professional?
trust thier advice?
i do custom decrative concrete for a living and nobody does research on it before i get there.they take my word of advice on the project.
if it gets messed up i am responsible for it.
i would get online with the bbb ,check to see if there are any complaints there already .add yours too.the bbb will get on thier back pretty fast.
how a store stays in business doing this these days i dont know?
i live by repeat customers and word of mouth .
no way would i risk it.
i will catch up to them sooner or later trust me and when you drive past and there is a for lease sign in the window you will be smiling

 

[machinfrontofu]

i understand that your upset, but understand to a point. that you need to do your reseach before you put ANYTHING in your tank that you have invested time and money into. could have been a lot worse thats i'll im saying a disease that wiped your whole tank out!!!
sorry for coming out to strong but just do some research before buying any type of fish. in the long run the fish ends up being abused!!! this hobby is not easy....
good luck, hopefully you can find someone in your area that will take the fish.

 

[prairiemantis]

if i dont find someone to take this fish, well im just gonna eat this thing, and move on, knowing ever more to trust noone..dundundunnnn

 

[dani]

i find the best resources are websites like this one.. I am still a newbie at this whole aquarium thing, but I try to do what I can to remedy any situation I get into.
You should call around to some of the LFS up there in the suburbs and see if anyone will take the fish. Don't expect money. Just understand that you are trying to do right by the fish.
Everyone complains to one extent or another.. However all that does is make you feel a little better and doesn't fix the problem.
The existing problem is that you have a grouper which you are not set up to keep properly. Take responsibility and find a home for it. Don't just throw your hands up in the air and have a hissy fit because something went wrong and you relied upon the LFS for your sole advice.
I bought an orbiculate batfish and realized that the fish would outgrown my tank in a year or possibly sooner. I started looking to rehome my bat and successfully placed him with a LFS.
I now research as much as possible before I put anything in my tank. I'm still learning a lot but if you truly enjoy this hobby, you will put the practices into habit and find that you will be "throwing" less of your money away.
Good luck to you

 

[louti]

deejeff, I used to live in Arlington and I know the store you are talking about. Their prices are crazy. There is a good store I found of Cooper St, South of Green Oaks. Its called tranquil escapes, or something like that. They never had a huge fish selection, but lots of corals. The owner is always there and he knew his stuff. Best fish store I found in the area.

 

[t316]

Join the crowd...I still visit/buy from my lfs, but I learned a long time ago to not trust anything they tell you. It's obvious that they want to make money, and I totally agree with that aspect, but in this hobby, their words and persuassion can cause major problems. Now you know....

 

[prairiemantis]

well the consensus seems to be that this store i have been going to , some of which know who i am talking about, just plain sucks. i will look to the other places even if i have to drive an extra hour. keeping in mind im not mad at the original sale entirely i should have done more homework, but even this site, we are typing away at here lists this fish as a friendly fish...but when push comes to shove this was in deed just as much my fault i guess, im angry or rather annoyed at being lied to after the fact, being treated like i said, "a peasant in a rich mans hobby" that is truly what blocks my mind from forgetting,
anyway thatnks for all the advice we will figure out the next move.

 

[rcreations]

Never trust what the LFS tells you because they're in it to make money. They need to stay in business, they have to sell that grouper to someone, don't you think? They paid for it, now they have to make back the money, plus the money it takes to maintain the tanks, employees, etc. I have 3 LFS around me and all have at one point or another tried to give me bad advice, just to sell a fish. Best to do your own research beforehand.
BUT.... I think it's stupid of them not to give you a partial refund, epsecially since it's such a small amount. In this case they loose a repeat customer for $20. I'm sure you would have spent a lot more than that in the future. Sounds like bad business.

 

[deejeff442]

i bought a cherry grouper at the good lfs as i discribed above.
she warned me about him but i insisted.
well he beat my wrasse to death and actually ate my lionfish i saw a little piece of the lion hanging out of his mouth.i took the fish back and she said i told you

the lfs could have sold him another fish ,he was there to spend money i am sure there was something else that would have worked.

 

[cranberry]

I'm glad I don't live in y'alls neck of the woods that you have such opinions of LFSs. I've had great experiences with the many stores around me. There's only a couple I'd rather not go to, but that's the same with anything. Of all the stores I've been to which include different states and different countries, only about 1% were sucky.

 

[happyfeet]

Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3125788
I'm glad I don't live in y'alls neck of the woods that you have such opinions of LFSs. I've had great experiences with the many stores around me. There's only a couple I'd rather not go to, but that's the same with anything. Of all the stores I've been to which include different states and different countries, only about 1% were sucky.
I was going to say the same thing. I really enjoy my LFS. I started off at a pretty shifty one but upon joining the Marine Club in my area I was turned onto other LFS. They even give me a 10-20% discount on anything just because I'm a member of the local club.

 

[windlasher]

Originally Posted by prairiemantis
http:///forum/post/3124311
im writting this in response to the horrible service i received from a local pet store in marengo illinois,
, im angry not because of the killer fish so much as i am about the lack of regard. i have since learned something.
now, i have spent about 1000$ over the last year exclusively at thisexotic pet store, while building my salt water aquarium.
one thousand dollars is not much to some but to me it has taken a long long time to do and in doing so i relied heavily on the advice of there " fish experts" id speak clearly and pointedly about what we were looking to achieve with our salt water experience, seeking there"professional" advice, as this is how they sell themselves, as professionals. my problem is this: i have since been sold close to 200$ worth of fish, that have subsequently been killed by one fish in particular. when i brought this up to the owners of the store, they were very rude, and dismissive, not admitting any fault or sympathy to us; the long time paying customer, by refusing to take the fish back, and by NOT taking the time to return our numerous phone calls, we asked for a credit of a mere 20$ about half what the killer fish cost initially. they said it was "not there problem." i asked for them to consider taking the fish back and i would just start again, with the view point of doing my own research in a more thorough manner, they dismissed such an idea.
i have since read that anyone in the profession of marine fish should advise against buying or selling said fish ( spotted gouper) due to the size and the aggression this fish displays. now when i bought this fish it was about 1'' in size, now about 4'' in size, and growing meaner everyday, its obviously a predator fish.
i feel that it is irresponsible and unprofessional to push this type of sale, especially knowing the customer being dupped is a long term and repeat spender.
i advise strong caution to anyone before taking the "professional advice" from anyone in that establishment. i will not be giving them any more of my business and all the people i know have said the same. this problem would have gone away as a simple learning experience had they not treated me and my girlfriend as though we were peasants in a rich mans hobby.
I walked into a LFS once, bought a 90 and told them give me everything I needed to make it bulletproof, and I paid them to install it. Everything was fine until about 8 months later it crashed.
The pumps they gave me were cheap pieces of crap. The wet/dry they installed ½ the size it needed to be, I lost a lot of livestock in that crash.
When I rebuilt, I did it myself based on a lot of reading and advice a great deal of which came from the good people here on this board.
Now my system is pushing 1000 gallons total water volume and has the capacity for more.
The moral of the story is READ, READ, READ, and when your LFS tells you something read some more until you know them well enough to trust them.

 

[pelagic]

Originally Posted by prairiemantis
http:///forum/post/3124311
im writting this in response to the horrible service i received from a local pet store in marengo illinois,
, im angry not because of the killer fish so much as i am about the lack of regard. i have since learned something.
now, i have spent about 1000$ over the last year exclusively at thisexotic pet store, while building my salt water aquarium.
one thousand dollars is not much to some but to me it has taken a long long time to do and in doing so i relied heavily on the advice of there " fish experts" id speak clearly and pointedly about what we were looking to achieve with our salt water experience, seeking there"professional" advice, as this is how they sell themselves, as professionals. my problem is this: i have since been sold close to 200$ worth of fish, that have subsequently been killed by one fish in particular. when i brought this up to the owners of the store, they were very rude, and dismissive, not admitting any fault or sympathy to us; the long time paying customer, by refusing to take the fish back, and by NOT taking the time to return our numerous phone calls, we asked for a credit of a mere 20$ about half what the killer fish cost initially. they said it was "not there problem." i asked for them to consider taking the fish back and i would just start again, with the view point of doing my own research in a more thorough manner, they dismissed such an idea.
i have since read that anyone in the profession of marine fish should advise against buying or selling said fish ( spotted gouper) due to the size and the aggression this fish displays. now when i bought this fish it was about 1'' in size, now about 4'' in size, and growing meaner everyday, its obviously a predator fish.
i feel that it is irresponsible and unprofessional to push this type of sale, especially knowing the customer being dupped is a long term and repeat spender.
i advise strong caution to anyone before taking the "professional advice" from anyone in that establishment. i will not be giving them any more of my business and all the people i know have said the same. this problem would have gone away as a simple learning experience had they not treated me and my girlfriend as though we were peasants in a rich mans hobby.
i went through that same "stage" in the hobby. Lesson learned, is better to do a little research before purchasing any organism. I do a lot of research, because we are adding species from different oceans in the same tank, so new behavior can be expected.

 

[jimmy40741]

One thing you can do is go to Yahoo and type in the name of the store. If the store shows up in Yahoo Local you can leave a review of the store and let others know what you think of them. I use this sometimes when searching out businesses and can find out really good info on the place by reading the reviews.

 

[prairiemantis]

well folks, i am sad to say, that i tried to get past this with out a headache, but they insist on treating me and my girlfriend as though nothing matters.
the boss of corbins exotic pets agreed to take the fish back for a $ 20 credit five days after his wife refused. so me being out of town at the time left this to my girl. she drove 40 min with this grouper in hopes that this entire ordeal was a miss communication, the owner assured her he would work with her as " this was the first time i have heard of the problem". when she arrived with the fish in hand the owner was not there, his wife was. she took the fish and dismissed the credit. when my girlfriend insisted on the credit she was ignored and told that we were not getting anything for it. she then demanded the grouper back, (we have found a new store to work with, but really wanted to give CORBINS EXOTIC PETS a chance to correct this) the wife again ignored her, but my lady having been used to putting up with me stood her ground and again demanded our fish back, if no credit was to be issued, 20$ is nothing so whats the problem? to us it is an act of good faith at this point and nothing more. well a long long story short after about 20 minutes of this BS we were given for a 15$ dollar mandarin goby. what a complete headache, and for what??? i dont like being lied to and treated as though my brain matter is soft.and i really really dont like hearing about my girlfriend being treated like dirt; so
CORBINS EXOTIC PETS OF MARENGO IL you are now my new hobby, i will have some fun telling the world about you, until i get bored. and i dont get bored easily because i am creative so i hope you enjoy that grouper and i hope that this was worth all the insanity. by the way i know at least 5 other people who WERE regulars at your store, not any more. so thats now 7 lost regular spending customers due to your ignorance lies and greed.
people of this site i am sorry to air this here, it is a sad sad situation and i truly dont want anyone to get screwed over by these people. in this day and age you can never be too careful who you give your hard earned money to.
on a lighter note we have purchased a beautiful new tang from our new found lfs and is adjusting fine to the new home.

 

[windlasher]

Originally Posted by prairiemantis
http:///forum/post/3130307
well folks, i am sad to say, that i tried to get past this with out a headache, but they insist on treating me and my girlfriend as though nothing matters.
the boss of corbins exotic pets agreed to take the fish back for a $ 20 credit five days after his wife refused. so me being out of town at the time left this to my girl. she drove 40 min with this grouper in hopes that this entire ordeal was a miss communication, the owner assured her he would work with her as " this was the first time i have heard of the problem". when she arrived with the fish in hand the owner was not there, his wife was. she took the fish and dismissed the credit. when my girlfriend insisted on the credit she was ignored and told that we were not getting anything for it. she then demanded the grouper back, (we have found a new store to work with, but really wanted to give CORBINS EXOTIC PETS a chance to correct this) the wife again ignored her, but my lady having been used to putting up with me stood her ground and again demanded our fish back, if no credit was to be issued, 20$ is nothing so whats the problem? to us it is an act of good faith at this point and nothing more. well a long long story short after about 20 minutes of this BS we were given for a 15$ dollar mandarin goby. what a complete headache, and for what??? i dont like being lied to and treated as though my brain matter is soft.and i really really dont like hearing about my girlfriend being treated like dirt; so
CORBINS EXOTIC PETS OF MARENGO IL you are now my new hobby, i will have some fun telling the world about you, until i get bored. and i dont get bored easily because i am creative so i hope you enjoy that grouper and i hope that this was worth all the insanity. by the way i know at least 5 other people who WERE regulars at your store, not any more. so thats now 7 lost regular spending customers due to your ignorance lies and greed.
people of this site i am sorry to air this here, it is a sad sad situation and i truly dont want anyone to get screwed over by these people. in this day and age you can never be too careful who you give your hard earned money to.
on a lighter note we have purchased a beautiful new tang from our new found lfs and is adjusting fine to the new home.

i am all for supporting local stores, but when they take advantage of you, then they deserve to go out of business. I once called a local hardware store and asked how much for them to make me a 24 x 36 inch screen. The guy put me on hold and then came back and said $70. That seemed a little high. I found a screen kit at home depot for $6 + $5 for 25 feet of screen.
If the guy had said $25 or even $30, I would not have thought about it, but $70 was insane and for him to get the same kit I got which took 5 mins to make. He was ripping me off and has since lost my business. They do need to learn that just because you are in the neighborhood, doesn't give you the right to screw the neighbors on screens or fish. Good for you. Tell everyone.