Aquarium Specialty Bad Customer Service...

[CaptainGreg]

I order replacement bulb from this vendor and the bulbs arrived broken. I communicated with them and they said to take picture and they will take care of it with the Post office. Well it have been at least two months and they did not send me the new bulds. I ordered from other vendor before and damage bulbs are send back and they send me new one righ away.

This company make it my problem with the post office of item that they send.

My recommendation, Do not buy from this company.... You are SOL if you items arrive dammage from this company.

I am ordering new bulbs from Marine Depot. Two dollars more then them and they take care of you if items arrive dammage.

Aquarium Specialty Suck.......Big time.

[Europhyllia]

That's terrible. I get 60" T5's which tend to ship poorly. Had some troubles getting them before but have been ordering them from Reefgeek for the last two times and couldn't be happier. They package them in a way that the UPS truck could be launched from a bridge and my bulbs would still be intact.

[cbianco]

Sorry to hear about your order with AS. Maybe it's time to call the credit card company and dispute the charges.

On a better note...

I'm with Karin, +1 on Reefgeek's packaging. It is indestructable!

Christopher

[aquasport24]

How was it pack?

[Elijaher]

Reefgeek also give you some candy with the lightbulbs

[GoneReefing]

+1 on reefgeek.

I didn't get any candy but I did get a cool bumper sticker!

[dipan]

I got some short 24" T5's from reefgeek and they came in this indestructible hard paper tube. It was really thick and the bulbs were completely encased in bubble wrap. I agree that they package them incredibly well. You could toss that thing around without worrying too much about the bulbs being broken inside.

[CaptainGreg]

The bulb was pack with pop corn packing. That stuff could shift and the bulb definetly going to the end of the containter and one good drop could break the end of the bulb.

I am ordering more bulbs for my other tanks and I am definetly going reefgeek....If they got no question ask replacement policy on broken items.

[Darth-Tater]

Yep I buy from Reef Geeks just for the free candy. and everything is always perfect..

Tater

[chrisfowler99]

I ordered lighting, bulbs and a hanging kit from Aquarium Specialty a little under a year ago.

They quickly sent me a tracking number for the first package.
The bulbs (7 T5s) arrived fine, packaged well with a hanging kit. I say "a" hanging kit because it was the wrong one. They did get it replaced in a reasonable amount of time.

They never sent me a tracking number for the second package (even after a request), but it eventually did arrive, several days after the first.

I ended up with all the right stuff, but their attention to detail and customer service responsiveness have kept me from using them again.

[drunkenclam]

I order replacement bulb from this vendor and the bulbs arrived broken. I communicated with them and they said to take picture and they will take care of it with the Post office. Well it have been at least two months and they did not send me the new bulds. I ordered from other vendor before and damage bulbs are send back and they send me new one righ away.

This company make it my problem with the post office of item that they send.

My recommendation, Do not buy from this company.... You are SOL if you items arrive dammage from this company.

I am ordering new bulbs from Marine Depot. Two dollars more then them and they take care of you if items arrive dammage.


[QUOTE=CaptainGreg;744649]I order replacement bulb from this vendor and the bulbs arrived broken. I communicated with them and they said to take picture and they will take care of it with the Post office. Well it have been at least two months and they did not send me the new bulds. I ordered from other vendor before and damage bulbs are send back and they send me new one righ away.

This company make it my problem with the post office of item that they send.

My recommendation, Do not buy from this company.... You are SOL if you items arrive dammage from this company.

I am ordering new bulbs from Marine Depot. Two dollars more then them and they take care of you if items arrive dammage.

Aquarium Specialty Suck.......Big time.

Let's bash AS. they are not sponsor.....wonder why!
can u mods delete my defensive post on a non-sponsor post?
inquiring minds want to know.well at least mine?
draw the line
we will follow.........................

[hobogato]

one off topic response, the we can take this conversation to pm if you would like.

posting experiences with sponsors and non sponsors is acceptable here in the vendor vendor & experiences forum - not in someone else's thread in a sponsor's forum. as far as bashing: constructive criticism is not bad, and can actually help the vendor in question, but straight out bashing is not helpful to anyone - i am sure you can tell the difference :wink_smile:




Let's bash AS. they are not sponsor.....wonder why!
can u mods delete my defensive post on a non-sponsor post?
inquiring minds want to know.well at least mine?
draw the line
we will follow.........................

lets stay on topic please.

[tebstan]

I have to admit... when I first read this thread I thought the same thing as drunkenclam.

I'm looking to order some stuff online for the first time. I make it a point to shop locally, but not everything is available that way, and I'm hesitant to pick a vendor. I appreciate the information about a bad experience. But the language made it bashing.

You can use acronyms, but I know what SOL means. And to say they "suck" is venting, sure, but it's also petty.

Just as you would provide constructive criticism to a newbie in the hobby, try using the same language when unhappy with a vendor.
What efforts were really taken to rectify this situation? The description was a bit vague. Working in retail myself, if someone uses that kind of language with me I hang up on them.

This post accomplished one thing for me... I looked at ordering from Marine Depot. I'll ignore the criticism against Aquarium Specialty. I notice some other posters did too. Praise goes much further. What's that old saying, about catching more flies?

[hobogato]

i agree, and so does the op. he has agreed to change those portions of the title, as soon as he can get to it :)


I have to admit... when I first read this thread I thought the same thing as drunkenclam.

I'm looking to order some stuff online for the first time. I make it a point to shop locally, but not everything is available that way, and I'm hesitant to pick a vendor. I appreciate the information about a bad experience. But the language made it bashing.

You can use acronyms, but I know what SOL means. And to say they "suck" is venting, sure, but it's also petty.

Just as you would provide constructive criticism to a newbie in the hobby, try using the same language when unhappy with a vendor.
What efforts were really taken to rectify this situation? The description was a bit vague. Working in retail myself, if someone uses that kind of language with me I hang up on them.

This post accomplished one thing for me... I looked at ordering from Marine Depot. I'll ignore the criticism against Aquarium Specialty. I notice some other posters did too. Praise goes much further. What's that old saying, about catching more flies?

[drunkenclam]

one off topic response, the we can take this conversation to pm if you would like.

posting experiences with sponsors and non sponsors is acceptable here in the vendor vendor & experiences forum - not in someone else's thread in a sponsor's forum. as far as bashing: constructive criticism is not bad, and can actually help the vendor in question, but straight out bashing is not helpful to anyone - i am sure you can tell the difference :wink_smile:



lets stay on topic please.


i agree, but that depends on how one mind sees it as to another.

guess we have to agree to disagree.

back on topic.....

[CaptainGreg]

They finally send the bulbs and again the bulbs are broken. I send them an email and did not get any response from them. I am going to resort to a phone call tomorrow. I going to get them refund the money and I am going to place to order to marine depot for the bulbs. They never fail me before.

Man it has been over two months dealing with these people for these bulbs.

It is suck and I am sick of it.

[drunkenclam]

They finally send the bulbs and again the bulbs are broken. I send them an email and did not get any response from them. I am going to resort to a phone call tomorrow. I going to get them refund the money and I am going to place to order to marine depot for the bulbs. They never fail me before.

Man it has been over two months dealing with these people for these bulbs.

It is suck and I am sick of it.

you should have just ponied up the few extra dollars and purchased from one of the local sponsors to avoid all this. oh wait, you in minnesota. but choose to order from another company when the non-sponsor,MD, never failed you. wonders why you are here :confused:

[Europhyllia]

drunkenclam,
why always assume the worst about everybody? I have purchased from every single sponsor store in San Antonio and Corpus. But nobody carries the 60" bulbs I need for my fixture. It would be a special order item for them if they could get them at all with a profit margin hardly worth the trouble.
I love supporting sponsor stores but I don't think it's a requirement for people to participate in discussions on this site.
Remember when you really liked how Ace approached you with respect and an open mind? I am pretty sure that would work well both ways... ;)
I think our web members from up north were attracted to our site by CoryDude's bacterial filtration system discussion. At least that's where everybody started posting first.
I have MAAST come up in google searches all the time! :)

[drunkenclam]

drunkenclam,
why always assume the worst about everybody? I have purchased from every single sponsor store in San Antonio and Corpus. But nobody carries the 60" bulbs I need for my fixture. It would be a special order item for them if they could get them at all with a profit margin hardly worth the trouble.
I love supporting sponsor stores but I don't think it's a requirement for people to participate in discussions on this site.
Remember when you really liked how Ace approached you with respect and an open mind? I am pretty sure that would work well both ways... ;)
I think our web members from up north were attracted to our site by CoryDude's bacterial filtration system discussion. At least that's where everybody started posting first.
I have MAAST come up in google searches all the time! :)

i assume nothing. since, as they say, that would make an *** of u and me. as for a special order of any "item" they can get it and at a profit worth the trouble. distribution is really not an issue.

i respect your point of view,as i hope you do mine,no hostility is meant in my reply.

i merely question why the op choose to order from another company when he/she continues to praise MD for their impeccable service. why change service when pleased with another? :confused:

I do await that reply!

as for supporting sponsor stores that by no means should be a requirement.
but if it were it would seem you would end up in a sinking boat...

ask that GC reef guy...........

[Europhyllia]

as for a special order of any "item" they can get it and at a profit worth the trouble. distribution is really not an issue.

I inquired with two different local stores and both times the response was kind of lukewarm. That's why I figured on those specialty items it must not be worth their time. No prob for me.

[drunkenclam]

I inquired with two different local stores and both times the response was kind of lukewarm. That's why I figured on those specialty items it must not be worth their time. No prob for me.

what "specialty item" was it i must ask?

[Europhyllia]

60" ATI T5 bulbs. The LFS tend to carry the 48".
It's really no big deal. My point was that the majority of the time I shop the sponsor stores even though I know I could get some things cheaper online. Brick and Mortar stores have more overhead, etc. and so they got to charge a few bucks more.

But I don't feel guilty if I buy something from a reputable online source (non sponsor) if I had a good experience with that vendor in the past and/or what I want is not easily available locally and/or it is significantly less costly to get online (like Vortech MP40ws - saving 100 bucks is a pretty good chunk)

[drunkenclam]

60" ATI T5 bulbs. The LFS tend to carry the 48".
It's really no big deal. My point was that the majority of the time I shop the sponsor stores even though I know I could get some things cheaper online. Brick and Mortar stores have more overhead, etc. and so they got to charge a few bucks more.

But I don't feel guilty if I buy something from a reputable online source (non sponsor) if I had a good experience with that vendor in the past and/or what I want is not easily available locally and/or it is significantly less costly to get online (like Vortech MP40ws - saving 100 bucks is a pretty good chunk)

absolutely. online will be the best buy every time. i would do so myself. but when things go wrong i can tell the local sponsor "it's wrong" fix it! and they can without cost to me or them.

my case in point.