3/4 and 1" bulkheads

[tritontr21]

I have to say I was a little taken when MD told you that you should contact the manufacture!

I have owned a business before and currently manage a store for a company with 2000+ stores world wide, my customers would look at me like I was insane if I directed them to the manufacture for there product that I sold them.

No I will say on MD's part, we do not know how long ago he bought them. That could be an issue al together. But I would have directed him to call me ASAP to see what I could do for him.

We spend about 10-15 man hours a week sending back defective and returned items to our main warehouse where they in turn ship them or contact the manufacture for credit on the defective items.

Just my .02 if that worth anything. I was planning on making my first order with MD but I have to say I need to think about it.

I have seen MANY, MANY satisfied customers on this forum who praise MD product, price and service.

triton

 

[mylittleocean]

I had the bulkheads about 2 weeks before attempting to install them.

As stated before I will not order anything from them again. I now shop with aquaticeco.com for most of my supplies. Good store and great prices.

I was hoping to hear from MD again in this post but after 30 days with no more responce to a post in their forum I assume there will be no more comments by MD. I can only assum once you had over the $$$ you are not a concern to them anymore.

With a little discussion or "customer service" they might could have kep a customer.

 

[tritontr21]

well mylittle oc, if i were MD i probably wouldnt contact you in public hear on the forum i would take care of you via email and phone, but after that comment i would have came on here and said "you know we were wrong and let me make it up to you" contact me for further assistance.

Thats all it would have taken.

i am still on the fence about them now, i have my list of everything i need but not sure where to go now.

 

[TA]

Any reason not to use a bonified 'rubber gasket lubricant' with teflon?

I use in and around the home for all (most) O-rings and gaskets...my pool filter would leak like a sieve without it!

 

[H20ENG]

Because when you tighten the nut, the gasket could squeeze out from under the flange easily. NEVER lube the gasket.
It would be better to lube the threads than the gasket.

 

[Dizzyswimmer]

Why are you being directed to call Pentair when Marine Depot sold it to you? I realize who made them, but if you're going to sell a product and charge a mark-up, then stand behind them, at least for a little while.

I feel strongly about this as well. They just told me the same thing ,when I told them I have recieved a damaged Mag drive 24 from them. That is the last penny I will ever spend there . Had I read this thread or any like it before I ordered from them , I wouldn't have. There to many companys out there who want your buisness.

Dizzyswimmer

 

[mylittleocean]

That Mag drive pump wouldnt have been defective at the pump intake would it? A lighter area of grey. I have heard of alot of problems with Mag drive pump intakes being defective. I have had this happen on a Mag 12 I bought recently. Not thru MD luckily!!!!

MD is not going to trade it out for you?

If they are not make sure you post a thread so someone else might not have to go thru the same headache.

Good Luck :beer:

 

[MarineDepot]

MyLittleOcean, we apologize for the late reply on this thread. We had not replied earlier as you did not seem to want any sort of resolution. If assistance was requested, or if you had requested for an exchange or refund, we would have been happy to help. We, like most people, do not react to well and are less likely to help when we are being insulted and threatened.



I am glad that you do not have a local store here in my area as I am sure I would be sitting behind bars right now.



Seeing that this is still upsetting you after so much time, we will be glad to issue a refund for you for the bulkheads that you purchased. Please email me at customercare@marinedepot.com with your account information so I can take care of that for you.



Dizzyswimmer, I am not sure who you spoke with so I do not know the details of the conversation. However, this does seem somewhat unusual. We do sometimes refer customers directly to the manufacturer as they can provide more technical support. This is actually preferred by certain manufacturers so they can find out the source of the problem and make the necessary corrections. If it is just parts that need to be replaced, the manufacturer can often get the parts to you quicker and would help to avoid the hassle of the return. In cases where the manufacturer is not able to help, we can then work something out for you. This is not a case of us not standing behind the products we sell, rather just us complying to the requests of the manufacturers and finding the quickest solution for our customers.



We apologize for the trouble and any inconveniences caused. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions or concerns.



Sincerely,
Joseph
Marine Depot Customer Service

www.marinedepot.com

714-385-0080

 

[Dizzyswimmer]

MD is not going to trade it out for you?

NO !!!!! they offered to let me buy another one . If the one I had originally purchased was REALLY defective they would give me a credit on it.

 

[ratched]

I am really upset that so many of us are having problems with MD. Time and time again, MD instructs their customers to contact the mfr. regarding defective merchandise. Pumps, bulkheads, lights. I have yet to see MD respond directly on this forum as to their written policy which states defective merchandise CAN be returned to them. This policy has been posted for all to see. I ask Marine Depot to respond this. Several of us have been refused returns on defective products. I don't understand why MD continues to avoid this issue. B/4 this is all over with, they will lose a lot of business undoubtedly. Most of the people on this website are well-educated and can compute $$$ saved by the distributor to have the customer do THEIR RETURNS for them. I would like MD to respond. If they do not, we can all assume they will continue to skirt the issue. I can assure you, this is NOT the community standard for handling D.O.A's on arrival. The majority of distributors employ a staff strictly for this purpose. Returns of this nature are / and should be handled between the seller, MD, and the vendor. it is appalling and insulting to think that we cannot "see" what is going on here.. I will never buy another thing from this co. Dizzyswimmer is correct. Thanks to MD he was in a mess with a bad pump. Thanks to MD I had no lights for my tank. The lame excuse posted by MD ( "get the parts to you quicker") is ridiculous. Dizzyswimmer is expected to repair his brand new pump. I had a brand new ballast that went all the way to Colo. at my expense, thanks to you guys. Are you suggesting Aquamedic will help me repair that too. i am really sick and tired of seeing the lame excuses Md provides on this forum. "we can work something out", or here's 25.00 credit to shut you up. None of us are required to pay for items that are defective when a credit card is used and the seller refuses a return. The credit/card co. will reverse the charges immediately and contact the seller. If the seller continues to refuse replacement, they will not be paid. If more people used this safeguard as leverage, I can assure you they would either stop this practice, or go out of business. Many customers will not jump thru the hoops dealing with a mfr., especially on small items. i.e. my little ocean's post above. It's a win/win for the seller and mfr.

 

[ratched]

Marine Depot : In the future, the members of this board apologize for the trouble and inconvenience caused by not paying for defective merchandise. It is regrettable that we must contact our credit card co. to reverse charges since you refuse to replace the defective merchandise YOU sold and that was purchased in good faith. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any future questions or concerns.

 

[fish_fanatik]

I work at a bank and need to let you know that if you do call the credit card company to have any charge refunded, make sure you document everything that occured, such as how you tried to resolve the issue with the merchant first, who you spoke to etc. Also include proof that you send the merchandise back to the seller. If you keep the merchandise or send it back but don't have proof....your refund may not and prolly wont happen. this process is a dispute, not a guarantee of getting your money back. Oh yeah, don't wait to dispute more than 60 days either...after that your SOL.

 

[mmgm]

Marine Depot : In the future, the members of this board apologize for the trouble and inconvenience caused by not paying for defective merchandise. It is regrettable that we must contact our credit card co. to reverse charges since you refuse to replace the defective merchandise YOU sold and that was purchased in good faith. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any future questions or concerns.

As a clarification I do not think your opinion stated represents the opinion of all members of this board. You are not qualified or authorized to speak for all members of this board on this thread. Certainly your comments do not represent my opinions at all......

Based on your responses I beleive you may have an issue with MD regardless of any action they take to resolve......

By the way, if you inform your credit card company that a product is DOA they will ask you to obtain return instructions from the vendor. As long as the vendor provides these instructions you are obligated to follow and return the defective item. Otherwise you will not receive a credit and any claim you attempt to make will be ruled in favor of the vendor. If these instructions include the manufacturers address to return then you are obligated to follow.... (CHeck with your credit card company because this is the policy) I know this from first hand experience purchasing a product late last year. The point here is that you don't make the rules on how to return a defective purchased item. Credit card company policy requires the vendor to instruct consumers on return policy.

If the unit is truely defective then it will be replaced and I would ask the manufacturer or MD to pay for the shipping costs you incurred to return the unit. They will reimburse you for shipping under these circumstances.

I think part of the problem here is you want to dictate the rules of engagement to the vendor. If you put this aside and lighten up a bit IMO you will have more success resolving your problems. No-one wants to spend all this time and energy over $25. It just does not pay....

My advise is to be a bit more flexible, work with the vendor to return and then (in a respectful manner) ask for what you deserve. This may not be fun for you but it works.

Good luck with your problems and issues........

 

[ratched]

What mmgm states is not accurate. What fishfanatik says is correct. Your "ducks must be in a row " or charges will be placed back on your cc as well as accrued interest. That being said, consumer laws were put into place to protect the BUYER. Credit card co.'s do not "advertise" this as in most situations, they absorb the loss. This is of course built into their interest rates. In this instance, the return poilcy of MD states they accept returns for defective merchandise. It does not state returns must be sent to mfr's. If one was required to follow whatever the distributor wants, as mmgm infers, one might be required to send our product back to the outskirts of China, where many of our supplies are manufactured. I'm laughing now. MD states"the mfr may get parts to you quicker"... Oh wait a minute, no one is speaking English, excuse me....is this Tibet?......ha ha.... Mmgm states "be more flexible". MD either wants to honor their policy or not. For many of us, this policy has not been honored. A simple return autho takes a few minutes on the phone. Several phone calls were required with Aquamedic negotiating the return of my brand new lights after MD refused the return. Receipts had to be faxed, follow-up calls, packing, shipping, ins. etc. etc. Saving time, yeah right.

 

[ratched]

Mmgm: you are naive to think "it just does not pay". Distributors stand to save thousands of dollars per year passing it back on the consumer. Less manpower is required to handle these returns. Many people simply "give up" , especially on an inexpensive item as it's too much effort. ( as in the previous member's story with his bulkheads ). Do the math....."finding the quickest solution for our customers".........hah hah

 

[FunkieReefJunkie]

What is up with MD? They use to be my number one dry goods source. Word to the wise, if you send me non-operative stuff that has water drops on it and then refuse to refund me, don't expect me to be a return customer.

 

[mmgm]

What mmgm states is not accurate. What fishfanatik says is correct. Your "ducks must be in a row " or charges will be placed back on your cc as well as accrued interest.

Ratched:

How did you reach the conclusion that what I stated is not accurate? Did you check with your credit card company? Simply making a statement like this with no substantiation is a "No Brainer" and not very credible. In fact my statement about credit card disputes is consistent with fishfanatik's views. The main points here are:

1. Your ducks have to be in order. Document and substantiate everything you do.
2. You need to demonstrate and document that you have made every attempt to work out the dispute in a reasonable manner with the seller. This includes following any reasonable return instructions the seller provides.

How is this not accurate? If you don't agree you need to follow any reasonable return instructions then I suggest you try to open a dispute with your credit card company the next time you encounter a DOA purchase. You will be in for a surprise.....

I know this first hand and have documented this process last year when I purchased a defected Calcium Reactor from an on-line vendor advertising on Reef Central...... See following thread for details...

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=372960&highlight=Greg+Meyer

In this case I experienced the entire return process with Am-Ex and Paypal......

Again, how are you substantiating your statements?

In this instance, the return poilcy of MD states they accept returns for defective merchandise. It does not state returns must be sent to mfr's. If one was required to follow whatever the distributor wants, as mmgm infers, one might be required to send our product back to the outskirts of China, where many of our supplies are manufactured. I'm laughing now.

I'm laughing also....... Returning merchandise to China is certainly an unreasonable request...... I would welcome a merchant to make such a request on a credit card dispute...... Again, this would result in a "No Brainer" judgement in favor of the purchaser?

So what is your point here?

Mmgm states "be more flexible"

Yes... I think this would help you overcome some of the issues and problems you are fighting to resolve.

MD either wants to honor their policy or not. For many of us, this policy has not been honored. A simple return autho takes a few minutes on the phone. Several phone calls were required with Aquamedic negotiating the return of my brand new lights after MD refused the return. Receipts had to be faxed, follow-up calls, packing, shipping, ins. etc. etc. Saving time, yeah right.

Were your lights finally fixed? Did you ask for a refund on your shipping? Are your lights currently up and running on your tank?

What is the problem today? Joseph from Marine Depot any comments about Ratched's purchase? I have known you to always be very reasonable..... What is the issue here? Do we just have a customer that will never be satisfied regardless of what resolution to the issue is offered? Or was Ratched truly abused and mistreated?

Have a happy day.......

 

[ratched]

Mmgm: 1. Is not accurate that the distributor "calls the shots" on defective items. There all laws to protect the consumer in place. 2. I have had charges credited to my account on three occasions for D.O.A's. You were "conned" if you had that much trouble or misinformed as to consumer laws. it is REALLY not that difficult if you have a legitimate issue. 3. MD should let the CUSTOMER decide if going through the mfr. will be "quicker". 4. Oh,so you AGREE China is too far. Where is Pentair? Iwaki? Kansas? Taiwan? Egypt? Perhaps the buyer needs to know where they will be calling b/4 they purchase and MD refuses a return on a new item. 5. The lights are running on my tank now, despite MD. Thank you, Aquamedic, for your professionalism. 6. The problem TODAY is that you choose to negate the experiences of other reefers with this co. YOU WEREN'T THERE. So how dare you attempt to justify how OUR transaction was handled., and offer your precious unsolicited advice. Do you see MD responding to this thread??? No, only you. Peace out.

 

[MarineDepot]

Hi Folks,

I apologize for the late reply to this thread. We thought we had solved the issues presented to us. We truly appreciate the feedback and support. We will review this all when planning any future changes to our procedures.

Dizzyswimmer - we could have switched out the pump for you once we received the item. Since you needed the item right away, we would have to charge you first prior to sending out a replacement. I do understand that we referred you to the manufacturer and this is due to the facts previously stated in Joseph's post Danner is a company that loves feedback from customers and this is just one venue for them. They are usually able to assist most customers via phone and/or send out the replacement parts needed to get the item fixed.

We do not ask our customers for anything out of the ordinary. There are companies that ask to be contacted by the end users for any issues with their product. We try to extend the best customer service possible given certain restraints. We have often contacted manufacturers on behalf of our customers to make the transaction as easy as possible.

Ratched - I understand that you may have had a bad experience with us, but unfortunately I do not know the whole situation. If there is anything else we can do for you, please let me know. I will be keeping an eye out on this thread, PM's and email to get to a resolution as quickly as possible.

Please let us know if there's anything else we can help you with. Any concerns that need to be addressed immediately can be sent directly to us at customercare@marinedepot.com

Sincerely,

Ben R.
Customer Service Manager
www.marinedepot.com

 

[tritontr21]

we could have switched out the pump for you once we received the item. Since you needed the item right away, we would have to charge you first prior to sending out a replacement.

I agree with this, i would never send another product out with out getting payment or the defective merchandise, that would just be a bad decision.

I think people are mad that MD has directed everyone to the manufacture. I would love to see you guys change this policy and give the customer two options:


1. We can take care of it by having you send the product back for replacment(if within warranty) or we will need a deposit on the new item we are sending and will credit it back when we receive the defective product.

2. You may contact the manufacture if you would like more technical help.


Md....my employer does a 14 day warranty/guarantee and the remaining warranty is handled with the manufacture.

Just something for you guys to consider. im in no position to tell you how to run you company.