Bert's Pet Center

[MattG]

We are very lucky to have some of the wonderful local fish shops in our area that we do. This post was not to say that any one is better then another but to just give credit where credit is due!

I recently ordered a fairly expensive piece of equipment through Berts Pet Center and had some problems that were no fault of the shop. Jim has handled the situation very professionally and I am very happy with my decision to purchase the product through them (a local store) vs the internet. Often times big internet companies can't provide the customer service that our local shops can.

A big deal with me is customer service and Berts (among others) has gone above and beyond the call of duty on more then one occasion. Thanks!

 

[essop3]

I was going to write a LFS praise thread myself. In my big reef crisis Fugi loaned me one of his personal test kits. Most stores would be happy to sell you one but as soon as he suggested the test he handed me his kit.

With all the horror stories you read about LFS in other areas you realize how good we have it. There are a few good ones for us to choose from.

 

[Reef4Fun]

Well I personally would have never been able to go with saltwater if it were not for Ron and Barry. I also give loads of credit to this thread and our reef family.

 

[firefish2020]

Here here,
I think it's only right to sing the praises of a good LFS. I agree I have seen far to many posts against LFS and touting the internet as the next greatest thing in this hobby. I do not agree at all with that statement. In fact I believe that both entities will co-exist side by side, the internet offering cheaper deals and offering no real support for hobbyist in a hurry while undercutting the brick and mortar LFS and those willing to wait a bit longer for service above and beyond. As for LFS getting bad raps, I have personally defended one almost weekly since it opened because there are those who say prices are to high there. Boo Hoo.

I have a customer who came in a few months back and I have been working with him one on one to get him the dream reef system he wants. At times I have pointed him to other sources beyond the LFS reaches but only for equipment that he just can not get anywhere else close by (TUNZE).

He told me on day one that he wanted a saltwater dream reef like our display, and I told him the truth. "It will cost a lot and it will take time." He said ok and was willing to do whatever it took to get it. The truth is if you want a SW tank you can do that some what cheap. However if you want a mega dream reef it will cost you. I hear people weekly telling me "Oh Drs fish and Sons has that same thing for X amount of dollars." I usually tell them they need to order it from them because internet shops are selling at about what it costs most of us to acquire our items at wholesale.

I also give loads of credit to this thread and our reef family.

I'm glad you like it, basically this place exists because of a LFS, some would like to shove that fact under the rug but the fact is that The CVRC was created out of a desperate need and we saw it as an effort to help combat bad advice that new hobbyist were being given and to help create a sustainable supply of health livestock. You can ask many old hobbyists and they will tell you that in those days there was a desperate need for healthy tank raised coral.

Later on as the club began to grow we were forced to split from the shop partly because I got tired of defending our actions to those who accused that the CVRC as a way to promote a commercial venture etc... "It was not and is not and will never be, final comment on that note."

I still stand by the move however because we are far to big of an entity to be allied with any particular business or venture, but we can never forget where the CVRC originated or more importantly why it is. It is exactly that kind of service and commitment which the internet fish stores will NEVER be able to accomplish IMO

 

[fishmon]

Ron, don't get me started on the whole internet, Dr bla bla and all that jazz. sure they have great prices but can they even possibly compete w/ all the FREE advice we give. case in point, customer wants a nice tank asks me what I would recommend her to get, spend hours w/ her and she goes and orders everything somewhere else, and to beat all shows up at my shop, not understanding how everything works, asks me how to put it all together, now I can either get pi.... off or I can help her, this is when I start charging for my time, though I love this hobby, it is also feeding my family and people I guess just don't understand this. I'm not expecting someone to come in my shop and pay an unreasonable price for something but I live by the rule of "you get what you pay for" I will, as well as most other shops, bend over backwards to help a customer with problems, or to tweak a skimmer or filter so it will work a little better for them. You can't get that stuff from just reading books, you have to have experience, and to me its worth an extra few bucks. Not to mention small business is slowly going away, people need to keep their money local but that a whole other discussion on a whole other board, bla bla bla...... all this so people can enjoy this hobby and flourish with it and hopefully with the help of your friendly LFS not fail!

 

[firefish2020]

case in point, customer wants a nice tank asks me what I would recommend her to get, spend hours w/ her and she goes and orders everything somewhere else, and to beat all shows up at my shop, not understanding how everything works, asks me how to put it all together,

Yep I had a lady come in last week who did the same exact thing. I spent over 48 minutes with her giving the saltwaer 101 basic leason and she had the nerve to come back a few days later and tell me she bought her stuff on line and wanted to know what I thought about this and that. I told her it was up to her to do research and make her own decisions. What really kills me is they will go off and buy thousands of dollars worth of equipment but Heaven forbid they should think to buy a basic book! It's easier to ask the LFS.

Oh as for the Dr so and so thing. I actually had a customer (true story), last week who called me to ask what I thought about his algae problem. He said he called "Dr. So and Such and they told him it was prob caused by to much nitrate." He actually said "he said" WHAT! What the banana peels man, do you think you are talking to the actual person? You can't diagnose something like what's causing your algae over the phone! So it looks like they have begun to lure people away from their LFS by giving out false advice and hope, the same false advice the CVRC was set up to combat.

You will notice on the cards we hand out promoting CVRC there is a banner at the top that reads "SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FISH STORE!" Some think I did that for a selfish reason, but I think Jim understands full well why I put that there. Gone are the days of the petshop wars , some of which were quite harsh. If we are to survive as the true cornerstone of this hobby which we are, we have to start helping each other on certain matters and finding ways to compete with our true adversaries. I think our area is quite blessed to have several top-notch LFS to go to. I have read about states where hobbyists have to drive over 50 miles to find one they really like! Instead of trying to cause tension between shops (as some customers have done in the past) customers should just be thankful they have a choice of where to go as many plainly do not.

Keep em strait on your end Jim we'll do the same over here

 

[Reef4Fun]

Yes, people do need to realize the support our LFS's give us. It's almost like your family doctor, you can go or call and get help anytime, they will provide you with almost anything you ask for, and when there are problems they are there for you. Would you go on the internet to see your doctor, would you accept his diagnosis without him even knowing who you are? Kind of odd if you think about it. We are so lucky to have our LFS, people really need to be thankful and not take it for granted.

 

[crabfan]

Amen!

Amen!

I think our area is quite blessed to have several top-notch LFS to go to.

You said it Ron. I hope all our local stores experience great success in the years to come!

 

[coralreefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7121645#post7121645 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishmon
Ron, don't get me started on the whole internet, Dr bla bla and all that jazz. sure they have great prices but can they even possibly compete w/ all the FREE advice we give. case in point, customer wants a nice tank asks me what I would recommend her to get, spend hours w/ her and she goes and orders everything somewhere else, and to beat all shows up at my shop, not understanding how everything works, asks me how to put it all together, now I can either get pi.... off or I can help her, this is when I start charging for my time, though I love this hobby, it is also feeding my family and people I guess just don't understand this. I'm not expecting someone to come in my shop and pay an unreasonable price for something but I live by the rule of "you get what you pay for" I will, as well as most other shops, bend over backwards to help a customer with problems, or to tweak a skimmer or filter so it will work a little better for them. You can't get that stuff from just reading books, you have to have experience, and to me its worth an extra few bucks. Not to mention small business is slowly going away, people need to keep their money local but that a whole other discussion on a whole other board, bla bla bla...... all this so people can enjoy this hobby and flourish with it and hopefully with the help of your friendly LFS not fail!

I'd already decided to buy an ASM skimmer several months before Bert's started carrying them. When they picked up the line I gladly payed a little more and bought one them instead of ordering it on the internet.
Jim and I set up our skimmers about the same time. Actually I got mine up first so I got to help "tweak" the shop skimmer. Now we compare skimmate, settings and performance on a regular basis.
I could have saved a few dollars buying online but the camaraderie I bought is priceless

I was going to write a LFS praise thread myself. In my big reef crisis Fugi loaned me one of his personal test kits. Most stores would be happy to sell you one but as soon as he suggested the test he handed me his kit.

:thumbsup: I've only talked to Fuji once but I was impressed. A few years ago I had a problem with my 75 gallon reef. I went to Bert's to get more salt and talked to Big Jim about what was wrong. "Little Jim" was on vacation...remember those Jim?
Jim gave me a shop test kit so I could verify mine was good. He talked to Jim Jr. about my tank that night and insisted I call the shop the next day to report on how things were doing. The three of us never figured out the ammonia spike on an established tank but like Essop I was so impressed the LFS owner would just hand me a $10.00 test and be so concerned about my tank.

The first time I met Barry he offered to order a Red Sea sailfin for me. He took my #, told me when the shipment should be in and added to call him 'cause he might forget to call me. Long story short I called a couple times, shipment didn't come in, tangs were too big, didn't look right etc.
By this time I kinda figured I'd never see this fish. 5 months later I had a message "this is Barry from Jomar. If you still want that tang give me a call." Perfect size, healthy and eating like a pig. That's customer service you'll never get from the good Drs. or a poor LFS.

 

[firefish2020]

5 months later

yeh that sounds about right, we all loose lots of fish sales to the net I'm sure. Most new hobbyists think we can order anything anytime but truth is we have to go by what's on our supply lists.

 

[planted tank]

If your like me you'd rather talk to a "PERSON" face to face and, not on the phone anyway! I have got nothing but great service from Ron and Barry anytime I go in the store or call them with a question. And, I'm not a paid endorser...Ha Ha Ha!!!

 

[izzy_real]

LFS

LFS

I'm from Charleston originaly, but I've been living in Bristol, TN for 5 years now.

I remember my mom taking me to Jo-Mars when I was a kid. I still go there when I come home, even if it's just to say hi to Barry. But, I still purchase things from him, like the Coral life Super Skimmer I just bought at Christmas, and my wet dry that I use on my girlfriends fish only system.

However, sometimes my LFS will direct me to shop elsewhere, but I always by live animals locally, or trade locally.