Client appreciation goes a long way, especially in this hobby....

Montreal Ray

Montreal Ray

New member
Start rant :-)

I sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong section...heck I shouldn't even be posting this at all but im so ****ed that I need to get this off my chest.


Maybe I am a little bit sensitive, you judge and tell me what you think and what you would have done.

I have a budget of anywhere between $3000 and $5000 per year for my Reef hobby. I like to experiment a lot, I like to change a lot. Just this year, I bought 3 new skimmers. I have been shopping outside of my province of Quebec simply because I can get more for my money. I buy a LOT off jlaquatics.com, 1 tax, free shipping over $100 and I save about 10%-15% off everything I buy compared to Quebec. So If I calculate the taxes and 10%-15% savings, I save more than $500-$700 every year. Thats a lot of money saved!

I the past few months I did notice that the 2 large Quebec based stores are starting to be competitive with JL and even US. Still more expensive but not much.

Therefore I started shopping in town a little. Went to 1 and bought some lights, test kits, dosing equipment, some Acros SPS frags....and some other stuff. The experience was fine, prices were fair and staff is knowledgeable. I was satisfied.

Last week I noticed that store 2 was having some great deals on Skimmers. So I decided to try yet ANOTHER skimmer, I bought a Bubble Magus Cone NAC 7. When they brought the box out, I told them that the box seems very big for that skimmer. "Are you sure it is the correct one?" They said, yes, they pack them very well.

When I got home and opened the box there were TWO skimmers inside. I did not hesitate 1 minute, I called them right away and told them I would bring it back as soon as I get a chance.

Lets be honest, some people would have kept both. They would be [LANGUAGE REMOVED: please do not try to evade the auto-censor: thank you--sk8r] but they would have kept them, especially since this is the first time shopping there and no one knows you.

I think I did the right thing. I took time off my work, drove from one end of town to another to bring it back. Took 1 hour of my day plus my gas.

This is where it get complicated. Some people will agree with me and some will not.

When I brought it back all I got was a thank you. I'm not saying I wanted a $10000 worth of stuff for free but ANYTHING to show your appreciation would have been really nice. If I would have been offered even 1% (ONE %) off my next purchase, I would have been grateful. Even if they would have offered my a fish net I would have been grateful, LOL.

I own QuebecLeasing.com. We grew our company into the biggest lease takeover publication in Quebec in 3 years. We are doing over 500,000 page views per month, 95% from Quebec. Why did we grow so fast? Customer support and customer appreciation. Returning clients get 35% off, referrals get 35% off, friends get 35% off...I greatly appreciate my clients.

The return client is what makes or breaks a business. I've seen it happen 1000 times!

Anyway, like I said before, maybe I'm to sensitive but man I'm really freaking insulted and ****ed off....im going out for a beer!

End Rant :-)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Uhh.. man.. look.. I don't want to start or contribute to a flame thread, but... you did the right thing and returned something you hadn't paid for. "Thank you" is perfectly adequate.
 
i would not worry much until the second visit to buy something.

what i mean is that lets say you go there and see a nice fish and a nice frag.
the total price is 100 bucks. at that point in time you can remind them of how
you brought back that skimmer and maybe they would allow you to buy those
two items for 85 dollars.

If they say no, and ask you to pay full price.. well i would shop elsewhere. Favors
should go both ways in my mind.
But if they say yes... you make your purchase and realize you might have a friend
now in that store going forward.

"Uhh.. man.. look.. I don't want to start or contribute to a flame thread, but... you did the right thing and returned something you hadn't paid for. "Thank you" is perfectly adequate."

really? they made a mistake and cost the customer time and money. the customer went
out of their way after making a nice purchase to correct their mistake. a good business
owner would say thanks and here is a 10% off coupon for your trouble. I am just saying
try going back their one day and use your leverage by asking a favor!
 
muppet said:
Uhh.. man.. look.. I don't want to start or contribute to a flame thread, but... you did the right thing and returned something you hadn't paid for. "Thank you" is perfectly adequate.
Click to expand...

I respect you outlook on this....Different strokes for different folks.

fcmatt said:
i would not worry much until the second visit to buy something.

what i mean is that lets say you go there and see a nice fish and a nice frag.
the total price is 100 bucks. at that point in time you can remind them of how
you brought back that skimmer and maybe they would allow you to buy those
two items for 85 dollars.

If they say no, and ask you to pay full price.. well i would shop elsewhere. Favors
should go both ways in my mind.
But if they say yes... you make your purchase and realize you might have a friend
now in that store going forward.
Click to expand...

One way of looking at things i guess
 
You did the right thing and your conscience is clear. If you did not get a "reward" now, you'll get it some other time, some other way, some other place. Think positive, life is short. Reefing is fun, go reef!
 
I think you did the right thing in returning the skimmer but I don’t think they should have giving you a discount on your next visit especially seeing that most LFS seem to have tough time staying in business. Who knows they might remember you the next time you come in and cut you a deal on some livestock.
 
You guys are lucky that you don’t have to pay tax on online purchases. In the states you have to pay tax on all online purchases.
 
fcmatt said:
i would not worry much until the second visit to buy something.

what i mean is that lets say you go there and see a nice fish and a nice frag.
the total price is 100 bucks. at that point in time you can remind them of how
you brought back that skimmer and maybe they would allow you to buy those
two items for 85 dollars.

If they say no, and ask you to pay full price.. well i would shop elsewhere. Favors
should go both ways in my mind.
But if they say yes... you make your purchase and realize you might have a friend
now in that store going forward.

"Uhh.. man.. look.. I don't want to start or contribute to a flame thread, but... you did the right thing and returned something you hadn't paid for. "Thank you" is perfectly adequate."

really? they made a mistake and cost the customer time and money. the customer went
out of their way after making a nice purchase to correct their mistake. a good business
owner would say thanks and here is a 10% off coupon for your trouble. I am just saying
try going back their one day and use your leverage by asking a favor!
Click to expand...

Reminding somebody of a good deed you did is pretty arrogant and selfish.

And I really wouldnt have expected anything in return, but I would have judged them on how they thanked me. I also wouldnt have driven back and wasted my gas until I was on that side of town. Then again, I would have unboxed it to make sure nothing was missen or broken:)
 
zmckenzie said:
You guys are lucky that you don't have to pay tax on online purchases. In the states you have to pay tax on all online purchases.
Click to expand...

Oh no, we still pay tax...bit do we pay tax! If I buy with Quebec there are 2 taxes, 5% and 7.5%

Outside of Quebec, i save one tax, the provincial tax.
 
I'd be sure, too, that the person you were talking to actually was the owner or had the authority to make a freebie. Sometimes it's not apparent.

Do watch the asterisks.
 
zmckenzie said:
Not to side track this thread but all items you buy you have to pay sales tax on. If a vender doesn't charge you at the time of purchase you have to pay when tax time comes.
Click to expand...
Hm, learn something new everyday. I'd never heard of "use" tax before this post.
 
Montreal Ray said:
Wooops! Sorry about the ****

It was one of the owners.
Click to expand...

I say don't give up on them. Did they give you good service when you were there? Did you find them helpful and knowledgeable? Did they try to sell something to you that you didn't need? To many fish stores are just trying to make sales and could care less about the client. I still think they will always remember you as the guy who saved them from a costly mistake and you might get some special treatment the next time you see them :love1:.
 
zmckenzie said:
I say don't give up on them. Did they give you good service when you were there? Did you find them helpful and knowledgeable? Did they try to sell something to you that you didn't need? To many fish stores are just trying to make sales and could care less about the client. I still think they will always remember you as the guy who saved them from a costly mistake and you might get some special treatment the next time you see them :love1:.
Click to expand...

Well, the first time I went I took all of 5 minutes. I knew what i wanted, they handed it to me and I went on my way.

I have heard a lot about them, they are not your typical LFS. This is a specialty reef shop and by the look of their live stock and equipment, they seem to know what they are doing. I don't think it's the type of shop that sells just for the sake of selling.

ray
 
ray
sorry all but im with ray.id be PO'ed time is money so is gas.how bout if he called them told them if they want it to pick it up at his place? they would of paid an employee + gas to pick it up and and their time. i personally would feel like a jack @$$ reminding them of my good deed just to get a discount. if everyone showed a little appriciation the world would be a better place. goes to show about customer service, he's a customer and look how "THEY" made him feel
 
Kindness is it's own reward. You did a good thing, and in some way it will come back to you. I firmly believe this. The owner could have been too embarassed or overwhelmed to do something for you right on the spot, but I bet he remembers you as the guy who went out of his way to do something he didn't have to do.

If you did this nice thing for this company you would like to succeed, and you came away with this attitude, you maybe need to look at yourself a little closer. We all would love a little reward for doing the right thing, and I think there is always a small hope for said reward, but to be upset when you don't get one is a character flaw on your part.

Kudos on returning the extra skimmer, bad form on the hissy fit.
 
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