Fish Planet

[jojobme]

Just a quick note........
Stopped by Fish Planet today just to take a look around and was completely disappointed. Most of the salt water fish we half dead or suffering to say the least. The Corals all looked sick and dieing also.

Roamed around taking a look at the fresh water, ( i like all fish the same ) and was Very Very disappointed with how many of them had Ich. And when I say they had it , it wasn't just a little, some were extreme.

I would have to say that the help pretty much sucked also. My husband was asked if we had any questions and he told him I did. In which case the guy turned around and left did not even ask me what I needed.

Bad Customer sevice and SICK fish equals a 10 on the not to buy from or even go list to me.

:mad2: :mad2:

 

[mpoletti]

Thank you for the negativity and honesty. IMO, instead of bashing a business in a public forum, why don't you just choose not to shop there.

I know this will start a large debate, but I do not know why people feel they have the obligation to report in this manner.

I was in there last week ans they had two ventralis anthias for $35 each. They are a new store and many improvements are needed, but c'mon...

 

[jojobme]

Not a bashing, Just a little insight to what I saw. And knowing that they would have sold the fish with Ich to me or anyone else is not right.
You get your newbies coming in there to start a tank and have the potential to get sick fish is not good.
And costomer service is key in this business!

And if I remember right they have been in business for about what 8-9 months?

One last thing, as for BASHING on here I have seen people bashed for the dumbest crap ever!

 

[mpoletti]

I know about the bashing, if I remember right, your son got treated pretty poorly about a blue tang.

I understand that you are pretty new around MARS and the boards can get out of hand, that is why these threads about our local resources can go downhill very fast.

I agree 100% about newbies buying a sick fish. The thing about the being open 8-9 months; that is not very long at all. In fact, I make sure to hit all the stores on a monthly basis and believe it or not, they are improving.

 

[Danyal]

wow, when i went in about 4mo ago they where spotless and i was very impressed.

 

[Jareth]

Some of their corals looked poor because they pulled a lot of them out of the display tank above their LR pits. IIRC the light fixtures werent up to par or something. Everytime I'm in there Matt is working on getting the whole coral system right. You didnt by any chance notice the large orange sign "coral upgrade in progress" did you?

As for their customer service, I dunno. The guys I've talked to there have been very helpful. Answering many questions, dealing with the fact that I work 5 mins away and dont mind leaving the office for lunch, and have so far kept me much on the same path RC and reefbuilders have. The shark tank deffinately makes service tough, since they cant see the registers so I sometimes have to wait to get checked out. But those guys have all been great to me.

 

[TNTREEF]

I was in there on saturday and got a rosy scales wrasse for $69 they are $79-$159 online. They also had many nice reef fish. Yes some were having problems, but most of the time the fish are good. Maybe they got a bad shippment. That does happen. I've been at exotic when they got a shippment in and 2/3 of the fish were not having a good day. They are in the middle of redoing the salt section too. It takes time. Two of the three Koi tubs are going to be reef flats one with LPS and the other with my favorite, SPS.
I like the store.

 

[P.Kelly]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11277961#post11277961 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TNTREEF
Two of the three Koi tubs are going to be reef flats one with LPS and the other with my favorite, SPS.
I like the store.

I was in on Sunday and Matt gave me a "tour" of what he had planned. If I remember correctly, the first 2 koi tubs are going to be for softies and LPS and the third, that is still occupied by really expensive koi that aren't currently selling will be for SPS at some point in the future, to be determined.

 

[jackfishy]

This is one of the nicest stores in town. I like their big shark tank, it always keep bringing me back to their store because of that. Like everybody said it is still new and give it more time will change.


Jack

 

[kdblove_99]

Sorry, I got to chime in here.

How long do you keep the "NEW" Tag? To me that store is not so new that it should have some very nice stuff in there by now. I have been there twice, Not impressed at all.

But, I do think with Matt going there it should have a very nice upside and i would assume there will be some very nice stuff coming soon

 

[mpoletti]

In regards to being new, I would say a year. They are also in the process of ther opening change/evolution. When you open any type of business, your first plan always needs work. I think they understand that and that is why they are overhauling their systems.

IMO, If I buy a house or a car, at 9 months, I would still consider it new.

 

[Unarce]

Once it leaves the dealers parking lot, it's no longer considered new

 

[mpoletti]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11279913#post11279913 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Unarce
Once it leaves the dealers parking lot, it's no longer considered new

That is only for you ballers

 

[P.Kelly]

For what it is worth, I'd buy a tank from FP again in a heartbeat. Johnathan, the owner, worked with me in a big way when I got 2 defective Red Sea Maxes in a row, and instead of making me keep the third one, he let me return it and buy something else.

I'm not sure many other fish stores would do that, given there is effectively zero profit on tanks when you consider the floor space requirements and competitive pricing.

 

[WarrenG]

"New" is no excuse. If people know how to take care of fish they can get it correct, or nearly so right from the start. And a year later? Please. That's just bad management and/or low standards of what is acceptable in business.

Jojobme, thanks for speaking up and saving me a visit. I'll wait until they're no longer "new". Until then I'll go to a place like Coral Reef where they've had their act together since the first time I went in there shortly after they opened.

 

[P.Kelly]

I'm not going to suggest that we all keep it positive all the time, but let's keep it real everybody.

I go into FP at least once a week, because it's close to my office. Aside from my tank and some dry goods, I've not bought much there, because I've seen better quality livestock at Exotic. That said, it is not a SW death trap like the OP makes it out to be.

Matt did just start there in the last 30 days and he is making some serious progress on turning the SW business around. They've started stocking hamilton and euro-reef and so on in the dry goods side and they shut down the old display. He's revamping the coral tanks and added another row of SW fish tanks.

Is there still room for improvement? YUP

Are they making improvements? YUP

 

[D&KSac]

Sorry if some of this stuff was already said. But i didnt read every post. I will say this Matt is working hard to get that place into shape and when he does its going to be an excellent store. I know he had to redo alot of the plumbing and alot of the tanks are going through new tank syndrom. That aside they have great prices on dry goods and equipment. Like Mark said if you dont like a store dont shop there.

 

[Nu2SW]

What irks me is when people come to a board to voice an opinion, people start with the whole why are you putting this out and telling us.

"IMO, instead of bashing a business in a public forum, why don't you just choose not to shop there. "

and " I do not know why people feel they have the obligation to report in this manner."

Why do people report in this manner. To let other people know what they observed.

Why do people what items they like best , why do people read consumer reports magazine. Because they want the best and if the business isnt giving its best. Then people tell friends and come to PUBLIC forums and message boards.

For me as a consumer, i would want to know if a store was not up to par and would read reviews and reports from other customers.

jojo, never said their prices were outrages. Saying that a fish is $35 ,doesnt really tell me how the quality of the fish have to relate to that.

The last time I went in there, was before Matt. The corals were half dead, I saw dead Hammers with some live heads. Brains dying off and alot of tanks saying not for sale with alot of yellow water.

I was not impressed, 9-10 months is enough time for a store to get steady. SO this whole new store excuse is bogus. CRS opened up and never had any issues like that from what I saw.

Matt seems like to GOTO guy in SAC for helping a fishstore in need of a good turnaround....

So hopefully in 3 months it will be much much better.

Ill give it that time and thats when ILL be going back.

 

[mpoletti]

Edwin- I understand where you are coming from. Maybe it is just me, but I just don't believe in fish store reports. Personal preferences always come to the forefront.

In regard to prices, I mentioned that because ventralis athias are rare and not cheap. I was impressed and it takes a lot to impress me. In fact, I made a couple of phone calls to share the news. I have only been in there a few times as my likes are do not equal their product. The same reason I do not go to CRS and the fact that the I do not like to over pay on livestock. That is my opinion.

I could knock every store out there because I am a picky consumer, but why would I want to limit my resources by not even going there. I thank everyone for their personal opinions when it come to what stores they might like and dislike, but I do not need a negative report as a second post.

If a store or hobbyist rips you off, that is different. This is about a store that is in a remodeling process that has signs all over the place. I also understands that customer service plays a big deal in where someone spends their money; but many of these stores are understaffed as we are so blessed with a competitive fish market.

 

[TNTREEF]

Another thing to think about is Fish planet, Aqua life and exotic are an all fish store. Your reef and coral reef shop are just that REEF shops. Point is, other than the small amount of LE corals that Your Reef has, the three stores above have had a way better variety of salt livestock in the area IMO even Ost. I've purchased some awesome fish and corals from those shops at really good prices too. Fish Planet will be better, if you choose not to go there you might just miss out.

Just my two coins.