Hi all -
About a month and a half ago I bought a blue ribbon eel from the House of Fins, located on US 1 and SW 141st Street. A very friendly saleswoman was helping me with my selections, and I specifically asked if the eel was eating and if it would be reef safe. She told me that the eel was currently eating frozen food, and that it may take a week for him to adjust to a new set-up before eating regularly. In addition, she said that he was not eating any small fish, which seemed reasonable because there was a small pseudochromis in the tank with him. I decided to purchase the eel on the premise that he would eat frozen food in about a week and that he would not bother any of the other reef inhabitants.
Well, a week went by and the eel still was not eating. Shortly thereafter I had to leave the country and left the care of my tank to my siblings. While overseas, I did a lot of research on Reef Central and the web and had my siblings try some different methods for feeding the eel. Still, the eel would not eat. Eventually he began to eat my smaller fish and some of my ornamental shrimp. After a month of patience and experimentation, I thought the best thing to do was to have him returned to the store, as I was afraid that he might die from starvation and/or devour the rest of my tank.
Today we tried bringing the eel back to the House of Fins. I understand that when you buy an animal you take a certain risk and that things do not always work out as you might hope. For this reason, I was not asking for a refund; rather, I simply wanted a store credit for the $59.99 that I spent on the eel. Because I am still overseas, I was on the phone with my sister and mother while they attempted to return the eel. First, the store owner, in a very obnoxious manner, said, "Sure, we'll take the eel, but we will not give you full credit." On top of that, he asserted that I had only paid $49.99 for the eel, when in fact I had paid $59.99. I tried to explain the situation to him in a very calm and logical manner: namely, that the eel was sold to me on the premise that it would eat frozen food within the week and that it was not eating the smaller fish that it lived with. Neither of these things turned out to be true, and therefore I deserved a full store credit. The store owner then became incredibly hostile, screaming at both my mother and me and accusing me of calling the saleswoman, who happened to be his wife, a "liar." I had mentioned to him that, after buying the eel, I did some research hoping to find some way to prevent the eel from starving to death. He said, "See, if you had done some research, you would have known that my wife was not lying to you." First of all, this argument doesn't even make sense. Second of all, I never said that she intentionally deceived me, but rather that the information I was given turned out, in the end, to be incorrect.
In any case, the store owner continued to raise his voice and pushed the phone back to my mother. To top it all off, while my sister and mother were looking to spend the store credit of $25, half of what I "supposedly" paid for the eel, they stumbled across the holding tank from which I purchased the eel. The price was still written on the glass: Blue ribbon eel, $59.99. When they questioned the store owner about this, he said, "You have a black ribbon eel, not a blue ribbon eel." The eel that I returned was 2 1/2 feet long and was clearly blue and yellow (adult), not black and yellow (juvenile). Obviously he was just looking for a way to rip me off.
Initially, I had high hopes for this LFS. They seemed to have a good selection and reasonable prices. Now, however, I realize that the store is completely unprofessional and is not at all committed to customer satisfaction (not to mention the health of their animals!). They lost a good customer today, and I would discourage anyone from going there.
My apologies for the rant!
About a month and a half ago I bought a blue ribbon eel from the House of Fins, located on US 1 and SW 141st Street. A very friendly saleswoman was helping me with my selections, and I specifically asked if the eel was eating and if it would be reef safe. She told me that the eel was currently eating frozen food, and that it may take a week for him to adjust to a new set-up before eating regularly. In addition, she said that he was not eating any small fish, which seemed reasonable because there was a small pseudochromis in the tank with him. I decided to purchase the eel on the premise that he would eat frozen food in about a week and that he would not bother any of the other reef inhabitants.
Well, a week went by and the eel still was not eating. Shortly thereafter I had to leave the country and left the care of my tank to my siblings. While overseas, I did a lot of research on Reef Central and the web and had my siblings try some different methods for feeding the eel. Still, the eel would not eat. Eventually he began to eat my smaller fish and some of my ornamental shrimp. After a month of patience and experimentation, I thought the best thing to do was to have him returned to the store, as I was afraid that he might die from starvation and/or devour the rest of my tank.
Today we tried bringing the eel back to the House of Fins. I understand that when you buy an animal you take a certain risk and that things do not always work out as you might hope. For this reason, I was not asking for a refund; rather, I simply wanted a store credit for the $59.99 that I spent on the eel. Because I am still overseas, I was on the phone with my sister and mother while they attempted to return the eel. First, the store owner, in a very obnoxious manner, said, "Sure, we'll take the eel, but we will not give you full credit." On top of that, he asserted that I had only paid $49.99 for the eel, when in fact I had paid $59.99. I tried to explain the situation to him in a very calm and logical manner: namely, that the eel was sold to me on the premise that it would eat frozen food within the week and that it was not eating the smaller fish that it lived with. Neither of these things turned out to be true, and therefore I deserved a full store credit. The store owner then became incredibly hostile, screaming at both my mother and me and accusing me of calling the saleswoman, who happened to be his wife, a "liar." I had mentioned to him that, after buying the eel, I did some research hoping to find some way to prevent the eel from starving to death. He said, "See, if you had done some research, you would have known that my wife was not lying to you." First of all, this argument doesn't even make sense. Second of all, I never said that she intentionally deceived me, but rather that the information I was given turned out, in the end, to be incorrect.
In any case, the store owner continued to raise his voice and pushed the phone back to my mother. To top it all off, while my sister and mother were looking to spend the store credit of $25, half of what I "supposedly" paid for the eel, they stumbled across the holding tank from which I purchased the eel. The price was still written on the glass: Blue ribbon eel, $59.99. When they questioned the store owner about this, he said, "You have a black ribbon eel, not a blue ribbon eel." The eel that I returned was 2 1/2 feet long and was clearly blue and yellow (adult), not black and yellow (juvenile). Obviously he was just looking for a way to rip me off.
Initially, I had high hopes for this LFS. They seemed to have a good selection and reasonable prices. Now, however, I realize that the store is completely unprofessional and is not at all committed to customer satisfaction (not to mention the health of their animals!). They lost a good customer today, and I would discourage anyone from going there.
My apologies for the rant!
i wish i could return some coral i just got. but not even gonna try because id be risking my fave stores display ( altho i could use the 60 bucks )
