Very bad service

[archmage]

This is my personal rant. Kind of long but I just want you guys to know the whole story.

MarineDepot Dry Customer service is really quite bad in their followup and their tracking.


I ordered a fish trap and kalkwasser from them on the 14th of December, Sunday Nite. They processed the order on Monday. That was no problem. However, I didn't get a email with tracking number. Only recieved a confirmation order email. I waited until the 19th of December, which was Friday, and still no tracking number. I called them finally to ask them what was the status, and they told me that it was shipped out on Monday or Tuesday, the 15th and the 16th. Okay, they didn't have a tracking number and when I asked for it, they said it wasn't their responsibility to provide a tracking number. Fedex is supposed to provide one. Okay, I still accept their word and reputation and still expect to receive it within the next day or so.

(Their confirmation email indicates 1 to 5 day delivery time.)

Fast track to the 22nd, I'm waiting for the package at home and nothing. I call them and they say it is still in transit. 23rd, and they say when I call them to ask about the package that it was delivered. Hmm... interesting since I have not received anything from them. They research the shipment and they find out that it was shipped to the wrong address in New York. Okay, they call back and say that it will be forwarded to me on Friday, the 26th. Again, the whole day, nothing. See the pattern? I pretty much had to initiate the entire process by calling them otherwise my order would have fallen through the cracks. When I did call them about it, they still couldn't keep track of one simple order until it was delivered to the wrong address. An order I should have received before Christmas has now been cancelled because of their lousy service. 10 whole business days and nothing.
When I asked them to ship it overnight Saturday delivery guaranteed, so that I can get it on Saturday they said they would not do that. Even though it was their mistake and they wasted two of my days which I had to stay at home waiting for their delivery. Sure, the cost for Saturday Next day delivery was $40 for shipping versus the $10 for regular shipping. But they had a choice to keep this customer or to lose him because of their mistake. They chose to lose me as a customer.
They might not care, but they lost my business. And any of my friends will hear from me of their lousy business practices.

The sad thing is that I was planning to order a calcium reactor from them in the next month or so. Now, I'm going to their competitors. Simply because they refuse to step up to the plate.

 

[commandertekki]

I'm sorry to hear that. I just order an acrolight system from them... They shipped out the MH, PCs, 250W MHHQi ballast and the hanging wire that same day. I got it yesturday too. The PRO hood has to be built so that'll take some time.

As for the tracking number, I got it that same evening from fedex. Even for the small item I bought from them before this shipment. It was a small product at the time, and i've not had any problems.

As for service they only charged me 35 to send a 40lb ballast and everything else for the whole lighting system. I think that's fair.

I plan to buy a Calcium reactor too in a couple of weeks since I have a 4 clams in my tank and I'm tired of dosing it on a daily basis just to meet 400ppm.

Hope things will turn out better for you. They usually work with you from all the complaints I've heard about them.

Phillip

 

[jalder]

I'm really surprised to hear this. I've had nothing but great experience with them on several difficult orders. I've sent last minute changes in emails to them only to have them come through time after time.

Frankly, I don't think I seen anyone yet I could recommend higher. I hope you get your problems resolved because these folks are an asset to your tank... At least they are to mine.

 

[XxDutchxX]

Im not surprised to hear it. This retro kit I ordered has been nothing but a pain. Ill paste my story here:

I ordered a ice cap retro before christmas and had some issues. First being that I dont even have all the bulbs yet but I understand the holidays are busy. ANyway I called them up and they said the bulbs were shipped last thursday or friday.....that were shipped this past monday. So since they wont be here till next monday I said well I might as well wire this thing up and supplement with some NO for the time being. So I did, but when I went to put the aquasuns on I noticed they have cracks on the ends!!!wtf So now I have to send these back to get new one. To make the story even better I sold my PC setup on ebay and it was suppose to be sent out on weds. Im a little angry to say the least. This is my second time ordering from them and the first order was flawless.....after this though Im not happy!

 

[MarineDepot]

Hi Dutch,

We apologize for the delay. The URI shipment was delayed and we did not get to ship out the orders until Monday.

If your AquaSun bulbs were purchased from us, we actually will not need to have you ship back the bulbs. All that we would need are the serial numbers that are on the bulbs and we can get some replacement bulbs out to you ASAP. Please give us a call at 714-385-0080 or email us a sales@marinedepot.com.

Thank you for your patience and please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you.

Sincerely,
Joseph
Marine Depot Customer Service

 

[XxDutchxX]

Thanks will do...although they may just be surface cracks so I will see if they work.

 

[dragon_slayer]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=288639

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=278999

Joseph will feed you a line of bull every time IME, will even resort to telling lies about being sold out just so they dont have to reship anything that got screwed up along the way.

MD has the worst customer service i have ever found with an online retailer. they are just about the $$$ and could care less after the sale.


kc

 

[friedenmeister]

everybody go see my thread "upsetting experience" to know what i am talking about.

i think they lied to me too when they told me at first that the calcium test kit was backordered, and then they called a few hours later to tell me that it had already been shipped. why do i think they lied? because they told me their standard policy was to ship backordered items via US postal (the slowest ground service available), yet when they called me back later in the evening, they said the order had already been shipped second day airmail. hmm....hmmm....hhhhmmmmmm. yeah, something is fishy at the fish store.

 

[XxDutchxX]

Yea I will prob find another source...this isnt the first instance Ive heard about.

 

[Rebels23]

Wow, there are alot of bad experiences with Marine Depot. I thought they were one of the top stores......

 

[commandertekki]

maybe its just me, but you guys seem to get all the bad luck with marine depot. and i havent gotten anything but great service.

I've changed orders after they receive them and asked specific questions and they've done nothing but promptly answered any concerns I have about their products.

I read all your threads, and it just seems like sometimes s**t happens. Like today.. I just lost my yellow tang. Dont know why. Just did, water quality is cool, but obviously it wasnt for the tang.

I hope you get your bulb soon.

ciao

 

[fishermike]

I have placed five orders from Marine Depot for shipping and one for will call. Every order was shipped in a timely manner and everyone was pleasant to deal with. My concerns are that each order had defective or missing parts in it.

1. Broken reflector clip on a light fixture.
2. Missing rubber legs for a light fixture (was told to call CSL).
3. AquaC Remora with a cup that stuck in the top of skimmer (Aqua C made me a new cup because the skimmer top was smaller than it should have been, this took 6 weeks to resolve).
4. Broken Dolphin air pump (told to call WON Brothers).
5. SCWD that is leaking.

All of these occured on different shipments. It seems very strange that first run products would have such issues. It is also very frustrating to have my SCWD leak and have to pay for a replacement while they "test" to see if it is really leaking. They have my CC on file and could replace the unit and if I fail to return the defective unit they can then charge me. I am also concerned because they STRESSED that if it didn't leak for them I would have to pay for it and the replacment. I would not take my whole closed loop down and request a replacment if it wasn't leaking! Unfortunately I will not be present for their "test" so it will be my word against theirs.

I am really struggling with this because everyone at Marine Depot has been friendly, however I have a problem with getting so much defective merchandise and being told that it wasn't really their responsibility but to contact the manufacturer. My wife thinks that I am a fool for continuing to order from them and I am beginning to think so myself!

 

[Rebels23]

I think Jason at premiumaquatics is top notch! I always try and order from them.

Rebels23

 

[fishermike]

I agree about Premium Aquatics! They are gret. I am in L.A. so if I order from MD I get the goods next day for the cost of ground. Oh well, the cost of the Advil for all the headaches would cover shipping from Indiana!

 

[MarineDepot]

dragon_slayer: If you ever met Joseph, you would know it is completely out of his character to lie. I think that is a very harsh. He's one of the classiest people I have ever met. I'm sure there are thousands of people here that can attest to taking to him after he has been here 10-12 hours and he is just as cheerful and willing to help as when he comes in early in the morning. He stays a couple extra hours here every night just make sure everybody is happy. If you give him a chance, I'm certain you'll be super happy.

friedenmeister: I apologize that you feel we lied to you. We never intentionally lie to anybody. We do what we can to prevent unintentional lies also. We are an above board company that absolutely does strive to do our best. I am very sorry you feel this way. Again, if you met the guys here, you will know nobody will willingly deceive you.

That addressed. The majority of our customers that have any issues whatsoever will come to us first, and they will be made happy. For us, this is an opportunity to earn loyalty and we make the most of out it. Reef Central is an incredible medium and we love it. However, the idea here should be to get a solution if anything does go wrong. Ranting and raving is acceptable, but it would be great if you allow us to make it right before judging us.

 

[rvitko]

Look, I am a vendor and I am sure some smart alleck will point that out 20 times even though I am admitting it here.

Joseph is one of the most honest and dedicated people in this industry- he takes his work home off the clock and looses sleep over things that go wrong. He calls me almost weekly to learn about our products and make sure everything is done right. I don't think you will find someone more concerned for the customer than Joseph. He does not deserve that and if you were fair you would have to understand that quite often a sales rep is at the mercy of there computer- if shipping says it was done that is all he knows. If shipping made a keying error and trust me on most computer programs like Peachtree or UPS World Ship which I use daily one little wrong keystroke ruins the whole deal as it defaults to the nearest known correct entry- if you moved it will go back to your previous recorded address.

As for the defective products- most aquarium goods are hand made in fairly small lots and it happens quite often and yes, most manufacturers want to handle these things directly so they can be sure it is defective and if it is defective find out why- odds are pretty good an entire batch was defective because of a new employee, a bad mold, a bad assembly jig or bad assembly practices. If you want to avoid defects I would say your only hope is mass market goods stamped from machines- this rules out almost every skimmer and lighting assembly.

 

[fishermike]

You are absolutely right about Joseph and I might add Ben to that list also. They are both great guys! That is what makes it so frustrating to encounter the type of problems that I have.

I do understand that defects do occur sometimes, but all the time? I also understand that the manufacturer wants those products back but they should get them from the dealer not the customer. I am in a managment position in a manufacturing business and when we mess up we make it right with our vendors immediately, often drop shipping direct to the customer. We then worry about getting the merchandise back from the end user. Make it right and then worry about losses! Competition is so fierce that I can not afford to lose a customer over a few dollars. Many times have I had to eat the cost of an order to satisfy the customer. I always get that money back in the long run. A great example is Costco, they will take it back for any reason with or without a receipt!

Nobody here is complaining about the problem but rather the way that the problem was handled. I have seen several very long threads lately about the way the customer perceives that MD is not handling the issues fairly. Right or wrong it is about time that vendors look at how the customer perceives them and their policies, after all it is the customers money that is being spent.

rvitco--That "smart alleck" may have been the one that was about to fork out $750 for your goods but has now been turned off by that type of attitude. JMO

 

[MarineDepot]

Fishermike: Those are very good points, and we will take all of them into consideration. We have considered a Costco type return system, but the surveys we had taken from our customers told us they preferred regular sale promotions, the free shipping promotions, tax promotions that we run over a more lenient return policy. At that time, there was an overwhelming response towards the lower prices as opposed to costco type return policies. A lot of time as has passed since that survey, and I think you raise a lot of good points. I think it is time we send out another survey.

I think rvitco's comments might have been misunderstood. I think he is just saying that there are other variables behind Joseph's answers.

commandertekki and jalder: Many of us here live and breath Marine Depot. Thank you very, very much for your kind words.

 

[rvitko]

There was no attitude implied to any one here but I am not going to see a good man get slammed unfairly.

Costco is not even in the picture- m,ost aquarium products are almost built in someones garage or a small warehouse by an aquarist who had a dream and aan idea- there is no big corporation and no big corporate accout to pay such costs of lost merchandise. Everyone just does the best they can.

If I turned you off I am sorry but I believe any one who has ever needed my help has gotten it and I run an honest business, just trying to give the other perspective from someone who works in the industry and I am sorry if my "smart alleck" comment was taken as an insult but I know how hard these people work and it does seem a bit unfair that most of us don't have to face these critiques in our daily work- sure someone may disagree with our company but no one singles us out personally. In the past I have responded to these threads and had 3+ people post "he's a vendor, he's a vendor" even though this is clear in my words and my profile.

 

[fishermike]

rvitco--I did not take offense to your comments but someone might have and that is what I am trying to get across. When we are businessmen representing a company we can ill afford to offend potential buyers of our products.

marinedepot--The tone of your reply is the same tone that I have always received from you on the phone, EXTREMELY PROFESSIONAL. You guys really are great people to work with and I like all of you. I understand that returns are tough but using the above post as to how defects are not uncommon I don't think that the customer should br forced to absorb the liability.

It is funny that as we are having this dialog one of my salesmen came into my office with some merchandise that was returned to him by a customer. They ordered it and decided that they wanted something else. The hard part is that they don't know when they ordered it or how much it cost. I took the return with no hassle knowing that I will get more business from them by doing so. My business philosophy is the same as Costco and I am by no means a large corporation like Costco but I try to act like one.

Marine Depot, I was not trying to bash you guys but I can not absorb the responsibility of a defective product. If it never worked it is not my responsibilty but rather yours. I called CSL, AquaC and WON Brothers and all expet WON Brothers were helpful and took care of the problems. I just don't feel like doing that anymore. Again, you guys have pleasant attitudes and are a pleasure to deal with but defects are happening to often for my comfort! If I change my mind and don't want the product, shame on me. If it arrives not working, shame on you. Maybe you should have different policies regarding returns vs. defects.