very unhappy, false information

[Hens4Fish]

Dear Drs Foster,
I have been a loyal customer for years, having spent probably in the thousands at live aquaria and Drs foster. And my whole family( at my recommendation), spending 4 times that. I am very unhappy at what happened today. Here is the story...
I placed an order last night for many of the sale items, but also some other fish etc. The order totaled about $340. Thus being charged the $39.95 shipping. Some of the items were for other people, so shipping was going to be split. I then got an e-mail stating some of the items were not available. Now I have gotten this before, since I ordered from you many times. Every time it was for a small item, or maybe two. It was frustrating, but I let it go since it was the small amount of the total order. This time I found out that almost half of the order, all the sale items, are not being shipped. Honestly, if I would have known that, we would have cancelled the order. Knowing the odds that all 5 items that were ordered and not shipped ,will arrive at the same time, and even be shipped out to me, is slim. I understand species availability, but the computer system needs to be updated, so there are not over selling. I feel I got roped into placing an order for a bunch of stuff that I didnt want by promising me I would get good deals on stuff that would never ship out. Unless this is the business practice currently to get people to place orders by making them think they will get good deals and then not shipping. I have been such a loyal customer, but now I am stuck with extra shipping, and no items if the items dont ship, since the 2 people who ordered those items will not pay shipping for getting nothing. Something needs to be done. It is unfair because I place the order with you balancing the fact that 10 items is only $4 in shipping per item, thus making them better deals than other websites-local stores. Please PM me so we can resolve this frustrating situation. I know you have a great customer service dept., and hope to post in a few days the happy outcome.
Thank you,
Bill Henslin
P.S I will PM the roder number if you would like, but its under my name too.

 

[dfs/la2]

Bill,

Thank you for your recent order. We apologize that some of the items on the order have been placed on backorder. Unfortunately, as the items are live, it is very difficult for us to have a real time system available, as orders are constantly being placed. We understand the frustration that a back order can cause and in order to insure that the majority of the items get to you, we will always do two shipments on an order. You have not been charged for any of these items and will not be until they ship out at no extra cost to you. If you would like to substitute the back ordered items for anything other live items available, please contact us and we would be happy to do so.

Again we apologize for the inconvenience and would like to help you in any way possible to correct this issue.

Sandy C.
Live Aquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[Pike614]

How is it then than when an item is ordered via Divers Den, it is able to be removed so quickly?
I have had similar bad experiences with this "backorder" system. In the end, if the item does not come back in stock...then the buyer is "out" the $40 shipping. Yes, this means paying $40 to ship a single item!!! Live Aquaria is able to fix this, especially since Fosters and Smith now owns it......there is not a good reason that you can not keep an up-top-date inventory so that the customer knows what they are getting when they order.

 

[dfs/la2]

Pike614,

Thank you for your post. We apologize for any inconvenience and we appreciate the opportunity to clarify how our ordering system works. The main difference between the Diver’s Den items and the regular Live Aquaria items is that there is only one item being sold as opposed to a large quantity that is constantly changing. We appreciate you suggestions and have forwarded them to our management department. We are always willing to help our customers in any way to ensure 100% satisfaction.

Sandy C.
Live Aquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[Pike614]

My suggestion would be to make sure to give the customer the option to ship if the order turns out to be incomplete. If the order becomes complete in the 2 week window, then ship all at once.....
On a second note, when you have items in "super special" and "specials of the week" Since those are only a few select items, they should be much easier to keep track of. I ordered 3 fish off the weekly specials and all said "In Stock" yet none were actually in stock when I ordered. This really needs to be fixed.
Is it possible at this point to ask not to ship unless the order is complete?

 

[Hens4Fish]

I agree with pike. There is no reason there cant be a computerized method of keeping count of things. Especially those in the weekly specials. This needs to be adressed and remedied. In addition, I see those items still available on the weekly speicals. How is it that you have at least my order incomplete and the website still says available. Is this a business "gimik" to get people to place orders and then never deliver or only deliver a certain number of the super sales?
There are 2 ways to remedy this situation with me. One is to only charge me for half the shipping, since only half of it was shipped. Once my complete order is compiled, ship me the rest, and charge me the other half. That way, I am happy, and you are out nothing. Option 2 is wait until the rest of my entire order is filled and ship it to me in full. The whole reason we placed this order was to get in on great deals from the weekly specials. It seems as though it was a "bait and switch" I know you will refund my unpurchased items, but that is the law. You cant charge me for nothing. But if you dont ship me the weekly specials(which was th whole reason I placed the order) I will now have to pay another shipping charge plus 50%-70% more for the items since they are not on sale. I did my part as the customer. I placed the order base upon the websites availability. Please do yours by selling me what I ordered.
Thank you,
Bill Henslin

 

[dfs/la2]

Pike614 and Bill,

Thank you for your reply. We appreciate your suggestions and would be happy to forward them to our Management department. We are able to hold an order to only ship complete within the two weeks. However, this would mean that if one item is not available on the order within the 14 days, none of the items on the order would ship out. If you would like to have this added to any order that you would like to place online, simply put a note to that effect in the “Notes for This Order” area, or if you are ordering over the phone, tell the agent, and they will be sure that the order is held.


Bill,
Thank you for the suggestions. You have not been charged for the items that have been placed on back order and you will not be charged until they ship out. If they do not ship out within the 14 day period, we would be more then happy to credit you the shipping and handling on this order. Also, if you would like to exchange the items for any different items, we would be happy to send them to you at no extra shipping charge.

Sandy C.
Live Aquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[DFS]

Pike614 and Bill,

I want to personally apologize for the recent problem you both experienced regarding backorderd marine life. I can assure you that I will look into this matter immediately and take the appropriate steps to identify and correct any problems with our inventory. Customer satisfaction is of the utmost importance to us here at Drs. Foster and Smith, and this includes minimizing backorders.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Sincerely,
Kevin Kohen
Director of LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[Pike614]

Thanks Kevin and Sandy, I will be sure to add the comments to the notes section to hold until complete for delivery. By chance, is the inventory count issue a result of LA being in california, and the call center for LA being in Wisconsin?

 

[DFS]

Pike614,

Although this can be challenging at time, especially considering we are dealing with live animals, we have the technology in place which allows us to maintain very accurate inventory numbers. I can assure you that this situation is not the norm and I am very disappointed to hear about your frustration. I will look into this immediately to identify and correct this problem so we can minimize the number of backorders. Once again, thank you for your patience and understanding.

Regards,
Kevin Kohen
Director of LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[Hens4Fish]

Kevin,
How do I go about ensuring my order will be sent in full or not sent at all. And how will I get the refund if its not.
Thank you,
Bill

 

[DFS]

Bill,

Thank you for your patience. When an order is placed the credit card is sent out for authorization so that we can ensure there are sufficient funds available to charge the card. We physically charge the credit card when the order is shipped. The credit card is only charged for dollar amount of the specific animals that are shipped to you. If we are unable to ship the entire order complete, the remainder are placed on backorder and the balance of the order is held open for two weeks so that we can do our best to fill the order in this time frame. When the balance of the order (backorder) is shipped, the costs of these animals are then charged to the credit card.

Unlike other companies who ship orders if they can fill 75% of the dollar amount of the order and cancel the remainder, we choose to ship another package so we can do our part to deliver what was ordered with no additional shipping and handling charges. In this circumstance, we are paying for two separate FedEx shipping charges, two fuel surcharges, and two box charges, while only charging our valued customers once for shipping and handling. Although this is very costly for us to offer this service, we feel that this is extremely important due to the volatility of the availability of marine life. There are numerous reason that affect the availability of marine life and they are described below:
Factors Affecting Availability of Marine Life

I am personally overseeing that you receive the balance of your order in full, and cost of these animals will only be charged to your credit card the day your backorder is shipped.

Once again, thank you again for your patience, and I apologize for the disappointment and frustration.

Sincerely,
Kevin Kohen
Director of LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[Hens4Fish]

Thank you for personally taking control of this situation. I feel confident you will handle it well, and this issue will be resolved. I am hoping to get all the specimens, as we were very excited about them, but know you will take care of this for me.
Thank you very much,
Bill H.
P.S. I do agree that sending out another order is costly to you, and very good for customers, I just want to get all the items, not just one.

 

[Hens4Fish]

Just wanted to follow up saying I placed a $700+ order for dry goods today, and am sure I will be satisfied. I have always had such great experiences with Drs Foster, and was let down only because of the high standards I have for your company. Kevin I want to thank you for your continued follow up on this issue, as I was so excited to get these specimens I ordered. I just wanted you and everyone to know I still support your company, and hope this issue is resolved. Thanks again,
Bill H.

 

[aquaticvet1]

Thank you so much for the comments. Kevin may be on his way to MACNA but I wanted you to know that I too appreciate your thoughts. I apologize for not getting things right the first time, thank you for letting us correct our mistake.

Thank you,
Race Foster

 

[Hens4Fish]

Hey Guys,
I am wondering who I check with on how my order is coming. I wasnt sure what was filled so far, and if it was almost complete. Please let me know if its possibe to find this out.
Thanks,
Bill

 

[dfs/la2]

Hens4Fish,

Thank you for contacting us. Your order shipped complete in 5 boxes. We tracked them and it shows 1 box was delivered. The other 4 are currently in transit to you to be delivered early next week. If you would like you can PM us and we would be happy to give you your Federal Express tracking numbers for your remaining 4 boxes.

If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us.

Stacie R
Technical Support
Live Aquaria

 

[Hens4Fish]

I appologize for the confusion. I have recieved all my dry goods except the salt, that was not what I was referring to. I was asking about the live order that was originally placed and only half recieved. Kevin said he would personally oversee the gathering of the live goods to ensure a full order filling. I have seen some of the stuff available online so wanted to check on the status. If you need the origional order number, let me know.
Thanks,
Bill

 

[dfs/la2]

Hens4Fish,

Thank you for contacting us back. We apologize we misunderstood which order you were referring to. We would be happy to check with our California Shipping Facility on Monday, as we apologize they are closed on the weekend. We show on your Live Aquaria order that you are waiting for 4 different specimens to come in. We will certainly check Monday morning and then repost an answer for you. We apologize for any inconvenience.

If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us.

Stacie R
Technical Support
Live Aquaria

 

[DFS]

Bill,

Sorry for the late response as we just returned today from a very successful MACNA XX which was held in Atlanta Georgia over the weekend. I am still actively pursuing all avenues to obtain the remainder of the animals that are on your backorder and will contact you when I am successful in having your complete backorder ready for shipment.

I am leaving tomorrow morning for Los Angeles California to meet with some of our livestock vendors, and hopefully will be successful in rounding up everything for you this week if all goes well.

Thank you for your patience.

Regards,
Kevin Kohen
Director of LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith