Ordering frags

[Leah]

Just wondering if anyone has ordered something and has been very disapointed? I recently placed an order and was shocked to put it
mildly. I received the shipment which I believed was to be sent overnight.
It was shipped monday but It did not arrive until wednesday. Needless to
say it was cold as ice. There was an item missing for starters then no
where on the box did it mention live goods. I paid 55.00 to have this
shipped to the Okanagan only to find mush inside. What I thought I was
getting, and what I got were totally different. I have ordered lots from other
companies with no problem. I had my heart set on the order, and for them
to blame it on the shipper is very sad in my eye's. Talk about an injustice
to the preservation of such beautiful creatures. I would think that if I were
in the business, I would put a lot more thought and care into the shipping
and handling. This whole thing makes me very sad, being out the money is
one thing. I would not order from this company again. I just wish that I had
got, what I thought I ordered. Yesterday was a very disturbing day and to
make matters worse I had another Canreefer visiting and wanted to show
off my order. So it was not just I, who was shocked by the order.
Sadly dissapointed,
Leah Brown

[cav~firez22]

Care to mention who the order came from? so others are more cautious when ordering from there?

(PM it) :)

[fencer]

Coral Master is pretty good

[christyf5]

Yep I've been disappointed ordering livestock. My first live order I ever had shipped arrived at about 60F, two of the bags didn't even have water in them and I proceeded to watch 2 of the three corals I had bought melt over the next few days. The third coral lasted another 2 weeks and croaked. There wasn't even any talk of credit/refund/replacement. I never ordered from them again and was nervous about getting livestock shipped ever again. In fact I don't think I had anything shipped for about 5 years after that.

I've also had frags shipped freshly cut, unmounted and rolling around in the bags. Nothing like having your $30+ frags RTN overnight all for the sake of a little piece of rock or some styrofoam :rolleyes:

On the flip side, I've also had fantastic experiences with ordering stuff. Smart packaging with lots of heat packs and followups by the company I've ordered from. Its those companies that get my business now and I stay away from the others.

[digital-audiophile]

Were the frags $10 each?

[Leah]

Okay I bite? But no I wish.

[Whatigot]

did the company name start with a frag and end with a lot?

[digital-audiophile]

did the company name start with a frag and end with a lot?

LOL! I was trying to be a bit more subtle but you made me laugh!

[Leah]

No it did not, but I did hear they were a bad bet as well.

[brizzo]

I've had pretty good luck with live orders. Only have had 1 frag stn

Including grey house shipments from the coast

[Okguy]

I'm pretty sure I know where you received the shipment from *edit* ok I guess I was wrong. I was disappointed with my most recent order as well. I ordered 4 things. The bags they came in were completely deflated (I'm pretty sure most things need oxygen to live). One died on the second day (1 day past their guarantee). 2 of the items I never ordered but because they were in such bad shape when they arrived, I couldn't tell for sure for about 3 weeks. And the 4th doesn't have as many heads a promised (2 when 5 are promised). What I'm going to do from now on is take a look at the vendor ratings here:

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=138

Anyone with an unsatisfactory rating above 20% isn't meeting their customers’ needs properly and I will probably stay away to avoid disappointment.


HTH

Kevin

[rocketlily]

I hope that you will be rating this company appropriately on the Vendor Rating Forum so that others may be spared this disapointment.

Very sorry this happened to you as I know what it is like to anticipate the arrival of an order. I have been very fortunate and the 2 suppliers I have used have been extremely careful with their packaging and I have never been disappointed.

[mark]

Started this survival poll (http://216.187.96.54/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=48976)after a disappointing group order in Edm. Was surprise though that overall shipping success is as high as indicated.

Where I'm a little turned off from getting frags shipped is the size of the frag for the price, specially if it's not WYSIWYG.

Support your local Canreef fragger.

[Whatigot]

the shipping companies do play a role, but thats pretty convenient for the shipper....

I had my 25 frags shipped from Ontario a while ago and while everything about the order was terrible, the one thing that was as advertised was the arrival of everything alive and well.
I actually had sps with pe in the shipping bags when I pulled them out of the shipping box...
I am sure the only reason this worked was because I had them hold it at the purolator office, rather than let some delivery truck driver throw it in his truck and bump around town with it before his route took him past my house.

I am sure I saved myself 7 or 8 hours of transit time doing it this way.
The frags arrived at about 10 am at the shipping office and I got them by 1pm...

I would never order frags or anything live to my home address now, it's worth the drive to pick it up yourself IMO.

[fragNplug]

ouch.

[Leah]

I did not know about the vendor rating, Thank-you I will be the first to go there now,
though. That is the best new's yet. My whole point is I do not care about the money,
as I probably should, I would like to spare the next person the utter dissapointment
of opening your package and being completely shocked. God only know's why it took
so long to get here. I just new, when they did not arrive tuesday, I was S.O.L. I paid
$55.00 to have a box shipped (not much bigger than a lunch box) from the fraser Valley
to Penticton. And it didn't fly here, if that is what your thinking. I can not see it.
This said person has their $ 250.83 so they should be very happy as for me I am the proud owner of ?????? Who knows what, when and if I ever figure that much out!
Leah

[cav~firez22]

a bag of ..... fouled water?

that really sucks.
Buy frags locally ??

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

did the company name start with a frag and end with a lot?

Actually the company starts with Oceanic and ends with Corals! I have no reason to hide from any complaint and is the reason I am responding to this thread! I guess there is a 10% rule when dealing with customers, someone always has to take something and make it negative even though everything was offered to make it a positive. I was absolutelty shocked when i got up this morning and read this post.:bad-word:

As a business I try to do everything in a professional and respectful manner, including making any wrongs or even shipping mishaps right! My arrive alive guarantee is in place for a reason and I stand behind it. I am more than happy to confront ANY complaints publicly as my reputation is important, nobody appreciates inaccurate slander. I very much appreciate every one of my customers, I DO NOT take advantage of anyone!



I have listed out all the communication I could find right from day one in chronological order, I would appreciate feedback as to what more I could have done.


Email number one (1)

Subject: Okay Iam confused

I set up an account and it would not accept payment mode. Could not find the Yuma and it timed out on me
while looking. Another reefer would like to get in on
this order as well. What ever happened to the good
old telephone communication. I realize I am not computor savy, and this is driving me crazy.HELP
How is payment made and when? Can someone else
order along with me?


My reply:

Leah,

I understand your frustration, I did at one point take phone orders but it is far to difficult to track.

Log back in and add your Yuma, if another friend wants in on the order just add more to your cart.

I will try calling you.

Ian
________
Notes: At this point I personally called the customer to help with the process. The conversation was about five minutes or more. Explained how to add the Yuma to the cart.
_________

Second reply next day: Yuma was still not added to cart.

Leah,

Did you figure out how to log in and order the Yuma? I will manually adjust your order and invoice you if you prefer. Let me know!

Ian
__________________

Subject: re order

Ian, that would be great. How do I get back in, I really am stuck.
I am sorry to be so much trouble.
Thank-you, will you send the pay-pal info once you get a price.
leah

My reply:

Subject: Re: re order

Leah,

I received your payment just fine! I am sorry that it was so difficult, hopefully next time this will not be the case. I will package your order up and ship it out Monday of next week. Westjet only goes to Kelowna from Vancouver and I don't ship from Vancouver airport as it is about an hour away. I would think Fedex EXPRESS would work very well for you.

Thanks again,

Ian

Second email on the day of shipping! Note the fact that I clearly mentioned that the Copperband didn't get included, it was healthy enough to ship. since then it has died.

Subject: Re: re order

Leah,

Your package has been shipped and should arrive tomorrow morning via Purolator express, Purolator was actually my best bet for shipping to Penticton. The box is well packaged with insulation and two 40 hour heat packs.

Unfortunately the Copperband wasn't looking very well at the time of packaging so he was not included. Please let me know how you would like me to process your refund for him.

Thanks!

Ian

Notes: I shipped the package Purolator overnight Express, due to customers location I felt this was my best bet, the box was insulated with foam, bubble wrap, newspaper, and two 40 hour heatpacks (small box). The box was listed FRAGILE and had a "this way up" marking on it.I do not list the box as "live goods" when shipped via courier, most couriers don't ship live goods.

I could not find next email from Leah, the email from her stated that she waited all day and the package did not arrive. I responded by saying that I will look into it, I also clearly stated that she needs to remember we have a arrive alive guarantee, should anything not survive I would refund her money 100% including tax. I apologized for the unfortunate delay.

Leah, You are welcome to copy and paste this email I can't find.

Next email from Leah on Wednesday morning,

For starters It arrived this morning. It was ice cold!!!!! I do not think the yuma or the mushroom will recover, I will have to see when I turn the lights on them (thurs). I did not receive a bill with them either ??????? I would like to know exactly what I paid for each item. I am rather disapointed in the order I am sorry, I do not blame puralator entirely. You have the ball in your court at the moment, hoping you will rectify this. I feel like I have been taken advantage of, I am hoping it is a series of mistakes and nothing more.
Leah Brown



My response,

Re: re order (copy of email to you)

Leah,

For starters I never send a bill with the order as it is completely accessible online via our website once an order is placed, this is exactly why I communicated to you that we do not take phone orders. The invoice lists exactly what you ordered and how much it cost you. I copy and pasted your invoice below exactly as it would look like should you log back into your account and click on recent orders section. Out of over one hundred orders this is the first time for this type of complaint.

Second, I do not take advantage of anyone! I actually feel somewhat insulted by such a comment. Your order was exactly as you ordered minus the Copperband, this I also communicated to you before your order shipped. I also added an extra Yuma at no charge as a good will gesture, I often do this as a thanks. I think people forget that when shipping companies don't pull through I lose money on the shipping and all of the costs associated with the livestock not arriving alive.

In closing, I too would be very disappointed in my order if I were you; however, the only issue I see here is the fact that Purolator screwed up and delivered your package a day late! I take absolutely no responsibility for the poor outcome. The packaging was top notch, the heat packs were doubled and of the 40 hour type, and the order was shipped overnight priority. As said in the previous email, I would refund you anything that didn't survive, I made this very clear.

I know leave this in your court as I clearly did in my last correspondence with you, tell me what doesn't make it and I will refund 100% of the value including tax.



The next response was NO RESPONSE! I have now sent two more PM's including a 100% refund including shipping. The response I get from this customer is the initial post in this thread.

1.) Nothing was missing from the order that I did not communicate clearly to the customer (ie: Copperband) I don't ship sick fish.

2.) I offered a complete refund more than once after I was notified what was DOA.

3.) I went above and beyond to help a customer that right from the start had trouble with ordering livestock. An unrequested phone call from me was also included.

4.) As much as I would love to be able to control what happens in transit by the carrier, I just can't! shipping to areas with sub zero temperatures also has its own challenges. Arrive alive will ultimately fall back to no cost to the customer should something happen.


Anything you want to add to this Leah?

[digital-audiophile]

At least for me in the future I would only have frags shipped via westjet. It's mot really any different in price and you get the items within an hour of the plane landing.

[fragNplug]

Im very surprised at this vendor offering up their identity after such bad remarks about this topic.

Id does seem from the one side of the detailed emails he has done everything possible to compensate them as well.

Kudos on offering up your identity to a public thread even when the client tried to conceal it.

This just appears to be a case of "ohmygod i hate courier companies".

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Im very surprised at this vendor offering up their identity after such bad remarks about this topic.

Id does seem from the one side of the detailed emails he has done everything possible to compensate them as well.

Kudos on offering up your identity to a public thread even when the client tried to conceal it.

This just appears to be a case of "ohmygod i hate courier companies".

Bad remarks need to be justified! I want justification here. I will come forth with ANY complaint publicly, everyone has a right to know the whole story.

Ian

[brizzo]

For being such an uber geek, sometimes I hate corresponding with people via email. I think sometimes people take written messages as the wrong emotions, and a big miscommunication can start.

I hope you two can get this sorted out, but in my opinion you both seemed a little "snappy" from your writing, but I certainly hope no one's feelings are hurt.

Maybe a nice phone call to each other with calm approach will help :biggrin:

[Whatigot]

after reading this, I went and looked at the vendor ratings forum for the company I ordered from as well as the Oceanic corals one...
I think that about says it all if anyone has any doubts.

Great work Oceanic, I hope that Leah takes you up on your offer to either refund or replace.
I was not offered anywhere near the level of communication or basic customer service by one of your competitors (if you can call it that) that I see demonstrated here and am definitely still planning to order from you in the future having seen this thread.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Just wondering if anyone has ordered something and has been very disapointed? I recently placed an order and was shocked to put it
mildly. I received the shipment which I believed was to be sent overnight.
It was shipped monday but It did not arrive until wednesday. Needless to
say it was cold as ice. There was an item missing for starters then no
where on the box did it mention live goods. I paid 55.00 to have this
shipped to the Okanagan only to find mush inside. What I thought I was
getting, and what I got were totally different. I have ordered lots from other
companies with no problem. I had my heart set on the order, and for them
to blame it on the shipper is very sad in my eye's. Talk about an injustice
to the preservation of such beautiful creatures. I would think that if I were
in the business, I would put a lot more thought and care into the shipping
and handling. This whole thing makes me very sad, being out the money is
one thing. I would not order from this company again. I just wish that I had
got, what I thought I ordered. Yesterday was a very disturbing day and to
make matters worse I had another Canreefer visiting and wanted to show
off my order. So it was not just I, who was shocked by the order.
Sadly dissapointed,
Leah Brown



Leah,

Myself and I am sure everyone else is also waiting for your response here! Did I miss anything with my post of chronological communication? Was there any other hidden communication that I didn't know about? I expect an explanation.

[digital-audiophile]

I'm surprised that Ian would get a complaint.

My order from him was fantastic. The webpage is well set up, the ordering was simple. Communication was great, he even took the time to phone me to talk about the order when an email would have been fine.

On the phone Ian even mentioned that he would have a brief layover in Calgary on his way to Regina and was willing to meet up in the airport to hand deliver the order but I didn't want to make him come out and go back through security so I was more than happy to pay for the shipping as ordered.

The order arrived well packed, well insulated and well heated.

I would not hesitate to order from him again. Infact I look forward to my next purchase.

I sleep eat and breath customer service myself, it is my business, my life and my paycheque, I would be happy to have a guy like Ian working for me!

[mark]

Live arrivals guaranteed, 100% refund, etc., lets's face it, even if the supplier holds up their end, it's still a hassle getting replacements.

[Treebeard]

Well done Ian! You have my respect and although I have never ordered from you, I admire anyone who is willing to lay it all on the line.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

after reading this, I went and looked at the vendor ratings forum for the company I ordered from as well as the Oceanic corals one...
I think that about says it all if anyone has any doubts.

Great work Oceanic, I hope that Leah takes you up on your offer to either refund or replace.
I was not offered anywhere near the level of communication or basic customer service that I see demonstrated here and would definitely still order from you in the future having seen this thread.


I am actually very angry with this thread! I take my job here very seriously, I WILL NOT be called out like this without an explanation. I refunded her money in full this morning already.

I hope that the one negative in my feedback rating can be linked back to this thread. It is things like this that make me wonder why I try so hard.

:sad:

[Treebeard]

Oh, the joys of customer service!

I am actually very angry with this thread! I take my job here very seriously, I WILL NOT be called out like this without an explanation. I refunded her money in full this morning already.

I hope that the one negative in my feedback rating can be linked back to this thread. It is things like this that make me wonder why I try so hard.

:sad:

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Oh, the joys of customer service!


This kind of thing really hurts! I don't get offended easily but when someone alludes that they have been taken advantage of I react quickly. I have absolutely no problem with fully disclosing any complaint in plain view for anyone to see.

I am still expecting a response from Leah here! I want an explanation.

[Leah]

Funny, I do not see were I requested them to be flown here. Which was what I thought
would happen. You already had my money at that point. So any arrangements I would
have liked to make were not possible. I trusted you to make the best possible shipping
arrangements to keep it all alive. And I did admit, to not being very good on the computor. I told you I could not retrieve the order from the computor. And I also believe you have left out some of the emails that I sent you. I believe I asked you for a
tracking number as well. And on the bill you did email me there was no mention of the
Yuma you so nicely added. The bill you sent was for $ 250. 83 not the right amount.
Was the bill not closer to $27$.$$. Not even sure of the exact total.
Like I said maybe it is just a comedy of errors or perhaps not, whatever I am not a
satisfied customer and you can by all means keep my money and put it you know where!!
Have a wonderful day, Ian
Regards,
Leah

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Funny, I do not see were I requested them to be flown here. Which was what I thought
would happen. You already had my money at that point. So any arrangements I would
have liked to make were not possible. I trusted you to make the best possible shipping
arrangements to keep it all alive. And I did admit, to not being very good on the computor. I told you I could not retrieve the order from the computor. And I also believe you have left out some of the emails that I sent you. I believe I asked you for a
tracking number as well. And on the bill you did email me there was no mention of the
Yuma you so nicely added. The bill you sent was for $ 250. 83 not the right amount.
Was the bill not closer to $27$.$$. Not even sure of the exact total.
Like I said maybe it is just a comedy of errors or perhaps not, whatever I am not a
satisfied customer and you can by all means keep my money and put it you know where!!
Have a wonderful day, Ian
Regards,
Leah

I will not respond to anymore of this crap Leah, I find your tone insulting and I will not play into any insults. If you had read the TWO Pm's I sent you with no response and checked your Paypal account you would have noticed that your refund has long been sent to you.

Ps. Please feel free to add any communication I have missed.

I now exercise the right to fire a customer!

[Trigger Man]

By the sounds of it Ian you did a good job handling the situation and I put the blame on the transportation company, however, emails can always be taken wrong, so I would recommend calling a customer that complains to try to rectify the situation, instead of emailing if possible. I owned a bunch of Skateboard/Snowboard shops for 8 years and as you now know customers can be very tough on a business no matter what the business trys to do to rectify the situation, even if it was the customers fault (not saying it was the customers fault in this situation). I always found that contacting the customer with the issue within a certain amount of time to let them vent and then proceeding to contact them a day later after they have calmed down and had time to reflect tended to work best towards figuring out a solution.
In the end the best you can do is take this as a learning experience and hopefully Leah and you can come to a understanding.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

I very much appreciate the support for those that have responded. Mods, you are welcome to lock this post, I will not responding anymore on this subject. I think I have proven my point.

[fencer]

I would like to see a money back option for the consumer rather than a replace option or both. The problem is if you have a large group order and only my portion is DOA. I am not likely to ask for replacement frags as the freight would be unacceptable. I would be willing to eat the freight charges, just refund my money back on the DOA items. Sorry to hijack the thread

[Borderjumper]

I just wanted to add that I have received a number of shipments from Ian and I couldnt be happier with his customer service AND the merchandise I bought. I always have gotten fast emails back concerning my questions and purchases and his packing is always top notch!

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

By the sounds of it Ian you did a good job handling the situation and I put the blame on the transportation company, however, emails can always be taken wrong, so I would recommend calling a customer that complains to try to rectify the situation, instead of emailing if possible. I owned a bunch of Skateboard/Snowboard shops for 8 years and as you now know customers can be very tough on a business no matter what the business trys to do to rectify the situation, even if it was the customers fault (not saying it was the customers fault in this situation). I always found that contacting the customer with the issue within a certain amount of time to let them vent and then proceeding to contact them a day later after they have calmed down and had time to reflect tended to work best towards figuring out a solution.
In the end the best you can do is take this as a learning experience and hopefully Leah and you can come to a understanding.

Thanks for the advice I appreciate all of the input. I did not call the customer because the last PM I sent was for her to tell me what didn't make it and what I need to refund her. the very next response was NO RESPONSE other than her first post here. I am proactive but at that point the ball was in her court for what needed to happen next, I left nobody hanging!