Do you leave your local fish store disappointed? Why is that?

[Eyesac]

I voted sometimes only because I know my tank isn't cycled yet! I live in the metro Orlando area and we are lucky to have some really good fish stores.

 

[vabben]

The local stores I will never buy anything saltwater from, their tanks are disgusting, full of algea and aptasia. Not sure who they sell to.... I have to travel an hour or two to get to a reputual store. I have resorted to purchasing everything online and local frag swaps.

 

[kelp47]

I have one within 20 min from home. Livestock is decent, but equipment selection is lacking... only low end brands. I'm not a total gear snob, but I like to buy good quality so I don't have to worry about it breaking or not performing. So I order all gear online.

 

[scardall]

I have many good choices as well as those who will disapoint me on many levels. In general every store has something at a better price point than others carrying the same/similar item/s. In my county I have upto 4 worthy LFS's . 2 great and 2 not bad at all. Now in Orlando there are up to 4 nice LFS's . They can be well overpriced on many items but sometimes will have what I want at a fair market price. WWC is a great place to go untill you get to their SPS/LPS prices. ( well over market prices) GREAT customer service though.

 

[southerntnreefer]

I have a pretty amazing LFS, I have a personal relationship with the owner and the staff. I get disappointed because its an hour from my house, and its small. Small is good, as prices are amazing, trade in prices are really good on things, and i can special order anything i want.

They cant really hold anything for me, so i have to be ready to pick up and QT or whatever when it arrives. If im just going fish shopping or coral shopping because i want to, i often miss the rush, and all the really good things are gone. So that's where i get my disappointment.

 

[Mr Mumblez]

Always disappointed but it’s the only LFS close! They have very few corals and they look half dead. I know if I was to buy one and it didn’t come back to life that the LFS wouldn’t care or fix the issue. So I e been looking for a reputable online coral store. Any suggestions? Also my LFS sold me a Hydor wave pump that was like 2 models back for more than I could have gotten generation 3 for. Crazy high prices.

 

[Weasel1960]

We do not in the United Kingdom have fish shops the sort of size the photographs show. How I wish.

The independent shop I have tried to buy 95% of the nearly £8,000 I have spent on the set up over the 11 months. Good customer I hope, however several times I have asked for a fish and they do not tell me one is in and it sells out before I can visit..I am in a wheelchair and the shop is not easy to get around due to the gaps in the stock on the shelfs. I have been waiting for a giant clam for 6 months. I called them this week and they had one in, but it turned out it was the runt of the 6 they had and 5 sold and this one was not in a good shape. They deliver to me every two weeks water RO and Salt although I do have the equipment to make my own if I had to. So I am in contact with them weekly so no excuse that they can forget they have a customer that will pay the £145 for the clam. I have so far missed out on a fox face, a dwarf angel. So I gets a bit cross that they let me down. The next shop is 40 miles away and not assessable to wheelchairs (despite the laws) but my wife has visited them in the past and they are 99% coral and have a few Clams. (small).

It’s very unfortunate that despite your repeated business they don’t keep you in a higher regard. Lack of customer service would lose my business very quickly.

 

[DaddyFish]

Disappointed by any of my several LFSs??? ALMOST everytime, there are few exceptions.
From the big box chains to the independent LFSs, and I'm near a fairly large city.

I'm smart enough to understand the negative impact on both the local economy and my interaction with the hobby when a LFS disappears. Somehow, they all seem immune to the pain of repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot! The thousands upon thousands of dollars of lost revenue has no effect on their customer service.

I will say this... I've visited LFSs in other NC and SC cities and received a very different experience. I've seen some nice displays, received helpful advice, and been genuinely sorry that I couldn't buy an entire cooler of fish from them and take them back to my hotel room! I do try to repay their service by leaving positive comments on their Facebook pages and web sites, along with buying SOMETHING while I'm there.

Here's my SHORT list of complaints...

1. The available staff claims to know a lot about fish traits, but in reality they know nothing more than anyone else can get off the compatibility charts. And they're unwilling to ask anyone else.

2. The staff has little to no knowledge about new products or newer technologies. Worse yet, they tend to propagate outdated myths and rumors.

3. Zero follow-up for any special request. Try to request a particular species of fish, no phone call, no follow-up, 2-3 weeks later absolutely no memory of ever speaking to you about anything.

4. Every fish in stock has been there a long time, eats hardily, is disease free (yeah right!) (despite the visible spots or lethargic behavior) and they have no idea what meds have been used in their systems. Side note - they have no idea what their s.g. or pH is either.

5. Ask them to "hold a fish for you" and if you aren't arriving today they refuse. Even if you ask for a hold and arrive that day to pick it up, nobody marked the tank and nobody has any idea who you are or that the fish was to be reserved.

6. Store owners and managers refuse to bargain. Even after you tell them that you'd like to keep your business local, but you aren't going to pay them 4x the online price, they refuse to discount a penny. Walk in and tell the manager you want to spend $3,000 with him if he will consider some discounts, answer is always NO, price marked is the price.

7. If they don't currently stock an item they will put zero-ziltch effort into researching availability or price for you. Take your request and business elsewhere. (Did I mention no callback too?)

Honestly, some of the best customer service I get is at Petco of all places (probably because the manager likes fish). If their corporate structure allowed them to special order fish and equipment that I want/need, I'd probably picket the LFSs in my area and never look back.

 

[ks2509]

I live in Virginia Beach and honestly it's a great place for reefing I have 7 stores with in 20 min drive. 4 are both fresh and saltwater, 2 are salt, and one is coral only. The only thing that really ever disappoints me is when I walk into some of the bigger stores and see a massive selection but hardly any of it is healthy looking or sick fish. Sometimes I feel like they try to have to much and can't give the attention to making what they have top notch like the 2 smaller stores that are my favorites.

 

[Borg]

When it comes to Connecticut, they’re all dumps.

 

[wolfthefallen]

I wish I had a lfs, closest thing I have is a petco, and all I want to do is cry when I see their saltwater section. Those poor fish, small holding tanks and most always itch infected

 

[Flame2hawk]

1) fish quality is not consistent. They don’t always have experienced attendants.

2) Don’t have an amazing LFS. Just an ok one I frequent often but its just to pick up my frozen food supply. I was surprised recently and picked up a nice pink face wrasse. Beautiful fish. They said its a bit aggressive but I’ve seen none of that behavior in the Q tank shared with a 3 inch personifier angel. He’s 4 inches. In fact they’ve become best buds.

 

[SMSREEF]

Not today!
Just came home with a beautiful anemone.

Strictly Fish in Miami.

 

[Jdjohnson89]

Usually leave disappointed the two closest that sell any saltwater fish are over 200kms away and the one is down sizing their saltwater to only a couple tanks, doesn't even sell coral and is way over priced. The second one usually has dirty tanks and only basic fish they sell coral but half of them look dead so usually I end up ordering online because the closest decent store is over 500kms away.

O I forgot to also say alot of products in the first store are really old as well I bought some phosphate remover there I've never seen before so I contacted aquamaxx who made it to get some more information on the product and they couldn't believe I just bought it new because it was a product they discontinued making 15 years ago lol

 

[captainsmitty]

I only leave disappointed when they don't have what I am looking for.....which happens quite a bit since I normally go looking for a specific fish. I do have a nice LFS within 30 minutes of me that recently expanded to a MUCH larger space. They have 10+ display tanks with a decent selection of coral and fish.

ditto
There are a couple great stores in the San Jose area. The only time im disappointed is when I go looking for something specific and dont find it. I've become extreemly picky as to what ill put inot my tank as I have had problems in the past (havent we all with seasoned tanks).

 

[Bob Weigant]

We are pretty spoiled in the Bay Area. My LFS ( Aquatic Collections ) always seems to find something you don’t always see

 

[sp1187]

love my LFS.
leave disappointed all the time do to the cost of livestock.
I realize this is not the fault of the LFS, but then that wasn't todays question.

 

[dennis romano]

A little spoiled here in north NJ. There are three within a half hour drive, The first is a little one man shop with tons of corals and funky fish. One trip, he had SIX blue line angels! Whenever you go in, there is a fish you never saw before. In his display tank, there were pipefish, basslets and gobies that I only saw in books. The second store has a load of corals and bigger fish, snappers groupers etc. The third has close to 30 tanks of marine fish but pricey.

 

[ca1ore]

Realized the other day that it has been almost a year since I’ve visited a LFS. Partly a function of COVID, partly a function of how well online meets my needs. Although .... I do go and pickup my NYAquatic purchases.

 

[Peace River]

I am thrilled to live close to @WWC!!! As I reflected on this question of the day, I can't ever think of a time when I left either of their stores disappointed whether I am going there with a specific purchase in mind, attending an event where I am able to take a look at the farm, taking a class, or just dreaming for the future. The customer service, well-cared for tanks/livestock, and cleanliness of the store has always been top-notch.