themarinecenter.com - bad attitude and misleading

[nvillacci]

Quoted from themarinecenter.com's website at http://themarinecenter.com/dfwrockspecials+.htm

"Marine Center gives you free shipping and delivery in DFW!
Get Marine Center's fresh, Premium Live Rock delivered to your door free as soon as it arrives from the islands! No extra shipping cost, no airport pick-up hassle.
Need Info? Check out the facts. "

more

"Delivered to your door prices!
If you live in or can take delivery in Dallas Fort Worth, you just found the best deal on live rock anywhere! Why? Prices on this page are delivered to your door in DFW! No extra shipping, no airport pickup hassle. If you buy rock from an out of state supplier you're looking at a minimum of $40-$60 in shipping for just one box, and that's to DFW, then you have the hassle of picking it up at the airport. If you want it shipped to your door, that's even more at a cost of $1.50 or more per pound on shipping alone... we do it free!"

"What are my shipping options for Live Rock & Sand?


If you're in DFW, IT'S FREE! "

and one more
"Your Order
NOTE: If you're In Dallas, TX, shipping is FREE!


NOTE: If you are not a Dallas/Fort Worth, TX resident, or are not taking delivery in DFW, please see our Nationwide live rock & "

Now am I alone in thinking that delivery in the DFW - Dallas/Fortworth are is free. This means no charge except the items, right? Now go to themarinecenter.com. Nowhere on there does it say, oh theres a box fee of 10.00 for every order. I ordered twice before noticing this charge. Mainly because I didnt recieve the invoice from the first order. I think this is another case of ripoff occuring. The main reason I ordered from themarinecenter is the free delivery. If I knew there was a hidden cost I would have gone to the LFS

I called TMC.com and asked about this charge. I was told it was on the website somewhere. In fact he couldn't find it and point it out to me. He said there is a box charge for each order, I said for what? All I got was a cardboard box. No heatpads or cooling pads. He said its an industry standard. I think its a bit misleading for you to advertise FREE DELIVERY and then throw in Packing charges. Let me know if I wrong here, please.

PS. When I did proceed to say it was misleading to not have it listed anywhere on the ordering page he insulted me by saying, "Are you that hard-up for money, do you need me to send you a Peanutbutter and Jelly sandwich or something..." I will never order from this place again. Espeacially after making some good friends at the LFS

Nick

[Abet]

I feel for you Nick, I am a buyer by trade and fine prints are my worst nightmare. Now when charges pop up from nowhere, that's when it really hits the fan.

A vendor actually said something along these lines "Are you that hard-up for money, do you need me to send you a Peanutbutter and Jelly sandwich or something..." Not the exact words of course. But, I told him that I'd smack him with a hundred bucks if he'd let me:blown: and he can keep it:D

[MiNdErAsR]

Seems to me, based on your post, that *shipping* is free. Box charge is a whole 'nother thing. :)

[nvillacci]

Minderaser- thing is nowhere on any page for ordering is there a mention for box fees. The guy couldnt even find it when I called him. I would expect a box fee from a mail order, but this was delivery to my door.

If I advertised delivery for free, I sure wouldnt add in an extra charge without letting my customers know. This is just bad business.

Besides that, he was a total @ss on the phone.

[yellow dog]

Does anyone over there ever answer the phone? I know they have a slick web site, but I like to ask questions before I make a couple of hundred dollar purchase.

[polo]

Hey Nick!

I feel bad for you, no one likes to feel as if they were taken. I would like to know, though, did you order some of their live rock?
If so was the rock a good deal. I was thinking of getting my rock from them when I set up my tank in a few months.

[scyllaris]

Hello,I have bought from marine center a couple of times and was charged a s+h charge of 10.00 per order.But if you read about packing, then click on tell me about your packing,long version it will tell you about the box charge.It is there they just make you search for it. Maybe that's just for out of state orders i don't know.

[nvillacci]

Polo -
Yes I did order rock from them. The first order I was VERY pleased with (before I noticed the extra charge tacked on). It was very porouse rock and was of the tonga variety. Came with dusters, red christmas tree worms, clam, macro, coraline. And a very hard to keep happy encrusting pink SPS. This had a die off after placement into the tank but is now slowly growing back. The second rock I recieved was large and dense. About 5 lbs, I just wanted a small peice. This rock was less atractive and basically resembles a piece of base rock. PS I think the live sand is actually live crushed coral IMO

scyllaris-
Finally found it. Seems kind of tricky how they dont mention the packing charge anywhere except on that one page. Wouldnt it be a much better business practice to list it with the ordering pages and shipping pages instead of hiding it away where no one can find it? And its the advertisement of FREE delivery to Dallas/Fort Worth customers that gets me. Free should mean no delivery charges, period. again IMO and others..

[russr]

Was just browsing their site...and noticed the price is different for rock in DFW.

Outisde DFW: 2.50lb
In DFW: 2.99lb

So a 45lb box in DFW you get charged $22 extra, plus a $10 box charge. Shipping isn't free...it's just built into the price of the rock.

Pretty sneaky...

[nvillacci]

noway!!! jeez thats lots worse then I thought, what a bunch of crooks!!!

[scyllaris]

Hello, I agree.All prices should be up front in the open.

[alf3482]

O kay guy's i'll chime in here. I have spent many $$ with TMC. The box charge is listed on the site i didn't have any problem witha 10.00 box charge or knowing about it. Yes the DFW delivery price is higher than the net freighted orders but it is plainly listed on the site it is still a good deal the LFS i have seen around here are 6.99 lbs and up so what the heck are you complaining about. And if you called randy (the owner ) and started out with a **** poor attitude than i can bet he did ask you if you needed a sandwich to help out because if your rude he will be rude. I have had issues with a few of my deliveries, randy made it right every time. I usualy got more than i deserved in the replacement of problem items. I have done more Buissness with him than anyone else because he has always made it right. If you did not read all the info on DFW delivery how is that his fault. If you use the right approach i'm sure you would have gotten a better response. I am no way involved with his operation. I'm just a customer that has done buissness with TMC for two years. I have never had them speak to me this way so mabey you should have use a little better tone, when you complained. Just my 2 cent's Not here to hurt anyones feelings. I own my buissness and i know that when people are upset thay tend to complain in a manner that is not productive to solving the problem. When you come off wrong i have been known to tell the customer tuff. When if they had presented there complaint in a better manner they would have gotten a better response from me.

[russr]

Having a lower price overall does not jusify misleading advertising and hidden charges. But then again...buyer beware. Charging more local for the same product may be a bit sneaky, but it is clearly stated.

I don't think there is ANY situation where a snide remark towards the customer is warranted. There is a big difference in being blunt and to the point and being flat-out insulting.

[nvillacci]

Alf- first off I was in noway rudew with randy when I called him. i just asked where the packing charge was on the website, and why it wasnt listed anywhere on the Order Page. That in itself is misleading, IMO. If you say you will deliver free, thats cool. But dont forget to mention ANYWHERE on the Ordering page, or the pages that you need to go through to process an order, that there is a 10.00 packing fee.
It is totally unwaranted for Randy, the owner from what I understand to be so snide when I was just trying to get him to explain where the packing charge was listed. The fact that he couldnt even find it himself proves they have made it hard to find on the website.
Randy can sit there with all his fishes and count is money, I dont care. He was being snide and I think the main reason was that I was getting to a good point. His site is very misleading. For something that is free there sure are abunch of hidden cost on the site that more then make up for the free delivery. That is just bad business; hiding price hikes and not mentioning surcharges....

Nick

[alf3482]

Nick
As i said before i was not repleying to make any one mad. I am sorry to here they acted that way with you. I have known people to act impulsive. And that randy would give them the same thing he got. I wish he would have acted diffrent then, because i like his service would hate for him to get a bad rep. and go out of buissness, for his prices are great and the product has always been great as well. I apologise if i sounded rude myself that was not my intention. I try to give him all the buissness i can becuase i have recieved great service. I guess if i found myself being charged for something i was not aware of i would be upset as well.

[Mako]

FWIW -

Customer service should always be King! Anybody in retail should know this. Only the ones that are around for any length of time adhere to it. There should never be a reason for sounding off like that to a customer. NEVER!! No matter how nasty a customer might become it serves no purpose, other than personal satisfaction, to inflame the situation with like behaviour.

Stick to the places that treat you fair, and treat you right. Forget the rest!!

[nvillacci]

Alf - sorry if I blew up on you. It just seemed you thought I was the one who blew up on Randy. This wasnt the case. I calmly asked where was the charge listed for packing, and why wasnt it listed on any of the order forms with the rest of the fees. He kept on saying it was there somewhere. I then asked, "Well isnt it a little misleading to not put it were it would be seen when a customer orders something?" At that point Randy got real cynical and very insulting. I thought I had found a good deal at Marinecenter, but after that phonecall and someone pointing out that DFW prices are jacked up compared to national prices I dont think its such a good deal.
I was considering calling Randy and asking why DFW prices were more then national. There isnt really FREE delivery if its just hidden in the cost, is it? But after his snide remarks about simpler questions on where the packing charge was listed, Ive decided to spare myslef the insults and just not order from them again.
Maybe you could ask Randy why his prices are different for DFW customers when its supposed be free delivery. I would like to see how Randy reacts to that question from one of his steady customers. If he gives you a satisfactory answer, please let me know what he says. Just be prepared for some snide remarks though :p

nick

[alf3482]

Nick,
Okay I e-mailed and asked your? I was told that he pay's no shipping on the national orders for rock, they are shipped directly to the customer and the customers pays what the shipping cost is above the price of rock. On the DFW rock he has to pay shipping to dallas then of course our price is higher because we pay for shipping to dallas and the price of rock that's why there are two prices. We still get our's cheaper in the long run in my opinon. Is this what you were looking for on that.

[nvillacci]

Yep, I just wanted a straight foward answer. Thanks! BTW do you live in arlington, or do you just own the DQ there? Always looking for frag trading ops..

Nick

[garysreef]

Nick,

I've been buying from Marine Center and talking to Randy for years. He's never been anything but totally pleasant, and a very knowledgeable guy. I've have plenty of negative experiences with other places, including paying 2.50 per pound for live rock not as nice as Marine Center's, PLUS having to pick it up at the airport and pay the airline $60 for shipping. 2.99/lb. is totally fair considering that's delivered to your door, and they have to pay shipping to get the rock from LA to Dallas. They have different local and National rock prices because the National rock is shipped directly from LA, while the rock sold in Dallas has to get from there to here, and they have to pay the shipping, so of course the prices are going to be different. The different rock prices are posted clearly on their site; I don't see how that's misleading. I have bought from Randy innumerable times and I have always been treated great.

[nvillacci]

All I can speak from is my personal experience. I was not rude in anyway when talking with Randy, but he did become very snide when I asked why the Packing charge was not listed anywhere on the ordering page(s). It was pretty sad that he couldnt find them at the time. This just seems to make me feel justified in saying the Packing charges are convienantly hidden away. Im glad you are happy with his service. But whenever Im verbally abused I tend not to order from that company ever again.

P.S. seems a little strange that this is your first posting and its to defend a MO fishstore. Did someone(Randy) put you up to defend his site? Id like to hear Randy defend his snide comments the other day.

Nick

[alf3482]

Nick,
I live out side of arlington in a little town called venus. I am in Arlington all the time because of the Dq's location. I always look for people to trade with let me know. I have Three tanks i'll be more than glad to send you some pic's. I always have Xenia if you need some. I supply a couple of LFS with it. I have some finger leather frags and if i don't i can sure frag some quick. I have some other things too. But i don't have SPS I have yet to set up a SPS tank i would like to later. If i get some of Martian"s south down he's trying to get i just might have one sooner. Just don't tell the wife.HaHaHa:D

[nvillacci]

Id love to get some xenia, Its definitely the money money for us Salties. I have some Green Star Polyps that could be fragged. Too bad you dont have an SPS tank yet, I got to many for my little tank. I have a finger leather, or a colt, not sure. When you do get the SPS craving let me know, I have some real nice Acro and Monti frags. Most were given to me by a LFS:D

Where in Arlington is your DQ? I go to UT Arlington and my girlfriends dad lives in South Arlington.

hmm hook me up with some southdown too!:cool:

Nick

[alf3482]

Nick,
you may have gotten this from me I have sent this thread to many of TMC customers that i know, just so you could have more opinons from other customers whether they were good or bad i felt you would value the opinons of others than just mine. some of the people i know are not members to the board. I don't know that for sure but it could be. Also i doubt that you will get a response from randy on any board he dosn't frequent any of them.

[alf3482]

Dq location North of UTA at 508 w. randol mill rd 3 buildings east of the Arlington hospital at N. cooper st. I will trade you some xenia for some SPS frags i could try some in my big tank and see how they do. Also i will trade Blizzards for frags:D :D :D
Also I am always here M-f 9-2 sometimes 5:00 like today.

[xlurker]

Robert,

Where' your confidence? Also where's your spelling<g> (Martian?)

Just to go back on topic for a sec, I've placed several orders with Randy and have always been pleased. That is once I've gotten through to talk with him. Where else around here can you get those prices and have it delivered to your door at 8pm? Okay the $10 box charge is kinda bogus for the boxes they use, but the prices and quality are still excellent. I say give him another chance.

BTW, I am in no way connected with TMC except as a customer.

Marty

[nvillacci]

Robert, you got mail..

P.S. Marty I have you beat on delivery time. Try a nice a early 3:00 AM, I felt Like I was back in Army bootcamp, :D

Nick

[alf3482]

Sorry Marty,
I know i'm a dork I get in a hurry sometimes. Can't spell with out my dictionary any way:D :D I'm suppose to be the cook today and i'm doing this instead.

[xlurker]

Nick,

I wasn't complaining about the time I was bragging. Evenings work out for me. From what I understand the way Randy does the free delivery is he has one of his employees ( or relative, I don't know) drive around the metroplex with their car full of deliveries until they're done. I agree that 3am is a little over the edge, but I wish my LFS delivered.

Robert,

You don't know me well enough yet to know, I was definitely just ribbing you.

Marty

[alf3482]

Yea i realize that. Just should have been more carful hey i can take a joke no problem.

[JamesB]

Hi y'all:

Notice that I'm not newly registered. I'm not a large customer of TMC, probably spending around $800 over a 3-4 year period.


Yes, the box charge bit is less than obvious. On the other hand, my bedtime is before midnight and their deliveries have frequently occurred sometime after that. The critters were packed for shipping across the country, not across town. I didn't have to worry about getting the fish and corals into the tank at 0300.

I think the box charge, in combo with the to-my-door delivery and their prices and quality, is still a better deal than any of the LFS around. I do have to trust that they'll send a quality specimen, but I haven't yet been disappointed. Yes, Randy is a pain in the butt to get ahold of - it's not like you walk into a LFS on your schedule.

I guess the point is, chill about the box charge. That's the way TMC does business. If you don't like it, don't do business with them.

FWIW, James

[alf3482]

Nick i hope you get this. your e-mail address is at work. i'm at home. Wanted to make sure the trade was still on tommorrow

[nvillacci]

As far as Im concerned it is:). I fraged some motipora and I have a small acro for you as well. I might not be able to talk long, Ill be doing this on my lunch , but well see. I definitely want some info on the Marine club in DFW.

PS Ill have a steakfinger meal to go in exchange for that acro, hehe.

Nick

[fishforme]

How about this, I emailed them to see if they had a Leptoseris Gardineri and they said YES, two left, order now or they'll be all gone. I order within 20 MINUTES, but I requested that they use my federal express number. They emailed me back the next day with a confirmation message they they could ship the next day but that they could not use my fedex number. Not a big deal, I responded and said, no problem however I may want to buy an additional coral to fill up the box, just please send my coral. I get a response.... ready.... the coral has already been sold.... WHAT???!!! SOLD???!!!! They had my credit card 20 minutes after they emailed me... how could it be sold?! I got a confirmation saying "Thank you for your order. We can ship as soon as Thursday for arrival Friday 6/28." and then "All of the Leptoseris sold Wednesday" email came this morning. I was looking to do MORE business with Marine Center and they sold it??!! And then, I've left two messages today, sent 2 emails to them, 1 fax and also phoned them 9 times today just to get their answering machine. Not good.... not good at all... never again...

[pnosko]

Originally posted by MiNdErAsR
Seems to me, based on your post, that *shipping* is free. Box charge is a whole 'nother thing. :) What is the pizza delivery guy pulled this one on you?

[Vpham97]

If
I'll won't tip him. In fact, I'll just refused the delivery from the pizza guy.

[tentacle]

Originally posted by Mako
FWIW -

Customer service should always be King! Anybody in retail should know this. Only the ones that are around for any length of time adhere to it. There should never be a reason for sounding off like that to a customer. NEVER!! No matter how nasty a customer might become it serves no purpose, other than personal satisfaction, to inflame the situation with like behaviour.

Stick to the places that treat you fair, and treat you right. Forget the rest!!
Chuck I agree 100%, and if you didn't post that, I was going to. All I need to hear about is just one instance of a company treating one of their customers in a rude or obnoxious way for me to decide to never ever do business with that company. It's just intolerable behavior, period.

[alf3482]

As this thread was started a year ago. I have ordered several times in this period. All with no problems. I have never recieved the type of service from them that you guy's are having.
As for the item you couldn't get just tell them to order it and they will. they are the best IMO. I have special ordered many things from them and all are still alive and doing well. JMO & JME

[Project Reef]

Originally posted by nvillacci
...he insulted me by saying, "Are you that hard-up for money, do you need me to send you a Peanutbutter and Jelly sandwich or something..."

Nick

LOL! He did NOT say that! .. Did he?

[nvillacci]

yea he did...... Ill never order frm there again if i can help it, was an @ss

[yikan]

A follow up question: Can you guys that constantly shop at TMC point me the place on their website for the type of livestocks they don't offer livestock guarantee on? All I can find is Live arrival is guaranteed on all items.

The reason I ask is because I sent an email asking about the yellow leather. The lady named Angela replied and told me the yellow leather is one of few livestock they don't offer live arrival guarantee on. If I don't ask her about the leather and go directly to order online, and if unfortunately the leather dies on arrival, won't I be in big trouble w/o knowing why??

All the hidden charges and restricted items for live arrival guarantee should be made clear to the customers. More important, the rude attitude from the owner, if true, is simply bad business.

[alf3482]

Originally posted by nvillacci
yea he did...... Ill never order frm there again if i can help it, was an @ss

Nick I guess the next time I order you don't won't me to let you know?? I thought you wanted to order some stuff the next time I ordered from him. I'm confused:confused:

[nvillacci]

I think Ive figured Randy out. If you order from him alot and spend lots of money he treats you well. Otherwise forget it, your not worth the customer service:P
Robert, arent you in the wrong forum, lol :P

[fishforme]

Well... he certainly lost my business. I'll never again order from The Marine Center.

[xlurker]

Well,

I've ordered occassionally from TMC. I've always done it on the phone, because I feel more comfortable that way with livestock. If you have any questions, they are answered on the spot. Randy has always been very up front and honest with me. My last purchase was a pair of wrasses and a purple tang. All three are beautiful. I think we have beaten the box charge to death, but if you total it all up, it's still the most reasonable shipping costs around. If you don't want to pay the $10, pay more somewhere else. For the qualitity, a little inconvenience (delivery time) is worth it. My guess is that when you placed an order online, you received an automated reply. If there is something that is in short supply that you REALLY want, make the phone call. I know it can be tough to get through, but this is not an instant grartification hobby. Sometimes it take a little persistance. Don't give up so easy, and don't get P.O'd too easy.

Okay, I'll get off the soap box now.