poor quality crocea clam

[davidfrances]

So I spent over $500.00 this week at Blue Zoo Aquatics, bought 4 crocea clams and some softies.

This was one of the large croceas - bleached out, hole in the mantle, and an aptasia anemone between the mantle and the shell. Very poor quality animal.

I complained, and BZ only offered me a 50% refund on a $80+ clam.

Last time I order from them.

http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a563/davidafrances/clam_zps2d455969.jpg

[BlueZooAquatics]

Thanks for letting us know. We offer no excuse at all but we do process lots of clams, especially crocea clams, each day. Again that's no excuse but based on your order, it sounds like you received a few clams which were good along with some soft corals which were also good and then a clam which was less than good but that you received a 50% refund for. It sounds like things actually worked out pretty well for you.

If there is anything else we can do for you or if you think the resolution to your problem is not satisfactory, then please do not hesitate to either call, 888-479-2583, or email, customerservice@bluezooaquatics.com, any time.

Take care.

[davidfrances]

Thanks for letting us know. We offer no excuse at all but we do process lots of clams, especially crocea clams, each day. Again that's no excuse but based on your order, it sounds like you received a few clams which were good along with some soft corals which were also good and then a clam which was less than good but that you received a 50% refund for. It sounds like things actually worked out pretty well for you.

If there is anything else we can do for you or if you think the resolution to your problem is not satisfactory, then please do not hesitate to either call, 888-479-2583, or email, customerservice@bluezooaquatics.com, any time.

Take care.

What? "...things worked out well pretty well for you (me)" Seriously? Your response is totaly unsatisfactory.

You are implying that I should be happy because you fulfilled the balance of my order in a satisfactory manner - which you are obligated to do - that it worked out well for me that you gave me a 50% credit on a sub-par, sickly, damaged and infested clam?

A clam that is bleached, damaged (hole in the mantle) and is unlikely to survive removal of the aptasia anemone.

Sounds like things worked out very well for you - you were able to sell an otherwise unsalable item by bundling it into a large order.

Part of the bargain consumers have with online retailers is that consumers rely on the online retailers to chose the items for them. Substandard, sickly or damaged items should not be sold or offered for sale unless the condition is disclosed and priced accordingly.

If your advertisement said "sickly, bleached and infested crocea clams 50% off", I would not have purchased one.

In the past 12 months, I've spent over $1,300 with you on the following orders as follows:

3/24/2013 $290.85
5/9/2013 $161.14
6/3/2013 $148.42
9/8/2013 $249.45
2/25/2014 $522.61
$1,372.47

I believe I only claimed DOA credit for approximately $70 on the above orders. In general, I have been pleased with the quality of the livestock I have purchased from you.

Are you entitled to a miss or two, sure. You are dealing with livestock, after all. But your smug, matter of fact, "you should be happy with the other items we sent you" attitude lost you a customer.

I can chose who to do business with, and who to avoid. I chose to avoid Blue Zoo Aquatics in the future. Thank you for your wonderful customer service.

[BlueZooAquatics]

Thanks for the reply. With all due respect, nobody was trying to be smug. We do not get very many claims on clams so we cross referenced the only clam claim in the system and found your account. The original email that came in was really just mentioning the presence of an aiptasia anemone which is unacceptable of course but not that hard to rectify. The picture was very blurry so it was hard to see any other issues but if you are saying that there is an actual hole in the mantle of the clam, then this should really be treated as a loss claim.

We are sorry you had a bad experience but it really just sounds like a misunderstanding. You should really just email the customer service address and ask for a loss claim to be generated. You will get taken care of right away if you do that.

Take care.

[Aaaron]

Ordered from them once, everything was dead and showed up 2 days late. Never again

[BlueZooAquatics]

Thank you for your input Aaaron but it sounds like you had a delay caused by FedEx? Our policy is that we cover your losses in those cases and most of the time just re-ship you your items.

[davidfrances]

A few moments ago, Mike Martin, the owner of BZA sent me a very professional email. In summary, he said there was a misunderstanding and that he would treat my claim on the crocea as a DOA and issue a full refund. Since BZA already credited my credit card for 50%, Mr. Martin stated he would offer the balance as a merchandise credit.

As I stated in my previous posts, with the exception of this clam, ALL my other orders arrived in excellent condition. Yes, I did have a small DOA claim previously, but that is to be expected from time to time when shipping livestock.

All I was looking for was an acknowledgement from BZA that basically said - "Upon further review, unfortunately that clam wasn't up to our usual high standards and we shouldn't have shipped it. Here's a store credit, if you can rehabilitate it, excellent, if not, no worries."

Mr. Martin's resolution is reasonable and I will continue to consider obtaining livestock from BZA. I apologize for the harsh response.

[BlueZooAquatics]

Thanks for the update. You know, the funny thing is, we have two owners; Mark Martin and Mike Ashenfelter. Mike has been out of the office for a few days so it was probably Mark who emailed you. It's just funny that the two names got mashed up. I am sure they will get a kick out of that since they have called BZA the "Mike and Mark Show" for years. :)

We will pass that information on to Mark for you and appreciate your continued business. Take care.

[davidfrances]

Oops, meant to type Mark Martin. Sorry.