Difficulty Ordering

[dochoot]

Has anyone gotten through to them in the last week? I was told last Monday some one would get back to me. No luck and I just got an answering machine Tues. through Friday. The sat. person couldn't schedule. I left messages and an email. Any suggestions?

Thanks

[liverock]

If you want to order fill out online order form....will get you in the pipeline

we are behind on orders as the weather has killed us for a month.....

when we get rock, we will call!
Thanks
Mary TBS

[aujosh84]

Just give it time. They have always gotten back to me after i left a message, i was worried too when i first ordered. There out of the office most of the time. I'm sure they'll call you next chance they get.

[Rockker]

I talked to Mark "one of the divers" and he told me they had a couple of fronts go through in the last week or so.

He told me they were going to try to dive tomorrow "Monday" and I should try to call them Tuesday or Wednesday.

I am waiting for my 2nd half of my 55 gallon package and I have no problem waiting. That way I know my stuff is "fresh out the water" and has not been sitting around long.

Trust me, It's worth the wait.

Rockker

[willray]

BE patient as I waited- get this, almost six weeks. yes six weeks.
even though I have shootload of mantis past and present.lets not forget the goriila crabs.But still worth every penny.

[tygger]

Seeing that weekend deliveries are not possible, would they be able to give a set day in which to pick-up the rock? I'd have to call in sick or take a personal day...

[dwculp]

I am sure they would. I was in the same sitation as there was no way for me to get to the airport unless I took a day off from work. I had already planned a day off to get some errands and other things done for Friday the 20th. I called TBS and spoke with Mary on Monday who told me that she was 95% sure they could ship on Friday. Remember that things such as weather and other unknowns can affect the availbility of the rock and shipping. I would just call and talk to them!

By the way, just found a green brain on one of my rocks!!

[dochoot]

I didn't want to leave a thread left with a negative comment. There was a miscommunication which was rectified and I feel they went out of their way to get me the second half of my shipment which I picked up last night. Stuff looks great. I know, I know, I will try and post a picture.

The high light was getting my 4 and 7 year old girls involved. I opened the main box and put it on a stool so everyone could see. I took out one rock and knocked the entire thing over on the floor. The kids were running around yelling and then my youngest slipped and fell on her butt in the middle of the water on the floor. Needless to say, my wife is very impressed with my new hobby.

[impur]

LOL sounds like quite the experience!!!!

[july865]

same here. i went through the order form. called since wednesday, and only got an answering machine. but in the previous moday i was able to get through on the phone and talk with mary. very helpful by-the-way. but since then nada...lol. not even emails. not griping, just saying that i am a child with the green light(from mamma) to get that new toy....patience, patience, patience.. i know.

[cappn]

Hey I live in Tampa about 20mins away from TBS and im about to start a reef tank with their rock. Ofcoarse you know we got slammed with the hurricanes and its really slowed them down with these rocks. Patience is definitly the key right now. Their store is only open one day a week and only open for a i think 5hrs (12-5) by the time i got there it was 3 and they were pretty much cleaned out of rock. They cant keep it in the stores right now. I was going to get this thing going a couple months ago, but kinda hangin back a bit cause i know these guys are swamped right now.

[Lord Nemo]

nice can't wait tillmine finaaly comes in :hammer:

[cappn]

Just an update for you guys. I went to TBS today and they told me that they are really behind and know they have a ton of second shipments to make. Mary, i think it was, told me that this week and next they are really concentrating on their second-shipments orders so you wait could soon be over :) I got there at 12 today so I got to look at the rock before it vanished and it is beautiful. People just crowd the holding tanks and by the looks of it, its gets pretty competitive,lol. I did notice a few of the "bad crabs" on some of the larger pieces so be aware when you get yours to check every piece out thoroughly before you put it in your tank. Good luck guys, hope it comes soon!!!

[july865]

was on the ph. with mark c. today(about the time you were in there). i can not stress enough that these people are VERY customer oriented. well the hard part was done(paying for it) now the other hard part........the wait.......tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc....lol jk

[Lord Nemo]

Thanks Cappn im loving ur updates i wonder if they ship sundays??? or if they are even open sundays...

[july865]

the do not ship on sudays. as per mark c.

[cappn]

yeah, they are not open nor do they ship on Sunday.

[dochoot]

I think people would be much more patient if they simply got an email letting them know the status so they don't feel like they have to call every day. This would not be very labor intensive on their part to have a standard reply and just fill in the blank. Everyone knows by now that this is not off the shelf product so most would understand.

Just a thought.

[Lord Nemo]

To be honest im actually starting to get mad...this experience has been chaotic because i've been doing weeks of housework to buy this rock and when i finally can afford it they rarely call back and its been 2 1/2 weeks now trying to setup a damn order! I have a 20 gallon right now with all the coral that i recently brought thats in holding for my 55 gallon tank i have so many corals now i dont have room for them. I guess we got out of hand on our rocks that are suppose to come in. We thought they would be a little more reliable like contacting us at a reasonable time, when they said they would, and ship asap like liveaquaria.com did when i got my fish's and corals overnight (this was like a year ago) with no problem at all. Now i should have known better not to buy all these corals but to make matters worse my mom comes home with a humongous bubble tip!!! hes in the sand now. Does any1 know how to keep these guys from moving all over ur tank...im scared he kills some of my corals with that sting of his. I also have a toadstool in the sand cuz im out of rocks spaces for him to be in the middle layer. Hell i might as well say all the corals i have now that need to be immedialty transported to my 55 gallon but i cant cuz i have no rock here goes. 1 Sun coral, 2 big pumping xenia stalks, 1 pagoda coral, 1 starburst polyp encrusted rock, 1 toadstool, 1 tree coral, i rocks of unid zoos, and another big rock with encrusting unid zoos. o yea a huge bta to. what really ticks me off is to the fact that peopel coem in the store and are buying live rocks and other stuff after my mom has placed the order and paid for the rocks and a couplef other stuff long before those people. I know i probably dont know what im talking about and am being a jerk right now but i need my rocks 2 1/2 weeks is enough! I have 2 rockless nemos downstairs and my black nemo died!!! so upset. Well tahst my story is any1 else as chaotic and as demanding as mine? o yea i wonder if they are open on election day??? i highly doubt it. Anyways did i sound mean??? im not being mean im just really frustrated, thats all. Whenever my rocks finally do come in i hope thier the best rocks ever, as they will be looking forward to some nice corals and more ;)

[tygger]

That's definately not good, esp. for people who have to schedule time off work. :o

[Lord Nemo]

Yea but on the bright side they called my mom today and its coming at 9:30 tommorow i will will post tons of pictures on a new thread yay :D so excited but ill be at school lmao. BTW may the best man be president. Nader ON!

[Lord Nemo]

tygger i didn't quite understand ur reply could u kinda rephrase it a little more and be specific? anyways i have a date with my tanks i got to make the m pretty for picture day my downstais is spotless and i've already moved 2 lfs rocks from upstairs to accumulate my finger coral. i bet hell be happy with more powerful lighting. Just a frag..

[cappn]

yeah i have to admit that it seems unfair that people that didnt order the rock can just go to the store and pickup their own. Kind of an unfair advantage to living within driving distance. However, to my understanding the live rock that is put in the store for walkins does not interfer with the shipouts. So the fact that people are buying rock from the store should not be a factor of the amount of time it takes for you to recieve yours.

[tygger]

Originally posted by Lord Nemo
tygger i didn't quite understand ur reply could u kinda rephrase it a little more and be specific? anyways i have a date with my tanks i got to make the m pretty for picture day my downstais is spotless and i've already moved 2 lfs rocks from upstairs to accumulate my finger coral. i bet hell be happy with more powerful lighting. Just a frag..

I was referring to the point that it took TBS 2 1/2 weeks to call you about your order... not good.

In my situation, I would have to schedule time off work to pickup the LR from the airport. When scheduling time off, I'd need to know the exact day and let my boss know in advance.

[Lord Nemo]

OOOOOOOO :bigeyes: o well idc im getting my rocks trommorow hope my mom lets me play hookie ;)

[Lord Nemo]

and tygger yea 2 1/2 weeks is long, hope its worth it :fun4: :Fun4: :fun4:

[Lord Nemo]

:fun4: for the middle...

[Ancient Storm]

I ordered my rock last March...got through on the first call and they put my order on the plane the day I ordered it. Picked it up after work at Hartford. Maybe they're slower in late winter ?.....but I was extremely pleased with the service and product.

[tygger]

Thats good to hear.

.... and the famous question. Got any pics? :D

[molloy]

I got my first half (35 gallon package) 3 weeks ago after waiting 2 weeks. 2nd half was shipped 2 days after I said I was ready.

The downside is that when you get psyched up and put in the order, you don't realize you're going to have to wait. I ended up buying two yellow tail damsels in so the wife and kids would have something to look at and I didn't feel that I did all that work to look at an empty tank.

The upside is that my rock was in the gulf on Tuesday and in my tank on Wednesday. That's fresh! I had no die off (so far) and the ammonia never really did anything. The stuff from 3 weeks ago has grown so much. The damsels have been in the tank since before the rock and are doing great. They came out only for a couple of hours when I put in the sand and rock since I knew the water would cloud up. I was going to remove them indefinately, but the water cleared up and they went back in. They stayed in the tank when I put the 2nd shipment in. They weren't thrilled, but also didn't want to get netted.

If I can make another suggestion - when they do ship, if at all possible, wait until the cargo people at your airport say that it's there before you leave the house. I'm an hour from La Guardia and have to pay $8 in tolls. The first shipment was ready and I got a call when I was about 20 seconds from the door. Good timing!

The second shipment was different. The flight was two hours late. Went home after work to wait instead of waiting at the airport. Called cargo and they said it's on the plane, it'll land at 7:30 instead of 5:42 pm. Left the house when delta.com said the plane landed. Got to cargo at 9pm. Cargo guy checked and said there was no cargo on my flight. ****ed much? It would be in at 9:30 am. Remember, plane two hours late, called ahead and told it was on the plane, $8 in tolls, an hour each way to the airport, plans the next day shot. At least it was Friday night and I don't work Saturday. Called Delta cargo in Tampa. All I had to say was "I'm sitting at La Guardia and my stuff isn't here" Response, "You have 3 boxes, right? We brought it to the ramp people and they didn't put it on the plane. The boxes came back at 6:30 and we tried to call the shipper." Me - "ah, how about calling the receiver and telling them they are in the process of wasting their night........" I'm actually giving you the watered down, much less angry version.

Anyway, don't go until you know it's there.

Good luck. There is so much on the rock, it's actually annoying my wife! Give it time.

-Brendan

[liverock]

Originally posted by molloy
I got my first half (35 gallon package) 3 weeks ago after waiting 2 weeks. 2nd half was shipped 2 days after I said I was ready.

The downside is that when you get psyched up and put in the order, you don't realize you're going to have to wait. I ended up buying two yellow tail damsels in so the wife and kids would have something to look at and I didn't feel that I did all that work to look at an empty tank.

The upside is that my rock was in the gulf on Tuesday and in my tank on Wednesday. That's fresh! I had no die off (so far) and the ammonia never really did anything. The stuff from 3 weeks ago has grown so much. The damsels have been in the tank since before the rock and are doing great. They came out only for a couple of hours when I put in the sand and rock since I knew the water would cloud up. I was going to remove them indefinately, but the water cleared up and they went back in. They stayed in the tank when I put the 2nd shipment in. They weren't thrilled, but also didn't want to get netted.

If I can make another suggestion - when they do ship, if at all possible, wait until the cargo people at your airport say that it's there before you leave the house. I'm an hour from La Guardia and have to pay $8 in tolls. The first shipment was ready and I got a call when I was about 20 seconds from the door. Good timing!

The second shipment was different. The flight was two hours late. Went home after work to wait instead of waiting at the airport. Called cargo and they said it's on the plane, it'll land at 7:30 instead of 5:42 pm. Left the house when delta.com said the plane landed. Got to cargo at 9pm. Cargo guy checked and said there was no cargo on my flight. ****ed much? It would be in at 9:30 am. Remember, plane two hours late, called ahead and told it was on the plane, $8 in tolls, an hour each way to the airport, plans the next day shot. At least it was Friday night and I don't work Saturday. Called Delta cargo in Tampa. All I had to say was "I'm sitting at La Guardia and my stuff isn't here" Response, "You have 3 boxes, right? We brought it to the ramp people and they didn't put it on the plane. The boxes came back at 6:30 and we tried to call the shipper." Me - "ah, how about calling the receiver and telling them they are in the process of wasting their night........" I'm actually giving you the watered down, much less angry version.

Anyway, don't go until you know it's there.

Good luck. There is so much on the rock, it's actually annoying my wife! Give it time.

-Brendan

We know how you feel but......the airlines are not what they used to be, but is what we have to deal with...

NEVER go to the airport before call them with the tracking # we give you....as if you have flown lately, you know what it is like.....they are seldom on time anymore..


Mary TBS

[Ancient Storm]

Here are those pictures you wanted !
I just posted some pics of the TBS live rock 6 months after arrival to my gallery.
Some Stony corals (cladocora arbuscula) still doing well:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/503/56658cladocora-arbuscula-11-4.jpg

Lots of Vegetation and cup corals:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/1/56658left-side-11-4.jpg

Hitch hiker Gorgonia behind red bush is growing a new branch...
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/1/56658tank-center-11-4.jpg

Closeup of some of the many cup corals:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/503/56658cup_coral-11-4.jpg

And heres what the rock looked like when it first went into the tank:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/570/56658sponges.jpg

Many of the red and orange sponges dint make it...yellow ball sponge just bit the dust couple weeks ago. But the rock is loaded with clams, mussels, cup corals, misc corals, and mostly nice hitch hikers (no Mantis....pheww!). All of the cleanup crew are still alive except for one of the cucumbers.....Good luck with your rock!!

[Lord Nemo]

im so sorry for the delay guys i been having computer technical diffulculties and i cant get my image to the right siz but ill tell u right now thier rock is friggin awesoem tons of life and nice corals i did have a bit of die back on my sponges though but thats ok rocks still great. worst part was taht it gave em a huge ammonia spike so it delayed me now im rready to add the rest of y corals after mywater change though i cant quite get my phyton to fit the faucet guess ill do it the old ashion way again... ill try to make a websie link believ me these rocks rock well worth the wait.

[Rivalpc]

My $.02 worth.

While it has been going on 3 weeks since my tank cycled, many phone calls going unanswered trying to get my second shipment sent, and the tank needing a good cleaning now; the TBS "Package" is worth it with many various colors, lifeforms and good rock.

Now if I can only get passed the hurdle of getting the second shipment I think all will be well. Beleive me when i say the weather down there has not been the best for boating or diving.

[dwculp]

I posted in another thread that Mary left a voice mail for me stating that they had no rock in stock. I sent an email later asking when they would get rock and they stated they got rock in today, the first rock in weeks.

[molloy]

Lord Nemo,
I didn't use a hose with my fw tank for a year because of my faucets. I finally found out that there is a little addapter. Unscrew the washer on your faucet and the adapter goes right in.

Glad I got my second shipment when I did. It'll be 2 weeks on Saturday.

Ancient Storm,
Did you feed your cup corals or stoney corals? If so, what? I understand we may have to feed each one by hand. A guy I trust at the LFS has said that Bioplankton is all I need (besides feeding the fish)

-Brendan

[Ancient Storm]

Molley, I do feed the cups and stoneys by hand...with frozen mysis shrimp. Let em thaw in a cup, with a little water from the tank. Then I suck some up in a long airline tubing and blow the mysis gently onto the corals. The cup corals are voracious. The gobble the mysis up. The stoneys prefer the mysis chopped. BUT.....I just bought a torch coral from a local reefer and he had an awesome tank....he said he never feeds em anything but calcium, plankton and micro-vert. Hope that helps.

[july865]

i can understand the delays they are having. i agree, the weather there right now is not the best for diving or boating. i am sure they are well aware of everyones needs. they do return calls.