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Sea Level LFS Hopkins (1 Viewer)

acharpenter said:
I was referring to the guy behind the cash register!!!!
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ya, they go EVERYWHERE! ;)

back to Sea Level. I have found if you just nicely tell a place hey, ya know, maybe its time to clean a bit. They will follow your advice. Back when the place was aqualand it was great, however its got new owners now and things must have slid a bit.
 
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swe,and da are by far my two favorite stores. they have knowlagable staff and a comfortable atmisphere.:biggthumpup:
 
Sea level is a great store jon and rob do a great job on running it. for it being a small busniess
 
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when a cover is all you can see and thats what brings customers in, as a store, it needs to be a pretty fancy cover.

simply put a lot of this negativity derived from 1 customers experience, whether Jon or Rob was having a bad day or the 3rd employee was the one handling the sale all that is mute. A single customers reflection on their experience can dictate others decisions to give them a try.

Just so happens that the customer in this situation is a member of a fairly large salt water club and has a bit more impact than the average person who doesnt have as big a companionship in the hobby. Every customer matters, every time, trying to make a few bucks by pushing things on a younger reefer who is still learning is a bad way to get references.

The prices there dont bother me at all, i havent been there but this hobby is expensive no matter where you go.
 
They would have a lot better relationship with this community regardless of other customer experiences and bad images if they were just a sponsor. But they opted out when offered from what i remember.
 
They are the closest LFS to my home, I bought my tank and stand there 8 or 9 years ago. I very rarely go there now. When I had a seperate predator tank, I would buy feeders there.

Instead, I usually go to SWE
 
Would it be inappropriate for a concerned customer to share this information with the shop owners? I live nowhere nearby and have not been there but sometimes people can't see outside their own box when they are so deep in it to start with.

I think all of us can say we appreciate the efforts of the small business owners out there to try and provide us all an outlet, close by our homes to share our hobby and purchase supplies. Sounds like these guys just might need a kind reminder of what this hobby and community are all about.
 
The place use to be better, a decade or so ago they were a good store and clean. They just havnt been able to really keep on the same track since then. They have had different employees since then im sure.
 
10 years ago it was aqualand and had different owners if memory serves me right. Doug owned it then. a neighbor of my parents.
 
what i don't get is why you guys think they were trying to push a sell...Im sure the teenage working there don't even care if you buy the fish/corals as they get paid hourly...its your fault if you bought something you were not ready for.
 
mrlee said:
its your fault if you bought something you were not ready for.
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Very true - and I totally agree. The informed customer/reefer does thier homework and only goes home with what they really think they can sustain

My thoughts are focused on how they handled Andrew C.

They were presented with a new young reefer who was clear on how new he and his set up was

In my opinion, sending bewildered customers home with livestock and/or corals etc that they are not ready for shows me they care more about the sale than the hobby.

This principal includes employing sales people that do not know anything about the hobby or care about what they are doing.

I like to think that the LFS care enough about the hobby to make sure they do not send anything home to those that are not ready for it and also take the time to be sure the customer is ready for whatever they are looking to buy.

A lot of times its the LFS that is the first line of defense (so to speak) against new reefers failing miserably and killing the helpless creatures

What I care about is an LFS that truly cares about the hobby and the livestock - I dont see this in what Andrew said.

Yes, it is just one opinion but I base my trust in his opinion on what I know about Andrew - I believe him

Just my 2 cents
 
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Rob and Jon aren't like Fritz at SWE.. but I will say. from knowing them out side of the fish hobby.They do know alot about SW tank's and Do actaully care about there customer's. They arent a topline store though.
 
mrlee said:
what i don't get is why you guys think they were trying to push a sell...Im sure the teenage working there don't even care if you buy the fish/corals as they get paid hourly...its your fault if you bought something you were not ready for.
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im sure, and you can shop at places that sell like that all you want. i consider it irresponsible and little to nothing will make me think differently. It is the stores responsibility to make sure their employees are learned and respectful of not only the customers true needs but the live stocks well being.

i shop at Har Mar Pets, who cycles through teenage employees that are properly informed and trained on how to do things and they ask questions before acting. Gary does a wonderful job with his young employees and im sure Zach can account for that.

I am by no means saying Andrew has no fault in the situation, but he like many others was just getting started in the hobby and didnt realize how much more complex SW is than FW and was looking to the "expert behind the counter" for quality information. If the person at the aquatics store, who is often looked to as someone who knows left from right and right from wrong by those who are just comming up in the hobby, guides this new commer with poor, incorrect and downright awful information only becouse they are only concerned with ending the conversation or putting a $20 in the register i consider this pushing and flat out wrong. if they dont know they should say so, and ask the customer to look it up or look it up for them, not lie to them.

i wont support places that dont respect their own live stock. period. you are more than welcome to.
 
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RJREEFER said:
Would it be inappropriate for a concerned customer to share this information with the shop owners? I live nowhere nearby and have not been there but sometimes people can't see outside their own box when they are so deep in it to start with.

I think all of us can say we appreciate the efforts of the small business owners out there to try and provide us all an outlet, close by our homes to share our hobby and purchase supplies. Sounds like these guys just might need a kind reminder of what this hobby and community are all about.
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I think it would totally be appropriate. If it were my business I would VERY MUCH appreciate someone clueing me in on what a large part of my target market is stating/feeling about my business


Jace said:
Rob and Jon aren't like Fritz at SWE.. but I will say. from knowing them out side of the fish hobby.They do know alot about SW tank's and Do actaully care about there customer's. They arent a topline store though.
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I do believe that may have just put it in perfect perspective :beerchug:
 
Any LFS will sell a tang to a guy that says he have a 75g tank...and a tank can be ready for fishes in one week. so what did this guy do wrong?
 
mrlee said:
Any LFS will sell a tang to a guy that says he have a 75g tank...and a tank can be ready for fishes in one week. so what did this guy do wrong?
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Its persepective dude, I am basing my opinion on this specific example

12 year old boy (no offense Andrew) walks into a LFS and says "I have had my tank up and running for a week"

Not only is he young, but he is new to reefing and has a brand new tank

LFS sells him a Sailfin Tang - I just dont agree with that


You dont have to agree dude, it just how I feel about it

and I disagree with your comment that any LFS would do the same.

I can say without even speaking to them that there are 3 I know of off the top of my head that would not do the same thing in this same situation
 
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