Seascapes

That sucks

Please mail/email Tim & Scott & share this with them so they are aware & can improve.

 

I also stopped in to sea scapes after the frag demo and had just about the same problem. I asked the kid " the only one back at the fish" how much one of the squamosa clams were and he said $350 I questioned that price and asked him to check but he was to busy baggin up some guppys for somebody and must of forgot about me. Long story short went to Adams and spent my money there.I always try to support our sponsors , but lately I just get frustrated with the lack of service and knowledge. I only get to Des Moines once every couple months and it's always on the weekend so maybe it's different during the week but I Feel Your Pain!!!

 

That's why I don't and won't support them. Dead fish in the display tanks, pinched stomachs on tangs with no clips of nori for grazing all day in the tanks, scratching on the rocks. We have other "sponsors" here that care about the livestock they sell. I'd rather have my membership dues go up if we need their money that bad. Just my 2 cents

 

Their profit is in dog/cat food, not fish.

 

I have never had a good experience at seascapes. Each time I ask them about something they make it seem like finding out how much a fish or coral cost is messing their whole day up. I wanted to have a couple fish eat in front of me too before I bought them and the kid was acting like that was the hardest thing he could do.

Trevor

 

I agree they dont care about the fish any more now that thay are in the back ware they dont even have to look at them any more its going to get worse. I have tried and tried to get them to put prices of stuff but it never happens I tried 10 times to use my 20% off from spring fest but couldnt get any help and I now scott and tim and have for a long time I souldnt have to go in there when there working to buy something so I dont go in anymore

 

My experiences there have been the same as stated above, and I do go during the week sometimes. I've never been there when there were not dead fish in the tanks, and when I've asked about seeing fish fed, the answer has always been no. I would not even consider buying a fish from their store. Sponsor or not, I think their customer service is somewhat lacking...

 

customer service "somewhat lacking" is an understatement.  They always seem so inconvienced to help you if you want to buy something.  The last, which is the last, time I was in there I had to hunt someone down to help me and that was after standing at the tanks for some time.  There were several employees around and not one asked if they could help me.

 

My latest experience is almost identical to that which Phyllis described above. I will say though, I do appreciate their salt deal.

 

i stopped going there when they kicked me out for no apparent reason later i heard it was because they thought i was a spy for adams aquatics how childish i look at it this way imagine all the dollars they saved me through years.......... anyway always rember seek the truth and the truth shall set you free

 

The best way to get these stores to change and improve is to let them know what your experiences have been. They can do one of two things...they can take your feedback, deal with their employee issues and adjust things to make their customers happy, or they can ignore your feedback and watch people stop supporting them. I believe that they have worked hard enough on their saltwater section to want to improve and correct the issues.

A couple of things to keep in mind...

1) We need our local fish stores. When you need things immediately, there's no replacement for a retail store that has what you need on their shelf.
2) It's always nice to see the livestock before you buy it...then you can choose if it's worth your $$ or not.
3) Seascapes has done more to work with the club than any of the other stores in the DSM area that I'm aware of both by offering discounted salt and sponsoring our events.

Now, as a sponsor, does that give them license to not provide good customer service? Absolutely not. But I think that it should give our members a reason to give them the feedback they deserve to let management know that there is an issue and that their target market is not happy. They can't fix a problem they don't know about. In this tough economy, giving them your feedback by quietly walking away doesn't help anyone. It's common knowledge that pet stores operate on thin margins and if enough people quietly walk away, they may not be there the next time you try to go back.

I'll try to get an e-mail address that we can use to send them feedback and hopefully, it will result in some of these customer service and quality issues getting addressed.

--AJ

 

I have contacted Tim but he won't be at work until middle of the week.
Please remember this is a business and times are tough. Sales for most retail are way down. Combine this with the difficulty in finding good and knowledgeable help and it is even harder to keep things going. But Seascapes has been good to us and we owe it to them to offer this constructive criticism so they can improve.
The things mentioned take investment to take happen. Is everyone willing to go buy things there if they changed? They can't make these changes unless people come in and buy stuff and a lot of it.  The profit on the $80 fish is not much when you consider their overhead.
Personally I don't have any problems with them but I always deal with Tim.

 

Please remember this is a business and times are tough. Sales for most retail are way down. Combine this with the difficulty in finding good and knowledgeable help and it is even harder to keep things going.
That would be all fine and good but their poor customer service is nothing new...it's been like that for years. 
Plus, if sales are way down then it would be all the more reason to keep customers happy AND buying.  Would it hurt if they notice a customer to ask if there is anything they could help with? Even the person at Petco the other day came up and asked if there was anything they could help with or any questions.  I was going to buy a couple of things and they asked me "Do you have a saltwater tank"  I give big thumbs up to any sales person that asks that question before they sell you livestock.
If Petco can find help, that is even a little knowledgable, then so can Seascapes.

 

AJ , I agree on having a local fish store for being in a bind. But a local fish store should be more than that. You should want to support them and they in turn, should strive to provide you with the best shopping experience from the minute you walk through the door. I shouldn't have to tell Scott on how to run his business. I just take my business to a place that treats me like the above. And for me, that place in Des Moines is Adam's for now.

 

We can only do so much, I agree with Foo
If a Pepsi Guy from Fort Dodge has to tell you how to care for fish and run your buisness than something isn't right.Don't get me wrong I love to have LFS incase I need something right away or just have the itch to buy something when I'm in desmoines.Seascapes is always the first store I visit because I try to support them, but 9 times outa 10 Adams gets my $

 

Yes Foo, it would be nice to have local fish stores that could be your one stop shop for everything...but quite honestly, I don't think there are any in the state.  None of them stock all of the items that I want and it's inevitable that I have to shop online for at least some things.  And sometimes, I don't have the time to visit them when they are open.  Sometimes getting something shipped to my door that I can wait on is just more convenient.
I was in Des Moines recently (a little over a week ago) and visited both stores. Adam's had one employee working and he asked if I needed any help, but stayed behind the register the whole time (which makes sense considering that he appeared to be the only person working). Seascapes had many employees working (probably 5) and I was never approached by any of them. I think I was thanked for stopping by one as I was leaving (if I recall correctly). I did see others being helped while I was there, but nobody approached me. As far as quality of livestock and variety, I would rate them both about the same.

--AJ

 

I didnt hear anybody bash seascapes when they did they Reef Crystal group buy and ppl got 200 gal boxes for 40$. Or when you go in there and mention your a girs member and get 10-20% off. Tim and Scott are thier saltwater experts but they have to have a day off too. They cant be there 24/7. Maybe its just be because im in there alot but ive always got hooked up and discounts and things saved and sold for me.

I hope its not the ppl that have stopped in once or twice and had a bad experience so they come on here and bash one of our best local fish stores and sponsors.... Ever had Mcdonalds put mustard on your cheeseburger when you asked for no mustard? I bet you still go to mcdonalds for your cheeseburgers right? C'mon guys w/out ppl and stores like this, we'd be kinda screwed. they already have to battle w the internet and that kills them more and more daily. For every bad story somebody has about seascapes I have 10 good ones!

Just was there a few days ago and they are having a hard time getting blue legs due to the oil spill so were out... what does Tim do, sell me a few out of the frag tank to get me by.... (Sorry Tim hope I didnt get you in trouble lol).

 

Thanks Justin I agree! Glad to have you back!