Canadian Reef Octopus Distributor Cares Not About Customer

[rockworm]

I don't know if this is the correct forum, but I am very frustrated with the Canadian Distributor of Reef Octopus. I do not know who the distributor is, but I am watching my 400g SPS tank slowly die because they cannot provide a timely delivery of a large protein skimmer. I ordered a Reef Octopus SRO 6000ext Recirculating External Protein Skimmer through my local LFS on December 14, 2016. I ordered it because my old Reeflo Orca 250 pro skimmer finally bit the dust and I could not get the replacement part I needed. I ordered a different skimmer pump, added it, through plumbing modifications to my skimmer and it was not strong enough, so a new skimmer was in order.

I made the order and was told it would be at there before the new year. It did not arrive and I followed up with my LFS on January 5. The LFS has tried to contact the distributor twice, to no avail. I again contacted the LFS and they finally got in contact with the distributor on Thursday, Jan 12. The distributor claimed it was in stock.

I do not know what the heck is going on, but it seems to me that the distributor for Reef Octopus does not care for customers and I would suggest that people consider an alternative skimmer. I am in a small minority who operates a large reef system. This whole experience has shown me that the Canadian Distributor does not give a sh*t about their customers. They could have contacted the LFS about delays, but there has been nothing since the order was placed.

 

[sirhc13]

I would definitely find out who your LFS is ordering from.

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[rockworm]

I would love to, but there are regional distribution rights. For example, Coralvue has the US distribution rights. I suspect that there is a different Distributor who has the rights for Canada. I want to be careful because I have been dealing with my LFS for 10+ years and have a very good relationship with them. I trust them and so not want to compromise them.

 

[Skim]

First I would contact Coralvue anyhow as I had a problem with a Gyre and they said the same, that I had to deal with the Canadian distributor, but he also told me to tell them that so ans so said to warranty it. In the end they did not have stock on the part so Coralvue sent it to me instead because of the wait time for the part to get to Canada and be put into stack and then shipped would take longer then just shipping ti from Coralvue. You may want to give it a try explain it to them, Carlos may be able to find out whats going on. I know you trust your Lfs but who knows maybe they forgot to order it or out of stock of that unit in Canada maybe they may ship it from Corlvue to you. He gets back to people so fast. Just go to their site and submit a ticket. Can't hurt and you may get some answers.

 

[rockworm]

First I would contact Coralvue anyhow as I had a problem with a Gyre and they said the same, that I had to deal with the Canadian distributor, but he also told me to tell them that so ans so said to warranty it. In the end they did not have stock on the part so Coralvue sent it to me instead because of the wait time for the part to get to Canada and be put into stack and then shipped would take longer then just shipping ti from Coralvue. You may want to give it a try explain it to them, Carlos may be able to find out whats going on. I know you trust your Lfs but who knows maybe they forgot to order it or out of stock of that unit in Canada maybe they may ship it from Corlvue to you. He gets back to people so fast. Just go to their site and submit a ticket. Can't hurt and you may get some answers.

Thanks. This is good advice and I will follow up with Coralvue.

 

[nathan]

Thanks. This is good advice and I will follow up with Coralvue.

I agree with Skim and do some bigger water changes in the mean time... it sucks but it will help

 

[TORX]

This is a horror story in the making. Watching your tank go down hill slowly must be horrifying. I have only dealt with RO once and had the opposite experience. My Biochurn 120R was ordered on a Wednesday and to my vendor by Monday IIRC. That time frame was typical to other orders according to my vendor and on part with what I have seen from other vendors. Speed was immortality to me as my reactor had cracked and I knew my bandaid would only hold so long. There is a miscommunication going on somewhere. It shouldn't have taken the LFS a week to get information from them. You should have had it within 7-10 business days. I wish you the best of luck. I wish I had a contact for you, but it seems like there is some good advice to try above.

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[heath]

I would love to, but there are regional distribution rights. For example, Coralvue has the US distribution rights. I suspect that there is a different Distributor who has the rights for Canada. I want to be careful because I have been dealing with my LFS for 10+ years and have a very good relationship with them. I trust them and so not want to compromise them.

I hear what your saying about not wanting to compromise the relationship but, are they being honest with you.. if you have dealt with them for 10+ years they should be on the ball a little quicker or suggesting another alternative...
I agree with Torx, I have emailed Reef Octopus and gotten a reply back pretty quick..

Good luck and hope that you get what you need before anything else goes south in the tank..

 

[rockworm]

I hear what your saying about not wanting to compromise the relationship but, are they being honest with you.. if you have dealt with them for 10+ years they should be on the ball a little quicker or suggesting another alternative...
I agree with Torx, I have emailed Reef Octopus and gotten a reply back pretty quick..

Good luck and hope that you get what you need before anything else goes south in the tank..

You make some good points, heath. I have no reason to believe that the LFS has been misleading. Further, as of yesterday, they have contacted the distributor 3 times. The distributor was the one that did not provide proper availabiliy. I understand distributon rights. I believe there is only one Canadian distributor and if they don't bother making a real effort to provide the goods, the LFS is screwed and the customer is screwed.

I was notified today that the skimmer has been shipped from Montreal and that it will be here (Ottawa) for Tuesday pick up.

In the meantime, I will continue with large water changes to manage nutrient levels. Fingers crosses that I will not lose too many more corals.

Ward

 

[sLAsh]

Perhaps you could use a couple smaller ones in the meantime. Not ideal but I would ask the lfs if they would give you a couple of the smaller ro ones they have in inventory until yours come in.

 

[Salty Cracker]

Ordered a RO skimmer from bulk reef supply on a Monday, had it on that Friday.

 

[rockworm]

Perhaps you could use a couple smaller ones in the meantime. Not ideal but I would ask the lfs if they would give you a couple of the smaller ro ones they have in inventory until yours come in.

I borrowed a tunze from a friend. While not perfect, it is for a 200g+ tank. I am not heavily stocked but I am pushing above the limits of the Tunze. I am hopibg the increased water changes will buy me time.

 

[rockworm]

Ordered a RO skimmer from bulk reef supply on a Monday, had it on that Friday.

That's nice and I appreciate your contribution but what skimmer and what size tank? Did you order a skimmer for a large tank? One that is bigger than 300g? Or was it for a smaller tank? I can order a skimmer from Reef Supplies and have it here in three days. It would be too small but I could get it fast.

The availablity of large tank equipment is the issue. There are all kinds of skimmers available for tanks less than 150g. Heck, I could walk in to Big Als today and get an internal skimmer for a 150g. But try to get a 500g medium/heavy stock skimmer on short notice is not so easy.

 

[TORX]

They have this skimmer for sale at reefsupplies.ca, however it is listed as 'usually ships in 2-8 days', which means they do not necessarily have it in stock and would be waiting for the supplier to get it to them first as well. This is one beast of a skimmer. You are right, larger system equipment is harder to find and typically not in actual stock. Then you are stuck in a tough situation as this or you have to spend thousands for a backup to sit in a box just in case. Loose loose situation.

 

[BIGSHOW]

They have this skimmer for sale at reefsupplies.ca, however it is listed as 'usually ships in 2-8 days', which means they do not necessarily have it in stock and would be waiting for the supplier to get it to them first as well. This is one beast of a skimmer. You are right, larger system equipment is harder to find and typically not in actual stock. Then you are stuck in a tough situation as this or you have to spend thousands for a backup to sit in a box just in case. Loose loose situation.

Pretty sure RS is the distributor...lol

 

[heath]

If you were closer I have a ro 150 (I know not big enough) that you could borrow... its too small for your tank but I believe that something/smaller is better than nothing...good luck.. I wonder if cut back on the feeding for a bit if that would help, less crap going in the tank...

 

[scubasteve]

you just happened to order at the wrong time of year. anytime close to christmas delivery times could be doubled easily with everyone importing for the holidays. i know a few people have had delays with customs recently not to mention canada post is horribly slow. unless you pay for emt or priority mail expect to wait this time of year.

how did they ship it? Did you not get a tracking number? If no tracking your waiting for the slow surface mail. Companies dont send priority shipping unless requested since the cost in canada is pricey at times but if you want it fast you need to request it since standard shipping is the sirface snail route usually.

 

[Salty Cracker]

That's nice and I appreciate your contribution but what skimmer and what size tank? Did you order a skimmer for a large tank? One that is bigger than 300g? Or was it for a smaller tank? I can order a skimmer from Reef Supplies and have it here in three days. It would be too small but I could get it fast.

The availablity of large tank equipment is the issue. There are all kinds of skimmers available for tanks less than 150g. Heck, I could walk in to Big Als today and get an internal skimmer for a 150g. But try to get a 500g medium/heavy stock skimmer on short notice is not so easy.

Well, I mentioned it because they show one in stock, and you could call them and ask if they would send it in 3 days. No idea what your rant about getting an underpowered skimmer is about, heck I was just trying to offer up personal experience. Have a fantastic day fella.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/super-reef-octopus-sro-6000ext-12-external-protein-skimmer.html

 

[RDF]

I will post once. You will need to PM me if you want more info.

To say the distributor does not care for his clients is absurd, we would be out of business if we did not care. What I don’t get is why anyone would go to multiple boards with this same post without getting both sides of the story. I think there is more to this, from here it looks like a deliberate push to try and hurt our business.

The magic question is, were you misled by your LFS? Did you maybe misunderstand him or is there something else brewing here?

We understand that your tanks mean a lot to you. We are hobbyists as well. We relate to these kinds of situations since we run tanks ourselves. To publicly try and hurt a vendor to this point goes beyond the love for our tanks. Its down right disgraceful especially since most of the info is false are / or misunderstood.

Here is the timeline of what happened. We have saved all the emails should we need to prove our case.

Thursday, Dec 15 – Your LFS emailed the owner asking for a 6000EXT

Friday, Dec 16 – Our buyer (me) emailed Coralvue (Master Distributor), they confirmed stock

WEEKEND

Monday, Dec 19 - I relayed the information to my colleague.

Tuesday, Dec 20 – My colleague emailed your LFS notifying him that we could get it in a few days. That was a mistake on his part since a few days would be impossible.

I am the buyer and I know that under NORMAL circumstances it takes a week to get a Coral Vue skid, IF that order is not delayed due to backorders. Orders are only placed when there is enough to get a full skid.

Now, I know some will say the issue is with our stock level. We do NOT stock any SRO EXT’s let alone 6000 EXT. No one here does, not even some of the largest USA distributors do. These are company’s that are earning $5,000,000 + even they use CV to drop ship these. One of the only NA retailers to stock these is BRS.

Back to the timeline:

Dec 20 to 21 we have had a couple more emails back and forth. Your LFS agreed to the order after we agreed to give him a little bit of a deal since we had to special order and we knew it would take longer than expected. ESPECAILY since the holidays were approaching.

IMPORNT: December 21st @ 3:29 pm is when your LFS confirmed the sale via email. In other words, the order was officially placed on the 21st.

During the following two weeks, there were TWO HOLIDAY closers. Some carriers were closed for a full week while others were closed a few days. Needless to say, one must understand that these two weeks are the worst for any type of logistic unless you’re flying to Florida to work on your tan lines.

We were away for a week and I’m sure coralvue was off a few days per week as well. I don’t think they work through the holidays.

January 5th – Your LFS emailed us asking if it arrived.

January 5th – We replied “Ill find out today, taking a drive to the warehouse now.”

January 5th - the skid order shipped from Coral Vue.

January 9 - The order arrived to our warehouse

The skid was undone and sorted by January 11.

Jan 12 – The items on the skid were placed in inventory.

Jan 13 – Your dealer asked to add some items to the order

Jan 13 – We added and told him we are ready to ship.

Jan 13 – He said he’s closed Monday so we could not ship Friday.

This is were it gets better

January 13 we offered him Saturday arrival for $25 NOT $90 (via email). OUR COST WAS $90. Overnight weekend shipping is not cheap!

So we reduced the cost of the skimmer and we were willing to take a $65 hit on shipping as well. We tried, we really did! He never replied so we called him, he refused the $25 and stayed with the free shipping option instead.

The skimmer will arrive Tuesday.

So to summarise, we do not ignore our clients. We do our best to fulfill all orders in a timely manner. The biggest problem here was that we do not stock that particular skimmer and we were in the middle of the holidays.

 

[TORX]

Thank you

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