I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you all my first (and last) livestock ordering experience from Flying Fish Express.
Three days ago, I noticed a listing of "Sri Lankan Nigripes Clownfish" on their Collector's Corner website. I ordered these, along with three of their Red Ricordea which they also were offering. Incidentally this was the fourth time I tried ordering from FFE's collector's items list. The three previous times, I would call in, confirm with the salesperson that the item was in stock, only to receive a call at 4:30p.m. every single time informing me that the item was, in fact, not in stock (but that's a whole other story which I will not get into).
Upon completion of the order, I was excited because I would finally be receiving a shipment of livestock. The next morning, when I checked the FFE website, I noticed curiously that they had added a label of "restricted species" designation to the Nigripes clownfish that I had just ordered. The label was not there the day I ordered it (I have witnesses to confirm this). Now slightly worried about what I would be getting, my worries were confirmed when the shipment arrived. The clownfish had lost most of its coloring, its fins were tattered, and there was evidence of a fungal infection on its fins and underside. The three red ricordea were not red, but in fact orange (I have other orange ricordea in the tank). Moreover, 90% of the short tentacles characteristic of ricordea were missing.
I placed them all in the tank, hoping that the clownfish might survive, because if it didn't I figured I would be out the $40 I paid for it. Sure enough, this morning the clownfish died (less than 24 hours after receiving it). Fortunately the sickness did not spread to the other fish in the tank.
As a result my girlfriend (Jessica) decided to call FFE to voice her concerns about the ricordea and the clownfish. She asked to speak to the salesperson's superior, which happened to be the owner, Don Burdick. The conversation started out normally but soon escalated into a heated argument, in which Mr. Burdick told my girlfriend that she was "delirious" and to "shut up". Needless to say this only incensed Jessica more. Mr. Burdick's only argument was that the fish was a "restricted species", and thus basically told her that he "didn't need to take this from her".
Mr. Burdick finally agreed to refund the credit for the fish.
Is it possible that FFE, upon seeing that their lot of Nigripes clownfish were all ill, slapped on a Restricted Species designation just to cover their own backsides? If so, I think that's very VERY dishonest business conduct.
Needless to say, I will never be a customer of FFE. I feel that we were treated both rudely and dishonestly. It has basically been the worst buying experience of my life. Apparently FFE feels that they do not need to cater to a single customer because their business is so large.
Has anyone else had similar experiences with FFE, or am I alone on this?
Three days ago, I noticed a listing of "Sri Lankan Nigripes Clownfish" on their Collector's Corner website. I ordered these, along with three of their Red Ricordea which they also were offering. Incidentally this was the fourth time I tried ordering from FFE's collector's items list. The three previous times, I would call in, confirm with the salesperson that the item was in stock, only to receive a call at 4:30p.m. every single time informing me that the item was, in fact, not in stock (but that's a whole other story which I will not get into).
Upon completion of the order, I was excited because I would finally be receiving a shipment of livestock. The next morning, when I checked the FFE website, I noticed curiously that they had added a label of "restricted species" designation to the Nigripes clownfish that I had just ordered. The label was not there the day I ordered it (I have witnesses to confirm this). Now slightly worried about what I would be getting, my worries were confirmed when the shipment arrived. The clownfish had lost most of its coloring, its fins were tattered, and there was evidence of a fungal infection on its fins and underside. The three red ricordea were not red, but in fact orange (I have other orange ricordea in the tank). Moreover, 90% of the short tentacles characteristic of ricordea were missing.
I placed them all in the tank, hoping that the clownfish might survive, because if it didn't I figured I would be out the $40 I paid for it. Sure enough, this morning the clownfish died (less than 24 hours after receiving it). Fortunately the sickness did not spread to the other fish in the tank.
As a result my girlfriend (Jessica) decided to call FFE to voice her concerns about the ricordea and the clownfish. She asked to speak to the salesperson's superior, which happened to be the owner, Don Burdick. The conversation started out normally but soon escalated into a heated argument, in which Mr. Burdick told my girlfriend that she was "delirious" and to "shut up". Needless to say this only incensed Jessica more. Mr. Burdick's only argument was that the fish was a "restricted species", and thus basically told her that he "didn't need to take this from her".
Mr. Burdick finally agreed to refund the credit for the fish.
Is it possible that FFE, upon seeing that their lot of Nigripes clownfish were all ill, slapped on a Restricted Species designation just to cover their own backsides? If so, I think that's very VERY dishonest business conduct.
Needless to say, I will never be a customer of FFE. I feel that we were treated both rudely and dishonestly. It has basically been the worst buying experience of my life. Apparently FFE feels that they do not need to cater to a single customer because their business is so large.
Has anyone else had similar experiences with FFE, or am I alone on this?
