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Jasonny5895

Experienced Reefer
Location
Bayside Queens
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The livestock is great as well prices, However the workers appear as if a greeting should have a seperate charge. Besides a couple nice people, the general concensus seems to be that customers are annoying and a burden. Love the store just wish management would treat the people supporting there store with a little class. I live very close to there but will drive 10X as far to other places just to not get attitudes from there employees and possibly even a HELLO (am I asking to much?)
 

reefman

Chairman of the board
Location
Forest Hills
Rating - 100%
66   0   0
if u notice, they r constantly trying to hire more help. this leads me to believe hiring good help is hard, the employee treatment and or the pay sucks. this will lead to bad customer services. i also left the store because i did not wanted to wait too long. i usually spend $50 a week, guess thats their lost.
 

Jasonny5895

Experienced Reefer
Location
Bayside Queens
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
i easily spend 50 a week aswell, especially lately since of been upgrading my 55 to a 110 reef. Ive actually heard comments by employees like "your here again". What is that, if my boss ever heard me saying that to a customer I would be fired on the spot. Ive brought easily thousnds of dollars to other places that SUCK just to avoid feeling stupid by their rude employees
 

inline6

Advanced Reefer
Location
Queens, NY
Rating - 100%
29   0   0
I live 10 minutes away from FT.
That store is a BIG hit or MISS.
Problem is to get the big score on stuff there you have to go often, the down side is you get harassssed every time to buy big ticket items!
 

tosiek

Senior Member
Rating - 100%
48   0   0
We recently had the owners daughter or a employee (didn't pay too much attention) come onto our boards, into our home, and bash a fellow member in an extremely rude way.

Not saying your not allowed but thats messed up. I wouldn't give them my $$. Or even talk about anything good about their store.
 

Mr.First

Junior Member
Location
Nassau
Rating - 100%
29   0   0
100% agreement, service and Mgt. suck. Better be able to spot healthy livestock when buying there. Hate to say it but, gives another resaon to go online. Also, BTW got bite twice by a damm mean Black Damsel in Aruba the other day. Also swam with a huge Puffer/Porcupine must have been 2 1/2' long
 

amethyst212

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
i have personally always gotten much respect from Fishtown especially from the owners daughter, she does not persuade me into pricey things. right now they are in a rough spot that they are short on staff, usaully two employees to the whole store and for the price you pay on their items dont be expecting the royal treatment.

i personally love this store and will always go back. but to each their own if you rather spend money on another place that ur buisness.
 

marki24

Advanced Reefer
Location
Long Island, NY
Rating - 99.1%
116   1   0
I went to Fishtown usa and they said you need some special card in order to get a 10% off. Does anyone know about this. The manager said there is a MR card. I never heard of that.
 

nemo

Advanced Reefer
Location
Douglaston, NY
Rating - 100%
30   0   0
Yes, I do not think they provide good customer service either and would rather do my business elsewhere. But they must be doing something right. They can afford to have this substandard level of service and still do good business. The attitude is as if they have a monopoly in the fish and coral market.
 

Henrye

Junior Member
Location
NYC
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
There are many businesses that provide substandard service, yet remain profitable. I think of Fishtown as a large "box" store, while its competitors are smaller and cannot offer the variety across all shopper categories. The majority of shoppers (in any LFS) are typically not looking for high quality, unusual specimens, or high end dry goods (or even knowing what they might be). It's analogous to Home Depot. Has anyone found consistently good service there? But, they're still in business too.

Dedicated reefers in CA seem to fare much better than the NY region. Yes, they are the primary access point for transshipment, but there seems to just be a greater interest in marine life along the West Coast. In southern CA you could almost set up a local reef group by neighborhood, let alone by city. Here we are in NY region, a place where money (I'm using an analogy, not an individual situation) flows easily in pursuit of hobbies/art/cars/real estate/whatever else you want to list, yet, there's not enough demand to support more than several serious LFS. That's why a Fishtown exists.

Let's face it, while this this board is growing, and most everyone here has made a real commitment to this hobby, compare our overall size to other regional forums or clubs. In NYC, the only aquarium club is the Brooklyn Aquarium Society that meets at the city aquarium in Coney Island. Nothing in Manhattan. I have to travel out of Manhattan to shop, quite the opposite for most goods. Maybe an urban environment is not conducive to reefing and is easier to take up if you have a house rather an apartment, which is understandable for large tanks. Certainly, home ownership, rather than apartment life, is easier to find in the NY four boroughs, while Manhattans' co-ops, condos, and rentals take a dim view of a large glass tank holding a lot of water, especially if you ask about reinforcing the floor:argue: .

IMO, until there are more serious hobbyists demanding better care, quality, and service, Fishtown will remain in business.
Henry
 

cali_reef

Fish and Coral Killer
Rating - 97.3%
36   1   0
There are many businesses that provide substandard service, yet remain profitable. I think of Fishtown as a large "box" store, while its competitors are smaller and cannot offer the variety across all shopper categories. The majority of shoppers (in any LFS) are typically not looking for high quality, unusual specimens, or high end dry goods (or even knowing what they might be). It's analogous to Home Depot. Has anyone found consistently good service there? But, they're still in business too.

Dedicated reefers in CA seem to fare much better than the NY region. Yes, they are the primary access point for transshipment, but there seems to just be a greater interest in marine life along the West Coast. In southern CA you could almost set up a local reef group by neighborhood, let alone by city. Here we are in NY region, a place where money (I'm using an analogy, not an individual situation) flows easily in pursuit of hobbies/art/cars/real estate/whatever else you want to list, yet, there's not enough demand to support more than several serious LFS. That's why a Fishtown exists.

Let's face it, while this this board is growing, and most everyone here has made a real commitment to this hobby, compare our overall size to other regional forums or clubs. In NYC, the only aquarium club is the Brooklyn Aquarium Society that meets at the city aquarium in Coney Island. Nothing in Manhattan. I have to travel out of Manhattan to shop, quite the opposite for most goods. Maybe an urban environment is not conducive to reefing and is easier to take up if you have a house rather an apartment, which is understandable for large tanks. Certainly, home ownership, rather than apartment life, is easier to find in the NY four boroughs, while Manhattans' co-ops, condos, and rentals take a dim view of a large glass tank holding a lot of water, especially if you ask about reinforcing the floor:argue: .

IMO, until there are more serious hobbyists demanding better care, quality, and service, Fishtown will remain in business.
Henry

I agree 100%:) It's either low price or pay a bit more for good service\product in any retail business. Very hard to have both. I think few people quit from FT in the last few months, most people they hire don't know much about the hobby anyway, just like no one in HD knows about hardware, plumbing or lumber. Few FT employees I've talked to said the boss, his daughter and the store manager treat them like crap, I believe it because I feel they treat customers like crap too. I go there every now and then to check out their new stock, there are just not many stores with the amount of salt water fish verities in this area.

People in Cali are more lay back and willing to interact with each other, people in NY would not even bother to say hi:(. I don't think I have purchased any corals (SPS and LPS) locally after jointing a local club, people in the club are always willing to give you a frag or two hoping you would do the same when they see something they like in your tank. I have given away so many frags in NY and only have the same people charging me when I asked for frags from their tank:(.
 

PalmTree

Senior Member
Location
CT
Rating - 100%
23   0   0
So true. People is Cali are really into their reefs. I'm not saying that people here are not but there is defiantley a huge diffrence. So many more reef shops all over the state. I think it may have something to do with them being able to directly import from the pacific hence it is cheaper.
 

autoponicz

powered by MR
Location
Westbury L.i
Rating - 100%
58   0   0
yes fishtowns service does suck d*ck.....
the only time i go in there is when im cruising by the neighborhood and just stop by and see what new livestock they got....i would mostly walk out of there empty handed....unless its a fish i have been looking for....but i would stand there and watch the fish for a while to see if it will make it pass the the next day......i rarely find myself buying much from them anymore (they did get me when i first started this hobby)......forget about thier coral.......way overpriced and kept poorly....
 

Awibrandy

Old School Reefer
Location
Far Rockaway
Rating - 100%
182   0   0
I am so tempted! But I don't hide behind the anonymity of the Internet as Catfish1(aka owner's daughter) tried to do.COWARD!!! What I had to say to her I said to her face. I will say this for now, after 15 years of shopping in this store, and not just the $50 weekly or biweekly most of the time more. I purchased my first 120gl. 5' from them. And my last purchase of the 155gl.bow front went so sour that I will never set foot in there again. Oh yes the manager said vaguely that he would take care of me the next time I came in. To me after what has been done that is not enough. When I make a mistake I own up to it, I don't hide behind lies. Will I tell you guys not shop there? No, that is your decision to make. But I will recommend that you get everything in writing, and very detailed at that. I normally go by the honor system, (I guess that is do to my age), but they apparently have no HONOR.
 

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