A Very Bad experience...

[mic_1011]

+1...
To tell the truth, i don't know how they can make anything at the prices they charge.

+1, maybe that's why the owner always looks stressed out

 

[cthoughts1]

+1, maybe that's why the owner always looks stressed out

Since both you and Albano brought up the Question of not understanding "How they make money", I will try to answer that, it's pretty simple actually. There are two schools of thought in this business aspect.

1) Sell less products at a higher price

or

2) Sell more products at a lower price.

So instead of charging $50 for an Acro they pay $15 for, they charge $35 for that Acro. At the same time instead of selling one Acro for $50 like most stores that ascribe to the first principle, they're selling two or three Acros for $35 each.

Now I'm no expert, but what it appears to me that their business is doing is that they are trying to still sell volume but slowly increasing their prices to test the market and see where they can have their prices as high as possible to still be able to sell volume while being able to maximize their profits. Which is why many people have noticed an increase in their prices lately. But in short, they move volume, that's how they make their money and I'm sure they're doing well enough to make a profit and still be open, or else they wouldn't be there.

Again, all I'm saying is that its bad business to have a price clearly marked on something and then refuse to honor and seek to charge a higher price when you are checking out. Personally if the fish was marked $30, I would have likely bought it because its what I was looking for at the time, it's just what they did and how they did it.

 

[mic_1011]

i hear you on that! if it were me i would've honored the price on the glass. don't understand why he would do such a thing. i might've even threw another 10% off or something maybe on the next item or purchase. i've never known them to act in such a manner. might've been a bad day moody or such... still no reason to have treated you like that. i've visited a wholesaler who sells at more than they are selling which is why albano and i can't understand how they're surviving? i know the pricing of items even trans shipped but when you figure in the cost of shipping and packing and overhead it doesn't add up. just my 2 cents

 

[Custom05Taco]

Look at all this bad press.. And it could have been avoided if the store manager/owner/ whatever took the $7 (!!) hit on one fish.

+1 Bad business.
Always make sure the customer leaves happy or soon enough you won't have any to please.

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

All I'm saying is that they may have been on a bad day but there Realy is zero excuse or reason for anyone to treat a customer that way!! Can't say I would not be upset myself

 

[petraio]

I just wonder if he is reading all these feed back cause i think Ivan was the one posting here the prices and live stock !!!!

 

[noelskii]

I can easily make up a bad review also and have no proof of it. Just sayin...

 

[DrAsTiC]

As long as I have been going to max reef I have known better to ask for a price then look at the price on the tanks. They move and sell tons of fish and sometimes they do not update the prices right away. And for everyone complaining about the prices going up ever think that maybe the price from the wholesalers went up? Taxes have gone up.Maybe the electric bills have gone up? Electric in westchester is more expensive then in the boroughs. Selling more fish for cheaper prices does not turn a bigger profit.... that means you are going to the wholesalers more and ordering from wholesalers overseas which means more money on gas, tolls and shipping then more money on employees acclimating fish. I do not see a reason for everyone to jump on a band wagon bashing them. You were all happy when you bought acros for $35 that other vendors sell for $150+ or the other countless stuff they for 20-30% less. Heck they even have other stores buying fish from them and selling them for more. I guess people have nothing better to do then complain about this and that. Complaining about $7 is not a valid complaint to me since the fish is still cheaper then any other place so I still would have been happy knowing that. .

 

[reefs4life]

I can easily make up a bad review also and have no proof of it. Just sayin...

So are you trying to infer that he is not being on honest about his review? I mean I know Eddie (cthoughts) I've dealt with him a couple times and he seems like an honest person and he is also a well known, senior member on this site. I am a senior member as well and I wrote a bad review as well a couple days ago, and honestly they are slipping. Are you to say that I just wrote one just to write it? It's not like either one of us work for another store nor are we new members trying to just bash this place. And I wouldn't even put it as a 'bad review' it's more of an informative review for fellow reefers so in case something out of the norm were to happen, it's not really much of a surprise. Most importantly this is also feedback to the owner who take notes on what is happening but (like petraio said) I wonder if he's even reading this stuff now that Ivan is gone, since he was the one taking care of all the customer service aspect of this business.


@ DrAsTiC....you're missing the point, it's not about the $7 but it's the way the owner himself expressed himself with a customer. I mean I work in retail banking and I know you definitely can't sell a product with poor customer service!!! Not to mention a huge volume of products as they do. If he had put it in a more professional way that he really couldn't budge on the price that's understandable but not the way he did. Period.

 

[Ole Pukey]

I've never been there since it would be somewhat of a drive but I've heard great things to spend the time to check it out. I understand where people are coming from about prices going up, overheard and other expenses. But the problem seems to be with management. Wether it's fish, electronics or clothes when there's a price that's clearly listed you should honor that. I mean how fast does a price change where you didn't have the time to fix it? Did they just receive a fax to update prices that minute? I'd understand if a guy tried to take advantage of it by buying all those fish at that price but this is just one fish and one customer. I know a lot of us would be pretty pissed if we walked into a best buy and they didn't honor the price that they advertised. From what I've gathered Max Reef is having some employee issues but that's no excuse for poor management. It should be management getting in early or staying late to update the pricing and not the employees.

 

[noelskii]

Did they have any Yellow Coris Wrasses in stock?

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

I agree with that statement , I have met and dealt with cthoughts great guy , he would not be here trying to save us from the same mistreatment that he recieved if it didn't really happen, and if they read these threads then they owe him an appology at the very least!!

Good business is repeat business

 

[Dace]

I agree with that statement , I have met and dealt with cthoughts great guy , he would not be here trying to save us from the same mistreatment that he recieved if it didn't really happen, and if they read these threads then they owe him an appology at the very least!!

Good business is repeat business

Hey i understand your point, But the purpose of these sites is a good way for people to voice there opinions, Get advice, and possibly help vendors correct things that should be addressed.
But he's not the only person who's made a comment about disliking something about Maximum reefs.
When i stated something I was not happy about Max reefs, cthoughts went off on me as far as stating that i should not be complaining when i was just like him just voicing my opinion, He went as far to say that comments like mine hurt the people and businesses in our community, Hmmmm.
Really? Maybe he should of taken under consideration every other time he states he's been there its been a good experience and maybe he had a bad day yesterday. We all have them. I do agree that they should of honored the price. But i also have to agree that he would of probably paid more then 25.00 anywhere else.

 

[cthoughts1]

Hey Dace,

Just to be perfectly clear, I was bothered by your post because your post made assumptions about what you THOUGHT a vendor had done. You can't mess with someone's reputation based on your unfounded assumptions. My post is very clear on FACTS. Its exactly what happened without any inferences or assumptions.

You're right I believe in being careful not to harm people's reputations and I would never post something like this if it were not true. Its not about a bad experience its about something as basic as honoring a price they have clearly marked. I'm sorry but if you go to any store and you cannot rely on the prices they have on the tanks, then that store is not worth going to. As far as the price goes I buy baby hippos for $15. That's what my friend sells them to me for. But the truth is it was an impulse buy an I would have paid $50 for the fish if that's what they had marked.

 

[piranhapat]

Why is everybody trashing MAX REEF. You don't like the service go somewhere else. They doing the best and Ralph is honest guy. If their was a mistake which is possible because new shipments and not updating the price for fish or size of fish. Owner knows what he paid for fish. What happen is blown out of portion. Go check price for hippos. Tiny $35 - $39! So yea you saw $18 but owner said $25. When I see a fish and then the price. I know and most of you guy knows what the prices of any fish costs. If I see something to good. I always ask before they bag something because prices are written on tank not in stone. I'll keep going there because they prices still best. If you want better service with your fish go somewhere else and pay what ever. The reason he 'll treat you better because the sucker just paid double what He paid for it..

 

[Eisman SL65]

Piranhapat if you don't see a problem here you're blind. Or maybe just so cheap you're willing to get bent over to get a cheaper price. First off cthoughts clearly said he isnt going back, I know Ed for years and he's always of his word and never quick to trash anyone. As a matter of fact his profession often has him giving people the benefit of the doubt when people don't deserve it. If he says hes not going back, believe me hes not going back. Based on your previous posts you are clearly aware that max reef gets their shipments in on Sundays. If you're telling me that they couldn't update their prices from Sunday to Wednesday, that's B.S. Also if you're paying over $20 for a small hippo you're a sucker. And if you can't rely on the prices stated on the glass of the tank where the fish is, the store is garbage. Plain and simple. As far as I'm concerned F max reef, I wont be going back either.

 

[Central Aquariums Corp.]

Greetings

Greetings

My name is Ralph, and I'm the owner and founder of MAXIMUM REEF AQUATICS INC

I want to leave certain points cleared.

1- Ivan was never owner nor shareholder or partner of MAXIMUN REEF AQUATICS; he was an employee and always managed and lowered prices under my "consent"
2-Ive always tried to maintain the most comfortable prices for our customers and the same for the companies that do maintenance,
3 I feel uncomfortable by reading what certain individuals have expressed themselves negatively towards my business, when I have tried to be as kind, lenient & affordable with my prices. All In all it is hard to satisfy, and maintain everyone happy.
4 I've read Individuals talk about the waiting time ,that my tanks are dirty, that there are empty tanks , that cleaning & maintenance shouldn't be done when in hours that people should be attended, that there are too many fishes in the tanks, and that my employees are terrible.

WAITING TIME: 10 minutes is not a lot of time, sorry for the inconvenience but you'll have to wait your turn.
DIRTY TANKS: Lies, my tanks are always clean and kept under maintenance.
EMPTY TANKS: I don't want to specify the quantity of fish that are dispatched on a daily basis, but I can tell you that we receive three to four shipments of fish, a week and we are always trying to keep our tanks full to try to maintain our customers and clients happy
CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE - We have to try to do it constantly to keep our tanks clean.
THAT TANKS ARE OVERFILLED: this is a business and I try to maintain them in bunches & groups so they don't fight with each other since there are some species that fight if there aren't a lot.
TERRIBLE EMPLOYEES.- I don't believe it, they try to be as nice & kind as possible with each and one of you all.

I don't comprehended that certain individuals critique & investigate my business and don't have the slightest idea on how to run an aquarium store but if you're so "clever & cunning" to buy a coral colony in the $20 frag tank, knowing that it makes no sense and it must be there for a reason or that theres and error on the pricing and you asked for it to be bagged up knowing thats not the real price, it is noticeable that you guys are real intelligent a d a d clever.

Best Regards

Ralph
Owner of
MAXIMUN REEF AQUATICS INC

THIS SUN 1/27 OVER 175 SPS COMING IN TO SAY THANK YOU WE WILL E HAVING A BLOWOUT SALE ON THEM $20.00 EACH
DOOR OPEN AT 1200 WE CLOSE AT 500 we will be handing out numbers at 1100 am at the door. just for the sps sale hope to see you their thank you

 

[albano]

Just a 'heads up' to everyone...for a LONG time there was no discussion allowed about Long Island LFS because of the DRAMA... I'm sure no one wants that to happen here, so PLEASE keep it 'cordial'...no need to insult anyone

IMO... losing a 'key' employee & changing ownership/partners can cause some problems, give them time...hopefully they will return to their 'former' glory!

 

[Dace]

Oh, and let me not forget to menton the other customer who was there arguing with the owner as I was waiting to pay. He had called earlier in the day and asked that a fish be held for him so that he could pick it up that same day, only to arrive at the store after traveling for an hour and paying multiple tolls (which he clearly told the owner as I was waiting to pay) to find the fish he had been told would be held for him had been sold. And what did the owner have to say to him "Well, we get another shipment in this Sunday, come back then." - Very nice.

Thanks, but no thanks Maximum Reef.

Yes Mr. Lawyer. And was this a fact as well.

Did you question the customer to the point that you would consider this an actual fact as well.
Couldn't you just post your factual incident.
Or was this your friend too.
You state your friend sells hippos for 15.00. Does he really. Where.
Does he sell it at that price to everyone, Or just you cause your his friend.
Does this happen to be the friend you were defending last time when i never even mention who it was.
Have you ever been a vendor.
Do you know that if i held every piece of coral or fish i ever sold to ppl that stated they wanted me to hold it for them,I'd need a warehouse to house them now.
That's why i never ask someone to hold something for me and if i did i'd pay for it before i go to get it. If i paid and had that situation then i would really be pissed.

 

[cthoughts1]

Yes Mr. Lawyer. And was this a fact as well.

Did you question the customer to the point that you would consider this an actual fact as well.
Couldn't you just post your factual incident.

What are you talking about guy? This incident was occuring right as i was waiting to pay for the fish. The gentleman of middle eastern descent was furious and even asked the owner if he was going to reimburse him for the tolls and travel fees if he came back on Sunday (sarcastically). Im not sure what you would expect me to question the customer was pretty vocal and not shy about laying things out. And the reason I mentioned this FACT was because it was part of my experience there. I was pretty uncomfortable standing behind a guy who was visibly upset because he had spent time and money traveling to buy a fish which was supposed to be held for him but was subsequently sold prior to his arrival.

Oh and Dace please don't PM me again asking me to call you so we can meet and discuss this issue. Lol