Disappointed

[Matt_84]

I have been holding off posting this until I was sure my issue wasn't going to be sorted.
Over the years I have spent quite a bit of money through AoA however I was left disappointed in my final purchase back in January.
I ordered a pump and it was delivered on time. I opened the outer cardboard box and removed the scrunched paper that was protecting the inner box. When I removed the inner box i noticed it had quite a bit of damage as shown in pics.
Outer box


Inner Box


Broken guard


It was obvious from the lack of damage on the outer box and the excessive damage on the inner box that the box was most likely damaged before it was packed and sent to me....
After opening the inner box, I noticed the intake guard was in several pieces. I sent an email to AoA notifying them of the damage and not to bother sending me a replacement as I was disappointed about being sent an obviously damaged item. The reply email mentioned they were going to order in a replacement piece which didn't eventuate anyway.

I wasn't willing to chance using this dropped and possibly damaged pump so I never used it. I kept it for a while with the intention of posting it back but decided to cut my losses and threw it away a few days ago. It wasn't the most expensive pump but still over $100 down the drain.
Luckily I managed to purchase a different pump from another source a few weeks later.

This post will be removed by me in a few days (or by a mod earlier - not sure if it breaks a rule)
Just curious if anyone else has had damaged stock shipped to them
.

[swazzle]

I don't think it should be removed it's not a squabble between he said/she said. As you say the inner box was damaged with no sign of damage to the outer box. A logical assumption is that the inner box was in fact mailed broken. And if that's the case that is the poorest form of customer care and quality.

I myself was set on purchasing the majority of my new tanks equipment from AOA but after seeing so many of these posts about their treatment of customers I have been organizing my equipment with Gary from guppies and couldn't be happier with how he has handled with my delays, questions and negotiations.

If this in fact true which I logically come to the same conclusion as OP it is really the lowest of low from a company


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rod the Reefer]

If this is the case it is indeed disappointing.

The previous management of AoA would never have let this happen.

Rod.

[wayne2.0]

No need to delete it, the post is OK.

It is a fine line and you can't please everyone, some of the LFS and suppliers hate us, others try to work out issues in the open which I think is the best way. AOA support us and appear to be happy to deal with issues in public, some of the others get angry that post are not deleted etc etc and stop support the community as a whole , which to my mind is blackmail and poor form.

AOA had some issues with the owner and the staff now run the show. As you can pick up for the other topics thing went downhill during that period of change. I have no public opinions either way but join MASQ and I am happy to chat in person about any and every shop.

[Matt_84]

I wasn't aware there was a change in management so thanks for that info.

I didn't want it to come across as an attack on the store but it was pretty disappointing.
Definitely made me rethink buying from them though

[Ageofaquariums]

HI Matt,

Please leave this up we never want anything like this to happen to our customers in the first place and we take on board all praise and criticism.

As with all of our warranty issues, weather it be a manufactures faulty or a fault of our own, we ask that the product be returned to us for either a replacement or refund depending upon the situation, and in most situations will cover the return freight of the item.

To this date we have not heard back from you once we had been told that the part was not replaceable. To be honest since some time had passed it had slipped my mind since my last email asking you to send it back to us and i could send you a new pump or refund it for you. Again though unfortunately this couldn't happen until it was received back, with the return freight paid by us of course.

As always we are happy to sort out any issues that may arise from any situation. Why a pump with a damaged box was sent to you in the first place was the strangest part as this is extremely out of character for our mail order team.

As for this situation now, Matt i would be happy to get this sorted and have forwarded my last email to you so that we can get this issue resolved, Plus i have just tried to give you a phone call. Have you changed phone numbers?

Again as always please feel free to post on a forum or phone me at the shop and i will always be happy to help, regardless of it being a an issue or a question you may have.

Cheers

Josh

[Matt_84]

Hi Josh,
Firstly, I would like to apoligise for bringing this into a public forum. I should have contacted you again directly prior to posting this.
For some reason I never received last your email about the pump and assumed I was still waiting for the part. I admit I thought it was out of character to not have heard something from you prior to now, as I've had nothing but good dealings in the past.

I will leave the post along with this apology to show that you did attempt to rectify the issue however the fault was on my end.

[Rod the Reefer]