tropic isle

[Neya]

Just went to tropic isle and the zoas in both zoa tanks have nudis.

They knew about the big tank and were cleaning it. I alerted staff about the nudis I saw in the frag tank. Theyre going to address the issue.

Letting everyone know in case you bought frags/zoas recently from them and didn't dip/inspect.

service was top notch today. Also they now have angels plus medicated flake in stock now(2-3 different kinds for parasites or bacterial I think).

 

[fanaglethebagle]

I was in there on Thursday to pick up a bulkhead. The customer service was great, employees were nice and informative and willing to go out of their way to help. Like always they had loads of interesting fish that aren't found at every store.

 

[JohnK]

I also stopped in thursday. They were working on dealing with the nudis.

 

[president89]

I just went in there for the first time. I didn't buy anything. I just wanted to check them out. Their fish selection were incredible. It's quite a hike for me from the south shore, but for quality and selection I haven't seen anything come close as far as LFS go. I will travel the 45 minutes just to pick up some clowns.

 

[Kman2010]

Does it count as a vendor experience to be verbally harassed infront of customers and my girlfriend? I have no kind words about that place, the owners or how the business is run. Though Jen is awesome!

 

[rnyce]

i went in there last night as a fluke, cause i was in the area getting a new tv for superbowl!!! But i have to say the selection was really impressive and this time the lady at the register was not so mean she actually was a little helpful. Still didnt buy anything as i am pretty jaded from past experiences. Might consider giving store another chance.

 

[daewon]

I just to reply and say that i went for the third time to Tropic Isle last week. What a joke. Customer service is horrible and rude.

One night, when i didn't realize it was closing, the red haired (obviously dyed, punk style) came up to my gf and i to tell us that that we can't use the coupons they supply after the store closes. Seriously? I had $150 in merchandise, and she tells me this crap? I'm paying for her wage...?

Second time around, I get some kid that asks if I need help. I say yes, I'm looking for pistol shrimp, specifically candy. I called before I came in to make sure they had some. They had 7-8 tanks labeled with candy pistol shrimp and I couldn't see a single one. I ask him for help in finding one, he looks in one tank, then walks 2 feet left of me to chat it up with his buddy. The whole time, I'm trying to find one of these shrimp and he doesn't help for more than 1 minute. WTF? This same night, I get an attitude from Jen because I ask here if she can help me find something. She was in a rush, and I had to call her back three times in a row because I needed help with a few other things. Each time with her trying to run away.

Third time was just as bad as the second. Same exact experience.

Fourth time I go back to see if they have any fish I might be interested in. Honestly, I don't even know why I gave them another chance. I didn't know much about Dottybacks. My fault, seriously. I should have read up on them before I bought the fish. But, I ask someone if the fish is compatible with Peppermint and if they are not aggressive. "Definitely good with shrimp and is a very docile shrimp." That week, three Peppermint dead, 3 hermit crabs pulled from their shells, and six line wrasse with half his tail chewed off. Wrasse died a few days later.

There are better vendors out there people: Reference to other LFS(S) removed. please read the VE forum rules I'm NEVER going back there to support there shop again.

 

[afrankiewicz12]

+1 daewon im 17 and if youre a kid they treat you like crap and ignore you. every time but one ( i was with my dad) i had to wait 30+ minutes for some one to help me when there were only 2-3 ppl in the store. they also dont really know their stuff and they keep having to bring some one in to name something.

 

[jt628]

So here is my experience with this place:

My first large purchase was my 135 acrylic(used) with a stand, plumbing and sump.. this was 2.5 yrs ago, I also bought a "slightly used return pump... total was $2,134.48 NOT including pump!! So I asked since I spent over 2k Could they throw in the pump... ANSWER:NO!!! It was USED!
Ok fine business is business... SINCE THEN, I have traded/donated, spare parts, frags, inverts etc.... Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I needed more equipment and I had to get rid of an 18"carpet anem that had just eaten a yellow tang... So On one day I took the nem in and they said "$50.00 in trade" Being highly irritated with the nem at the time I chose to take it, Got a few frags and a BTA at the same time (spent an additional $250 plus redeemed trade). and on my NEXT VISIT they have my old carpet nem priced at $349.00!!!! WTF talk about getting taken

3 days later, I needed a new return pump and a new skimmer so I stopped in on a saturday on my way home from work, (At this point I'm pretty much on a first name basis with most of the staff)

So I go in there, I decide on a PM Bullet 1 2 mag 9.5s and one acro frag, So the skimmer is $375, Pumps $149 each so i figure around $650.00 RIGHT??
So he asks how I am installing the skimmer and I let him know in-sump so he starts putting it all together pvc, gate valve etc... (the guy putting it together really knows his stuff and very helpful and just doing his job as far as noting all parts used) once all together, I do a once over and it's time to check out

I go to the register and the dyed hair girl is ther ringing me up and the older woman (owners wife) is supervising her.
I am watching as the tally rises and one thing in particualer catches my eye. THE USED GATE VALVE IS $70.00!!!!!! I said REALLY???????? it's used! NEW they are $49.00 online! She proceeds to tell me "Well that's what they cost" at that point I was ready to tell them to take everything and shove it!! but I kept my self control and payed the $911.00 and left

my recent cost of approimately $1,211 taught me a lesson to never step foot in that place again, If I need equipment I'll be sure to go to someplace with less selection if I have to..
I will never do business with that place EVER again
Hop it was worht it to lose a customer that has spent in excess of 10k in that store over the last 3 yrs over greed

 

[Bobbofin]

When in area I usually stop in just to look at all the fish in those BIG tanks. Great place to go if you like being ignored. Think I've spent $20 there in the last 10 years.

 

[danzig]

I love going here to get ignored in my spare time. Plus all there big fish in the big tanks are unhealthy. All of their big blue tangs are completely faded obviously because they cheap out on the food and just give them lettuce to eat.

 

[joe0813]

well i dont normally like to do this and complain, but it has to be said. and looking at everyone elses comments im not the only one. Ive been to this place about tree times. I live in braintree so its about a 45 minute drive up and a 45 minute drive back. Not including traffic. the first time i went there i went for Dry rock... was completely ignored, i had tons of questions since this is my first saltwater tank. so oh well i got my dry rock and did what i had to do. I think i was ripped off about the price anyway. i bought two pieces and it came out to 139 dollars. annnd the old man who rang it in would not tell me how much it weighed. Oh well i paid and left. The second time i went i walk in around 730-8pm and again ignored. Thank god i only went to see what they had. No one came up to me or my girlfriend as we walked around for over a hour. oooh well. Went back a third time about a month ago and was going to buy some fish. I went with my girlfriend and her dad maybe since someone was older id get some attension. WRONNNNG... walked around looking at what i wanted. FINALLY got someone to help me after being ignored for over a hour. So i picked a mandarin, cleaner shrimp and a fighting conch. Oh and on my way home i get pulled over for my exhaust being to loud. (awesome really made my night.) so i get home floated all three bags then started drip acclimating all three.... put the mandarin in, check. Put the shrimp in, check... put the fighting conch in, check.... after about three days i notice my fighting conch has not moved a inch. pick it out of my tank and notice it is just a empty shell. there was never a conch even in the shell to begin with. and to make sure i cut the shell up, move rocks around to make sure it didnt die in my tank, checked the overflow, NOTHING. they sold me a 30 dollar shell AWESOME. needless to say i cut up my loyalty card and will never be going back there again. I didnt even bother calling and talking about the conch. Maybe the owners of this place should really look at this website and thread and try to turn there business around other wise i see this place closing down. They have absolutely awful customer service and every time i go in there the corals look like they are dying and the fish look skinny.

 

[afrankiewicz12]

i have been a few times since my last post and i have come to a conclusion, when the owner or his wife are around service goes down and i mean way down. everyone is slow and rude and will barely help you, even to the point of misinformation. i once applied for a job there and they said they would call me in a few days, after a week and a half i called back only to find out that they had hired some one that had applied after me and had completely forgot about me. however when they are not there it is almost like visiting old friends, i go in and am instantly greeted with a "hi, how can i help you" and they have full in depth conversations about how your tank is going and how everything is going. last visit the gu was really excited to show me a new anthias they got with a shipment that they couldn't identify and how awesome the new DT was coming along. i know this is hard to believe but they actually laughed.

 

[WoodRiverTroutBum]

All my experiences with them have been great. Even from the owners helping me out with my needs. Some of the younder staff are still learning but Katie does an outstanding job in my opinion. She seems to really love what she does. Only little piff I had with them was them telling me a 40 breeder couldn't be drilled lol. Besides that, I drive the hour + to go there pretty often.

 

[afrankiewicz12]

btw the person they hired told me it was impossible to mix sand consistencies and that i would have no problem with a clown trigger in a 75 reef

 

[afsportsguy000]

I wont go on a super long rant, but want to get it off my chest. The younger staff are great and are super willing to help out, However the old staff just are not friendly and maybe they just dont mesh with my personality. They may want to have more staff on the weekend to keep up with the crowd as I have waited a good amount of time before. My only other issue is they are CRAZY over priced and prolly loose many of my sales due to them being over double the cost of things online. They even had the most basic unit possible and it was still double a higher end unit.

The other bad thing is they do this rewards program.....THEY wont let you use it day 1 of sign up....Day 2 I didn't have my card and they said there was no way to even bring in a receipt and they cant put the points on the card....A load of crap if you ask me dont start it if you are going to have the farthest away from good customer service possible.

Again the younger staff when not busy you can tell have a lot of passion for the fish I think the owners I have issues with.

 

[Kman2010]

x-employees are not allowed to leave feedback about previous employers.

MikeG

 

[danzig]

Discussion removed. Please read the vendor experiences forum rules. You are welcome to describe your personal experience, but discussion is not allowed.

John K BRS moderator

 

[SharkLover]

i've been there a handful of times and it was hit or miss for me.

The older lady wasn't in the best mood when I first visited but on my 2nd and 3rd trip i decided to engage her (maybe thinking she kept to her own). We had a decent conversation after that. It wasn't an aquatic discussion that's for sure but it wasn't uncomfortable anymore. I think she's just one of those "to herself" type of folk. The older gentlemen (owner?) i suppose, really gives me the feeling of "a kid in a candy store". You can watch him walking around the store kinda lost (but not really). He was ok with helping me out once or twice. He seemed a little bit more outgoing than his counterpart. The redhead young lady (i assume the daughter) i can't really have an opinion on. She just came across as another employee in the workforce. Maybe she hates her job , who knows?

Regarding the other staff: it's also been hit or miss. Mostly it's hit though. I do agree though that sometimes it takes awhile to find someone. If you think about it, with the number of tanks in that place. How do you seriously have time for anything if it's 1 or 2 of you?

Their prices are a little steep i agree and you can find some odd fish that aren't normally in stock unless pre-ordered. So there is + and -. I still prefer to support other vendors however who I've grown to trust guide me through my reefing experience.

 

[WoodRiverTroutBum]

Just got back from here about an hour ago. First thing I noticed were the frag tanks up front looked horrible. Worked my way to the back and was greeted with "Hey!! you're back!" which is always nice but once I made it to the fish I was extremely let down. They have gone down hill since the last time I was there. Quite a few dead fish and inverts in the little 2gal tanks. Up to as many as 3 dead ones in one of those tanks. Are my standards just to high or is it understandable that I second think buying livestock after seeing this? I know everywhere loses fish, but the amount I saw tonight was a little beyond what I feel is acceptable. It is an hour and 15 minutes each way from me and I wanted to pick up a goby and pistol shrimp but I ended up leaving empty handed and just stopping at Reference to another LFS removed. Please refer to VE forum specific rules. for some mysis shrimp.