Age Of Aquariums (Experience)

[pirate2876]

I drove all the way put there one day from San Diego. To be honest, they aren't the most customer service oriented staff.

On the other hand they were very helpful at reefapalooza.

 

[Adrock]

I feel ya they kinda did that to Anthony for sharing his experience so that's why I chimed in

 

[orbela]

U said the store is very clean but too crowded? Further in ur thread u said u we're the only one there. Age is a great store & dudes that work there are chill. The way I see it it's not a dealership were they're going to haggle u into buying fish & coral, if ur interested in a frag piece or fish all u gotta do is ask. I go there all the time n it's always been like that, don't really see a problem. Just saying..

Well said


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[orbela]

this is awesome hahahaha

not everyone will be happy with every store they walk into.... which is fine

i would like to help you out to fix whatever ticked you off. so next time you come back i will personally meet you their if i am not already working.
jw

Now I want to go just to get pampered, as a matter a fact I don't work tomorrow see soon


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[eulalio flores]

I visited the store months back a great customer service that they had D D salt when i drove up they didn't have the salt so send me to one of their other store competitors were they actually gave me the same discounts.and on top of that sold me some really cheap nice looking frags.what a bummer you had that experience I would say definitely go back again ,second chances

 

[Chuck]

I had to post a reply to this. I've been into reefing since halides were a concept, and VHO ruled the industry. Yea, I've been doing this for quite some time. I grew up near Age, and have seen many shops come and go in that area, to include OC and LA. I'm not one to fluff, or degrade a shop, for everywhere has their ups and downs. I remember James when he was part of 7 Seas, and that was THE shop to go to in the local area, as well as Strictly Fish, and Circle Pet. Iirc, age was only a service then. Shortly after my first couple of years in college I left the state/country for the military, and came back in 09. I wanted to build a tank, and good old 7 Seas in Lakewood was gone, as well as Circle Pet, until fairly recent times. Now you want to talk about bad service, try going to Strictly, and see if anyone greets you. I stumbled across Age, while saying hi to a few friends I grew up with. I saw Big Rob whom now works at chance, I remembered him from when he worked at Strictly. He didn't remember me, but was cordial, along with Dan, and James. I saw the prices and was flabbergasted. Great stock, but pricey. I started talking with everyone, all quick to help get me up to speed with what was new, and compatible to my times running VHO. Yes I ran halide/VHO combos in my tanks when I was in the service. But new skimmers, etc, wow, much nicer than the CPR products I was dealing with, and I must say Jason, the McGuyver of aquariums, was the man that helped me build that system. Shortly after, I met Brian, knowledge is overwhelming, even for a guy that looks like the spawn of Gallagher...hahaha I also learned a lot from JW, the King of DIY. Kevin is great as well. I've befriended all of these guys, and after hanging out at the shop, I've learned what all they do, and why prices were what they are. Ask them what their dipping and QT procedures are. I bet you won't find ANY LFS that does any of their regimen to that level. You'll be lucky if the shop does a revive dip, once for SPS. Because of this, it's no wonder this place is the go-to for the region. The only gripe I have with the shop is they are a bit understaffed with knowledgable employees. Three people who are regularly there, with their knowledge and expertise. JW doesn't work the floor, he is busy in the cave out back, dipping, fragging and maintaining the QT and fish systems, by himself. That leaves Brian and Kevin to fend off the customers. James is a freshwater guy. Jason does maintenance, and the rest of the staff are a bit too new to go over pricing things, such as dry goods. I'll give em time.

I live 25 miles away, my choices are Tongs and a few other places, all of which can't even keep a zoa alive. As for the pricing on that yellow tang, have you not heard of the extremely limited collecting going on in Hawaii right now? What was $20/tang is now $40. You have to roll with the times.

Age is a great store, for beginners to the most advanced hobbyist. If the place is dead, and nobody greets you, speak up, they'll apologize and drop what they're doing. But being a twat for one bad experience and blasting them on a silly forum for it, please, you should grow up.

 

[MadMax]

I go back even further (1999) when Strictly Fish still had their store in Garden Grove on Harbor Boulevard and Jeff's Exotic was selling $99 frag packs (this when "frags" were actually what we would call colonies today) JBJ's new Power Compact Hoods were the trick and Euroreef and AquaC were the only real skimmers worth mentioning.

I too have seen many stores come and go, NOT from any lack of knowledge, competency, or customer service but rather the realities of a very competitive market place. People will walk into a store feigning interest in some imaginary fish or coral they are looking for, talk up the staff for half hour, then go home to purchase the item they were REALLY interested in on eBay or Amazon. Nothing kills small business retail faster than this!

People are fickle creatures, each with differing needs, wants, and desires. I for one am sick and tired of driving up to a fast food order kiosk and being asked for my order before my tires even come to a hault! Give me at least two seconds to read the damnn menu! My wife on the other hand can drag an order into next week if given no verbal cues: "I"ll have a singler burger.......(ten second delay).....with cheese on it" (OMFG get ON with it, Woman, LOL!) The point being that every personality is unique to its own and that catering to every one of them with any level of consistency is effectively impossible. I personally prefer to walk into a store and "take in" their inventory for 5-10 minutes before being bothered by a sales person. I can only assume that I am not alone in this desire?

Age of Aquariums, Chance of Coral, Coral Obsessions, etc. are ALL HEROS in this hobby, people. They've dedicated their careers and livelihoods towards the inherent human need to See/Touch/Smell merchandise before committing to a purchase. Have you even the foggiest notion what it costs to create these little sample parlors we call stores? Being ignored by a newb employee or misread as someone who want to "look" first, by no means defines the entire worth of the retail establishment. Please, be patient and give these people the respect they deserve.

Even more important than that, PLEASE help support these guys by purchasing SOMETHING/ANYTHING in the store rather than supporting some foreign-and-faceless internet business. Despite the vast list of people/clients we deal with in this industry, I know not a single person who is "Rich" or even "Well-Off" by any normal standard.....most are literally living from month-to-month just to cover their rent! Even a $20 purchase is better than nothing, believe me. Do try to make a difference when presented the opportunity.

 

[LegitFish]

I had a similar experience with AOA recently. Had a tank full of collector clowns, but when I asked about them, they only wanted to sell select fish, unfortunately the less attractive ones. The other clowns were "sick".


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