Dallas North Aquarium

12/01/09

WOW - not what I expected in customer service or warranty

by CiaoGirl at Citysearch

I contacted Dallas North Aquarium to set up my aquarium . I spoke with Charlie who arranged for someone to come to my home and they even selected the fish. It's been three weeks and several of the fish have disappeared and three have been attacked by other fish. I called and spoke with Charlie who was much less the gentleman this go round. Since such little time had passed since they set up the aquarium, I asked if the fish could be getting sucked up through the filter. He said that it was possible but they guarantee nothing past 7 days. I asked if they felt any reponsibility since they selected the fish that were attacking others. Again, they do not hold themselves responsible in any way after 7 days.

The whole conversation with Charlie was a CYA on their part. Pitiful customer service. Go elsewhere for home service -- I certainly am.

11/04/09

One Smiling Dentist

by 21st Century Muscle Cars at Citysearch

I have a 175-gallon bow front reef at my practice as well as a 225-gallon reef in my home. I also have a 575-gallon pond at the entrance to my practice. If you want to see how well Dallas North Aquarium takes care of their customers, come see me! My tanks and pond always look outstanding, and my 47-year old service guy busts his behind to make sure it stays that way. As a professional who strives for 100% customer satisfaction, I can assure you I would not be using them if my tanks did not shine like my client’s teeth. I use many of the latest additives in my tank to make my corals grow, and just recently purchased some LED lighting at the office to add more pop to the tank. Come see the wall mounted bow front at my Plano office Monday through Thursday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. We are also on the web: caranodds!

Terry L. Carano, DDS

5938 West Parker Road

Plano Texas 75093

972-608-1811

• Pros: Awesome service, beautiful corals and fish

10/24/09

What a joke of a company!!

by fishy1938 at Citysearch

As some others have indicated on their recent reviews, Dallas North Aquarium's service is a complete joke! The first several years with them were pretty positive from both a livestock and service perspective. We probably spent over $10,000 with these clowns over the years. The following is a synopsis of what we learned and what happened to us over a 6 year period of time. So before you spend a bunch of money with them and get screwed read the following VERY CAREFULLY.

1) Service kids showing up without an appointment - Over the first few years, it didn't seem that big of a deal. But over time a pattern of behavior emerges that makes is very obvious there is no mistake. It is a simple unabashed, covert smoke and mirrors routine to increase revenue. As they "just happen to be in the area" they thought they would stop by and see if we needed service or "we had you down for an appointment routine." The net of it is the service department is run by a guy named Charlie who will try every trick in the book, to get you, the consumer, to buy service and/or product you do not need. While Dallas North Aquarium calls their service guys "technicians", nothing could be further from the truth which is why in this review they are referred to as kids.

2) Service kids pedaling unwanted or unneeded product - Over the first few years, it appeared the service guys were simply trying to be helpful. But over time a pattern of behavior emerges that makes it very obvious there is no mistake. It is a simple unabashed, covert smoke and mirrors routine to increase revenue. I cannot enumerate the number of times over the years where unwanted fish, coral, brine shrimp, etc. would arrive with a service kid. Then the utter audacity of these kids would be demonstrated through such comments as "oh, well it was on your service order. Sorry about that, we don't write the orders, we just follow the order and bring out what we are told". THIS IS A COMPLETE FABRICATION OF THE TRUTH. SEE NUMBER 3 BELOW.

3) Service kids are on a commission plan - As you read number 1 and 2 above, it becomes painfully obvious there are no "mistakes" being made by anyone in the "service" department. After doing some digging, I was told the reason why number 1 and 2 above occur is because the service kids are on commission. Here is the deal. They get paid by the hour when simply performing service. However, they make some kind of a commission when they sell product on a service call.

4) Charlie, the faceless service manager - at first glance, it is beyond one's level of cognitive understanding or reasoning why anyone would let a moron like Charlie run the service department. But when you think about the product sales Charlie generates through his service kids, it is really a cashcow!!! I refer to him as faceless as anytime we asked to talk to him while in the store, we were always told "he is too busy".

• Pros: nothing!!!
• Cons: Read below