Shallow Water Tropical Fish (Chilliwack, BC) Review : A Cautionary Tale
This past week, I decided to check out the store on Young Road. During my first two visits, I did not buy but had a look around as to what was available and also spoke with the owner. On my third visit, the owner was pleasant enough prior to my purchase of two fishes. However, the next day, the tide turned when there was an "after-sale" problem.
In less than 24 hours, one fish was floating upside down in the tank. It was still moving its gills, but it was clear it would soon die. The second fish is doing well and as expected. No problems at all. I know my aquarium water conditions and my method of introducing new fishes are proper and correct because the other 15 occupants of my tank are all alive and thriving. A 100% success rate . . . until yesterday, that is.
I phoned the owner to tell him of this situation and he told me the one fish will likely die. (The fish did, indeed, die within an hour of this phone call.) No surprise there. What did surprise me, however, was Brian's couldn't-care-less attitude. He explained none of his stock come with guarantees because he has "no control over what happens to them after they leave his store." He added the fish he has currently in the store are still alive, so he would not take any responsibility for the loss of the one(s) I bought from him. I said I wish I had been aware of this before I made the purchase. His reply : "You - meaning me - didn't ask."
I told him I thought that was a rather hard position to take and he said it is the only one that he can take. I mentioned several other aquarium stores offer guarantees of one sort or another. He said he offers none . . . and then hung up on me.
Frankly, I was shocked at this kind of response from a retailer who would (or should) value building a base of repeat customers. Instead, what he operates is a "pay your money, take your chances" business. Lesson learned. I can only say I am glad that I had bought just two fishes for $10 and had not spent considerably more money.
Naturally, I will not be returning to his shop. There are plenty of other avenues in which to buy a similar variety of freshwater aquarium fishes . . . with reputable retailers who stand behind the pets they supply and foster a trust to have customers return for further purchases.
As added information: His prices generally run higher than other retailers. I am not sure why that is since, in my opinion, it appears as though not a lot of time or extra expense are incurred. A minimal amount of effort has gone into the presentation of the store and several of the tanks are in need of maintenance in regard to getting some control over aquarium algae. Finally, I thought his method of netting the fish and dumping them in the bag was a "little rough", but I took it for granted at the time that he knew what he was doing. In hindsight, all these indicators should have been a warning sign to me of what was to come. Consequently, I feel the dead fish was due to either weak/inferior stock or improper handling at the store. My other 15 fish have been bought locally from Oly's, Pet Culture, and PetSmart - without a single illness, injury or casualty among them in four months. My first dead fish was the one purchased two days ago at the Shallow Water store.
Of course, everyone is free to support whatever fish supplier he/she wishes. Just be aware that buying fish at Shallow Water Tropical Fish in Chilliwack is a gamble and that any subsequent loss, in fact, will be the buyer's. At least, this has been my experience.
This past week, I decided to check out the store on Young Road. During my first two visits, I did not buy but had a look around as to what was available and also spoke with the owner. On my third visit, the owner was pleasant enough prior to my purchase of two fishes. However, the next day, the tide turned when there was an "after-sale" problem.
In less than 24 hours, one fish was floating upside down in the tank. It was still moving its gills, but it was clear it would soon die. The second fish is doing well and as expected. No problems at all. I know my aquarium water conditions and my method of introducing new fishes are proper and correct because the other 15 occupants of my tank are all alive and thriving. A 100% success rate . . . until yesterday, that is.
I phoned the owner to tell him of this situation and he told me the one fish will likely die. (The fish did, indeed, die within an hour of this phone call.) No surprise there. What did surprise me, however, was Brian's couldn't-care-less attitude. He explained none of his stock come with guarantees because he has "no control over what happens to them after they leave his store." He added the fish he has currently in the store are still alive, so he would not take any responsibility for the loss of the one(s) I bought from him. I said I wish I had been aware of this before I made the purchase. His reply : "You - meaning me - didn't ask."
I told him I thought that was a rather hard position to take and he said it is the only one that he can take. I mentioned several other aquarium stores offer guarantees of one sort or another. He said he offers none . . . and then hung up on me.
Frankly, I was shocked at this kind of response from a retailer who would (or should) value building a base of repeat customers. Instead, what he operates is a "pay your money, take your chances" business. Lesson learned. I can only say I am glad that I had bought just two fishes for $10 and had not spent considerably more money.
Naturally, I will not be returning to his shop. There are plenty of other avenues in which to buy a similar variety of freshwater aquarium fishes . . . with reputable retailers who stand behind the pets they supply and foster a trust to have customers return for further purchases.
As added information: His prices generally run higher than other retailers. I am not sure why that is since, in my opinion, it appears as though not a lot of time or extra expense are incurred. A minimal amount of effort has gone into the presentation of the store and several of the tanks are in need of maintenance in regard to getting some control over aquarium algae. Finally, I thought his method of netting the fish and dumping them in the bag was a "little rough", but I took it for granted at the time that he knew what he was doing. In hindsight, all these indicators should have been a warning sign to me of what was to come. Consequently, I feel the dead fish was due to either weak/inferior stock or improper handling at the store. My other 15 fish have been bought locally from Oly's, Pet Culture, and PetSmart - without a single illness, injury or casualty among them in four months. My first dead fish was the one purchased two days ago at the Shallow Water store.
Of course, everyone is free to support whatever fish supplier he/she wishes. Just be aware that buying fish at Shallow Water Tropical Fish in Chilliwack is a gamble and that any subsequent loss, in fact, will be the buyer's. At least, this has been my experience.
