I've been a long time customer of http
/www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/ because of their great customer service, low prices, fast and low cost shipping, and of course, the variety and quality of the items they sell. A huge reason why I shopped there was because they did not offer any blatantly cruel devices for animal torture that we often see in the betta section and nano-tank sections of other pet stops.
However, I am very disappointed to say that that has changed. They stopped selling the much more reasonable Eclipse 3 and Eclipse Hex 5 kits in favor of this monstrosity: http/www.fosterand...26&pcatid=22526
I mean really? 1.5G for one betta is bad enough, and takes enough ridiculous maintenance.. but SIX danios?
Knowing how responsive their customer service has been in the past to my questions and concerns, I sent them a brief email conveying my disappointment with their choice to drop much more practical items for a novelty death kit, and the negative impact their selling of these items would likely have on their clients. I received a polite email the next day telling me that my concerns would be conveyed to the management. While this was mildly satisfying, I did not feel that the job was done.. so I also filled out a "customer testimonial" on the product. Each of the testimonials are filtered as well as edited for grammar/spelling/content, so I knew someone in the company was going to have to look at it. This was the response I received:
"Dear Customer,
Thank you for your feedback regarding the GloFish kit. We have contacted our Aquatic Facility director for his input and this is the information he has provided.
“These fishes are very hardy and are conditioned here at our Drs. Foster and Smith Aquaculture Coral and Marine Life Facility. When shipped, they are in top health and can withstand some fluctuations in water chemistry when first introduced. It is very important to follow the explicit directions supplied with each kit, which ensures the fishes safety. We have thoroughly tested numerous kits here at Drs. Foster and Smith, placing them in the hands of even novice or first time aquarists, with no problems. These small fishes do very well even in this smaller set up which has been thoroughly tested here at Drs. Foster and Smith. The filtration supplied with the kit along with following the directions and performing the proper maintenance provides a proper environment for them to thrive for many years of enjoyment”.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.
Sincerely,
Janis T
Supervisor
Customer Support
Drs. Foster and Smith
So yeah, I really don't like it when a company lies to me right to my face. I will not be shopping there or endorsing this site in any way unless they drop this product.
I urge other members to do the same and send your own testimonials with your opinions on the product. You can do so on the product page--near the description, there is a tab labelled "TESTIMONIALS," you should be able to easily submit your own there. They really do read them and send each person a response, so perhaps with enough people telling them the obvious truth, they will have to pull the product.
So please, if any of you have a few extra minutes today write a few words about how you feel about this product. Thanks!
/www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/ because of their great customer service, low prices, fast and low cost shipping, and of course, the variety and quality of the items they sell. A huge reason why I shopped there was because they did not offer any blatantly cruel devices for animal torture that we often see in the betta section and nano-tank sections of other pet stops.However, I am very disappointed to say that that has changed. They stopped selling the much more reasonable Eclipse 3 and Eclipse Hex 5 kits in favor of this monstrosity: http
/www.fosterand...26&pcatid=22526I mean really? 1.5G for one betta is bad enough, and takes enough ridiculous maintenance.. but SIX danios?
Knowing how responsive their customer service has been in the past to my questions and concerns, I sent them a brief email conveying my disappointment with their choice to drop much more practical items for a novelty death kit, and the negative impact their selling of these items would likely have on their clients. I received a polite email the next day telling me that my concerns would be conveyed to the management. While this was mildly satisfying, I did not feel that the job was done.. so I also filled out a "customer testimonial" on the product. Each of the testimonials are filtered as well as edited for grammar/spelling/content, so I knew someone in the company was going to have to look at it. This was the response I received:
"Dear Customer,
Thank you for your feedback regarding the GloFish kit. We have contacted our Aquatic Facility director for his input and this is the information he has provided.
“These fishes are very hardy and are conditioned here at our Drs. Foster and Smith Aquaculture Coral and Marine Life Facility. When shipped, they are in top health and can withstand some fluctuations in water chemistry when first introduced. It is very important to follow the explicit directions supplied with each kit, which ensures the fishes safety. We have thoroughly tested numerous kits here at Drs. Foster and Smith, placing them in the hands of even novice or first time aquarists, with no problems. These small fishes do very well even in this smaller set up which has been thoroughly tested here at Drs. Foster and Smith. The filtration supplied with the kit along with following the directions and performing the proper maintenance provides a proper environment for them to thrive for many years of enjoyment”.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.
Sincerely,
Janis T
Supervisor
Customer Support
Drs. Foster and Smith
So yeah, I really don't like it when a company lies to me right to my face. I will not be shopping there or endorsing this site in any way unless they drop this product.
I urge other members to do the same and send your own testimonials with your opinions on the product. You can do so on the product page--near the description, there is a tab labelled "TESTIMONIALS," you should be able to easily submit your own there. They really do read them and send each person a response, so perhaps with enough people telling them the obvious truth, they will have to pull the product.
So please, if any of you have a few extra minutes today write a few words about how you feel about this product. Thanks!
I just wanted to inform any individuals that might happen to be like-minded, and for those who are not--well, F&S is certainly more ethical than a lot of other stores! It still could not hurt to write a few words about how this product makes you feel, even if you do continue to use their services.
