This will be a long post:
My last shipment from AquaSD was so disappointing.
I ordered several corals during the Memorial Day sale and added several more pieces to the order over the next couple of weeks with a shipping date of 6/11.
On the day of shipping I received an email that UPS has advised them of a delay and for the health of the corals they held the order.
They asked for an alternate day.
I responded stating that because I am very rural, UPS will always flag with a possible delay but if the box is labeled LIVE (fish/animals) they will get it to me on time. I also mentioned that this did not apply to delays such as weather. In this email I also advised them of the unseasonably hot temp in my areas. This is not my first order with AquaSD and the rural delivery warning happens every time. I sent 2 emails asking what decision they reached regarding the shipment as I did not know the details of the original delay, before I received a response with a tracking number.
I had also purchased corals from their most recent pop up sale and chose the available shipping date of July 2 on their calendar and bought a shipping module specifically for those items with the 7/2 shipping date. It was not an arbitrary shipping date. I had quite a few pieces arriving in June and did not have room for both orders. AquaSD unfortunately shipped both orders at the same time, in the same box. So both of my orders ended up shipping on alternative days to the selected dates. I reached out to them about shipping the order early including the fact that I had paid for a second shipping module for that order and the response literally began with “Oh shoot, sorry”. I mentioned again in another response that I had paid for shipping for both dates and never received a response to the extra shipping module purchase but got a “hope the corals do well” type reply.
As poor luck would have it, there was a flight delay on the alternative shipping date so I reached out to ASD to inform them of the delay and expressed my concern again that half the order should not even have been shipped. No response.
The package arrived a day late and yes I realize ASD did not chain the plane to the ground. However, the shipment had been repackaged by UPS because the water was leaking from bags. The leaks were from the banding not from crushed bags or splitting seams. The original box was undamaged except for being soaked through the bottom. This was a packing issue, not a handling issue.
Multiple what appeared to be newly glued frags had popped off of the plugs and there was so much visible growth of undesirable stuff on the frags. There was hair algae, bubble algae on several frags and also flat worms in a dead chalice. And no cold packs despite my warning about high temps.
I took pics of the repackaged shipping box, the wet original box, DOA’s, separated frags, and severely damaged pieces as I was unboxing. I sent an email on arrival date detailing the situation along with the pictures and even mentioned the Duncan coral being beautiful.
On Saturday I received an email that said customer service has your email and will reach out as soon as possible.
The shipment arrived in this condition on 6/14. I sent an email in follow up yesterday 6/20. As of today 6/21, I have had nothing but the original customer service has your email response.
I do understand that the flight delays may have @AquaSD more busy than usual. But much of my issue is regarding packing, missed or early shipping dates and ignoring shipping temps. A more prompt response was in order.
My last shipment from AquaSD was so disappointing.
I ordered several corals during the Memorial Day sale and added several more pieces to the order over the next couple of weeks with a shipping date of 6/11.
On the day of shipping I received an email that UPS has advised them of a delay and for the health of the corals they held the order.
They asked for an alternate day.
I responded stating that because I am very rural, UPS will always flag with a possible delay but if the box is labeled LIVE (fish/animals) they will get it to me on time. I also mentioned that this did not apply to delays such as weather. In this email I also advised them of the unseasonably hot temp in my areas. This is not my first order with AquaSD and the rural delivery warning happens every time. I sent 2 emails asking what decision they reached regarding the shipment as I did not know the details of the original delay, before I received a response with a tracking number.
I had also purchased corals from their most recent pop up sale and chose the available shipping date of July 2 on their calendar and bought a shipping module specifically for those items with the 7/2 shipping date. It was not an arbitrary shipping date. I had quite a few pieces arriving in June and did not have room for both orders. AquaSD unfortunately shipped both orders at the same time, in the same box. So both of my orders ended up shipping on alternative days to the selected dates. I reached out to them about shipping the order early including the fact that I had paid for a second shipping module for that order and the response literally began with “Oh shoot, sorry”. I mentioned again in another response that I had paid for shipping for both dates and never received a response to the extra shipping module purchase but got a “hope the corals do well” type reply.
As poor luck would have it, there was a flight delay on the alternative shipping date so I reached out to ASD to inform them of the delay and expressed my concern again that half the order should not even have been shipped. No response.
The package arrived a day late and yes I realize ASD did not chain the plane to the ground. However, the shipment had been repackaged by UPS because the water was leaking from bags. The leaks were from the banding not from crushed bags or splitting seams. The original box was undamaged except for being soaked through the bottom. This was a packing issue, not a handling issue.
Multiple what appeared to be newly glued frags had popped off of the plugs and there was so much visible growth of undesirable stuff on the frags. There was hair algae, bubble algae on several frags and also flat worms in a dead chalice. And no cold packs despite my warning about high temps.
I took pics of the repackaged shipping box, the wet original box, DOA’s, separated frags, and severely damaged pieces as I was unboxing. I sent an email on arrival date detailing the situation along with the pictures and even mentioned the Duncan coral being beautiful.
On Saturday I received an email that said customer service has your email and will reach out as soon as possible.
The shipment arrived in this condition on 6/14. I sent an email in follow up yesterday 6/20. As of today 6/21, I have had nothing but the original customer service has your email response.
I do understand that the flight delays may have @AquaSD more busy than usual. But much of my issue is regarding packing, missed or early shipping dates and ignoring shipping temps. A more prompt response was in order.
