Question about the quality of my custom aquarium

[Idech]

I wouldn’t be happy with it either. They did not deliver what you specifically asked for.

I would send an email with every detail that was missed or not done properly and then call and discuss it with them. This way you’re sure not to miss anything.

 

[NanoNana]

Oh my. So sorry this happened. Keep us updated. I would be straight up (word I can’t type on the forum that means angry).

You aren’t being picky. You are being much nicer about it than I would.

 

[nereefpat]

If you have documentation of desired dimensions, or a contract, etc, you've got him. At the worst, that would win in small claims court.

 

[n240sxle91]

Just wanted to update everyone. I talked to the owner, and he didn't feel the seams were done poorly, and he didn't have a real answer as to why the dimensions were off other than when they're building custom stuff sometimes they need to make changes on the fly. I said I would have appreciated a phone call to discuss the changes because I would have made different choices based on that info. He didn't take ownership over any of the mistakes, but he did say that if I returned the aquarium and sump he would refund me. However, he would not make me a new tank. He was NOT a jerk about any of it, but again he didn't take responsibility for any of the errors.

I'm grateful he's willing to refund my money, but I still think his response was wrong. He should have told me that it wasn't built to the dimensions I asked for, and that he would make it right. Instead, I got to feel like this was my fault, I was being too picky, and he was doing me a favor by allowing me to drive 3.5 hours away to return everything. Again, I am grateful he's willing to take it back. He could have been a complete jerk about it, but he wasn't. That being said, he also wasn't accepting any responsibility for all the errors they made.

We left it that I would think about it some more before making my decision. I'm currently waiting for some quotes to come in before making my final decision.

 

[FUNGI]

Glad you could return.......
IME (In My Eyes) Not taking Responsibility = Being a Complete Jerk....especially for a bespoke item.
Regardless......return and get you money back.....lots of place to that can do custom aqauriums....

 

[piranhaman00]

Just wanted to update everyone. I talked to the owner, and he didn't feel the seams were done poorly, and he didn't have a real answer as to why the dimensions were off other than when they're building custom stuff sometimes they need to make changes on the fly. I said I would have appreciated a phone call to discuss the changes because I would have made different choices based on that info. He didn't take ownership over any of the mistakes, but he did say that if I returned the aquarium and sump he would refund me. However, he would not make me a new tank. He was NOT a jerk about any of it, but again he didn't take responsibility for any of the errors.

I'm grateful he's willing to refund my money, but I still think his response was wrong. He should have told me that it wasn't built to the dimensions I asked for, and that he would make it right. Instead, I got to feel like this was my fault, I was being too picky, and he was doing me a favor by allowing me to drive 3.5 hours away to return everything. Again, I am grateful he's willing to take it back. He could have been a complete jerk about it, but he wasn't. That being said, he also wasn't accepting any responsibility for all the errors they made.

We left it that I would think about it some more before making my decision. I'm currently waiting for some quotes to come in before making my final decision.

Who built this?

I will say on my first custom acrylic I had to specify that I wanted the router marks polished because they are typically hidden with cabinetry, don’t see anything wrong there.

The major issue is the dimensions being wrong that is unacceptable.

Please name the manufacturer for us all. I’m ordering a new tank soon, I hope this wasn’t Chris.

 

[n240sxle91]

Who built this?

I will say on my first custom acrylic I had to specify that I wanted the router marks polished because they are typically hidden with cabinetry, don’t see anything wrong there.

The major issue is the dimensions being wrong that is unacceptable.

Please name the manufacturer for us all. I’m ordering a new tank soon, I hope this wasn’t Chris.

I can't say who built this until I either have my money in my hand, or decide to keep it. If word got back to them they may refuse to give my money back.

To be clear, I'm not concerned about router marks. I get that, and didn't ask for them to be polished. It's the "glue" that ran over on the seams that I have a problem with. That's sloppy in my book. That being said, if that was the only issue I would have lived with it. The real problem is the dimensions being off.

Glad you could return.......
IME (In My Eyes) Not taking Responsibility = Being a Complete Jerk....especially for a bespoke item.
Regardless......return and get you money back.....lots of place to that can do custom aqauriums....

I emailed Glass Cages, but Joe said they can't do the custom angles that my tank has. I'm waiting to hear back from Tenecor, and Fish Tanks Direct. Do you have other suggestions of who I should contact?

 

[smitten with ocean life]

man, im really sorry for you. glad they will give you back your money though

 

[areefer01]

I totally agree with you. My concern is that they are going to say "sorry, not sorry", and I'm going to be left with no real options. Again, I haven't talked to them yet because I want to look at this from all angles, and make sure I'm calm and rational about the whole thing.

I don't understand this part. Your first course of action should have been to call the manufacture after receiving the shipment then a second one after inspection if it isn't on the same day. Your demeanor is yours and yours alone as are what your acceptance criteria is.

 

[Dbichler]

I don't understand this part. Your first course of action should have been to call the manufacture after receiving the shipment then a second one after inspection if it isn't on the same day. Your demeanor is yours and yours alone as are what your acceptance criteria is.

What’s wrong with being rational and level headed. Calling and complaining wasn’t going to get op anything. I believe in the 24 hour rule so I don’t become the problem rather than the other.

 

[n240sxle91]

I don't understand this part. Your first course of action should have been to call the manufacture after receiving the shipment then a second one after inspection if it isn't on the same day. Your demeanor is yours and yours alone as are what your acceptance criteria is.

I may be misunderstanding what you're saying, or maybe you're not understanding the timeline.

Instead of paying for shipping I met one of their employees halfway and we loaded it from their truck to my truck. It was all wrapped up, so I wasn't able to take a close look at it. Once I got it home and looked at it I found several errors on dimensions, and a few spots that I think are sloppy seams. Instead of calling them right away I wanted to get input from people on here. This allowed me time to keep a cool head and make sure I wasn't emotional in my response, and I got some helpful tips from people on here on how to approach the phone call. Once I took that all into account, and collected my thoughts, I called them to discuss their errors and craftsmanship.

 

[areefer01]

I may be misunderstanding what you're saying, or maybe you're not understanding the timeline.

No, I understood it and you answered. You posted then called. It is an odd way to do it but I understand and we are all different. Hopefully they work with you on it.

All the best.

 

[GARRIGA]

Get what you paid for. This isn't remotely debatable considering the price paid. Has nothing to do with acrylic tank either. Just good business practice and if they don't make it right then the courts and don't waste time with social media as that might irate the owner to not wanting to solve this outside of court. Plus only way to get one's attention is by being sued.

 

[piranhaman00]

I can't say who built this until I either have my money in my hand, or decide to keep it. If word got back to them they may refuse to give my money back.

To be clear, I'm not concerned about router marks. I get that, and didn't ask for them to be polished. It's the "glue" that ran over on the seams that I have a problem with. That's sloppy in my book. That being said, if that was the only issue I would have lived with it. The real problem is the dimensions being off.

I emailed Glass Cages, but Joe said they can't do the custom angles that my tank has. I'm waiting to hear back from Tenecor, and Fish Tanks Direct. Do you have other suggestions of who I should contact?

Tenecor

 

[n240sxle91]

I won't say who built it until everything has been resolved.

 

[Jmp998]

If they are a sponsor here, you should post a review in their forum. If not, you should post the name of the builder. You ordered a custom tank to specific dimensions. If they could not build to those dimensions for some technical reason, they should have contacted you first. I understand errors do occur, and if incorrect dimensions were the only issue I would be more understanding. However the tank is also built poorly (visual quality of seams, routing, etc), and I am not sure how that can be justified. You paid for a well built tank custom sized to your specs, and you got a poorly built tank with random dimensions. Their response boils down to "take it or leave it." They know full well that returning a large tank is a huge undertaking for the buyer-clearly they are hoping you will take it and they can continue to build sloppy tanks with no consequences.

Personally I want to know the name of this company so I can make sure to never order anything from them. You would be doing your fellow hobbyists a favor; likely the builder will just keep doing this until they are called out. If this happened to me I would be fuming for a long time. However you have to make the decision that feels right to you and everyone should support you in that.

Regardless I hope you end up with a nice tank, however winding the road there may be.

 

[VintageReefer]

Tenecor

He said he’s waiting to hear back from tenecor

 

[VintageReefer]

@n240sxle91
What custom angles are there? Can we see the tanks design/shape?

 

[n240sxle91]

@n240sxle91
What custom angles are there? Can we see the tanks design/shape?

 

[VintageReefer]

Gotta be difficult, huh?!

Joking aside it’s a cool shape.

And if I was in your shoes, once I found another company I would be driving that tank back to return it.

If they couldn’t build it to spec, they should have told you in advance. If they can build it to spec, and made mistakes, they should be owning up and taking responsibility and apologizing and making the situation right.

It’s good the owner is accepting the refund but that tells me “I’d rather lose you as a customer than work to make you happy”