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Eagle Reef Systems In Hillsborough

Hello all I'm new to this forum.

When i first found his store, i thought his items where great, very pricey in my opinion but he does have nice stuff. He's very standoffish personality wise and not very friendly IMO and doesn't really share any info. I used to go in there once or twice a week and buy stuff i would spend between 30-50 and i purchased all my live stock from him. I could get the stuff cheaper elseware but it was convenient for me because he was close. Now to the reason i will never go back. I was interested in a flame angel but the fish didn't look right to me, i thought i noticed some white spots (ich), so I asked him if it was healthy and he said yes, so i bought the fish (75.00) for a flame is very high but i bought it anyway, i should have went with my gut and not bought it. I put him in my tank no QT at the time (stupid me, now i Qt everything) and he infected my whole tank it took me 6 months to eradicate the Ich, i even finally left my tank fallow for 4 months. I called him 2 days later and explained who i was and the problem and he basically said it was healthy when it left his store so I'm basically SOL. He lost a good customer over a fish that probably cost him 30.00. I would probably have spent a few thousand dollars in his store over the course of a year. In my opinion bad business. oh and as a side note his prices on fish would change weekly for the same fish.

Just my experience so i thought i should share

thanks
Harry
 

JohnS_323

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Hey Harry, welcome to NJRC. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Sounds like a pretty poor business decision on his part!
 

Subliminal

NJRC Member
In all fairness, Harry, and nothing against you, any fish can have ich, and if it doesn't go through a proper qt, you take a risk. I learned that the hard way too.
 
John

I know i've learned from my mistake, if i'm not sure of something i will post it in a forum so i can get opinions from more experience people. But i have learned much in my 1+ year of saltwater. i'm not blaming him for the fish having Ich or my stupidity for not using a QT at the time. I'm just sour on his whole attitude and handling of the issue. Just not a very good business decision IMO very short sighted. He lost what was a good customer over something that was handled very poorly, but that's his attitude, he's not a people person, i don't think he really cares either way

thanks
Harry
 
Hello folks,
Just thought I would also share my experience here. The wife and I took a ride to Eagle Reef a couple months ago. About an hour away for me with traffic ( in Jersey? No way!! ::)). We were greeted with the cold shoulder as soon as we walked in the door. Clean tanks and healthy looking live stock. Almost nothing was priced and oh boy I cant stand that. Am I supposed to ask how much each piece I'm interested in costs? Especially when my "Hello" was greeted with a half nod and another cold stare??

Nope, I tend to disagree here. IF the SERVICE is provided I don't mind paying a bit more to help these stores survive. A simple Hello, or can I help you would have been nice. Are we are supposed to spend big $$ just for him to be civil??

We drove there with money to spend, but the attitude and the lack of priced livestock sent us home with an empty cooler. :-[

I doubt very much we will return.
 
Eagle Reef Systems Moving Location

Spoke to Bob last week, he informed me that store will relocate to Route 22 West in February.

If anyone remembers the THE REEFS LFS location that is where Eagle Reefs will be moving to.

Doug
 
Eagle Reef

I went to visit eagle reef in Hillsborough today and found that it was closed, for good. There was a sign on the door indicating a sheriffs sale would take place on January 30th at 10 o'clock. Listed for auction were the black chair, computer and all the aquariums.I am not sure if any equipment will be available.
 
Re: Eagle Reef

Doesn't he go in and out of business all the time?? With his personality i'm not surprised he's not in business anymore.
 

Subliminal

NJRC Member
Re: Eagle Reef

I used to buy my ro/di salt water from that guy until he started getting really sporadic with his shop hours. I'd show up and the sign would say he should be open...but he wouldn't be.

It sure was a nice place to walk around...he made some beautiful tanks!
 
Re: Eagle Reef

This is wrong information Bob store is moving to a new location on Route 22 in GreenBrook. There is no sheriff sale going on Jan 30th. I was in the store today and personally talked to Bob and he is breaking down tanks and said he should be in the new location around the end of February
 
I normally like to provide an individual or any business with an ample opportunity to step up and do the right thing. I also considered writing lengthily post surrounding the issues of marginal utility and cognitive dissonance as related to consumer purchases. This may have interested some of you who may have a marketing, economic, or financial background but it would have not gotten to the point.

Up to this point I was rather skeptical of some of the feedback posted concerning Eagle Reef Systems, Inc. I found Bob to be a straight forward guy who clearly was an owner/operator of a LFS who certainly put his personal interests in the hobby ahead of running the business, IMO. Regardless of the other feedback I liked the store and general location. Unfortunately at this point I need to share a situation with the club that I ran into – Buyers Beware.

Several months ago I purchased an Oceanic 215 gallon Ultimate tank from this LFS. Price was fantastic in my opinion. I was also pleased by the fact that they would deliver and help me get the tank into my residence. It appeared to be a win-win situation as I could always have not supported the LST and shopped at TFP. Anyway… About two weeks ago I noticed several “lines” that had appeared in the silicon that extended on the sides where the front glass meets the side glass. It appeared to me that the silicon was actually separating and had caused a six inch long “air pocket.” I also noticed the same on the other side of the tank.

I have attempted to reach Bob multiple times via email and voice mail. The contacts clearly detailed the problem and certainly communicated that I was looking for his guidance in reviewing the tank and deciding if there was an issue with my tank. Unfortunately this individual has failed to return my calls. I also took a ride to his store to speak with him about this situation and request his help. Upon reaching his location, I found the store to appear to be out of business with no forwarding or contact information provided.

The good news in all of this is the exceptional service provided by Jon at Oceanic. Given the LFS non responsiveness I contacted the manufacturer directly for assistance. I can state with confidence that I was provided with the best customer satisfaction by Jon/Oceanic that we have received from a business in some time. When all of this is resolved I plan on sending a note to management at Oceanic praising the efforts of their front line employees. They are doing a great job. I plan on sharing this story concerning my local experience as well as the customer centric service provided to me.

Back to LFS. So it would appear that a replacement tank will be provided to me. I had to send some basic warrantee information as well as pictures of the tank in question. No problems, again great service from Oceanic. Here is where the plot thickens. The standard practice is to deal with the store where the original purchase was made. This is difficult if the store is shut down and the owner/operator fails to respond to emails and phone calls. I was advised that the LFS/wholesaler will get credit from Oceanic. I need to return the old tank to LFS who will in turn supply to distributer. (I remember thinking to myself that this tank would never get out of the basement when we were bringing it in. Shaking head)

Just wanted to share my two cents as well as my overall experience in this situation. This thread is not meant to guide anyone from one vendor to another but rather to illustrate the importance of decision as related to major purchases.


I will update this thread with the outcome of tank replacement as well as to provide insight whether someone did the “right thing.”

IMO
 
Re: Eagle Reef & Adam's Pet Safari

Eagle Reefs was supposed to be moving back to Rt. 22 in Greenbrok. It was supposed to happen sometime this month. It's in the same strip mall where Reef Inc was, just down at the opposite end. I heard from Ed that there was a Sherrif's sale at Eagle Reefs in Hillsbourgh on 1/31.
This weekend I drove past the strip mall when the store is supposed to be moving to. I saw a white van there that resembled the one Bob has. Perhaps the move is in progress. It's 10 min. from my house, so I'll keep you posted.
 
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