ABlackHorse.com

http://www.ablackhorse.com/productcart/pc/home.asp
Toll Free: (800) 805-9729

WORST EXPERIENCE YET!
I decided to order a 2L bottle of Seachem Prime at this online retailer since this was the cheapest I could find it at that time (10-17-10 @ 2:06am). According to the site the item was in stock and NOT backordered at the time of purchase. Expecting to have it within 2-3business days I patiently waited and tried checking my account for updated information (mainly a tracking number)- of which I never received and on 10-23 I e-mailed the retailer asking for a tracking number for the order placed (because I have guard dogs and wanted to be sure to be home to meet the carrier...they have a nasty habit of leaving my gate open and on one occasion delivering my order to an abandoned house). The reply I received was prompt, but irked me because I wondered when (if at all) they had planned on contacting me with this important information.

At this point I figured the order would be here by the 30th at the latest, but after not receiving any information I thought it best to call the toll free number (of which I received a pre-recorded message) and leave a message inquiring about the order (it was important that I receive this BEFORE going away since I was completely out of my current stock and would need to perform tank maintenance BEFORE going away).

Days had gone by without hearing anything about my order, and after ticking things off my "before you leave" tasklist I figured I'd better try calling again knowing that if they hadn't shipped it by now then I'd need to order/buy from elsewhere even if it costed me more. Again, I called the toll free number and this time a man answered...but what took me back is that rather than answering the phone in a business like manner (ie. Hello and thank you for calling ablackhorse.com, and how may I help you) the guy just cleared his throat and said "Um Hello" [icon_e_confused.gif]

At this point I'm thinking I reached someones residence and dialed incorrectly, but when I said I was calling to check on the current status of an order I had placed AND the guy asked for the order number I knew I had dialed right. I explained that I had contacted earlier and only came to find out that the product was on backorder when I had come to ask for a tracking number and that I had called since I was told it would be in the following week and left a message after it hadn't arrived and that NO ONE had gotten back to me. I received a very short answer and no apologies whatsoever "I'm showing it's still on backorder at this time" without receiving any indication of whether this product was expected in any time soon (since I was already lied to once, being told it would be in the following week- which it wasn't).

I felt this was completely ridiculous, not to inform a customer of problems with a order...to give false information and not even be able to offer a simple I'm sorry (yes, I know things like this can happen...but as a previous retailer I know the importance of ones customers & their satisfaction)...and then to provide a blunt answer without being able to provide any information of the said product (at least say I have no clue when it'll be in, But I can e-mail ya if you still want to order at that time). [icon_evil.gif]

Yep, could feel my face on fire now! Then he asked me if I'd like to cancel my order...and I'm sure you know what my answer was "OF COURSE!!!" Why would I want to keep an order with a company who does not respect their customer, or have the common desceny of informing them that a product that was ordered is out of stock and simply will not know when/if at all it will become available....Rather than waiting for the customer to have to inquire where the heck their order is.

For the above stated reasons I will not be giving any of my business to this retailer and the above story is my actual encounter with the retailer (and may vary per individual and order).

As of this current second, I will be placing my order with petmountain.com as I've ordered from them in the past and even when encountering a hiccup with a light fixture, they stood behind what they sold and were very courteous during the process.

e-mail copy of the order:

Reply when asking for tracking:

 

I can't say that (cheapest site you kinda get what you pay for)... I've found many places that are far more reasonable that the local petstores. Some I've had GREAT experiences with, whereas others... Not so great.

That's why I'm glad there's places (such as here) that you can share your actual experiences...helps when others are searching for a cheaper way/place to purchase items which are typically used on a regular basis.

 

Refund came today...apparently the name they take payments under through paypal is "Holland Computers, Inc."?
I simply never will understand why a retailer would use a different PayPal name than their actual store name!

And why stores will fully charge for items that they clearly don't have in stock. Things to make you ponder. LoL!