I first want to state this isn't meant as a bashing post and I will visit the store again to see if the service is better. I would also add this is the cleanest LFS I have ever been in and saw nothing but healthy fish.

Now that the disclaimer is over, I had a very poor experience in this store earlier today. I stopped by after a lunch meeting (around 2pm) thinking I would be in and out picking up a goby. I walked in and milled for about 5 minutes keeping to myself and then I spent 5 minutes hanging around the front counter waiting on one of the employees to get off the phone. Just as I started to mill around again the guy got off the phone and asked if I needed any help. I asked a couple simple questions and he was helpful enough then I asked him to pack up a goby for me. He caught the goby and went in the back. Five minutes later he emerges phone in hand and no fish. I waited another five minutes while he was on the phone and he proceeded into the back room again. After a further 15 minutes, I decided enough was enough and just left pretty disgusted by the entire experience. A woman left at the same time I did after waiting a prolonged period of time at the counter with no help. We spoke briefly heading out the door and she told me she wasn't coming back on the way out. I pointed her down the road to Marine Fish.

There was a family getting a lot of fish and another employee seemed to be on top of that situation, but the other guy did an incredibly poor job. If it was an important phone call, he should have sent someone to tell us or told us himself. I would have waited longer had someone just set my expectaitons. Feeling ignored by a salesman is a cardinal sin of retail.

Anyway, I hope others don't have an experience like this in the store as it seems like a good store. I think they lost one customer. I will probably go back one more time and see if this was an isolated experience, but the service better be pretty good or I won't be going back and will point everyone I know away from them.

Hey Cameron, I just went to their store last weekend for the first time. I was also very impressed with their cleanliness and selection and price. I basically was in the same boat as you, I wanted to talk to someone, but most everyone was tied up with other people. Little frustrated, but no biggie. I eventually found someone and all was well.

I ended up coming back that same day to pick up some stuff and I was greeted right away and asked if I needed anything. The store was less packed and there were more employees available.

The stuff I bought there is doing excellent. I would definitely give that place another chance. They seem to have some good stuff at great prices.

Another thing to remember is that the majority of the help is teenagers and the last thing on their mind is making sure you are greeted and helped as soon as you walk in the door. Remember back when you were that age and had the part time jobs. I remember not really caring about the job, b/c it was only part time and only a paycheck. Not to mention, I didn't hardly get paid anything, let alone enough to make me go above and beyond.

So in light of this, don't be too hard on the store b/c of a bad experience with one of the sales people. Not every time you walk into a fish store, will you be greeted or asked if you need something. If we all based our shopping preferences on that, most of us wouldn't have any place to go and buy stuff from. Just try to understand who you are dealing with and maybe if you feel strongly enough, talk to the manager.

I bet that person would be glad that you took the time to come to them and express your opinions and how you think they could do better and make more sales.

Then after all of that, if the manager doesn't seem like much of a help and you still get crappy service, then post about it and let everyone know and never go back there again.

Sometimes we have to have thicker skin and alittle more patience than normal b/c every trip isn't going to be a walk in paradise. Voice your opinion though.

I would definitely go back and I am sure I will in the near future.

Good luck and sorry to hear about your neglected visit.

first off, i want to say i'm sure its just an isolated incident, and even though ive only been in a few times im usually helped pretty quickly, im sure it depends on whos working how many people are working, and how packed the store is

If it was an important phone call, he should have sent someone to tell us or told us himself. I would have waited longer had someone just set my expectaitons. Feeling ignored by a salesman is a cardinal sin of retail.


secondly, this is true... i had to sit through petco orientation today and she spent a good half of the 8 hour class teaching us about customer service and how if you are in the middle of a job related call just explain it to the person and they usually don't mind... of course that was in between her tellling us crushed coral was the best substrate as well as some other falsifications about marine life

Thats odd Optimum Aquarium is normally on top of their game.Great store,and they normally have the best prices on their fish.

I was in there last month on the day of the frag meeting, I 1000% agree it is the cleanest LFS I ever saw. I saw the big tank in front and thought what an intersting empty display. I walked on by, thinking the big eel I was looking at was a stuffed animal in a dry tank. I looked around and when I noticed how clean the shark display tank was, I thought WAIT a minute, and went back and looked at the tank up front. Sure enough, that wasnt a stuffed eel. The tank was so clean it didnt look like it had water in it. I was so impressed that one of the items I made sure and by from there was a scraper and it inspired me to work harder on my system. Well thats my rant on their cleanliness.

I was there when they were not busy so I got good service (between the young mans phone calls) but I cant wait to visit again. Sorry you felt underappreciated by your visit but I would give em another shot.

You guys are so lucky having access to such great stores in ATL. I could tell horror stories about the reef store we have in Montgomery AL. I and a lot of local people refuse to enter the place and drive to BHAM 90 miles one way, or ATL 150 miles one way. count your blessings

I waited nearly an hour (at least 45 minutes) to get service in the store. I got there just after 2 and left just before 3. I didn't just wait 15 minutes and get fed up. I gave them a good long time to help me.

They weren't really busy at least in the store either. There was a small family, me and a woman. The woman wanted dry goods so she was just waiting at the counter. Two of us left while another was walking in.

You should always deal with your face-to-face customers first in my book. They are the ones that are either close and repeat customers or made the effort to drive to your store. I will go back, but I was really suprised by the lack of follow through for someone who was going to actually buy something. Not like I had a bunch of quesitons and no purchasing.

I have trouble sometimes getting help in stores because im a kid and they don't think i'll buy anything.

secondly, this is true... i had to sit through petco orientation today and she spent a good half of the 8 hour class teaching us about customer service and how if you are in the middle of a job related call just explain it to the person and they usually don't mind... of course that was in between her tellling us crushed coral was the best substrate as well as some other falsifications about marine life

Oh my I remember those days....can it still be the same class after about 6 years? I got into an argument about beneficial bacteria and parasites and the pros and cons of UV. The "teacher" assured me that the research they had done showed that UV killed off beneficial bacteria and didnt do anything to parasites or to help water clarity....the next month a magazine that they sold addressed all of my points I was making against him. Needless to say the manager wouldn't let me fax it in to him.

Cameron, come to the alpharetta petco.... got a nice orange dot goby and a banded goby. :)


Rob

Cameron,

I am very sorry to hear about your displeasure with Optimum Aquarium. We appreciate you voicing your concerns about our inadequate service. We strive to greet every customer and try to provide the best service possible. I understand it was not busy the day you came in and the lack of communication between the employee and you was not acceptable. If you would please message me privately so I can find out who was on staff that day and talk to them about your concerns.

I encourage you to come back to our store. If you choose to come back in, please let the employee helping you that you were displeased with your prior lack of service and we will be sure to make it right.

I went to Optimum Aquarium right as they were getting ready to close on Friday. Although they were busy trying to close the store, everyone was very kind and several employees kindly offered to help. As always, the store was spotless!

i too have been ignored in this store several times but i deal with it cause the live stock is so healthy.

Well, granted, my experience was limited to a single visit when I was actually able to leave work early one Friday evening, and of course I got there just before closing, so we got excellent service (the fact that we bought about $400 worth of stuff didn't hurt). I was astounded as everyone else by their water-quality, and would definitely go back more often if it were closer.

Ive got my whole set up running from Optimum. Yall are best off contacting Greg, hes a good guy and would appriciate this input.

Ive got my whole set up running from Optimum. Yall are best off contacting Greg, hes a good guy and would appriciate this input.


This input was two years ago. :D

haha this post is 2 years old

Might be best if the mods close the book on this thread....LOL :yes:

Funny!

I did have a brief moment of excitement just seeing Cameron's name pop up in the new posts though

Probably gonna go there and buy some fish today. Yeah closing this one would be a good Idea.

Thanks for pointing out the age of this post! I was about to say that it must have been an isolated incident because I have always had good experiences at Optimum!
Dave

How did this get reopened? I saw it closed earlier today? For the record, I always have had a good experience at Optimum. Sometimes they might be too busy to follow me around the store waiting on me hand and foot, but I've never had a problem getting something out of the tank, getting a price or getting an opinion on something when I need to ask a question. Plus Greg is really easy to talk to and to work with.

Might be best if the mods close the book on this thread....LOL :yes:

Defiantly close it.

I had a custom canopy made there and bought the t-5 retro to go in it there also. Great customer service. When I'm in the area i always stop in.

i had good service when i went thar

Nothing but good things to say here as well.

Was happy with it closed to fade away

LorenK's post in this thread from yesterday is missing as well. He had stated something about a site feature that wasn't working, which might have something to do with it.

Lets stop posting in this thread, then it will die!

FYI- the mods are currently discussing how to deal with this one. As of right now, it is not locked or deleted because there is nothing wrong with it. Optimums response was EXACTLY what we want sponsors to do, and members to see. And from the glowing comments afterwards, it seems rather a testament to Optimums quality.

A moral to the story- please pay attention to the dates and functions of the threads. As Loren so perfectly put it, "necroposting" does not typically help anything, when done absentmindedly.

All I gots to say is that i saw their new store in Kennesaw and it looked fabulous from the outside, and so easy to get to (much more convenient for me). Unfortunatly it was really early and they werent open yet. Can't wait to go!

Odd as this may sound....it may be great for the sponsor to have this one left open. Yes there was an incident back in the day...but these days, Optimum has really stepped up their game and have an amazing store with great livestock and a large selection of products.

Seedless Reefer tried to buy something at the store on Barrett Parkway awhile back. Surprisingly, they didn't have it in stock, even though you would think it would be a common part. They said that they'd have to order it and that it would take a loooooooong time to get it in. They weren't very friendly about it and I doubt he'll ever go back to that store.

But... that was the Hobbytown.

The store next door, on the other hand, is terrific! Optimum has always been on my Top Three LFS list.

We were in there on Saturday and the store looked great as usual. We didn't end up buying anything due to a current situation with our system, but saw lots of pretties and were asked several times if we needed help.

And as for the couple looking at the ricordias and chatting with us, I hope you made it to the site -- if you did, welcome!!

Thank you!! I have read this post no less than 20 times and every time I see it I get a sick feeling. Unfortunately the saying is true you can't please all the people all the time. I have been in "customer service" my entire adult life and definitely understand the importance of good service. I love what I do and love dealing with people, so to hear that someone has such a negative opinion about my store is tough to stomach.

I do want to add my thanks to all of the loyal customers we have had over the years and also appreciate all of the feedback we get from this forum.

Take it easy,
Greg@OA
Greg

ive been to gregs spot several times. his staff is young indeed. thing is, im pretty impressed with what these kids know. the store is by far the cleanest around as mentioned. his stock is always healthy too i might add.
greg tries hard to make sure your experience and product, live stock or other, is top notch. if i were to have a bad experience there i would tell him asap. he would make it right i promise. go visit greg again. wait until hes there and go say hello. he knows his stuff and will be glad to meet you.:thumbs: hey greg, the boys from toyota say hello.

The thread that will not die!!!!!

Yeah, blast from the past...again

i suck i know. hey my g.friend spotted the thread and we jumped to soon.
sorry.

they are next to Hobby Town "IN KENNESAW"

and they got a decent collection of plants for our fw types.

I need to come visit. I have not been in the new store yet. I will be by there next weekend. I will say that I have purchased allot of fish from Greg and never had any problems that I can remember. There are not many lfs that I can say that about. I am sure the new store is cool. I think he said it was going to be larger.

and they got a decent collection of plants for our fw types.
Well then I might have to check that part out.

I need to come visit. I have not been in the new store yet. I will be by there next weekend. I will say that I have purchased allot of fish from Greg and never had any problems that I can remember. There are not many lfs that I can say that about. I am sure the new store is cool. I think he said it was going to be larger.

The new store is great. Big, Spacious, not crammed in little isles, it's really nice. I have some fish and corals that I bought from Greg over 3 years ago. His livestock is always extremely healthy.