BRS issues?

[Falreef]

I am certain there are plenty of very happy BRS customers and fans and fanatics out there,
BUT, has there been an increase in problems with them?
What problems have you had?
Does BRS respond and correct there errors?
Or are they full of excuses.
What's the real story?

 

[Hendo1133]

Hey Falreef,

I am a somewhat new reefer but have ordered heavily through BRS throughout the past year. I have placed around 8-10 orders with them this year, and have very minimal complaints, shipping is usually very fast and efficient. They have been out of stock on certain items throughout COVID, however this is more of a COVID supply issue and not something I put on BRS.

The ONE time I had an issue was on a very large order, somehow I was sent an improper item in the place of a different item I was supposed to receive (they were totally unrelated but potentially close in their stocking system? who knows). I contacted BRS support and they immediately sent the correct item with minimal questions asked, it was out the door before the end of the day. I was extremely happy with this type of customer service.

I also am a big fan of their youtube channel and all the effort they do for creating educational knowledge for the reefing community (YES it's also essentially marketing for them, but they don't PUSH you to "go buy this from us").

IF you do order from them, one thing that isn't super advertised is their "Preferred Reefer Program". Once you have set up an account with e-mail and password, it takes essentially one additional click to sign up for this. This way you start to get completely free rewards points on orders that you can use to save you money on future purchases.

Hopefully this is helpful and some of what you were looking for.

 

[Reef.]

I am certain there are plenty of very happy BRS customers and fans and fanatics out there,
BUT, has there been an increase in problems with them?
What problems have you had?
Does BRS respond and correct there errors?
Or are they full of excuses.
What's the real story?

have to say this question is worded that any defence of BRS will come across as made by “fanatics” in your words and any explanation will sound that they are “full of excuses” again your words.

 

[Falreef]

I was seeking input. I had been ordering from them as my primary source and was my initial source for years.
I had a very very hard time with them around the holidays and with the sales episodes.
The packaging was poor. I got less than fully filled items. I had missing items.
And when I inquired they were extremely unhelpful and downright dismissive, condescending.
That crap is not warranted and inappropriate when they are getting paid.
Grossly unprofessional.

So I was wondering if it was a one off.
So I posted the very appropriate questions above.
I definitely think they give some of their customers more deferential treatment than others.
And I have spent plenty of money with them over the years.

Their customer service is great at offsetting the problems and turning around to say that the customer is wrong
and downplaying or ignoring the information they are given.

In a service and product industry (and I know because I have been there for over 3 decades), the customer is always right.

 

[62518161]

I was seeking input. I had been ordering from them as my primary source and was my initial source for years.
I had a very very hard time with them around the holidays and with the sales episodes.
The packaging was poor. I got less than fully filled items. I had missing items.
And when I inquired they were extremely unhelpful and downright dismissive, condescending.
That crap is not warranted and inappropriate when they are getting paid.
Grossly unprofessional.

So I was wondering if it was a one off.
So I posted the very appropriate questions above.
I definitely think they give some of their customers more deferential treatment than others.
And I have spent plenty of money with them over the years.

Their customer service is great at offsetting the problems and turning around to say that the customer is wrong
and downplaying or ignoring the information they are given.

In a service and product industry (and I know because I have been there for over 3 decades), the customer is always right.

Customer is always right has been used and abused. The customer isn’t always right.

 

[mattdg]

I recently ordered an AI hydra 64 HD from BRS and I was shocked at the lack of packaging material inside the box it arrived in. I could literally feel the $630 AI hydra inside bumping around, when I picked up the box! Even worse, the seal on the Hydra packaging had either split open in shipping, or the light itself was used and already opened. Either way, totally unacceptable for such an expensive item, or any item really. Arghhh! Not happy.

Fortunately, three days later, the light is functional. I will be contacting them directly, regarding this issue, mainly so they have the information to address any inconsistencies in their S&H department, since I have had plenty of great experiences with BRS and believe them to be a quality company.

 

[Falreef]

I agree most of my dealings with BRS and the products and generally price point have been ok. Not great, but good. It all goes downhill during their sales. I think the holidays made it worse as well.
But what bothered me most was the way I was treated by customer service. Very inappropriate.

 

[mattdg]

I recently ordered an AI hydra 64 HD from BRS and I was shocked at the lack of packaging material inside the box it arrived in. I could literally feel the $630 AI hydra inside bumping around, when I picked up the box! Even worse, the seal on the Hydra packaging had either split open in shipping, or the light itself was used and already opened. Either way, totally unacceptable for such an expensive item, or any item really. Arghhh! Not happy.

Fortunately, three days later, the light is functional. I will be contacting them directly, regarding this issue, mainly so they have the information to address any inconsistencies in their S&H department, since I have had plenty of great experiences with BRS and believe them to be a quality company.

I sent BRS a message regarding the issue with shipping. I am happy to report they responded quickly with a friendly and respectful follow up, offering to send me a return label for the AI Hydra 64 HD. On the flip, they sort of explained the packaging issue away, stating it isn't typical practice for lights to be packaged without proper securing and postulated that the cold weather may have affected the air bags (which is just not the case, given the few that were in there, were fully inflated). I did re iterate the issue. I have full faith that BRS will look into how their lights are packaged and address the problem, if necessary. With that said, I feel satisfied with how BRS handled what was hopefully just a mishap.

 

[Dystopium]

I had one order that was short shipped. Everything showed picked except one item. I called and asked about it. Never heard back as promised (disappointing), but once the order was delivered, called and they shipped out the missing parts with no hassle. Inconvenient yes, resolved to my satisfaction, yes.