Not mad, very disappointed

[11f150]

After chatting with TSA about a recent purchase, I feel the need to post my experience. Maybe I'm wrong on this but I feel like maybe something could have been done. I was in town this past weekend and never been to TSA so as an avid hobbyist I wanted to go visit. I chatted with a few employees there and told them I was from Tennessee. Threw around the idea of buying some sps frags but was concerned with the travel. I was at the store around 3-4pm and was leaving at 4am in the morning and driving home. I was told they could just pack the coral in the same box as a live sale styrofoam box. Seeing that the coral would be in the box less than 24 hours I decided to buy 3 nice sps frags and 1 middle of the road sps frag. The TSA employee packaged the frags up and put them in the box. I drove back to the hotel and they stayed there the night in a 70 degree room the entire night. Transferred the box to my vehicle which was also 70 degrees the whole trip home. First thing when I got home I was going to tend to the frags. I opened the styrofoam box and pulled the frags out and they were all clearly dead. This is the first time I looked at them since they got packaged.

I took pictures of them with the metal clamp still on the bags and sent them to TSA. The response I got was "No DOA for retail bought frags. Once they leave the store they are out of our hands."

I can understand you have policies because you get all walks of life in your store but I did everything possible to keep the box at the same temperature from when they left the store and don't consider myself new to the hobby. To just wash your hands and tell me I'm out every penny with no offer of even a partial store credit kind of shocks me. I am ok to get responses from r2r members on this on their thoughts.

 

[Oldreefer44]

IMO, since it was their suggestion as to how they could be transported, the inference being that it would be safe to do it that way, then it is on them.

 

[CryptoNautical]

IMO, since it was their suggestion as to how they could be transported, the inference being that it would be safe to do it that way, then it is on them.

I agree with the comment above, but I also see the reason to not honor a DOA due to it being a in house sale and not a online sale. If it was online you could blame the shipping company. I believe OP on the temps. There's just too many variables here. Either or I do hope they make it right for OP

 

[ninjamyst]

It sucks the frags didn't make it but TSA is not responsible. No LFS provide guarantees on SPS frags. If you decide to take the risk and transport them, you took the responsibility. 70 degree room could mean 60 degree in the box. You should have asked for a heat pack or something. I will have to side with TSA. It would have been nice if they offered you a discount on next purchase but no way should it be expected.

 

[11f150]

It sucks the frags didn't make it but TSA is not responsible. No LFS provide guarantees on SPS frags. If you decide to take the risk and transport them, you took the responsibility. 70 degree room could mean 60 degree in the box. You should have asked for a heat pack or something. I will have to side with TSA. It would have been nice if they offered you a discount on next purchase but no way should it be expected.

tsa provided a heat pack that was in the box

 

[TnFishwater98]

tsa provided a heat pack that was in the box

Surprised it didn’t make it…Was the water cold?

 

[Gtinnel]

If their policy is that in store purchases have no guarantee then IMO it doesn't matter how long it takes you to get the coral to your tank. The suggestion from an employee was just their opinion and I would agree that you would expect the corals to make the trip. I travel with fish and corals regularly and I've asked what happens if they don't survive the trip. Everytime I've asked I've been told I'm responsible.

It sucks and it's not great customer service but I don't think they should be expected to compensate for the dead corals.

I assume you never specifically asked what happened in the case of DOA.

 

[wolfen281]

After chatting with TSA about a recent purchase, I feel the need to post my experience. Maybe I'm wrong on this but I feel like maybe something could have been done. I was in town this past weekend and never been to TSA so as an avid hobbyist I wanted to go visit. I chatted with a few employees there and told them I was from Tennessee. Threw around the idea of buying some sps frags but was concerned with the travel. I was at the store around 3-4pm and was leaving at 4am in the morning and driving home. I was told they could just pack the coral in the same box as a live sale styrofoam box. Seeing that the coral would be in the box less than 24 hours I decided to buy 3 nice sps frags and 1 middle of the road sps frag. The TSA employee packaged the frags up and put them in the box. I drove back to the hotel and they stayed there the night in a 70 degree room the entire night. Transferred the box to my vehicle which was also 70 degrees the whole trip home. First thing when I got home I was going to tend to the frags. I opened the styrofoam box and pulled the frags out and they were all clearly dead. This is the first time I looked at them since they got packaged.

I took pictures of them with the metal clamp still on the bags and sent them to TSA. The response I got was "No DOA for retail bought frags. Once they leave the store they are out of our hands."

I can understand you have policies because you get all walks of life in your store but I did everything possible to keep the box at the same temperature from when they left the store and don't consider myself new to the hobby. To just wash your hands and tell me I'm out every penny with no offer of even a partial store credit kind of shocks me. I am ok to get responses from r2r members on this on their thoughts.

I'm so sorry this happened to you. But thank you for posting your experience as it might help another reefer navigate future coral purchases.

 

[11f150]

I just want to add that I am no way trying to make TSA look bad or wrong. TSA is obviously a great business with great coral. Just sharing my experience as I was frustrated.

 

[mattdg]

My theory is that the coral overheated. Heat pack is for cool weather travel, not being in a box in a 70 degree room and car. By the time you opened it, the heat pack was likely exhausted, so it may not have been your first thought. I think heat packs nuke coral more often that people realize, especially in undersized styrofoam coolers. For this reason, I will no longer ship coral, in any weather, in a cooler smaller than 1 cubic foot, with a heat pack. As for the store. Given their experience, they should have specifically asked how you would be transporting the frags, so it is partially on them. At least a 50% refund, or simply should not have offered the option.

 

[MaxTremors]

It sucks, but I would have to side with TSA. I don’t think the employee telling you ‘I think they’d probably make it’ and providing you with a box is in any way a guarantee.

 

[JonezNReef]

I have had some coral die in the past as well on a trip from NC back to FL. I considered it a learning experience and After that i started keeping a small tote with a clear lid, cheap led light, air bubbler, small heater and a inverter when I went on trips so when I bought a frag or so I could transport it back with more success

 

[Enkopaaisen]

was there direct contact between the heat pad and the bags??
it might just go over heated.......

 

[mdb_talon]

I would feel similar to you. I understand that policy and it is the standard policy. On the other hand there is nothing wrong with making customers happy either and at least give a partial refund.

It sucks the frags didn't make it but TSA is not responsible. No LFS provide guarantees on SPS frags.

I agree i dont know of a single LFS that guarantees and coral you buy in store yet alone SPS(i am sure some do somewhere). Having said that I know of 2 in my area that have gave me 50% store credit on coral that quickly died). Its not their policy....and they didnt have to. However those two stores are now the ones i regularly visit out of several available. The 50% credit cost them a little bit of immediate profit with the benefit of much larger profits over time.

Again I agree with your point, but think stores can go a long way in customer satisfaction just by going a bit beyond their policies at times.

 

[Karen00]

My theory is that the coral overheated. Heat pack is for cool weather travel, not being in a box in a 70 degree room and car. By the time you opened it, the heat pack was likely exhausted, so it may not have been your first thought. I think heat packs nuke coral more often that people realize, especially in undersized styrofoam coolers. For this reason, I will no longer ship coral, in any weather, in a cooler smaller than 1 cubic foot, with a heat pack. As for the store. Given their experience, they should have specifically asked how you would be transporting the frags, so it is partially on them. At least a 50% refund, or simply should not have offered the option.

You make a good point about the heat packs. I had some coral shipped a few weeks ago. It was very cold here (Toronto, Ontario) so heat packs were used. The styrofoam box was packed amazingly well and all the corals were fine (gorgs) but it was like a sauna when I opened the box. I was actually quite surprised at how hot it was. Maybe more sensitive sps weren't happy if it got too warm in the box. OP: I'm sorry this happened to you and sorry for your losses! Thanks for sharing. This is good knowledge for people looking to travel with corals like this in the future.

 

[Shirak]

They cooked the frags. A heat pack hitting 120 degrees in an insulated box in a 70 degree hotel room. I think it's on them in this case. They put the heat pack in knowing you were staying in a hotel and traveling by car. At no point was the package going to be exposed to cold temperatures to warrant a heat pack.

 

[11f150]

TSA just reached out to me and they are going to help me out now. Thank you TSA for doing this even though you didn't have to. I appreciate everyone's input as well.

 

[happyhourhero]

That’s tough for sure. My only experience with their service directly was they called me on my ship day to tell me that a snail knocked my frag into another and there was risk of damage though it looked fine. Said I could let them hold the order for a week to be sure, ship anyway or swap for a different coral that costs in the same ballpark. I thought that was pretty cool.

 

[LOVEROCK]

TSA just reached out to me and they are going to help me out now. Thank you TSA for doing this even though you didn't have to. I appreciate everyone's input as well.

why the change of heart?

 

[Duncan62]

After chatting with TSA about a recent purchase, I feel the need to post my experience. Maybe I'm wrong on this but I feel like maybe something could have been done. I was in town this past weekend and never been to TSA so as an avid hobbyist I wanted to go visit. I chatted with a few employees there and told them I was from Tennessee. Threw around the idea of buying some sps frags but was concerned with the travel. I was at the store around 3-4pm and was leaving at 4am in the morning and driving home. I was told they could just pack the coral in the same box as a live sale styrofoam box. Seeing that the coral would be in the box less than 24 hours I decided to buy 3 nice sps frags and 1 middle of the road sps frag. The TSA employee packaged the frags up and put them in the box. I drove back to the hotel and they stayed there the night in a 70 degree room the entire night. Transferred the box to my vehicle which was also 70 degrees the whole trip home. First thing when I got home I was going to tend to the frags. I opened the styrofoam box and pulled the frags out and they were all clearly dead. This is the first time I looked at them since they got packaged.

I took pictures of them with the metal clamp still on the bags and sent them to TSA. The response I got was "No DOA for retail bought frags. Once they leave the store they are out of our hands."

I can understand you have policies because you get all walks of life in your store but I did everything possible to keep the box at the same temperature from when they left the store and don't consider myself new to the hobby. To just wash your hands and tell me I'm out every penny with no offer of even a partial store credit kind of shocks me. I am ok to get responses from r2r members on this on their thoughts.

I've never bought there because of the price. A 250.00 hammer there is 99.00 elsewhere. They do have some beautiful things but..... Anyway I think you should get store credit or some help with your situation. Boooo. TSA.