The Coral Dudes Customer Experience

[Mari]

TCD Is located in NY and does a huge amount of live sales and online selling of marine corals and fish. This thread is for customers to tell their experiences with TCD as it seems people here are not very familiar with them. Pictures of corals appreciated! I need to build my holiday wishlist...

 

[saltyphish]

Awesome place to buy coral! Never had a bad experience with them!

 

[DracoKat]

They do tons of live sales, do not expect good customer service during sales as they seem to focus more on advertising than anything else.
They seem to be mainly focused on Facebook, they advertise more on facebook than the website.
Make sure you coordinate what days you want items shipped- otherwise it'll just sit there. There's no indication that you need to pick a day on the website.

I am waiting on my order from them. I need to get in touch with them Monday to get it shipped out. I'll let you know how the items are when they arrive.

 

[oceanparadise1]

They do tons of live sales, do not expect good customer service during sales as they seem to focus more on advertising than anything else.
They seem to be mainly focused on Facebook, they advertise more on facebook than the website.
Make sure you coordinate what days you want items shipped- otherwise it'll just sit there. There's no indication that you need to pick a day on the website.

I am waiting on my order from them. I need to get in touch with them Monday to get it shipped out. I'll let you know how the items are when they arrive.

You are correct, you do need to let us know which day you want us to ship. I will never ship corals with out knowing the person is home to get them. We also go in order. The first orders placed are the first orders shipped. We have a small team, so yes it may take a bit longer to ship things out then these huge brick and mortars that have 10-12 people working from them. Theres only two of us.

This insures our packaging is top notch. and we care for every fish and coral like our own.

 

[Mari]

My own experience with them is great even though they have had a lot to do. Jamie helped me organize the ship date and was extremely helpful. The live sale went smoothly but don’t expect to be able to message anyone during It. I think Phil alone had 500 messages or something. I will get my shipment Wednesday and will update you guys. All in all I do not mind the disorganization of this livesale because i got myself and my friend some corals at a very good price and TCD asks for helpful criticism and that is the best trait to have in a business is a promise to improve itself.

 

[anttyler453]

Phil has went above and byond for me recently my mother past and phil personly took time and asked me her favorite coral and color and and asked to sent me a coral this ment more then anyone can ever understand

 

[Macrochick]

Love the Coral dudes. Phil is a standup guy! If something should happen to your order or Coral you are always taken care of. So sick of all the haters especially people who have never dealt with them and have something to say. Give them a chance and try I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

 

[bigdaddy20102]

I have made multiple orders from TCD and never had an issue. Their packaging and shipping is second to none. I strongly recommend them to anyone looking for beautiful corals at very reasonable to down right cheap prices. Thanks for all the help you have been

 

[bigdaddy20102]

A+++

 

[CollinsLL2]

I've been purchasing corals and clownfish from TCD for about a year now, and I've never had a bad experience with him yet. On my first order with him one of the clowns arrived nearly DOA, then died overnight. I sent Phil a picture he said he would replace it on my next order. no hassle, no questioning my water quality or acclimation process, just a replacement. On my next order I asked if I could swap out the fish for a coral of equal value, he was happy to do this, and sent me 2 frags equal in value to the clownfish. He is always willing to find anything you need, coral, fish, or equipment, and for most things he will give you his wholesale cost if there is no minimum order amount from his vendors. The Coral Dudes is one of the only, if not THE only online store I'll ever use for corals, just because I really respect and believe in what Phil is trying to do. Any person who thinks $500 for a small frag of ANY coral that grows and is able to be fragged, is crazy. Those crazy prices on things are what kept me from getting into this hobby for a very long time, and what keeps a lot of other people out of the hobby. People like Phil and what he is doing with TCD, bringing the cost down to a more reasonable level, imho are expanding the hobby, allowing more people to get involved, and that cant be a bad thing. I totally understand why people worry about the way he does things, offering you direct from wholesale, but he does state clearly when its not already in the shop, that he will be bringing this in and fragging it, and he will not ship out for 1 week after fragging. Even after that, he is happy to keep your shipment, once paid for, until you fill your box to maximize shipping, allowing more time for it to heal and grow. I can see how it could be a problem, but its not with TCD, Phil is an honest guy.
These are some pics I have of my TCD collection, nothing done to the photos, taken with Nikon Coolpix L340, exposure levels set low, under sbreef light blues at 40%:

 

[smokin'reefer]

My experience with them was hit and miss. I got a great Utter Chaos t hat has multiplied and is doing great. The second on I ordered looked like a pin head glued to a frag plug. Utter nothing. Sps seemed to be a clip it and ship it without proper heal time. Just my experience.

I would grade them as "Reef safe with caution."

 

[dreaminmel]

I've known Phil for over a decade now and have been in the hobby much longer than that. Here's the thing... if you treat him the way you'd like to be treated you can easily count him as a dependable friend and/or business contact. I've been proud of how he's handled his haters and find it interesting that many of them turn out to be competitors or friends of theirs.
Anyway... I've never had an issue with Phil or TCD. He's gone above and beyond for me in countless scenarios, including offering my fish/coral refuge during an extended power outage. I've known other local shops for years as well and while they've all been wonderful to me, he was the only one to extend that offer.
Thank you, Phil & TCD for staying true to you. I can't wait to pick up my latest cache of treasures!

 

[oceanparadise1]

My experience with them was hit and miss. I got a great Utter Chaos t hat has multiplied and is doing great. The second on I ordered looked like a pin head glued to a frag plug. Utter nothing. Sps seemed to be a clip it and ship it without proper heal time. Just my experience.

I would grade them as "Reef safe with caution."

I would never clip and ship sir. Send me a pm on what was sent as "utter nothing" as it may have not delt with shipping well. I will gladly replace for free on your next order with out any questions asked.

 

[Mark8722]

Here is my experience everyone has a opinion and this is mine. First time buying from a live sale and it broke a record so he promised everyone a free frag got my order everything came in but no free frag no big deal I didn't pay for it. second live sale I ordered from got some coral and some clowns everything came in but one clown was dead. I did everything nd contacted them phil was cool and said he would replace and ship it so I thought cool ill order some stuff from the next sale since he shipping me a replacement for free. Got my package from the third order which should have had coral and a replacement clown and there were no fish in my package. contacted them and again he was cool about it explained they had to let some people go or something. so he had some movers deal or something I forget and it you bought two frag packs that were well over 100 bucks that you would get one free high end frag so I figured sweet ill get that and have my clown shipped with it. Got my package and once again no clown and over half of my sps frag pack was dead as **** and personally think I over paid for the zoas pack I received and no high end frag and at this point I'm pretty mad send the pick of dead sps and go through a bunch of bs and just wanted my clown and a free high end frag I was promised for buying the 2 packs. on top of this I had to miss work a couple different times from my package not being shipped on the day it was supposed to. finally my clown comes in and guess what my high end frag was not in there at this point I was done and just wanted a refund for the dead sps pack I received I did get a refund but it took several weeks and several messages trying to contact them over and over again I think phil is a good guy and it was not all his fault but for me as a customer there was way to many mistakes and miscommunication between who ever was packing and shipping the packages so I cut my losses. also my opinion but some frags looked newly fragged or got beat up in shipping were alive yes but needed some work.

 

[oceanparadise1]

Here is my experience everyone has a opinion and this is mine. First time buying from a live sale and it broke a record so he promised everyone a free frag got my order everything came in but no free frag no big deal I didn't pay for it. second live sale I ordered from got some coral and some clowns everything came in but one clown was dead. I did everything nd contacted them phil was cool and said he would replace and ship it so I thought cool ill order some stuff from the next sale since he shipping me a replacement for free. Got my package from the third order which should have had coral and a replacement clown and there were no fish in my package. contacted them and again he was cool about it explained they had to let some people go or something. so he had some movers deal or something I forget and it you bought two frag packs that were well over 100 bucks that you would get one free high end frag so I figured sweet ill get that and have my clown shipped with it. Got my package and once again no clown and over half of my sps frag pack was dead as **** and personally think I over paid for the zoas pack I received and no high end frag and at this point I'm pretty mad send the pick of dead sps and go through a bunch of bs and just wanted my clown and a free high end frag I was promised for buying the 2 packs. on top of this I had to miss work a couple different times from my package not being shipped on the day it was supposed to. finally my clown comes in and guess what my high end frag was not in there at this point I was done and just wanted a refund for the dead sps pack I received I did get a refund but it took several weeks and several messages trying to contact them over and over again I think phil is a good guy and it was not all his fault but for me as a customer there was way to many mistakes and miscommunication between who ever was packing and shipping the packages so I cut my losses. also my opinion but some frags looked newly fragged or got beat up in shipping were alive yes but needed some work.

I apologize for the bad experience. I do my best with a small staff to make sure everything is correct. The reason certain people where let go, was the fact they didn't follow my directs and where lazy and forgot things when it came to orders. I dont actually do the shipping or packing as I run the day to day stuff. Im very sorry about that. Please send me or @jamie callard a message. Ill send your fish for FREE as well as some frags to make up for the mistake. I wish I could 100% control everything but I can't and I apologize. Would love the chance to earn your business back! Lots of changes have been made to better the customer service experience and improve our communication.

 

[Branespikin]

I placed an order over a month ago despite all the bad rep they were getting said i will try them out as he had a rainbow hammer and hily grail torch i was eyeing for a while. Upon receipt the torch didn’t make it in shipping and the rainbow hammer was in rough shape. I contacted Phil he said a replacement torch will be sent out. It did take sime time for the replacement to come but not only did he give me two heads instead if the one I purchased but also a head of his TCD NY Knicks torch which Is beautiful. Id say that he redeemed himself and then some. I recently reached out to him that my rainbow hammer is on its way out too he replied immediately and offered a replacement aswell. I actually have about$400 on order with him right now.
Small staff tad bit slow but keeps his word at the end. I value that.

 

[smokin'reefer]

I would never clip and ship sir. Send me a pm on what was sent as "utter nothing" as it may have not delt with shipping well. I will gladly replace for free on your next order with out any questions asked.

I appreciate your concern and willingness to rectify the situation now. Unfortunately, for me, now is to late. The time to have done this would have been when I couldn't get anybody to answer the phone or return a phone call.

I don't normally offer negative comments. I prefer to keep them to myself. When warranted, I definitely give praise to worthy vendors.

 

[Mark8722]

I apologize for the bad experience. I do my best with a small staff to make sure everything is correct. The reason certain people where let go, was the fact they didn't follow my directs and where lazy and forgot things when it came to orders. I dont actually do the shipping or packing as I run the day to day stuff. Im very sorry about that. Please send me or @jamie callard a message. Ill send your fish for FREE as well as some frags to make up for the mistake. I wish I could 100% control everything but I can't and I apologize. Would love the chance to earn your business back! Lots of changes have been made to better the customer service experience and improve our communication.

thank you I appreciate that one thing you always do is take care of your customers. As much as id love some free stuff its not necessary I feel you took care of everything in the end and with my wife and I working days its hard to be home for deliveries.

 

[oceanparadise1]

Welcome, ill be the first one to say we are far from perfect and are learning each and very day. The one thing I can promise is I will send healthy corals, or I will fix it. I take care of each and every customer of mine.

 

[BAU]

Phil is a great guy and I and enjoy doing business with the coral dudes! I have been ordering from them for almost a year now and have not been disappointed. Like someone else said treat him like you want to be treated! Although i feel you should be that way with anyone you come in contact with! Also be patient they have many customers and they are trying to send out perfection which is way better than a thrown together from rushing box. Anyways probably 70% of my tank is from them and I have no complaints! Keep up the good work guys!