My experience with Custom Aquarium Cabinets

[newb]

An absolute disaster to say the least. I ordered a canopy back in August and paid in full in cash the day of ordering. I was told it would be two weeks or so...I didnt recieve the canopy until right around 2.5-3months later. After about 6 weeks I called for several days in a row with no reply to calls or texts, and finally I got ahold of him and asked what was taking so long and the owner was rude and completly unprofessional but said it would be completed the next weekend...Not true, instead I was told it would be ready the beginning of the next week. Next week came and I was told then that the lifts for the doors were not strong enough and that he needed to order bigger ones to hold the weight and that they were gonna be in before the weekend. It ended up being, I believe, two more weeks before I finally recieved the canopy. I showed up and it was sitting on the ground, not wrapped in plastic like we had discussed, covered in saw dust, and the doors were not even on straight. He tightened a few screws here and there and I figured "whatever" and took it and left. I got home and cleaned it up and sanded down the insides...because he didnt do that either...finally put the canopy on the tank and what do you know...the lifts still dont work. Well, it has been yet another month and still has not been fixed. I have been told he was coming an exact day and he was a no-show. After being completly tired of the whole situation...I texted once more today and was told he wasnt going to fix it until a personal situation was cleared up that had nothing to do with his product or business.

All in all, I would suggest STRONGLY against ever wasting your money with this company in the future. Basic business principles are not being followed here. In the end I paid between $350-$400 (I really dont remember) for a canopy that does not function. I was told the cost was so high because the lifts for the doors cost around $70 per pair and I needed/wanted two pairs, so therefore I paid extra money for expensive lifts that either dont work or were installed wrong. I have seen plenty of good reviews for his services..but figured there might be someone out there that would like to hear the other side.

[FrontosaurusRex]

I personally witnessed everything that was just written.

Business is businesss, and no matter what those contracts should be honored.

[tbui1178]

Sucks to hear about your bad experience. Hopefully the owner will make things better for you.

[newb]

Sucks to hear about your bad experience. Hopefully the owner will make things better for you.

I doubt it...not after this long. Sad thing is that I have had multiple pm's with people experiencing the same problems as me, but arent posting because they say it will just get moderated. People need to be able to speak the truth and not feel guilty for having bad feedback instead of strictly positive.

[imagirlgeek]

Sad thing is that I have had multiple pm's with people experiencing the same problems as me, but arent posting because they say it will just get moderated. People need to be able to speak the truth and not feel guilty for having bad feedback instead of strictly positive.

Whoa! How did HFB get pulled into this mess? No posts have been removed from this thread*. People are able to speak the truth, and negative feedback has been posted in the past without being removed. The retailers are also welcome to post their side if they choose.

What I do appreciate is the fact that there hasn't been a dogpile in this thread. Some people prefer to keep their personal issues private and shouldn't be made to feel guilty about that either.

*Correction...the only posts that have been removed were off-topic.

[freespool]

I can't say I have had any bad dealings with my cabinet or the company. He built mine in a timely manner and delivered WAY more than I asked for. Justin has been more than kind to me and very helpful with my cabinet. He even helped pick up non cabinet goods for me way on the other side of town so I did not have to drive and get it. So far you are the only person I know that has had a bad experience, and it sounds more like a personal matter.

[newb]

personal??? please explain...cash was paid to a business for a product, that product is not of quality/working order, and the timeline for completion was ridiculous...therefore this was a bad business transaction. Business is business and personal is personal. If there were personal matters involved why was my cash excepted in the first place...???

[coolname1]

I almost had him to built me a cabinet but he wasn't very prompt on getting back with prices and stuffs.....that's pretty much all the experiences I had with him.

[danielp]

I doubt it...not after this long. Sad thing is that I have had multiple pm's with people experiencing the same problems as me, but arent posting because they say it will just get moderated. People need to be able to speak the truth and not feel guilty for having bad feedback instead of strictly positive.

I actually agree with part of this.

I regulary visit several other forum boards and have seen some knock down drag out agruments.

Making threating overtures and out right calling people out shouldn't be tolerated that needs to be handled elsewhere.

I do think that comments related to experiences either good or bad should be allowed if it stays along the clean lines of a review.

Were all consumers and it's our hard earned money being spent. Where reasonable take a look at both sides and if you do choose to deal with a vendor that has negative reviews you know what to look out for and you can make a more informed decision.

I've done good business with places that have been dinged negatively. I knew what to look out for and i was please with my end results.

[FrontosaurusRex]

I've seen this company do good work. I've seen Justin go out and move tanks in the middle of the night. There's no doubt that he CAN be a good guy, but this particular transaction was a direct slap in the face because Justin felt like he got burned on a deal with Randall over a year ago. That's just plain old bad business. This isn't hear-say or dog piling...these are the facts.

[danielp]

I've seen this company do good work. I've seen Justin go out and move tanks in the middle of the night. There's no doubt that he CAN be a good guy, but this particular transaction was a direct slap in the face because Justin felt like he got burned on a deal with Randall over a year ago. That's just plain old bad business. This isn't hear-say or dog piling...these are the facts.

My comments is aimed at the comment "People are sending me PM's because people don't want their comments moderated".

So far as the actual situation i have no comment nor do i intend to form an opinion.

[fshfrk]

All I know is I paid him 35 petro polyodon fry and I got my stand 3 weeks later. Thanks Justin!

[Lori]

I've seen this company do good work. I've seen Justin go out and move tanks in the middle of the night. There's no doubt that he CAN be a good guy, but this particular transaction was a direct slap in the face because Justin felt like he got burned on a deal with Randall over a year ago. That's just plain old bad business. This isn't hear-say or dog piling...these are the facts.

It's a classic case of "what goes around comes around". Very bad for business though. People alway's remember you for the bad thing's you do. That's what keep's the rumor mill turning. I've never seen any of Justin's work personally. But, what i've heard, it's top notch. Put the few bad deals behind you and move on.

[puncak82]

I also had very bad experienced dealing with him in the past. He didn't deliver on time, delivered a bad product, and completely a liar. When I called him, he yelled at me on the phone and was very rude. Surprisingly though he was really nice when I FINALLY met him to pick up the stand and paid him. He even promised to gave me an extra accessory for my stand as an apology for the lateness. Well, 3 weeks later, I called him and again he yelled at me and was very rude. In conclusion, DON'T DEAL WITH HIM FOLKS.