we need your input.

[atlantaaquarium]

Our number 1 priority has always been to  serve all of our customers better. That being said, we would love to hear your suggestions on what we can do so you would be more inclined to shop at our store instead of buying products online or elsewhere.

 

[york1]

Customer service

I know i have walked out without buying because I couldn't get any help multiple times.

 

[dball711]

Hi Rit, Customer service is why I come into your store. For years its been a pleasure to stop at your store as you are always great to work with, always have great advice.



As far as what I buy on line its mostly additives and right now its the red sea line of color trace elements, algae control and coral food.  still need a local store for frozen and live foods.

 

[atlantaaquarium]

Thanks Dave! I will get more Red Sea in.  We are trying to hire more help, just hard to find reliable help at the moment.  We do get a lot of customers in the store so we are stretching very thin.

 

[ecoreefguy]

Price listing for coral somehow.

 

[FutureInterest]

This is my favorite store.  If its available I'll buy it here before anywhere else.  My only issue is that the coral inventory never seems to change much and I almost never buy fish as my current fish assassinate most newcomers.

 

[atlantaaquarium]

York1, my people are pretty good of greeting and helping customers. We can slip once or twice but it is hard for me to imagine that we slipped up with the same customers multiples times in a row. Please stop by and see me the next time. What is your name? With that said, weekend are very rough days for us to help customers the way we like too. We are usually packed with customers on those days. Please do keep that in mind.

Ecoreefguy, Danny, not everyone but most of our corals are priced. Let me show you how our pricing work the next time you stopped.

Jin, I would love to refresh our stocklist every week but that would be impossible with the amount of corals that we have and the limited of space. I do get some corals in bi weekly but in limited quantities since we are packed with corals. I guess we could bring more non the less. I already told Vanna to do that already. You should see a little more new corals going forward.

 

[Adam]

It's just tough with the space you're in Rit. I'd be happy to drive down to you and buy some of the bulk consumables I get online but I don't know where you would store it, Soda Ash and the like. I still buy most of my frozen from you and Simon. Also, like Jin said, it would be nice to see a little more variety on the higher end corals. I know you already have the largest selection in town but maybe you could set aside a dedicated section in one of the tanks were limited stock on those type items can revolve. "Gett'em while they last. Cause when they're gone they're gone" type of thing.

With salt I've switched to the LiveAquaria brand and have been very happy with it. The price is usually $50 delivered either through them or Dr's F&S. There's a lot of rumors on the net that their salt is just re-branded Fritz RPM. If you could "unofficially" confirm that, I could see starting to pick it up from you for $60 a box. Have you thought about carrying ATI or Triton ICP tests? At least those don't take up much space. It's also tough to find ATI T5's near by.

Getting into a commercial space instead of retail, like we've talked about, would be a big help. I know that's a whole lot easier said than done. I've moved our warehouse three times and it's a nightmare. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to move your store with all the tanks & livestock. All I can offer is to lend a hand when that nightmare becomes your reality. The biggest hurdle is going to be finding a space. With this economy all of the prime locations with frontage are taken.

Once we've got the website here taken care of I'd like to talk to you some more to see what the club can do to help in other ways.

 

[atlantaaquarium]

Thanks Adam. Sounds fair enough. We are getting a little bit of the new LE in recently. I would love to get more in but I don't have the time to monitor the parameters to make them looks good. I will get more into it once I have more help.

I stocked Red Sea, Reef Crystal and Salinity. Why do you like Fritz RPM more? Yeah, I am thinking of carrying Triton. Let me look more into it.

We are looking at 3 locations at the moment. Still in exploration stage. Not sure how it is going to go. It is hared to negotiate on lease since the economy is doing so good. That goes without saying on finding quality help.

Yes, I am willing to listen of what you have to offer. I am dying to get my 3 websites going but it's hard when I can't find enough help even for the brick and mortar store. LOL

 

[danh]

Open another location on the other side of town



I agree space is your biggest concern for dry goods especially. Shelves are kinda jumbled up with stuff.

I tend to buy local corals from places I can see good pictures of online. Partially because you're such a drive for me. I'd need to see some nice pics and prices to decide to  make the drive... Unless I am making it to a club meeting at your store or at least on that side of town, or I've got club gift cards, I normally don't make the drive.



I do love coming in just to look though. Whether I end up buying anything, your coral tanks are just great to look at. I like seeing the mother colonies of the stuff you're selling.... and that incredibly fat blenny. And like others have said, it's always a pleasure when you're there and have a moment to talk.

 

[reefenthusiast]

Hi Rit! I think you have the nicest Reef tank displays in town. It is an inspiration for hobbyist like me. You are also so very nice to talk to. I often make every effort to stop by your store when I am in town.

Given that, however, I do echo the others that it would be nice to have new shipment of corals esp. LE corals. As much I prefer to buy something from you, I couldn't find anything new. You used to have announcements, posts (whether that be FB or on here) of new shipments and sales. I think you should resume that effort in getting people to make the drive to check things out. Nothing beats the in person experience!

I would also echo the others that space is your biggest issue. It does seem a little crowded. But if you were just to set a side one small frag tank of high end or more colorful corals separately, i think it would definitely attract more veterans hobbyists who are on the hunt for these corals. I think this would reduce your time/effort in having to closely monitor every tank in your store. Just my humble opinion. BUt again beautiful tanks.

 

[atlantaaquarium]

Hi guys, thank you so much for taking your time from you busy schedule to give us your thought of what we need to do to serve you better.

Yes, we do want another location with larger space so we can merchandise our products better but the inability to find help kind of dampen our enthusiasm for a second location. None the less, we are still looking.

As a hobbyist myself, I can relate to everyone about the LE corals. My personal tank was at one point was nothing but LE so yeah LE baby.  LOL I will try to bring in a little more LE but probably will not be in large quantities since it does not fit our business model.  Although we will continue to expand the aquatic line but we are morphing into a pet shop instead of just a specialty aquatic store.

Yes, I will start to announce the new arrivals and sales again.

 

[lmm1967]

Honestly Rit - the only problem for me is you are just too doggone far from Acworth. We don't get up your direction very often.

 

[picoreefguy]

its the same for me, i like your selection and your knowledge of the hobby but i cant justify the 60+ miles to get there unless im already going that way. keep doing what your doing and strive to be the best like you already do.