LLL Reptile-Beware!

Hmmm...well hopefully, given the circumstances of no EMails being available, LLL will weigh in on this situation....

I have never been told that. That is bull! I would be more persistent. You are potentially a life long customer and they should come to an agreement. It sounds to me like just them simply covering the $40 to ship another animal for you would make you happy, true? If thats the case, whats $40 bucks to a large store like them? I work in an automotive business, there are times when we mess up, OR even the customer be at fault but we give a refund to keep the customer happy. It has a lot to do with the customer being happy and spreading that to other potential buyers. You know what I mean? Good luck!

Originally Posted by mxracer4life

I have never been told that. That is bull! I would be more persistent. You are potentially a life long customer and they should come to an agreement. It sounds to me like just them simply covering the $40 to ship another animal for you would make you happy, true? If thats the case, whats $40 bucks to a large store like them? I work in an automotive business, there are times when we mess up, OR even the customer be at fault but we give a refund to keep the customer happy. It has a lot to do with the customer being happy and spreading that to other potential buyers. You know what I mean? Good luck!

Beautifully Put!

First - hope everyone had a happy holiday. We just had a great thread on the BOI, so I will do my best with this one. Unfortunately, you can't please everyone. But here we go:

Eric had this gecko delivered to him on November 6th. Now, follow me here. On November 22nd, he made his FIRST call to us about the mite issue. Over 2 weeks after he received it. Now, we are pretty darn good about treating uroplatus when they come in. Anyone on here who deals with imported madagscar geckos has seen these mites. They are NOT the same as black mites. They do not do the same damage, and they come in on day geckos and other uroplatus species. This being said, that isn't the point. The gecko obviously had them after a few weeks. My guess - we treated it, didn't get them all, and showed back up after this period of time. So - that is our bad for not getting them all. If they had them upon arrival, or at least infested, as he describes, he would have called us much, much sooner.

He then called and spoke with Kate, our warehouse manager on Nov. 30th. The gecko had died. I would have strongly recommend not treating the gecko with any sort of mite spray. There are easier ways to treat, and that can do damage to this type of gecko, but what was done is done, and the gecko passed. That sucks for us, and it sucks for the customer. Kate went WAY beyond our guarantee considering we were not notified for a lengthy period of time. She offered him either 1/2 off of a new Cork Bark Gecko, or an $80 dollar credit that he could use towards anything. She did NOT offer him free shipping. If he chose to purchase light bulbs, then the shipping would have been much less, and I imagine he wouldn't have reacted like this. But, he chose to get a frog (obviously our animals are not as bad as he now describes, as he was going to get more from us). The shipping - we can't give him free shipping, and the generous credit. You must notify us much sooner than this. Even you said that what you and Kate had worked out was fair (and more than fair in my opinion).

I am truly sorry that you feel you were wronged. Honestly, after several weeks, I think the credit you were given was well above and beyond, and Kate took care of you completely. If you still have further questions on this, or would like to discuss it further, you can email me directly at VistaPetSupply@Gmail.com . It is too bad that such a generous offer had to turn into you posting this type of thread. But, that is your option. Even after this, your credit will still be valid if you choose to "re-think" this and try again. Take care

Scott Wesley
LLLReptile & Supply

Well, I kinda had a feeling about the delayed reaction time. In 16 days you didn't notice those mites, Eric? That's a shame.

Also, it was never mentioned by the OP that the animal has been imported, which most likely means it's w/c...did you inquire about this prior to purchase? That would explain the mites.

I'm going to break it down and be blunt...you are lucky you even got what you did. Their policy strictly states that ANY problem needs to be reported within 24 hours. You instead decided to try and eradicate the problem yourself.

Also, as far as your credit goes, WHY exactly should you be granted free shipping? I'm not fully understanding this. I'm also not fully understanding why you would want another animal from them if you are so adament about them being such a "bad guy".

Seems that someone didn't do what you wanted them to, and you got pi$$ed.

I don't see LLL as the bad guy here. In fact, I see them as a GOOD guy, seeing as how they went above and beyond what they needed to do 3 WEEKS after the animal was purchased. I sure wouldn't do that for an animal I sold.

LLL Reptile is a gresat Company, i have bought many animals (leos, beardies, and ball pythons) in the past..only had one problem and they fixed it RIGHT AWAY! I have also ordered many supplies from them! I actually just finished an order of incubators and incubating supplies! LLL has great customer service and I would recccomend them to anybody!

Eric,

you are VERY lucky you got some sort of "credit"...you clearly violated their terms, but they went WAY OUT OF THEIR WAY TO HELP YOU!..seems like a GOOD GUY to me!

Thanks guys. Keep in mind - Eric lost a pet, and he is frustrated. Beyond that, according to the girls at our warehouse, he was friendly and polite until the end, and again, is just frustrated. I can understand that to a certain extent. We get frustrated too when we try to do all possible, and it gets to this point, especially when we don't find out about an issue until a customer has chosen to take it on themselves. For future reference, with any uroplatus or small gecko species that is WC, if you ever see these "red" mites, don't use rep rinse, reptile relief, or any sort of spray like that. Seek advice from someone who deals with many of them. Reptile Relief is designed to dehydrate the mite, and in turn, dehydrates the animal and causes unnecessary stress, leading to other issues. I would find it very, very difficult to believe that the red mites themselves would lead to the death of a uroplatus. Just an FYI for the future health if you are into this species. CB is few and far between (although hopefully more will pop up)

Again, even with this post, your credit is still good Eric if you choose to use it. Even if you just want $70 in supplies, and $10 in shipping or whatever it works out to be, and move on from there. It is up to you. We will always, always try to work out a fair solution. Unfortunately, sometimes we end up here, and won't budge any further from what was offered, as it was way, way more than fair for the time elapsed, regardless of the issue.

Thanks again guys - happy herping!

Scott Wesley
LLLReptile & Supply

WOW!!!!! LLL your a LIAR!!! Nov 6th was on a fri.....late sunday night on the 8th I noticed the mites and left you a message on the phone and yall called me back on Monday. Your A LIAR and you know it...I dont know who I spoke with and I dont care....they told me to see how the animal dooes with me treating it...and it died! Dont send out animals with mites and this could all be avoided! And people, just because its "LLL" doesnt mean they cant lie...theyre LYING. You were notified as soon as I seen the mites! Your shop was closed for the night and I left a message....Screw your credit...I would never do buis with yall again, YOUR LIARS!!! And you know it!

I was witnes to everything that Eric has stated here.....I was with him when he called LLL and notified them of the mites.....their store was closed, and he notified them within 24 hours of the problem...so because they were closed that null & voids their own 24 hour period terms? Sounds like a loophole to me.

Eric did not wait 16 days....that is a flat out lie. He notified them as soon as he noticed the problem which was within their 24 hour period.....it was because the store was closed that he did not speak with anyone until the 24 hour period had passed.

Also....Maia, are you saying that simply because an animal is wild caught, thats a good enough reason to sell mite infested unhealthy animals? Even when that is contrary to how they are advertised? Sounds like an attempt to evade responsibility to me. I've owned, bought and sold many WC animals myself......none of which left my possession with mites of any kind. If you claim to sell flawless, healthy animals.....mites do not fall into that category.

This is an example of a "big" company shirking responsibility in the hopes that their reputation will overshadow their blatant discrepancies and disregard for their own policies.....thats called a "bag guy" in my book. As a result of this experience, I will never do business with LLL, nor will any of our many local friends who will be informed of their lack of professionalism.

I'd also like to add that I have used Reptile Relief myself to treat all sorts of Geckos for mites (including Phelsuma, Uroplatus, Leopards, Pictus and Fat-Tails).....it is one of the least caustic substances to treat mites with that is still effective. I have never had a gecko die exclusively from using Reptile Relief to get rid of mites. Any deaths that occur, there is always an underlying problem....sometimes that is simply stress from being handled to treat the mites.

The bottom line is that if you don't send out animals with mites, this eliminates the potential fro such problems. No reason is a good excuse to send out subpar animals in my opinion.