Bad Guy NEVER BUY ANYTHING FROM GENERALEXOTICS.COM!!!

[Lucille]

So, how long have you been in biz as General Exotics, Eric?

 

[generalexotics]

So, how long have you been in biz as General Exotics, Eric?

One year this month!

 

[Lucille]

You've been doing pretty good, fixing the stuff that needs to be fixed. Keep it up, I got my eye on you.........

 

[Lucille]

Thanks Mike,

If you find another business that needs to be picked apart and rebuilt in the forums let me know and I'll help. I've got experience in this area now.

You got put through the wringer. But you deserved it. The stuff on your site was unclear and misleading.

I don't get the feeling you are slimy. But you have to do an honest day's work for an honest day's pay, and that includes being upfront with your info, and taking care to see that your customers clearly understand what they are getting from you.

The reason we come down on people is that in the olden days, people were misled, and got dead or sick critters all the time. That's bad for the purchaser and definitely bad for the critter, you can't get no worse than dead.

You might look into when and how your suppliers treat for parasites, who knows, with some oversight you might be a trailblazer.

The next time I see your name, I'd like it to be on the BOI as a good guy.
Remember:

You are not getting a pass, you are getting a chance.

 

[Southern Wolf]

Eric... I know I have come down on you pretty hard.... but I do have my reasons because I have seen a lot of stuff on this very section transpire into nothing more than a smoke screen.

Would you please answer these questions for me... all come from things I saw on your website.

You state:

About Our Shipping Standards:
"All animal shipments are recemmended to be shipped Priority Overnight directly to your door.

Our packing standards are the highest in the industry. We don't throw your order together with cheap supplies and hope for the best. We expect a successful animal delivery and it starts with proper packaging. We have three full-time expert packers with 30 years of experience between them. Two of them have been with us for 17 years each. They inspect every box before it is closed up."

Why do you have this on your site when you admit to just being a broker and not shipping anything. How have they been with you for 17 years when you admitted here you have only been in business for only a year. Not only is this misleading... it is a flat out lie. How do you have 3 full time expert packers when you don’t even ship.

Once again... Why?

You state:

DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION

The information you provide to us may be accessed by or given to third parties some of whom may be located outside the European Economic Area

One... what does the European Economics Area have to do with us... we are in the good ol’ US of A.

Two... and more importantly... why are you sharing our information. This should be a no brainer... .you don’t share your customers information. PERIOD. You could offer me any amount of money for my customer list and Id tell ya to go piss up a rope. My customers privacy is my TOP concern... I will NEVER off that information to a third party.

Once again.... Why are you sharing your customers information?


You stated:

Company Founder Eric Endsley has started up 3 companies

Were any of the other companies in the reptile industry? This is just merely a curiosity of mine and not something that I see wrong with your site or business.


Would you be willing to answer my questions listed above honestly and directly?



I have noticed you have been making changes to the site. If I may... a couple of suggestion to go along with Mike’s request of being honest and transparent. Suggestions in red... compare it to your current version.

Packing and Shipping Expertise
Each of our suppliers is located just minutes for an International Airport. The packaging exceeds industry standards and has been designed to protect your animals and withstand the stress of ground and air travel. Depending on the animal(s) being shipped, heat and cold packs are used to add to the comfort of the animal. The animals are in their shipping packages for less than 24 hours in most cases.

Experienced Care
You can rest assured that we will be selecting the best of the best for you. An exotic animal veterinarian stops by at least once a week for checkups [red] at our primary supplier [/red] and what he recommends is exactly what is done. A healthy diet is provided to each and every animal. The rooms and cages are clean and sanitary environments. Our suppliers never ship pets that they know are not 100% healthy.

I honestly don’t know how you can handle this one... because FedEx and UPS probably wouldn’t talk to you anyways because your not the shipper. But you definitely don’t need to put it off on your customers. Maybe after they contact you... then immediately contact your supplier so he can get it resolved. This is one of the reasons I don’t like the middle man. Too many places for communication to break down.

Carrier Errors:
We do not guarantee any problems related to mistakes made by FedEx or UPS. We expect you to contact us first on the day your shipment arrives (or is supposed to arrive). If the problem was caused by a Shipper Handling Error, we will instruct you to contact FedEx or UPS to file a claim.

Thank you for considering my request.

 

[generalexotics]

Eric... I know I have come down on you pretty hard.... but I do have my reasons because I have seen a lot of stuff on this very section transpire into nothing more than a smoke screen.

Would you please answer these questions for me... all come from things I saw on your website.

You state:


Why do you have this on your site when you admit to just being a broker and not shipping anything. How have they been with you for 17 years when you admitted here you have only been in business for only a year. Not only is this misleading... it is a flat out lie. How do you have 3 full time expert packers when you don’t even ship.

Once again... Why?

This information came from an interview with my supplier. I use their experience and expertise to help fill orders so I placed it on the site because customers would like to know how we handle their animals. I am now working to clarify the behind the scenes work that goes on so that those supplier relationships are not mixed with my own business. But it still represents how the animals are handled.

You state:


One... what does the European Economics Area have to do with us... we are in the good ol’ US of A.

Two... and more importantly... why are you sharing our information. This should be a no brainer... .you don’t share your customers information. PERIOD. You could offer me any amount of money for my customer list and Id tell ya to go piss up a rope. My customers privacy is my TOP concern... I will NEVER off that information to a third party.

Once again.... Why are you sharing your customers information?

Euro stuff, my mistake. It has been corrected.

This is what I have updated:

"The information you provide to us may be accessed by or given to third parties some of whom may be located outside the United Staes who act for us for the purposes set out in this policy or for other purposes approved by you. Those parties process information, fulfil and deliver orders, process credit card payments and provide support services on our behalf. We may also pass aggregate information on the usage of our website to third parties but this will not include information that can be used to identify you.

Finally, if our business enters into a joint venture with or is sold to or merged with another business entity, your information may be disclosed to our new business partners or owners.

Unless required to do so by law, we will not otherwise share, sell or distribute any of the information you provide to us without your consent. "

The first paragraph is basically that we provide our shippers with your info so they can ship it to you, Fedex gets your info so they know where the box goes, a credit card processor gets your info so they can bill you, that kind of stuff is what we are talking about here.

The second is if the business is sold. It is nearly impossible to sell a business if it doesn't come with the customer list. You think Yahoo and Microsoft aren't sharing your info in their joint venture? You think Amazon didn't get the list of customers when it bought Zappos.com for 1.2B?

I had in there that I would share with 3rd parties to advertise select products to you but I took that out and it has not and will not happen in the future.

You stated:


Were any of the other companies in the reptile industry? This is just merely a curiosity of mine and not something that I see wrong with your site or business.

No, none in the reptile industry.

 

[generalexotics]

Well, I botched that one up - the formatting. Hopefully you can get through it understanding who said what, let me know if I need to repost.

 

[Southern Wolf]

Thank you for answering my questions .... let me see if I understand this correctly

You state:


Why do you have this on your site when you admit to just being a broker and not shipping anything. How have they been with you for 17 years when you admitted here you have only been in business for only a year. Not only is this misleading... it is a flat out lie. How do you have 3 full time expert packers when you don’t even ship.

Once again... Why?

This information came from an interview with my supplier. I use their experience and expertise to help fill orders so I placed it on the site because customers would like to know how we handle their animals. I am now working to clarify the behind the scenes work that goes on so that those supplier relationships are not mixed with my own business. But it still represents how the animals are handled.

So basically the 3 full time expert packers are employed by your supplier?

Eric, while I do not agree with your business model (obviously), I do commend you for addressing the issues here. You have done so with dignity, and I hope you are able to make the needed corrections to your site so that you may be able to advertise and sell animals honestly and with transparency.

I'll give (two) for Eric's honesty and willingness to come on here and address his issues!

Randal Berry

Eric, you sir conducted yourself with the type professionalism we would all like to see more of on the BOI.

-Thank You for the follow-up post.

I would also like to say... that even though I know I have posed some tough questions you have handled your answers with professionalism and dignity. I can respect that.

You got put through the wringer. But you deserved it. The stuff on your site was unclear and misleading.

I don't get the feeling you are slimy. But you have to do an honest day's work for an honest day's pay, and that includes being upfront with your info, and taking care to see that your customers clearly understand what they are getting from you.

The reason we come down on people is that in the olden days, people were misled, and got dead or sick critters all the time. That's bad for the purchaser and definitely bad for the critter, you can't get no worse than dead.

You might look into when and how your suppliers treat for parasites, who knows, with some oversight you might be a trailblazer.

The next time I see your name, I'd like it to be on the BOI as a good guy.
Remember:

You are not getting a pass, you are getting a chance.

From what I have seen you are trying to improve your business and your website to be more honest. To me... this may be the mark of a good guy doing some bad things and they are trying to rectify the situation.

I will make this promise to you here in open forum.

IF you change your site to where it shows your being honest about how you do business (ie... can the 'play on words' and creative writing), and I can support the way it is written as truthful.... then I will pull my bad guy vote on your certs.

I'll never agree with your business model, but that doesnt mean your a bad guy just because I dont agree with your business model. My main beef is how you represent yourself and conduct business.

You have shown yourself as willing to take critisims (lord knows I dished out my share of it) and have attempted to rectify the problems in a professional manner. Like I said... I can respect that and respect you for handling things in this manner.

There is nothing wrong with the amount of time you have been in business. We all have to start somewhere... but be truthful about it. Your website makes it seem like you have been in businss for 15 years (or longer depending on which section your reading). Why not say "your suppliers have been in business 15 years"?

I have coded my own website so I know it takes time to change everything around.... so when/if you make these changes... please send me a PM and tell me to go read it. Like I said... if I can support it as being truthful and honest.. then I will happily remove my bad guy vote from your certs. I am about to be up to my ears in baby snakes very quickly as eggs seem to be splitting every couple of days so I most likely wont have time to keep checking back on your site to see the progress.

As Lucille has said... your not getting a pass... your getting a chance.

 

[chamgirl99471]

Eric.. I have to commend you on taking all the criticism and questions to heart and handling it in a very professional manner! Good to see someone that doesn't buckle under the pressure or come back to try to defend themselves as all "High And Mighty" like a lot of these threads end up being. You in my book are one that has high reguards for this industry and that in the long run will help you get to where you would like to be! I'm very proud of the way you handled things. The fact that you are changing your site around shows your "True Colors" and will make people look at you in a different light! Honesty and Good Customer Service are two important issues in the Reptile Business. Kudos to you!

 

[Southern Wolf]

I have coded my own website so I know it takes time to change everything around.... so when/if you make these changes... please send me a PM and tell me to go read it. Like I said... if I can support it as being truthful and honest.. then I will happily remove my bad guy vote from your certs. I am about to be up to my ears in baby snakes very quickly as eggs seem to be splitting every couple of days so I most likely wont have time to keep checking back on your site to see the progress.

As Lucille has said... your not getting a pass... your getting a chance.

So I got bored tonight and thought about this thread. I went and checked the website since I haven't heard anything from GE.

I am a man of my word. General Exotics has made alot of changes to their site that I had issues with. Im still kinda iffy about the vet thing... but the others that I saw had been changed.

General Exotics... I will remove my bad guy vote (per my promise) from your certs.

 

[chamgirl99471]

Glad to see they took everyone's posts and improved themselves and didn't throw a hissy fit like a lot of people would have done! I'm sure there are still some issues they may need to clear up but they are on the right track! You go GE!

 

[Jadenkisses]

I was impressed with the way he handled the situation after it was brought here, and also, when I saw the changes had been made, as per my request.
I'm with Kevin though, things are still a little iffy.
One thing is - I'm glad I was refunded the full amount, and not charged for the one frog that was still alive, because not very long after this was all settled, the little guy passed. Not sure what the problem was at all - he was still in QT, of course, he didn't seem lethargic, acted normal, was eating pretty well, and I was treating him with metronidazole, but he didn't make it. It was upsetting, but not the end of the world. I knew the animal was WC and the problems that can come with being WC. But at least when I went to a Repticon show on July 4, I got a CB to got with my group. There was only one vendor there with them, and they were unsexed. I picked one that looked male-ish. Turns out, I was right! I put him in QT, and by night fall, I actually saw him call. He did it while I was misting him. But now, he's with my group, and giving my other males a run for their money!
But anyway, yeah, I saw this thread up again, and didn't want to update just to tell all you guys that the last frog died, but I since it was updated anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know. But Eric really appears like he's trying to do right, he just has a little more ways to go - but I think he does care.

 

[Maldesto]

I still don't understand how they don't have pictures on 25% of their animals they are selling, which is ridiculous on their part, they expect people to buy animals from them with no pictures. I could never do that.

 

[Southern Wolf]

even if they had pics... your not buying that animal anyways.

 

[Jadenkisses]

Yes - that's why purchasing from the in the first place was a stupid mistake. Lesson learned! I am much more informed about this kind of stuff than I was before I found Fauna. And I was oblivious as to how much people get scammed in the hobby. I no longer buy anything from anyone until I've checked them out here and other places. And no more "representative photo" for me!

 

[omni]

While it is good that this particular issue was made right, even tho GE is making effort to polish his act, there leaves a lot to be desired about the business model. I give credit for making some changes. But even in a perfect scenario with how their business is set up, nobody but someone new to herps would buy from. Definately not the serious collector/hobbyist, but I don't think that's their intended market anyway.
Good Luck with the froggies, Jade.

 

[Southern Wolf]

I never once said I agreed with their business model..... but I did say that if they were more honest and changed the wording on their site that was meant to decieve I would reverse my BG vote in their certs thread.

He did what he said he would... and so did I.