Bad Guy The Serpentarium- Lodi, Ca

[KORBIN5895]

Why would someone in Florida claim a store in CA was full of sick snakes? I personally think someone local posted that and tried to use Rich's name as clout.

 

[Brandonadam209]

I guess we will never know will we....

 

[laterob]

Brandon, did you post it?

 

[Brandonadam209]

No Rob, I did not...maybe Yelp can verify my ip address that it is different. I don't know what else to tell you.

 

[Ryan]

I wasn't going to post again (unless asked to), but I cannot ignore the misleading information that is being expressed. It is said that we (The Serpentarium) sold Brandon UVB lights for his snake. That is completely false, and exemplifies the fact that customers often lie in situations like this. Our staff is rigorously trained on all the animals and products that we offer and I can guarantee that not a single one of them (even our newest employees) would ever recommend UVB lights for that particular snake (or 95% of the snakes we offer for sale for that matter). It is actually against our policy (written into our employee manuals) that pressure sales and or false sales are strictly prohibited.

Furthermore, I believe that I did my very best to show Brandon empathy, for him, the snake and the entire situation at hand, both in person and here. However, you can only do so much for an irate customer who's threatening you and making unreasonable demands (e.g. wanting a refund AND the snake, wanting a shopping spree, etc.). I don't see how I could have possibly taken advantage of you, Brandon. You're simply reaching for something instead of taking accountability for your own part in this issue.


Wilomn,

To answer your question if whether or not I saw the snake before I sold it; technically I did not. And that is because it was a special order, which we require payment to be made first. However, when it arrived I was not happy with its condition and expressed this to Brandon by pointing out the two small bumps on its back while he visually inspected it himself. I told him that they may go away but to definitely keep us posted. Regardless, I was and am still open to a full refund and have apologized for the inconvenience this has caused. I normally do not ever purchase wild caught animals and only made this exception because of how persistent he was with this particular species.

We are completely capable of caring for the snake ourselves, but he refuses to return. He claims because we said we would euthanize it. That makes no sense. Why would I just "throw away" money or the snake? What I told him was that we would either send the animal back to whom we purchased it from (which is NOT an importer, but one of the most prominent names in the reptile industry), or, if (and only if) it did not respond to our care that we would ultimately euthanize it. Any twisting of words is simply an attempt at trying to make us look evil.

To your other comment about how long I've been "doing this" (I assume you're referring to my reptile experience in general); I have been keeping and breeding various reptile species since 1997.

And now to your most recent comment about me "having nothing to do with how neat the store is." We have EVERYTHING to do with the store's current setup, style, theme, customer service and overall business model - which was completely changed from the previous owner's ways. To say that there has been no blood, sweat or tears on our part with this business clearly shows that you are not familiar with the new Serpentarium and what it has become since we purchased it.

You making such speculations does very little to help the situation for anyone involved and is irrelevant to the topic.


SIDE NOTE: GBU opened a pet shop just a couple of minutes away from The serpentarium and unfortunately chooses to jump on ANY opportunity at bashing The Serpentarium simply because they feel that we are competition. Their posts clearly show this, and that in itself says enough about them.

Marcus,

Perhaps you didn't read the entire post(?), but the matter of the snake being WC or CB is a moot point, as it is not in question. Brandon believes I told him that it was CB, yet I did not. It was a misunderstanding that I apologized for and offered a full refund. I never claimed it to be CB, nor would I ever lie to a customer. I also tried to steer him away from a Red Tail Green Rat Snake more than once, but he insisted.


Regards,

Robert Coral
The Serpentarium
www.SnakeMuseum.com

You mean when you stoled the serpentarium from bill. Talking about ripping people off your the king of that Robert mr bankruptcy you still owe bill $100,000

 

[Ryan]

I can understand why the buyer refused the refund and kept the snake if he thought that deciding on the refund meant that the snake would be put down. Whether Robert meant that the snake would automatically be euthanized if the buyer agreed to the refund and turned over the snake or not, the buyer seems to have genuinely thought that that was the case.

But Brandon, you do need to avoid exaggerating in a public forum, especially this one, because people do lie here all the time to persuade the people reading that their take on things is the right one.

Robert, if the snake was sick and Brandon wanted to keep it and treat it, why not a partial refund? Let him rescue buy it at a reduced cost basically and then get it healthy? Sellers do that all the time when they have compassion but don't want to lose everything they have in an animal. Just a thought.

Sadly that's the problem with Robert he has no compassion for the animals he's just in it for the money. I worked for Robert for 3 years and I can't even count how many times we got a sick animal and he wanted me to just freeze it but instead I brought them back to Heath.

 

[Ryan]

Then presumably the way the transaction went down concerning the change of hands between Bill and Robert are just that allegations. Everything presented here has been nothing but allegations and nothing has been presented nor can be presented concerning this snake purchase that represents any kind of proof.
Both parties admit that the buyer was offered a full refund and the buyer refused. Thats pretty much the end of it as far as Im concerned.

On another note, the snake does have a couple of sores, as wild caught snakes may tend to have but looks like it has a pretty healthy weight.

What happened to bill is 100% true I worked there when it all went down

 

[Ryan]

Korbin5895
So you truly think that deliberately declaring bankruptcy so you can essentially steal a business and then pay pennies on the dollar for that business by having your mother buy it back from the government is the acts of an honest and truthful person?

^LOVE IT

 

[Ryan]

This thread is now completely off topic. However, I will respond to the new allegations accordingly.

Firstly, there are many stories that have been told about what happened; the latest off-the-wall stories by Brandon (post #199) and Craig (post #212). We (my wife and I) have never said our side of the story, simply because we felt that it was both unprofessional and inappropriate. The big question here is, did we steal/swindle/wrangle the business out from under Bill? The answer is NO, absolutely not.

Through the unfortunate circumstances that transpired, we BOTH lost in this deal. This ultimately happened due to the honest mistake (mistake nonetheless) made on Bill’s behalf when he (as he stated) signed over the building into our names to avoid any potential lawsuits (e.g. customer slipping, etc.), as well as to avoid paying property taxes and association dues. Unfortunately Bill did NOT share this information with us, that he making the transfer, until after the fact.

During the time that we were conducting this transaction, we were in the middle of a personal bankruptcy. The BK (Bankruptcy) was NOT initiated after the business transaction. We had filed well before we even knew Bill was selling the business. We never mentioned the personal BK because it was just that, personal, and had absolutely no relevance to the matter (or so we thought). THIS is where WE made our mistake. It was a huge learning lesson, learned the hard way.

Our mistake was our naivety (which we take full accountability for) in never having experienced the BK process before, and we paid for it greatly by losing the ENTIRE business at one point. The moment that Bill transferred the building into our names - without us knowing until after the fact - it immediately became the property of the state (not ours).

The “acquisition” of real estate on our behalf raised a red flag with the state and triggered an immediate investigation by the BK Trustee who was appointed to our case. Of course then, looking further into our assets he discovered that there was also a business tied to this building, with MANY animals, equipment, etc. – all viewed as mere assets to the state. They then immediately made us close our doors, telling us that we no longer owned the business and that the state now owns it all. Needless to say, we were beside ourselves (in a negative way). We couldn’t believe what had just happened, and so abruptly! We immediately contacted Bill (which he can attest to) and told him what had happened, and how/why, and advised him to contact an attorney of his own to see what he could do about it from his side. We also diligently contacted our own attorney to see if there was ANY way he could turn over the decision because there’s been a huge mistake. We were told that nothing could be done due to the nature of the unsecured contract.

The contract made between us was completely legit, even notarized. The problem was that it was not a secured loan (which, like us at the time, most of you probably don’t even know what that means). Basically, a house or a car is a secured loan. Meaning, if you stop making payments, the lender can take it back because it’s secured by the collateral of the property itself. We learned a lot more than we ever wanted to know about this stuff, but hopefully sharing this info will protect someone in the future.

During the period of the next couple weeks, we could not allow any customers or employees to enter the building while the business was shut down. My wife and I had to tend to the thousands of animals ourselves (which took two people all day, every day), with the business generated zero income. We did this solely for the sake of the animals, as we had no idea if or when we would be allowed to continue on with the business at all. We kept pressing the matter, but we were continuously told that we no longer owned the business and that it all now belonged to the state. It wasn’t until we made a very aggressive bluff - stating that we would no longer care for the animals and just let them die, which would render thousands of their “assets” to be worthless and create an expensive mess that they would have to clean up (of course we would never have done that, but it was a necessary strategy that worked), that we were able to negotiate the ability to continue conducting business as usual.

When the dust finally settled, we were told that the state would now be selling the building and the business along with all of its assets on the open market. At this point, EVERYTHING was up in the air for ANYONE to purchase (!). Needless to say, this was an extremely stressful time for us. We felt as though the state had just used us as their slaves for a couple of weeks just to watch over their “assets” until they could figure out who to sell everything to.

I left my good-paying career of twelve years to make it on my own just before this endeavor. All the money we had at the time was given to Bill as a large down payment, so we had nothing. But, just like anybody else would do in this [unique] situation, we quickly scrambled to find SOME way to secure our investment. LUCKILY (extremely) I was able to convince my own mother to purchase the entire business and allow us to make payments to her.

This was not as easy of a feat as it may sound. At first she wanted nothing to do with it, AT ALL. The ONLY way I was able to finally convince her to do so, was as an investment opportunity; where she would own the building and we would pay her rent. If my parents weren’t about to retire themselves (and could use the steady income) then it would NOT have happened and I have no idea what would have happened. Nobody was looking to buy a reptile store, or had the cash reserves to do so (the ENTIRE amount for the complete business and building had to be paid up front in full to the state, like at an auction) during the worst recession in history.

We were always open and up front with Bill throughout the entire situation that we were ALL in (mistakes made on both sides). As Bill stated himself, he still continued to help out with the business - mainly tending to the many babies we had on hand - for a few months. We allowed him to come and go as he pleased because we knew how attached he still was. We even allowed him to have his own key to the building. These facts alone debunk the various stories out there that paint the picture of us “stealing the business” in any way. How many of you would stick around for months helping out the very people who intentionally stole your business from you.

Bill had a difficult time detaching himself while there (understandably so), and continued to allow certain people that he knew to enter into our employees only areas to hangout/volunteer at will. We spoke with him about this on more than one occasion and simply addressed the fact that we were not comfortable with people being allowed in certain areas so loosely, namely where we keep baby animals with a considerable amount of value to them. He respectfully complied for the most part, but it did continue. It wasn’t until we started noticing snakes missing that this “arrangement” became an obvious issue. Please note, that I am NOT saying that he ever stole anything from us.

When questioned, Bill would tell me that, “oh, you didn’t want this snake, so I sold it to so and so,” or, “I owed this guy this snake.” I always believed that he was telling the truth, even though he no longer had the right to make any of those decisions, but that’s beside the point. It was obvious at this junction that the whole situation was erroneous, and so we felt the need to make appropriate changes (e.g. take the key back, etc.).


Bill,

Regarding the following statements that you posted:

“I heard Robert was not going to pay anymore because I told people I had lost the Serpentatium in his bankruptcy.”

We were advised by our attorney to not pay you, due to possible legal ramifications.

“If Robert told anyone he is still paying me, I would like to see it.”

I have never made such a statement to anyone.

Actually you told me that your were still paying him even though you didn't have to witch is why I countinued to work for you. You also told another former employee the same thing I'm sure I could get him to verify it if you want

 

[Fangthane]

Actually you told me that your were still paying him even though you didn't have to witch is why I countinued to work for you. You also told another former employee the same thing I'm sure I could get him to verify it if you want

Have them register for their own account so they can corroborate your claims. As much as I think Coral is a total , I do have to say that you come off as a disgruntled former employee with an axe to grind, which is a card that I'm sure he'd be quick to play, assuming he's willing to come back here at all.

 

[Ryan]

Yeah I'm sure he would play that card and no I'm not trying to grind an axe if that was the case I would have brought up how he and his wife screwed me over but I'm glad it happened I am now at a better job where I don't have to rip people off.

 

[Skiploder]

Yeah I'm sure he would play that card and no I'm not trying to grind an axe if that was the case I would have brought up how he and his wife screwed me over but I'm glad it happened I am now at a better job where I don't have to rip people off.

Ryan, get the guy to come and post his testimony. The more the merrier - right? Also the longer we can keep this thread going, the longer the stink of it will waft around Coral.

Hey Coral, I see that you are signed up to have one of the biggest set ups at the Sac Show on the weekend of the 29th. Money must be real tight - huh?

 

[amos1974]

Robert you say mistakes were made on both sides... But you made your FIRST by not telling Bill about your bankrupsy... common sense tells you not to get a 250,000 loan from some one when you are in the middle of a bankruptcy!!! you say you gave bill a large down payment "All the money we had" another shady move... if you were in the middle of bankruptcy then you already owed that money to others... you must have lied to the court and not told them about that money!!!!

 

[Wilomn]

Robert you say mistakes were made on both sides... But you made your FIRST by not telling Bill about your bankrupsy... common sense tells you not to get a 250,000 loan from some one when you are in the middle of a bankruptcy!!! you say you gave bill a large down payment "All the money we had" another shady move... if you were in the middle of bankruptcy then you already owed that money to others... you must have lied to the court and not told them about that money!!!!

His liar, er lawyer, would also have outlined this to him. In fact, I believe he probably has it in writing. There are some strict rules when in bankruptcy and making large purchases is one of them.

Unless, of course, you intend to STEAL things by way of the court system. Because basically that's what mr. coral and his loverly wife have done to Bill.

Yup, they flat out stole the Serpentarium from Bill.

 

[Lucille]

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-serpentarium-lodi#hrid:pJRokAygJUgXxVFJXVmnBA


The Serpentarium. Just Say No.

My Yelp post was taken down by the Yelp folk on account of I had not actually been in the store. I'm thinking Robert campaigned for that move to them, as now there is no link there to this thread. The last thing Robert wants in my opinion is for people especially potential customers, to read this thread and come to their own conclusions.

 

[Wilomn]

My Yelp post was taken down by the Yelp folk on account of I had not actually been in the store. I'm thinking Robert campaigned for that move to them, as now there is no link there to this thread. The last thing Robert wants in my opinion is for people especially potential customers, to read this thread and come to their own conclusions.

Send me a copy of it and I'll post it. I've been going in there since Bill opened it.

 

[Lucille]

Send me a copy of it and I'll post it. I've been going in there since Bill opened it.

Thank you. Here it is, although short it contains a link to this thread where I believe people can read and make up their own minds:


Part of a store is in the brick and mortar, part is in the reputation. There is some interesting information having to do with the acquisition of the store by the current owner:

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=342443

 

[Fangthane]

Send me a copy of it and I'll post it. I've been going in there since Bill opened it.

Since few people are likely to have the inclination to sort through this entire thread, you may want to direct them to post # 217. That way they can see Coral, himself, telling the tale of his own fraudulent activities, in regards to his acquisition of the store.

 

[AbsoluteApril]

it may have been removed due to violation of 'Intellectual property' - they don't want links to stuff on other sites, they want direct reviews from people that have dealt with the business.

 

[Ryan]

My Yelp post was taken down by the Yelp folk on account of I had not actually been in the store. I'm thinking Robert campaigned for that move to them, as now there is no link there to this thread. The last thing Robert wants in my opinion is for people especially potential customers, to read this thread and come to their own conclusions.

Wouldn't surprise me one bit since he call and complains to I believe the lady at yelp a lot they are on a first name basest. And I will most defenantly get him to post on here