More disappointment

I'm very disappointed in Petco. They sold us the aquarium that broke, but won't help fix the mess. They say we must claim with the aquarium manufacturer. We're doing that, and the manufacturer has been more helpful, so I won't mention their name.

My problem? Sure, the glass may have had some inherent weakness that caused a stress crack, and that could have happened in manufacturing. It could also have been due to mistreatment in the Petco store. Petco isn't doing anything to help, despite their contribution to the problem. When they insisted they wouldn't do anything beyond a refund of the actual purchase price, we asked why they didn't stand behind their products. They said they do. We asked how that could be the case, since they weren't helping repair the result of a defective product. They had no answer to that.

Several Facebook friends have already read what happened and won't be using Petco anymore. Some were waffling, since they'd already heard of Petco's poor customer service (I hadn't, but now I've experienced it first hand and am very disappointed). They commented that was the final straw, and they wouldn't be purchasing with Petco.

Finally, while I don't want to contribute to the litigiousness of our society, I think we have a reasonable case on this one. We tried to be very reasonable. We haven't set out to cause Petco any harm, we've just asked for help fixing the damage caused by the defective product they sold us. Still, our daughter watched her pets die as we frantically worked to save our floor (we hope--it still needs to be inspected). I was called home early from work. There's been a lot of stress so far. If we did sue, I see it as likely we'd win. How much more would that cost than simply helping? I don't know, but I'm tempted to do it just so they change their policies and stand behind their products and no family has to go through what we just did. The situation is bad enough, but add poor customer service and the cold shoulder from Petco, and that makes it all the worse.

I'm kind of rambling, but it's been a rough week. I just want to know my floor's okay and to get the sitting room back to the way it was (minus a fish tank).

I am happy that we've decided we'll keep fish again. No, not in the sitting room. Nor in any carpeted area ever again! I had thought the only reasonable place to have a tank was the sitting room where we could really enjoy it. We're planning to redecorate Bubbles' sewing room and make it a sewing and pet room, with fish, a hamster, and maybe a parakeet. We'll use the room more and Spawn will be able to learn about pets. Best yet, it's a converted garage with a cement floor, so although we'll avoid spills, it won't be a catastrophe if one happens.

At this point, my business is likely to go to Pet Smart since Petco has demonstrated that they don't need my business.