Solitaryensis
Supporting Member
I don't normally post stuff like this but I had a really disappointing experience with CKC that I felt the need to share. Apologies in advance for the length of this post, as I want to make sure I accurately reflect what happened. I'm hoping it's an isolated incident, but the lack of communication was really disappointing.
On July 23rd, a Wednesday, I won a HG torch coral in an auction and paid for it immediately, with plans for an in-store pickup in Concord. I never received an email confirmation, and despite multiple calls and emails, it took me over a week to finally reach someone - Ruby. She told me she would look into it.
The following Monday, August 4th, Ruby texted me, apologized for the delay, and offered to ship the coral directly to me. Great! I immediately sent her my shipping address, and she said she would provide a tracking number when it shipped. A week passed with no updates, so I followed up twice to her text message with no response.
I called the store and spoke to a gentleman who informed me the coral was never shipped because it wasn't in good shape. I was surprised, since Ruby had just found the coral and promised to ship it. I was annoyed, but also glad they didn't send me a sick coral—I just wish someone had told me sooner. He noted the issue in the system and said they would ship me a new HG torch as soon as a new shipment arrived, which he expected that week.
Around this time, I won two more corals in another auction and called the store to ask if they could be added to my existing order. The person I spoke to said it shouldn't be a problem and documented it on my file.
Another week passed with no word, so I called again and spoke to the owner, Ben. He checked the notes and told me they never received the new shipment of torches but would contact me as soon as they came in. When I didn't hear back, I called him again and then again this past Wednesday. He finally had the HG, and promised to ship it along with my other two corals today, Friday.
My package arrived today, and to my surprise, it only contained two corals: the HG and another marked "upgrade." Since this did not look anything like the two corals I purchased, I assumed "upgrade" meant freebie for the trouble. I emailed CKC to let them know the other two corals were missing. Ruby responded an hour later, telling me "These two corals were already refunded when your order when out because they were not available. You should receive a confirmation email as well."
I was completely unaware of any refund and had never been notified. I was especially confused since these were WYSIWYG auctions—how could they be unavailable if I purchased a specific coral? I replied to Ruby, who then clarified they had only refunded one coral and "upgraded" me on the other, even though the new coral looked entirely different from what I had purchased. I have not seen an email about the refund nor has anything hit my credit card yet.
I've heard great things about CKC and I hope this is a one-off issue. I was patient throughout the entire process, but the multiple communication failures, unfulfilled promises, and last-minute changes were incredibly disappointing. A simple update would have made a huge difference.
On July 23rd, a Wednesday, I won a HG torch coral in an auction and paid for it immediately, with plans for an in-store pickup in Concord. I never received an email confirmation, and despite multiple calls and emails, it took me over a week to finally reach someone - Ruby. She told me she would look into it.
The following Monday, August 4th, Ruby texted me, apologized for the delay, and offered to ship the coral directly to me. Great! I immediately sent her my shipping address, and she said she would provide a tracking number when it shipped. A week passed with no updates, so I followed up twice to her text message with no response.
I called the store and spoke to a gentleman who informed me the coral was never shipped because it wasn't in good shape. I was surprised, since Ruby had just found the coral and promised to ship it. I was annoyed, but also glad they didn't send me a sick coral—I just wish someone had told me sooner. He noted the issue in the system and said they would ship me a new HG torch as soon as a new shipment arrived, which he expected that week.
Around this time, I won two more corals in another auction and called the store to ask if they could be added to my existing order. The person I spoke to said it shouldn't be a problem and documented it on my file.
Another week passed with no word, so I called again and spoke to the owner, Ben. He checked the notes and told me they never received the new shipment of torches but would contact me as soon as they came in. When I didn't hear back, I called him again and then again this past Wednesday. He finally had the HG, and promised to ship it along with my other two corals today, Friday.
My package arrived today, and to my surprise, it only contained two corals: the HG and another marked "upgrade." Since this did not look anything like the two corals I purchased, I assumed "upgrade" meant freebie for the trouble. I emailed CKC to let them know the other two corals were missing. Ruby responded an hour later, telling me "These two corals were already refunded when your order when out because they were not available. You should receive a confirmation email as well."
I was completely unaware of any refund and had never been notified. I was especially confused since these were WYSIWYG auctions—how could they be unavailable if I purchased a specific coral? I replied to Ruby, who then clarified they had only refunded one coral and "upgraded" me on the other, even though the new coral looked entirely different from what I had purchased. I have not seen an email about the refund nor has anything hit my credit card yet.
I've heard great things about CKC and I hope this is a one-off issue. I was patient throughout the entire process, but the multiple communication failures, unfulfilled promises, and last-minute changes were incredibly disappointing. A simple update would have made a huge difference.
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