Re: [APD] A Piece of Schadenfreude for You (You Thought it Was Bad Before)

["Laith Arif" <laith at swissonline_ch>]

It always baffles and frustrates me too when things like this happen.  I
hope you get your tank up and running soon!

One question I do have: are all 125g glass tanks in the US the same
dimensions?

Over here (Geneva, Switzerland) I wouldn't think of ordering a stand like
that; I'd give them the exact tank dimensions in writing.  The volume of a
tank over here is absolutely no indication of the tank's dimensions as some
are narrower, higher, longer etc.

Laith


-----Original Message-----
From: Jerry Baker [mailto:jerry at bakerweb_biz] 
Sent: 20 November 2005 20:36
To: Aquatic Plants Mailing List
Subject: [APD] A Piece of Schadenfreude for You (You Thought it Was Bad
Before)

Anyone remember how I had to spend 5 weekends getting my aquarium stand 
painted? Stupid me. It never occurred to me to see if the morons who 
made the stand and canopy actually made it the correct size. Oh yes, you 
can see this coming now can't you? So, I finally get my tank delivered 
yesterday. It's *very* heavy. It takes three strong adult males just to 
lift it onto the stand, but wait...! It doesn't fit? What's this? Time 
to take the tape measure out. Oh, I see. Some moron made the stand 72 
1/8" instead of the standard 72 1/2". Same with the canopy.

"Oh, I guess I can get a router and fix the molding a little to allow it 
to fit," I think to myself. So, as I measure to see how much I'll have 
to shave off, I discover that the idiot only made the stand 18 1/8" 
deep. No matter how much shaving of the molding I do, the tank will hang 
off the edges anyway. No can do.

So I call the store where I bought the stand. It's a ma & pa shop. I 
went to them figuring that if I have any problems, it'll be a lot easier 
to get taken care of than it would be at somewhere like a Petco. Let me 
tell you, that assumption could not have been more incorrect. "Psssh, 
ya!" the guy says, "That's the dimensions you gave us."

"I ordered a stand for a standard 125-gallon aquarium," I told him, "I 
didn't give you any dimensions."

"Well, why didn't you notice it was too small when you picked it up?" he 
asked.

"Because I just got the tank delivered today," I says, "To be honest, it 
didn't actually occur to me that I would have to get out a tape measure 
and double-check your work. I naively figured that if I ordered a stand 
for a standard 125-gallon aquarium, that I would get a stand that fit a 
standard 125-gallon aquarium. When I took delivery of a shrink-wrapped 
stand and canopy that appeared to be about 6 feet long and 18 inches 
deep, I didn't think to myself, 'oh, they might have made this the wrong 
size so I had better measure it.'"

"Well, anyway, that's the right size for an acrylic tank," the fish 
store owner says.

"It may be," I say, "but I didn't order one for an acrylic aquarium. In 
fact, we had a 15-minute conversation about my ordeal with an acrylic 
aquarium and how I was getting a glass tank as a result of the whole 
thing. I even asked you how much your 125-gallon glass tanks were. After 
that I even asked you if I could sell my acrylic tank at your store on 
consignment." (this was only a day or two after my acrylic tank ordeal, 
and before I had returned it to where I purchased it).

"Well, you must have told us it was for an acrylic aquarium because 
that's the right dimensions for an acrylic tank," he says.

It was obvious he wasn't going to budge, so I just asked him what could 
be done to resolve the situation. That's when he indicated that they 
weren't going to do anything because it was my fault.

So, I called my bank and contested the charge. They were very 
cooperative and helpful. I must add that my bank (Washington Mutual) has 
always been very helpful and of great service in this regard. I don't 
have any complaint about their customer service whatsoever.

The conversation got me to thinking about whether I had actually told 
them it was for an acrylic aquarium by mistake. You know how when 
someone insists you said something you know you didn't say, how it still 
makes you wonder in your head if you really said it? I called my friend 
who had accompanied me to the store the day I ordered the stand and 
asked. He didn't hear me say anything like that. "You just ordered a 
stand for a 125-gallon aquarium," he said.

So now I get to order another stand from a nationwide manufacturer and 
wait for 3 weeks to have it delivered, and then another weekend or two 
to paint it ... again. I would build one myself, but I do not have the 
proper tools (mainly a table saw).

Anyway, I thought that if someone could get some twisted joy out of this 
whole thing that I shouldn't deny them that. :)

-- 
Jerry Baker



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