1. Email to Jensalt sent on March 27, 2003:
Dear Jen,
The 3 sumps arrived Tuesday afternoon. Until today, I only had
time to unbox them and clean off the bulk of the styrofoam
packaging dust. It wasn't until this afternoon that I took my
first real look at them.
I will put this as politely as possible: The sumps are completely
unsatisfactory. Almost everything about them is flawed, from
cosmetics to structural integrity. I will give you the specifics
below, and email pictures to illustrate them if you wish. (These
are not listed in any particular order.)
Not a single cut edge has been sanded or finished at all. All
edges appear pitted and rough, with sharp corners.
The holes for the bulkheads are particularly bad, with large
burrs protruding off the edges.
The side and end pieces are not cut to the same size, and do not
match up.
One main piece of acrylic has cracks extending out from several
points along its top edge.
Several of the "reinforcement" strips around the top
are crooked, and others are only half-glued on.
About 50% of one of the reinforcement strips had to be ground
away, probably to make up for a size miscalculation. The sumps
were supposed to fit inside each other for shipping, and
obviously they didn't until the piece was ground down.
In at least one place, the pieces weren't cut square, and glue
was used to fill in the resulting void.
EVERY, and I mean EVERY, glued seam is full of bubbles! Even the
best ones have a significant amount of bubbles in them. In the
worst ones, the bubbles form actual gaps - gaps so large that in
some cases the seam is 75% gap, 25% glue! On one section, you can
see where the acrylic dust settled down into the large gaps in
the seam. There are even some places where the gaps appear to go
all the way across the seam, and places where you can insert a
fingernail between the two pieces of acrylic. It's a fundamental
principle of successful acrylic construction that there be NO
bubbles in the glue. (I also compared them to some other
fabricated acrylic equipment, which has bubble-free joints and
smooth, finished edges.) The mere presence of bubbles weakens the
bond, and in this case, there's as much if not more air than glue.
I'm not even sure that some of the seams would hold water. If
they would, it would only be because of the extra glue which was
put on the inside of the containers, not due to the structural
integrity of the seams themselves. There's no way that I or
anyone else would trust these containers. The joints are so
poorly glued that they would almost certainly fail under a full
load. Flooding my house with 50 gallons of salt water is not a
risk I am willing to take.
I would like the $150.00 I have paid to be refunded via PayPal.
After that, I will either ship the sumps back to you at my
expense, or if you prefer, to email you pictures of them being
destroyed and discarded.
I want you to know that I feel really bad saying these things.
The kindness and responsiveness you have shown, from a customer
service standpoint, has been great. From our various email
exchanges, I get the feeling there is some separation from you
and others in the company. You may want to check up on those
responsible for construction and quality-control. These 3
containers look as if they were slapped together as quickly as
possible, with no regard whatsoever to cosmetics or structural
soundness.
Finally, know that this is not about trying to negotiate a better
price. The containers are simply defective and unsafe for use,
and I would like to return them for refund.
Let me know if you would like to see pictures of them.
Most sincerely yours,
Greg Bunch
gbundersea@cox.net
http://www.gbundersea.com
Underwater camera accessories and photography
http://www.reefngom.org
Co-founder, REEF Field Station
of the Northern Gulf of Mexico
http://www.auduboninstitute.org
Member, Dive Control Board
Audubon Aquarium of the Americas
2. Jensalt's reply, March 28, 2003:
I am sorry for your inconvience and I am going to forward this to my husband who has handled this matter...If you are unsatisfied with his responce please email me and I will see what we can work out...Thank you..
3. My response to her, March 28, 2003:
Dear Jen,
Thank you for your prompt reply. I'll let you know when I hear
back from him.
Most sincerely yours,
Greg Bunch
gbundersea@cox.net
http://www.gbundersea.com
4. After waiting almost 4 days with no reply, I sent this on April 1, 2003:
Dear Jen,
I have not received any reply regarding my requested refund/return.
Can you please handle this? I waited 3 weeks for these sumps,
only to receive them and find them to be defective. I had a
private seller holding some live rock for me at a bargain price,
and now I may miss out on that too.
Please get back with me at your earliest opportunity.
Most sincerely yours,
Greg Bunch
gbundersea@cox.net
http://www.gbundersea.com
5. Jensalt's reply, April 1, 2003:
Greg,
I have discusssed this with my husband and we have decided that
since you did not dicuss your prefrences before the sump was made
or shipped that we should not be out the $150. We have made many
sumps the way we did yours and everyone else has been very
satisfied. We have also priced other custom built sumps and the
cheapest we have found (besides ours) is around $110 per sump so
that would have cost you $330. You got all three for $150. Please
do with as you wish with the sumps and I am sincerly sorry we
could not help you in this matter.
One more thing there was no stuctural problems when we shipped
the sumps and they did hold water.
Thank you,
Jennie Gross
Owner/ manager
http://www.jensalt.com
208-465-7536
6. My response, April 1, 2003:
Dear Jen,
This was not a matter of preferences. The sumps were made to the
sizes I asked for; that is not the issue. What is the issue is
the total lack of workmanship and structural soundness. I cannot
believe that everyone has been very satisfied with unsanded
edges, cracked acrylic, and seams which have as much air between
them as glue. To suggest this simply does not make sense.
I ask one last time for a refund of what I have paid. In return,
I will ship them back to you. Or, I will even go so far as to
offer to destroy them, but subtract the return shipping from the
$150.00. According to UPS, return freight would be $35.00, so if
you agree to this, refund me $115.00 immediately and I will send
you proof of the destruction of the sumps.
The only cost you guys have in these sumps is the materials, plus
time. I have lost valuable weeks of setup, possibly a huge
savings on live rock, and freight both ways. While nobody comes
out ahead, mine is a fair and reasonable offer, and neither of us
really loses too much either.
Please send your reply at the earliest possible opportunity.
Greg Bunch
gbundersea@cox.net
http://www.gbundersea.com
7. Jensalt's reply, April 1, 2003:
Greg,
We make these sumps the exact same way everytime.. No one beside
you has been unhappy with them.. If one of them is cracked you
may contact Fedex and file a claim. When they left here there was
absoulty no cracks. I am sorry we can not help you. We did insure
them through Fedex in case of cracks or them being broke.
Thank You,
Jen