To everyone-
I will try to address some issues regarding the recent Mountain Shadow Marine posts.  This could be a long post, sorry.
As a club rule you can�t come on this board and say something like �Adam is an idiot�.  Personal attacks aren�t tolerated.  But you can say �I think Adam is nuts for keeping so much algae in his tank, it is going to cause problems�.  However, you can get on this board and say things like �I just mixed some instant ocean salt, and the alkalinity is way high� or �I don�t like rio pumps, I think they are crappy�.  Even though Dr. Hovanec and TAAM are not here to defend themselves, we encourage people to share their experiences in an effort to benefit the rest of the club members.

Now regarding local pet stores-
If someone has a bad experience at a store, we may or may not want to hear about it.  It would be unfair to hurt a store�s image because of one bad experience or one bad day.  With that being said, I can�t remember anyone ever making a post saying that they were yelled at, sworn at, felt attacked, or were completely put off by any store other than Mountain Shadow Marine.  When one person complains, we ignore it.  But in this case, about 8 separate people have started separate topics expressing their completely unprofessional and inappropriate experiences.  Eventually those topics get out of hand and we end up deleting them.  With dozens of people then stating the same situations, the accusations are gaining (have gained) much credibility.  I�m tired of hearing the complaints and trying to smooth over the situation, so hopefully everything will be said and we won�t have to fuss over this anymore.

In addition, we have confirmed that Randy Olsen is posting under his name, as well as the pseudonym �wasatchreefer�.  Such dishonesty is not tolerated on our board.  We have warned other store owners and members before, and are letting it be known that dishonest behavior is not welcomed.

In conclusion, I�ll add my personal thoughts on the subject.  Some people drive fast and don�t wear seatbelts because they�ve never seen an auto accident.  Just because you haven�t seen it doesn�t mean it hasn�t happened.  My thoughts are that the more I hear the more I believe that it is only a matter of time before people learn about the MSM behind the scenes and have their own bad experiences.  It is unfortunate to say the least.  As club president it is my responsibility to build relationships with local stores.  But it is also my responsibility to look out for my club members, which is what I�m trying to do here.

Adam

Hey Blundell when I have Neil call you are you going to revise that accusation? I�ll let HIM explain what HE did! I was just the target and he was trying to help, with my approval.   

Connie-
I agree.  We try to delete those attacks, and for the most part I'll bet they are all deleted well before any of you ever get the chance to see them.  Hopefully we're just letting the personal experiences be told.

Adam

Randy- yes, have Neil call me.  By the way it will be more believable if he doesn't call me from your phone.

Adam

BTW as I have quite had enough in browsing past topics�

Thank you to those of you who attempted to defend your good experiences at MSM; at least you tried�lol  

And to the rest of you that feel I am the scourge of the planet; Go other places to shop...its that easy. I will get over it as I�m sure you will too.

I do what I can in order to run this thing the best I know how and you all make it sound like MSM is the Exxon Valdez! I have given up more than you will ever know for this business and have tried to make people happy in all I do but sometimes its more than ANYONE can handle�Marks seen it, in fact he had a plan for me in order to better handle it. Mark you still want a job? Just kidding I know what I need to do.

I enjoy MSM most of the time, but in doing this, this whole thing I have learned a few things for sure;

*Don�t trust people for they will rob you blind and stab you in the back.

*Eventually you are going to piss somebody off no matter what you do.

*And as is human nature we all need something to complain about.

Hope you all have a great night and by all means when you see me in the store, if any of you do feel the need to come in the store again, introduce yourselves by your WMAS name as well as your real name, Id love to put names with faces.

And if any of you wish to discuss anything further�call or e-mail me personally as I will not be visiting your �board� again�.its not the best way to receive constructive criticism�its more cowardice than in person or over the phone.

And like Connie said�all brought to a head by $7.50 worth of snails�its funny really.

Randy Olsen

MSM Aquatics

I think many of us are very involved in this hobby lets face it our aquariums are not cheap, we all spend alot of money on our aquariums which become a big investment. And when people spend hard earned money on them they expect some respect from the companys they buy from.  So i can see how easy it is for people to want to vent about a bad  experience they have had somewhere. This is a very tight club we have we all share good and bad experiences  that we all can relate to.

In a nut shell you must give respect to get respect.. thats my 02.

FIRE SHRIMP wrote: In a nut shell you must give respect to get respect.. thats my 02.

AMEN brother!

Personally, I think this crap is unfair to alot of neutral reefers. I for one like Randy's place, but also understand the views of those that may feel down-talked. Fact is, I will still stop in and see him from time to time and will probably buy. I know that when I go in there, I'm just a customer, but realizing I'm a proud member of the WMAS, I am also a brief rep to such and this name calling will be a cloud over my head whenever I go there. Believe me, I understand how some of you must feel... my wife's not too fond of Randy, either, but that only effects me when I go LFS gandering with her(basically... if you don't like it, don't go there or wait in the car). It's just a respect thing. I appreciate Randy's direct, no B.S. approach... when I was running my own pet store, I had some of the similar experiences that were really quite frustrating... a guy called me at home on the fourth of July to tell me if I didn't come and open up so he could by some crickets, I'ld never see his face in my store, again... pretty cool, huh? Look, I can't vouch for who is posting as what and rules are rules so inforce em and lets get over this meager crap. Good heck, there's several other LFS to choose from. Randy has always treated me with a decent respect, but has also seemed to push his opinions... that's just a part of dealing with that store if you should continue shopping, there. I gotta say, some of my nicest stuff has come from there. I respect everybodies views and that being said, this is all just my 2 cents. Oh, one more note, if you're not too comfy with Randy, call first... his staff is usually pretty darn good to deal with, but remember, they get preoccupied, too.

     Jason

Suzy, Im not sticking up for Randy but rather the way this was done. When Renee has issues, she stated them but had the good taste to never mention a name.  Renee

Why should Randy support the Reef Tour when members dont. If you all remember, I was and am very against it. Why shouldnt store owners be able to make the same choice?  

Just a quick comment.  This began because the person went down to the store when they were closed.  I've never been good at remembering the store hours for the LFS's.  Could you update the LFS page to include Hours of Operation?  It might have solved this problematic situation.

Jody

RandyOlsen wrote: Hey Blundell when I have Neil call you are you going to revise that accusation? I�ll let HIM explain what HE did! I was just the target and he was trying to help, with my approval.

Big Update-
I just got off the phone with Dr. Neal Hillman (by the way Randy, you spelled his name wrong).  He once again confirmed that he has not been to this site and has not made any posts.  He was completely unaware of any of these topics.  He was upset, and shocked to learn of his identity theft.
He is a little worried now, and says that Randy has hundreds if not thousands of dollars in his livestock being held at MSM until he completes his move.  He brought up concerns that maybe that was the reason why someone used his name to create those posts. 
Hopefully, this situation will not prove harmful to him, and his items will be well taken care of and shipped to him in Michigan.

Adam

Shane,

Interesting thread!

I'm still baffeled why a store owner would come to a message board, insult its members and not try and rectify the sitiuation in any way shape or form.  I have never been to MSM and most likely will not based on randys actions on this board if somone is upset finding a solution (other than the proposed stop coming to my store) should be a priority for any member of a civilized society.  I wouldn't have carred with some serious complaints from board members but to have posted on the board without even attempting to some good It's mind boggeling. 

Connie wrote: Great idea..... Jake would it be possible to have a sponsor section or a spot for all LFS to list hours, location?? Not to sell stuff but to let us know about all of them and when we can visit..i

Connie,

Please click on the "Local Pet Stores" button to your left.

This lists all the pet stores in the valley that offer reef/marine fish related stuff (at least it should), their address, phone numbers, web sites, etc.  I would like to stay away from hours as they change frequently.  Please visit their web site or call them for their current hours.

I don't know about that pet kingdom in logan, talk about rude service.  They haven't even opened their store in years.

Anyway to get rid of the old ones jake, or start a new LFS in logan any volunteers?

I can only change stuff when I know it needs changing.  As far as I knew they were still open for business.

I will take care of it.

I have deleted my previous comments.

Fred

Adam, Rules are rules... gotta enforce 'em. Identity theft is pretty rediculous... if it's true, then do what ya gotta do. As for me, I am in awe that you(Randy) someone I considered pretty intelegent and dignified(brutely honest, too boot), but all around a sound businessman have lied here... how can I or any other potential customer trust you from this point on??? I so hope that there is some underlying mistake or miscommunication that can be resolved. This friggin' sucks!!! I'm in limbo and until this situation is resolved by admission of mistake or validation of prior statements, I have no choice, but to discontinue my business there. Let all the truth be told and lets get over this rediculous situation. Adam, I believe that you probably feel validated in slandering Randy and his antics, but I am disappointed that you had to post everything(the shots and stuff) and didn't just do what you had to do as the WMAS president to enforce the rules after your findings then post a general reason that MSM was being black-balled. This really friggin' sucks!!!

     Jason

I can't help but disagree that nothing but positive things should be posted. Yes, even after the JimL/Carl after school fight fiasco.

Is it a positive situation? Heck no. Is anything good going to come out of it? Nope. But, it happened (still happening somewhat) and that's life. It has really been an eye opening experience for many. But the matter of the fact is that this is still a forum that allows members of the public to post whatever they want to within reason. In that case, consider it an open but moderated forum. Hence, my opinion is that if you do not really appreciate the contents of a certain topic, don't read it. Life continues in other topics without a tint of the contaminated stuff.

I think that with the current rules that govern the use of this board, people are free to speak their minds. And sometimes it's healthy. Sometimes not. But, after all is said and done it's still the best run message board in the hobby.

I agree with Carl. There has been little misinformation. Many enlightening things though.

I would question the integrity of anyone that would use identity theft to further their own agenda. And I believe that everyone should be able to see the very pompous posts by that same person that show the little care for customers that do not agree or have had issue with him. His post alone speaks volumes.

I do not believe these threads should be deleted. Every potential customer should know what kind of person they are giving their money to.

One thing that's kinda bothered me.  Who is AMEYE4REAL?  I've got a suspicion that it's someone on this board posting under a pseudonym.  Not unlike what we've accused Randy of doing...  I hope I'm just paranoid.

I can't help but disagree that nothing but positive things should be posted.

I agree but IMO there needs to be limits... what is that limit??  That's not my call... 

Is it a positive situation? Heck no. Is anything good going to come out of it? Nope.

Then why allow it??  Yes, it will happen but if it becomes acceptable it will happen more often and to a greater extent.  Kind of like my kids...  let them jump on the bed one night and they think they should be able to jump on the bed every night. 

jmo

As much as we need to know about negative and positive experience both, I can't wait to see these MSM threads die.

Let's get back to reefing the WMAS way!

jfinch wrote: One thing that's kinda bothered me.  Who is AMEYE4REAL?  I've got a suspicion that it's someone on this board posting under a pseudonym.  Not unlike what we've accused Randy of doing...  I hope I'm just paranoid.

Jon, i have a suspicion you know the answer to that 

Jon, i have a suspicion you know the answer to that

I have no idea who ameye4real is.  It's obvious that they don't want Randy to know either.