House Of Tropicals — Local services in Glen Burnie

House of Tropicals remains an iconic east coast fish store. They also have a great selection of reptiles and reptile products (and amphibians). ALL of the staff are freaks (in the very best way) about the fish/plant/reptile hobby (and amphibians) and are more knowledgeable than I on many aspects of husbandry. In fact, there are at least 2 breeding projects in-house, to captive-breed and retail Cuban false chameleons [Chamaeleolis (Anolis) barbatus, and Axolotls]. Bioactive terrariums are a major topic of interest on the reptile side; coral propagation is a specialty on the fish side. Occasionally I have seen complaints posted regarding inattentive sales staff, but these notions are unfounded. This is the sort of local business that thrives on a years-old repeat customer base, and (especially on weekends) you may find that the frivolous pleasantries of “may-I-help-you?” are sometimes lost among the hustle and bustle of a sales floor that is typically very busy from open til close. It is important to remember that it is NEVER impolite to simply walk up to a “Blue-shirt” and say something like, “hey, I know you are busy [with that task at hand], but I would like to ask you a question while you are working…” Your question will be answered or you will be directed to someone who will (or you may be directed to the queue). Don’t get me wrong, this store is not understaffed and it is not driven by a culture of indifference; simply consider that an extra dose of patience may be required for you to get the proper customer attention THAT THE STAFF DESPERATELY WISH TO PROVIDE. (Seriously, Cut a break for the workin’ folks, know what I mean? Fish store work is 50% hard/messy labor, 100% customer service, and 10% fun-and-games-playing-with-new-setups-and-bizarre critters…that’s 60% more than a normal human can handle, so it is clear that long-term employees in this environment are super-human and driven by a passion for the hobby that you and I only think we have tasted). It actually took me a few years to get-over-myself and acknowledge the long-term success I could gain as a friend to this store. And, before I forget, the prices are set to be competitive with online, and it is clear that margins are razor-thin on stuff like glass tanks and other hardware. Are you the jerk who visits an independent store for advice and then goes home to buy online (or to a chain store) to save a couple of bux? Or maybe even A LOT of bux? If so, then go away. If so, Listen, many/most of the staff have been with the store for 10 or more years. Some for 20 years. Some for 30. There are probably only 4 other independent fish stores, state-wide, that offer this sort of life-loyal mentor-mentee experience, and it’s not surprising that all of these are sufficiently distinct from the others that there is no infringement on the others’ customer base.) An unadvertised custom is that the assigned queue for fish service is at the main bagging station in the center of the store. Here’s my point: this place doesn’t need our business (haha); that is, the loyal customer base is on par with Apple iPhone owners. That is, the friends of the store will NEVER stop coming, and any types that would offer negative commentary (here, yelp, other ratings services) are probably not the type of customer the store would seek to keep. (Especially, if you are about to post a contentious response to this post, you are exactly the sort who is not worthy of service by H.o.T…trust me.) If you are reading this with a contrary view, please don’t post. Rather, Go live your hobbyist life without independent retailers like the House of Tropicals, and see what that’s like. Good luck. These opinions are my own, and make no mistake: I disrespect your...

I have been a dedicated customer of HOT for years. Overall the tropical fish selection is above average (meaning just not bread and butter commercial pet store fish), salt and coral are at average. I support them religiously like clockwork every 2 weeks for the last 12 years! Over the years customer services admittedly as been horrific. Please don’t get me wrong there are a small few that are super knowledgeable and cheerful even entertain my kids with jokes or just cool tips and facts when they are along for the trip. However on a busy weekend it’s rare you get these employees who are happy to be at work but I still I supported this LFS over the years and enjoyed my biweekly store walk throughout.

Today I had and an issue with some fish I had purchased that were labeled one thing but turned out to be another. All I wanted was to exchange them for the correct species I originally paid for. I asked to speak with the manager and I tried to explain the situation and SOB manager cut me off mid sentence, and told me what I got is what I paid for he labels the tanks he doesn’t make mistakes.... That really caught me off guard because I couldn’t understand where his hostility was coming from. I stopped and asked “excuses me are you the manager? This behavior is uncalled I said nothing to trigger this kind of response.

I told the man I was a dedicated customer for years even been on a few store spends with my local cichlid club (CCA). I would like to see what could be done about this this mix up. I was told they don’t make mistakes he is the only person who makes the tank tags and I will be treated like any other trade in, they will give me store credit for 1/3 of the cost of the fish.

I didn’t want to pay any extra for the fish when it wasn’t my mistake but I understand policy is policy and could have done just that. However it’s the way this man said it so rudely yelling at me with an uncalled for aggression, constantly interrupting me, and the conviction of judgment without even entertaining any visual evidence to back up my claims! That’s not good customer service at all.... I just spent $400 the yesterday and have spent more then that over all the years. He told me if I want him to take back my fish I got to stop saying I bought something that wasn’t labeled correctly! I was done after that point.

I would bet my life savings if this store a manger just looked at the pictures I took or let me bring the fish up for comparison because there is night and day difference in what I paid for to what I got. He would have been 100% undoubtedly apologetic and had fixed the problem HIMSELF for a dedicated customer.

But oh no... they have perfect staff lead by a mistake free manager “they don’t make mistakes”!! Attached is a pic of my $400 receipt for purchase of live fish as proof that I am or was a dedicated customer to back up my accusations on this poorly dealt with situation.

I will not go for this type of treatment from any business let alone from one I help support! I will never return to this store again for this behavior and it’s a shame this man could care less about losing my business or even hearing me out to see if there was a possibility a mistake happened. Because everyone knows...

The customer service I received from the staff (Graceyn specifically), is the main reason why I am giving this store 5 stars as this was one of the best customer service experiences I have ever had. This place has a great variety of fish. I felt I wanted half the store. It was hard to make up my mind on which fish I wanted. The store was nice, clean, some what organized (even though you cant tell at first) between the fresh water fish, pond fish, and salt water fish. It was here that I realized that there are so many people into fish and aquariums as I have been here many times shopping and every single time I come it is ALWAYS crowded and I feel you have to wait in line for staff to help you. I was ok with that because this was my first time having an aquarium and I didn't know anything about what fish to get and because of the overwhelming amount of options, I knew I would need help with everything, which brings me back to the customer service I experienced. The young lady Graceyn that assisted us, not only was extremely knowledgeable, but brought great energy and welcomed our multiple questions and concerns and even offered advice when we were having indecisive moments which I truly appreciated. She wrote down everything we needed to know and wrote down the fish we wanted in the future. Since then, I have been back a few more times and between Graceyn and other staff members, I have continued to experience the same great customer service. Im not sure if its a result of COVID or if its always been this way, but again, this store seems to always be very busy even on the week days. They seem to be doing the best they can to keep everything clean and within covid standards. They do go around making sure everyone has a mask on and face fully covered or they will direct you to cover immediately. Overall, I love this store but most of all the customer...