Ocean Gallery — Local services in North Plainfield

UPDATE: Owner responded below. This sort of response attitude is part the reason I feared of addressing at the store. Let me respond to them. It's great that you will handwrite detailed receipts instead of your total-spent-only register printed receipt IF the customer asks for it like you claim. That seems burdensome for customers and employees alike, to wait for handwritten receipt listing different breeds of fish, price of each, brand of gravel, filters, etc. More room for employee error. Petco, Walmart, pharmacies, restaurants, and practically every other business provide detailed receipts. I understand livestock is not guaranteed, but that's not a reason for not providing detailed receipt. The big pet stores and practically all other local pet stores have livestock and their animals are all listed in the computer. No longer carrying a fish or other pet product? No need to select it on the computer. Yes, practically everything I saw at your store has prices. That is not the issue outlined in this review. Overcharging is the issue, and that the customer cannot see where the money went on your total-only-receipts is the other. Don't find it odd that I trusted your store by returning. First time I noticed a few days later while jotting down expenses. Second time I did quick mental math at the store. 3rd time I confirmed using calculator at the store. Start using new technology with detailed receipts!

TL/DR: Well-stocked store with cared-after livestock, but seemingly love to overcharge you via their plain vanilla receipts.

Throughout the 90s to the mid-2000s, I frequented this place intermittently. However, over the past 1.5 years, my visits have become more frequent due to my close proximity to the store. It boasts an impressive array of popular aquarium products, including a diverse selection of healthy fish and well-cared-for aquarium plants. Nevertheless, I have encountered an unsettling pattern regarding the pricing practices at the register.

On multiple occasions, I have observed discrepancies between the prices I expect to pay based on the items purchased and the amounts reflected on the receipts. These disparities lead me to suspect intentional overcharging, rather than mere oversight. One such instance involved the purchase of four black mollies priced at $7 each, totaling $28 plus tax. However, the receipt from Ocean Gallery indicated a charge exceeding $39.

Subsequent purchases further cemented my concerns. Despite acquiring a few neons, 2 Seachem products, and a single bacopa plant, I was surprised to find my total nearing $70, when quick mental math told me the items were about $52. When questioned, the cashier affirmed the accuracy of the amount, leaving me uneasy but ultimately silent. Recently, I did a small purchase of 2 fresh water shrimp and 3 assassin snails. I took great care in noting the prices on the tank. To be sure, I asked if the prices were correct by the employee bagging my new live buddies. Did the math via calculator. Yet again, overcharged by $8+. Thank them and left.

The issue is compounded by the store's outdated method of manually inputting prices into the register, resulting in receipts that lack itemized details. You simply receive a receipt depicting only the total sale. Without a breakdown of the items purchased and their individual costs, it becomes challenging to pinpoint instances of overcharging.

Despite my desire to support local businesses, I have opted to source my aquarium supplies online to avoid further encounters with this issue. If circumstances necessitate a return to the store, I plan to bring cash and purchase only one item to minimize the risk of overcharging.

While I contemplated addressing my concerns with the owner, I ultimately chose not to pursue that course of action. Instead, I hope this message serves as a gentle nudge for the establishment to reconsider its pricing practices and adopt the standard practice of providing detailed line-by-line receipts. Such transparency is commonplace in modern businesses and would alleviate customer...

Honestly, I would give this place zero stars if I could. I purchased a bearded dragon from this place last week. The reason for my one star is because of the horrendous condition that they sold me my dragon. It was communicated to me that she had been there for 10 months which puts this establishment entirely responsible for her current condition. After bringing her home and being assured that she just had a minor eye issue that was "getting better" I noticed that she wasnt very active, couldnt open her eyes, and was overall in really poor shape. I am new to dragons so I relied on the expertise of the people that should be allowed to sell them. This establishment, should not be allowed to sell animals. After spending 600 dollars in vet bills I was sent home with a diagnosis of extreme dehydration, two eye infections that are so severe that I was sent home with 40 syringes and antibiotics and steriods after also having to have her at the office get injections including a vitamin A booster since the bloodwork came back in such poor levels. Calcium deficiency, and bone issues were all a direct result of the negligence and neglect of this establishment. Shame on the owner of this establishment. Shame on the people that day in and day out watched this poor helpless bearded dragon get worse and worse and never consider paying the necessary costs to get her back the health. As a business owner you have a responsibility to make sure that these animals are well taken care of or at least have the minimally necessary treatment to make sure they are healthy. On top of all those medical issues already stated, she's also pregnant. So you choose to neglect a pregnant bearded dragon that was dying from the inside out. Her enclosure was not suitable for laying her eggs so they have been staying inside her. I have antibiotics, I have steroid injections, I have oral medications that need to be given daily along with having to get her appetite, weight, hydration, calcium and vitamin A deficiencies all under control. I spend my days worrying about her and if she will make it through. The vet said if she has stayed untreated that she would have been dead soon. From what should have been an awesome purchase and a wonderful experience, you have brought be stress, anxiety, discomfort and you should be absolutely ashamed of yourselves. I will be reaching out to the appropriate local officials to look into the medical condition of the other animals that are in your care and I will be filing a formal complaint for the abuse of animals and neglect through those appropriate authorities. You are extremely lucky that I was able to get her when I did cause she might have a fighting chance to be saved. You are also extremely lucky that I have the necessary funds to cover the absorbent costs of immediate emergency care that she needed. I will never recommend that someone shop in your location and the over 5 million viewes that follow my reviews are also aware of this situation. I have been a local guide for Google for years. I try not to ever post negative reviews because of the influence that I have, but some situations call for these measures. Ya'lll better hope she makes it...

Came to pick up feeder mice for my pet snake. Upon entering I was told by the clerk at the front desk to go to the back of the store to their exotic section and someone would help me. An employee was helping another customer and lead him out of the area when he was finished. Nobody ever came back up. I waited up there for a bit just to see if anyone was going to come back.

They didn't. While browsing the animals in their exotic area, I was shocked to see the squalid conditions these creatures were living in. Most of the tanks (the ones that had a creature inside of it - as the majority of the enclosures were empty) were filled with the remains of bad sheds, old chunks of uneaten food and feces. There were even two tanks that were WILDLY mislabeled (tank contained a monitor lizard but was labeled as a snake.)

The exotics room was stocked with little merchandise and what they did have in stock appeared to have been sitting there for some time. It was obvious that the store's primary focus is on fish with these other animals being regarded as an afterthought at best. When I determined that nobody was going to come back up, I asked at the front desk if I could please get some feeder rodents. The two gentleman seemed surprised to see me up there. A young man came to get my feeder mice and he was helpful enough. The prices for their feeder rodents were absurdly high. I would have left immediately but I was in need of food for my pets and I felt I needed to take in the conditions of this establishment and the treatment of their animals so I could pass this information on to county and state authorities which, I assure you, I will be doing as soon as I finish writing...