Garden State Koi and Aquatic Center

Price-​gouging, dishonest, sleazy.
There are two very decent employees, Kevin and Erik, but they are not management.
The house I recently purchased in Warwick has an amazing pond and decided I was very fortunate to live a 58-​second drive from Garden State Koi.
They are always willing to impart information and answer questions. I purchased 2 fish and, the prices were a little higher than elsewhere, but these seem to be healthy fish. And who wants to travel any distance w/​live creatures in your car?
The problem occurred w/​service.
I attended a «pond closing» seminar, which was conducted by Tom Sandstrom. He apparently knows his business but gives off a decidedly blue-​collar, not too swift vibe. It was apparent that this event was as much a sales pitch as an information session. So many products that we were told were essential! And they weren’t cheap.
Tom came to my house and basically said that they way my pond was constructed I couldn’t utilize any of the products except an air pump (to keep a hole in the ice so the fish had air. This made sense to me. He said I would not be charged for a service call, which is $ 99. He left and less than an hour later returned w/​the pump. He had removed it from the box, attached a tube to the end, placed the pump on the ground and put the tube in the water. That was it.
I had no idea how much the pump cost, so I googled it. Every site said $ 105. I got my bill and was charged $ 199, a 90% plus markup. I know businesses need to make a profit, but still. I was not using the pump for at least a month and could have purchased it for less elsewhere. There was also a service call charge of $ 99. I asked about this and was told that, regardless of the distance from the shop, 2 minutes or 20 miles, that was the price. As I didn’t recall asking Tom to deliver the pump (he says I did, BTW), I told him that if I had known I would be paying $ 99 to unbox something and put a tube in the water, I would have picked up the pump by driving less than one minute to get there. (I’ve paid less to deliver a refrigerator!) I also signed up when I purchased the fish for a program that gives me a 15% discount on purchases. Did you see that discount on my invoice? Neither did I. (Sleazy.)
He honestly said that it was my responsibility to ASK IF HE WOULD CHARGE TO DELIVER THE PUMP. Hold on! In the world I live in, it’s the business’ job to tell the customer that! He also insisted he «assembled the pump.» Really now? When I plugged the pump in, the tube that he «assembled» completely detached from the pump; I had to use electrical tape to get it to remain attached. Great work, pond expert!
While it may be a good idea to purchase fish from the company, AVOID getting any kind of maintenance or service jobs. They are out to take you for all they can. This is their choice, just as it is mine to shop at a more honest, fair and reputable company.