williamsrx
New Member
I know that I have learned a lot from this forum, so here's my experience to share:
Yesterday I purchased a 2.5 month old Sambava from Tom Kilgour of Kilgour's Chameleons. Tom did everything right - dropped the chameleon off late (8pm), shipped FedEx priority overnight, packed him with 2 heat packs, insulated container, etc. I had his cage all ready, light on, etc this morning, and opened the box to find a dead chameleon in a warm box. Needless to say I was horrified and called Tom immediately. We talked about it, and I described the condition of the box, which had nothing out of the ordinary about it, so the only thing we both think might have happened is that someone threw the box or otherwise improperly handled it during the 13 hours it was not in one of our hands. The box only had to go from Ohio to Indiana, so I don't even think it went on a plane.
Here's where the story gets better (for me anyway). Tom immediately let me know that he had one more baby from this clutch, but he was a bit older and bigger, and I am sure he was the one he was holding back as the pick of the clutch. He offered that one to me with no hesitation, which I believe really shows the outstanding character of this well respected chameleon breeder. I did not expect him to do that at all, but I'm truly grateful that he did that. In addition, he was willing to meet me halfway with the new little guy so we wouldn't have to chance a second shipment.
I know this was not easy for him to do, as this guy looks fantastic and will certainly be a great cham, yet he was willing to sell him to a customer to make a difficult situation better, even though there was absolutely nothing he did wrong.
I share this for two reasons: One, to let folks know that even with attention to every detail, tragedy does still happen unfortunately, and two, that Kilgour's Chameleons is absolutely a top notch, customer oriented breeder that is willing to give up his own breedstock to make things right with a customer who he could have just given the money back to.
Thanks Tom for your unselfish attitude - you have a customer for life and an instant recommendation for anyone else looking to buy a Panther.
Disclaimer -Tom did not know I was going to say this and I have received no monetary compensation for this endorsement...lol
Chris Williams
Yesterday I purchased a 2.5 month old Sambava from Tom Kilgour of Kilgour's Chameleons. Tom did everything right - dropped the chameleon off late (8pm), shipped FedEx priority overnight, packed him with 2 heat packs, insulated container, etc. I had his cage all ready, light on, etc this morning, and opened the box to find a dead chameleon in a warm box. Needless to say I was horrified and called Tom immediately. We talked about it, and I described the condition of the box, which had nothing out of the ordinary about it, so the only thing we both think might have happened is that someone threw the box or otherwise improperly handled it during the 13 hours it was not in one of our hands. The box only had to go from Ohio to Indiana, so I don't even think it went on a plane.
Here's where the story gets better (for me anyway). Tom immediately let me know that he had one more baby from this clutch, but he was a bit older and bigger, and I am sure he was the one he was holding back as the pick of the clutch. He offered that one to me with no hesitation, which I believe really shows the outstanding character of this well respected chameleon breeder. I did not expect him to do that at all, but I'm truly grateful that he did that. In addition, he was willing to meet me halfway with the new little guy so we wouldn't have to chance a second shipment.
I know this was not easy for him to do, as this guy looks fantastic and will certainly be a great cham, yet he was willing to sell him to a customer to make a difficult situation better, even though there was absolutely nothing he did wrong.
I share this for two reasons: One, to let folks know that even with attention to every detail, tragedy does still happen unfortunately, and two, that Kilgour's Chameleons is absolutely a top notch, customer oriented breeder that is willing to give up his own breedstock to make things right with a customer who he could have just given the money back to.
Thanks Tom for your unselfish attitude - you have a customer for life and an instant recommendation for anyone else looking to buy a Panther.
Disclaimer -Tom did not know I was going to say this and I have received no monetary compensation for this endorsement...lol
Chris Williams