West Marine Getting Worse

[Rayallyn]

The boaters around here refer to West Marine as Tiffany's. There are several other marine stores I use or if I have the time order online. I also find that the advice from West Marine employees is pretty sad. There is one guy working in the local WM that I refer to "Mr. You Can't Do That" He has very little knowledge and tries to sell everyone something more expensive and complicated than needed

[Dulcesuenos]

Everyone complains and moans. Try owning a successful retail store in todays internet environment. Don't like shopping a particular place heres a solution for you, don't go there!!! Have fun with internet orders that are wrong or when you have to ship something back cause it leaks after a 4 hour install job, and now you got to wait wait wait, yeah i could save 20% driving to another local store where they may not have it or forget to order and between driving and waiting id rather pay a little more knowing they have 3 more in stock in case theres a problem. This by the way is the cost of convenience and service. And a store handing you a new item in exchange for your broken item (regardless of how it got there) and asking if u want the in store warranty vs ship it and wait to maybe hear its not covered, is well worth it unless you have unlimited time and patience.

[kthoennes]

You know every time these debates break out about West Marine the WM supporters raise that same point - it's convenient, you walk in and get what you need, no waiting for mail order, bricks and mortar stores are expensive to run, internet competition is rough, etc. Here's a concept - how about offering good service at physical stores? I don't get that line of defense of WM at all - as if tough competition from mail order competitors and operating physical retail stores justifies WM's outrageous pricing and poor customer service and terrible product support.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

I've had only excellent experiences with West Marine, and will highly recommend them to anyone. They usually have what I want, or they can get it within a couple of days.

On this at least, we agree.

Originally Posted by Kenomac

It sounds to me like the OP got what he wanted... then he turns around and bashes WM on this forum over a relatively inexpensive item. Not cool.

Haters gonna hate.

[Custom30]

The OP did not get what he paid for, without a fight.

He paid for a pump that would work or be warranted for 3 years.

He was given another pump that worked, but the warranty he paid for was taken away, no fault of his.


To say he got what he wanted, and is "hating" is ridiculous.


There are 2 WM stores in my area, and neither of them have ever had what I was looking for, and I can always get it before they can. The local marine store often does, and they will match anyone's price. No brainer.

My boat US discount doesn't even come close to making their prices competitive.

No hate here, all facts. Soon we will be saying....remember west marine......




'

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Custom30

Soon we will be saying....remember west marine......

Yeah, you're right. They've only been around for 45 years.

[SVNeko]

This is a real-world failure of our legal system and crony government. What, you say, has this to do with WM? When WM bought BoatUS, it was a consolidation of the #1 and #2 chandleries in the US. Opponents said it would lead to decreased competition, higher prices and poorer customer service. Antitrust laws are designed to prevent mergers that would result in this. WM argued that the little mom n pop stores and internet stores were competition enough to keep them in check, and for added insurance doled out some $$ to lobbyists. They got their way, bought BoatUS and now we are seeing the effects. The mom n pop stores are going by the wayside and the internet suppliers can't compete on the need-to-have-it-real-soon things.

[David M]

What I DO like about West Marine is that I can usually find what I need the same day and if they don't have it I can have it in the store the next morning from their main warehouse.

What I find annoying are employees who think they know far more about boats than I do and start feeding me less than good advice. I know they are trying to be helpful but it makes you wonder how much questionable advice they have given to people who are less than knowledgeable about boats.

After you have been in West Marine probably at least a thousand times like I have you learn who the most knowledgeable employees are. I credit Mike in the Sausalito store for being by far the most knowledgeable West Marine employee I have ever met. Hey Watsonville, give the man a pay raise!

I am surprised that their extended warranty only applies once to the original item purchased. That is such nonsense. A warranty that only applies the first time the same item breaks?

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by SVNeko

This is a real-world failure of our legal system and crony government... and now we are seeing the effects. The mom n pop stores are going by the wayside and the internet suppliers can't compete on the need-to-have-it-real-soon things.

Malarkey. The internet suppliers can compete just fine and I got news for you- the mom-and-pop chandleries were dying long before West Marine bought up Boat US.

[HopCar]

This is not a comment on WM but on paying extra for extended warranties. In the situation that the OP describes the retailer sold the OP a pump at $13 above retail.
When it failed during the original warranty period they handed him a new pump and voided the rest of his extended warranty.

Giving him the new pump didn't cost WM anything. Rule has a very liberal warranty and they will just replace it for the retailer at no cost. In other words the retailer made an extra $13 profit and the OP got nothing in value for that $13. I never buy extended warranties and I believe I'm way ahead of the game.

Wait a minute! What the hell am I thinking. I need to start selling extended warranties in my store! No I just can't do that to my customers.

[David M]

Statistically, you are way ahead by not purchasing an extended warranty. Retailers are not offering you a favor with these.

The reason they are pushed so hard is that extended warranties have an enormous profit margin for retailers. If the cost of an extended warranty was closer to the cost of the statistical probability of an item needing to be returned and the time cost of money, then it would be a fair deal. It's all about probabilities and the odds favor the retailer by a huge margin.

Hop...thanks for not pushing that crap on your customers.

[Kenomac]

I really don't know what all the West Marine bashers are talking about when they complain about poor service. I've never had any trouble returning anything.

High prices you say? Also, not something I've found at WM. Last summer I paid $55 for a single Maxprop anode in Guernsey, UK; three days ago at West Marine, the exact same anode cost $14, so I purchased three of them.

[Lake-Effect]

Here in Toronto, there are several excellent chandleries to deal with, so we're spoilt for choice. At least here, the West Marine store is pretty good. I've had good, no-BS advice from most of their sales people, and if they didn't know, they undertook to find out if I was interested. So - not much to complain about.

I do think that sort of "extended warranty" is BS though. Most of us have the impression that we are buying coverage (ie insurance) for the entire term of the EW. I guess their lawyers/accountants are driving that new policy. I can see that they would want to be protected from the idiot who buys an under-spec'ed part and keeps marching it back when it prematurely fails.

[SVNeko]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Malarkey. The internet suppliers can compete just fine and I got news for you- the mom-and-pop chandleries were dying long before West Marine bought up Boat US.

And your proof for all this is....

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by HopCar

This is not a comment on WM but on paying extra for extended warranties. In the situation that the OP describes the retailer sold the OP a pump at $13 above retail.
When it failed during the original warranty period they handed him a new pump and voided the rest of his extended warranty.

Giving him the new pump didn't cost WM anything. Rule has a very liberal warranty and they will just replace it for the retailer at no cost. In other words the retailer made an extra $13 profit and the OP got nothing in value for that $13. I never buy extended warranties and I believe I'm way ahead of the game.

Wait a minute! What the hell am I thinking. I need to start selling extended warranties in my store! No I just can't do that to my customers.

As a practical matter, I suspect that west marine would have honored the original extended warranty with the replacement pump and still might should it be needed. A few years ago I had some difficulty with some Sony--all weather--speakers shortly after they went out of warranty. I purchased matching replacements and the extended warranty for a few dollars. Three years later, just before the extended warranty would have expired, I returned the second set which then also needed replacement. I presented my warranty form but not the actual purchase receipt and the clerk cheerfully handed me a replacement pair without even looking at the pair I returned, which were pitched in the trash. He made no effort to confirm that I had returned the second pair I had purchased, whether that is required by store policy or not. Perhaps the OP should have simply not gotten into a debate with the store clerk who is merely following the stores operating policy of offering the extended warranty when a new item goes out the door, no?