WEST MARINE......Disappoints yet AGAIN! They're batting 1000!

RichardS

RichardS

New Member
Nov 15, 2015
173
South Jersey
Boat Info
2009 Sea Ray 270 SLX
Engines
Merc 496 375HP, Bravo III
Hey, if you guys are anything like me, you know what B.O.A.T. stands for, so whenever there's a chance to SAVE a few $$$, you take advantage of it, right??

In the last few weeks, not once, not twice, but EIGHT TIMES, I have placed an order with West Marine for an item tagged "Limited Availability" and succeeded in getting it in my cart and completed the purchase, only to get a call a couple days later from a rep advising me that "the order has been canceled" because the item is out of stock and not being replenished.

OK.....I get that someone got lucky, and it wasn't me.

BUT.....

HERE is what takes me from "disappointment" to "ANGER!"........

A few days or a week after my order is canceled, because they have none to give me and they aren't getting anymore, and the item has been removed from the website.........

SUDDENLY THE ITEM IS BACK ON-LINE, and CAN BE ORDERED!

BUT......"Limited Availability" again........I order again, and AGAIN that phone call comes to cancel my order!

Why was it back on-line??

PICK YOUR ANSWER: (These are the explanations I received when I called)

1. We WERE out, but they must have found some more. So we put it back up and sold them.
2. Our system isn't the greatest......it shouldn't have been put back up.....I don't know why that happened.
3. That was an item in stock in one of the stores that they say is (pick one of these) A. Missing parts, B. Scratched, C. "Can't be sold" (MY personal favorite)

Guys, I am NOT talking about little orange balls on clearance (many of you will know this story....some of you even got some! I never got any. Of course! LOL!)

These were GREAT deals on GREAT items, like a Garmin 7212 for $1499, a Garmin 4210 for $1049, and a Raymarine c95 for $749, and a Raymarine a67 for $349. And those are just a few examples.

I mean COME ON!!! How do you allow an item to stay up on-line when you're out of stock, not for hours, which I MIGHT understand, but for DAYS? And then take it down, and then put it BACK UP, after telling previous buyers "sorry", and then sell it to someone else instead of the back-ordered customers you chose to cancel?

Is THAT any way to run a company??

Here's another thing that contributed to me not getting the item........apparently they put electronics orders "on hold" until the order is verified, or at least that's what they told me yesterday, when they called me to be "confirm" that I "really wanted" the items I had ordered!! That call was several hours after I had placed the order, but the order didn't actually get placed until that call was made and that person"released" my order.....potentially, by her own admission, after many folks who ordered AFTER I did got their orders released and entered into the system by other West Marine employees.

Guys.....I can't "make this stuff up"!!

I have "Gold Member" status with West Marine, which I don't actually believe means anything, although they want me to believe it does.

I have spent, and I can prove this to anyone who doubts me, over $50,000 in the last three years alone with West Marine. And NEVER RETURNED A SINGLE ITEM! When I owned the 42 footer, I did a complete "makeover" in the boat, including, just in electronics, a state of the art (at the time) Nav system with a Garmin 7215 at it's heart, coupled with new radar, digital sounder, autopilot, weather, entertainment system, etc, etc, etc. The boat needed a whole NMEA 2000 system installed to run everything, since it had primitive electronics when I got the boat, and every piece came from WM. I also bought a TON of other "stuff", and it added up FAST, as you guys are aware these things do.

So now I have a small bowrider, and want to buy a clearance chartplotter (I don't want to spend the kind of money I did before for electronics for this boat......I just don't think it's necessary. The other boat was a "live-aboard" for us when we went to the marina, and when we traveled with it, so I thought I needed the newest and best of everything. This is a day boat.....a screen big enough for my tired old eyes to read is good enough for me, with maps that are somewhat accurate.

I just don't think it's fair to have a system in place sure to disappoint people. I know I can't possibly be the only guy getting frustrated by this.....thinking a GREAT deal is on it's way only to find out (time and time and time again) that it's NOT coming after all.

OK.....I'm done venting.....but have any of you guys had similar experiences?
 
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One time I ordered some little orange balls from them and when I got them they were really dirty. Come on West... At least dust them off...

Sorry. Hope you see the humor. :smt043
 
I stopped using the West Marine local store 3-4 years ago because the people who worked there didn't know the products and seemed to prefer texting their buddies to helping customers or taking my money when I finally found what I needed.

Then, I ordered 2 items marked "limited availability" on April 30 from West Marine online. They charged my credit card for the items, shipping and tax on May 1.
Today….May 9 (!) I get an email telling me the item is no longer in stock and they won't be getting any more.

I had sworn off buying anything from West a couple of years ago but was lured by the low price on a product I didn't really need but would like to have.

I am done with West Marine and the idiots that work there………..there are far too many excellent online vendors that really appreciate our business to mess with one who does not.
 
I can find almost anything I need on ebay, and I get far better service and protection buying online. Ive not gone to West in 10 years.
 
Gold Member Status with WM is like having season tickets to Chernobyl. I too hope you can see the humor.

Like Frank, I find the sales folks are mostly idiots.
 
I got a call my orange balls were in while I was on vacation. I spoke to the clerk and explained I would be in to get them may 3rd. Went to the store and they told me they only hold them a week and that they were sold to someone else! They are terrible!

I have had good success with wholesale Marine. I won't bother with WM anymore. If I need it immediately I'd rather pay a premium at Prince William Marine and get good service.
 
THe store here is a little snobby as well. I've gone in on work days in dirty T-shirts, stained shorts and oil soaked boat shoes and have been treated like a homeless guy. The local joke is that you have to shower and wear a new golf shirt to get service there.
 
dpmulvey said:
Gold Member Status with WM is like having season tickets to Chernobyl. I too hope you can see the humor.

Like Frank, I find the sales folks are mostly idiots.
Click to expand...


WELL SAID! (Season tickets.....LOL!)

"Gold" my eye. I've seen poor customer service but West Marine makes it a new art form. They just don't care, plain and simple. But it's worse than the dummies in the stores, and it's worse than the dummies on the phone, and it's worse than their dumb systems.

There is a systemic failure going on at West Marine that is filtering down from their "Ivory Tower", down through the ranks, from the systems analysts and sysops who run the on-line side to the District Managers who oversee the stores in their areas. There's a reason that no matter what store you go in you have the same poor experience.....a reason no matter what person answers the customer service phone for on-line calls you deal with a person who does nothing to resolve an issue. It's a poison that has filtered down, and I have seen this before in retailers who are now no longer in business. Once the people in charge don't care any more, and that lack of concern moves through the chain, it isn't long before the company dies.
 
fwebster said:
THe store here is a little snobby as well. I've gone in on work days in dirty T-shirts, stained shorts and oil soaked boat shoes and have been treated like a homeless guy. The local joke is that you have to shower and wear a new golf shirt to get service there.
Click to expand...

Not for nothing but the chicks in the Crystal River store near me are HOT! But then so are the prices. naaah still not for me.
 
I always hate to hear the reputation of WM because our local store actually has phenomenal service and excellent staff who have been there for close to 20yrs. They've helped me with countless projects and even call me personally when they have a sale on something they know I've been looking at. But I think they might also be the smallest store by square footage in the whole country, so it's a pretty personal Cheers-like store. Sorry to hear everyone else hates them!
 
I used to go to West quite often when they would price match for the more expensive stuff. Now I only go when I need something now and it's not an expensive item.
 
It must be an east coast thing that the WM stores don't give good customer service. Our nearest store is in Seattle (3.5 hours away) so I do some ordering online from them and have called them on occasion and gotten good results.

For most things, the first place I look is Defender. The second place is Amazon. Between those two I usually get what I want and with Amazon I have it in a day or two.

OH, and my orange balls were clean and shiny!
 
I'm with GFC on this one. Our Seattle West Marine is only 5 minutes from our marina so I buy a lot from
them. The store is fairly new, large and well stocked. I don't order from them online (I use Amazon for almost all online purchases) but I did order a Raymarine Dragonfly from them. The service was a bit poor (communications, messages not returned) but it arrived one week early. My first choice for local marine supplies is Fisheries Supply - I think the selection is better and West Marine tends to stock WM branded items; Fisheries has a broader selection.
 
WM in our town is small, although it has decent service, I'm always stunned by their prices. I've got a smaller boat so I don't need a lot of the specialized gear you cruiser owners need, but 90%+ of anything I can think of that I know WM has, Amazon or even Walmart (online) has, for considerably lower prices. The only time I buy from WM is if it's a small item or it's a "have to have it today" impulse buy.
 
blaster said:
I got a call my orange balls were in while I was on vacation. I spoke to the clerk and explained I would be in to get them may 3rd. Went to the store and they told me they only hold them a week and that they were sold to someone else! They are terrible!

I have had good success with wholesale Marine. I won't bother with WM anymore. If I need it immediately I'd rather pay a premium at Prince William Marine and get good service.
Click to expand...
Yeah I'm starting to get into that phase as well. Also Mary (at pwm) will let me haggle a little on some items.
 
To me, the utility of West Marine is akin to a clinic offering the morning after pill -- it's something you need/want right now, and you don't care what they're charging.

If I have time on my side, I scour the internet for much better prices and service, but WM built a beautiful new store here in Chicago that's a 15 minute drive from my harbor. So when I drop my Magma grill valve into the drink on Saturday morning, and it's sunny and 85 and I have a whole bunch of friends coming out that day, and I don't feel like waiting for Amazon Prime to bring it 2 days later, I drive to WM and knowingly get ripped off.
 
I personally have not had any issues with WM other than with the high prices.
We have no marine stores up here on the North end of the Mid-West so everything I do is on-line.
5 years ago plenty came from WM but they stopped the price match and so did most of my purchases.
On the good side, their catalog makes for a great reference before shopping items on-line. :thumbsup:
 
Love this thread. I was burned 2 times by WM. Moved to Defender and its been a total pleasure. Many purchases over the past 3 years and not one single snag.


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