Fun New West Marine Policy

[BandB]

Wifey B: And so do men. Put them in a hardware store or in a car toys store and they will spend an hour and leave with nothing. Come into a hardware store and they might find the screws they were looking for but they'll keep looking around and come back next time and buy the EGO mower. Oh and grills. They love to window shop the grills section as well as if you have fire pits. Now I'm thinking much of WM's target audience is families and there you have four window shoppers sometimes.

Oh and phone stores, definitely big time window shopping the latest new phones.

I do not window shop. I got to buy, buy, buy, and buy.

And I'll add....electronics. Someone mentioned above the higher prices and less discounting and if WM had a really super electronics area it would definitely get window shoppers. That section does in Best Buy.

 

[CaptTom]

...In my case the programming of the survey was more interested in watersports (towable tubes, coolers, etc.) and not general boat parts or maintenance items. It's hard to tell how they narrowed that down or why they were so interested in that. One could guess more of a push to these items, SUP's etc. This would be a mistake in my estimation as there are many better online places to shop for these, Overton's, Cabelas comes to mind.

This is one reason I often ignore surveys; they don't ask the questions I'd like to answer. Instead I get:

"Is the store bright and cheery?" "Were you excited by the new fashions?" "Were the aisles wide enough?" "Did an associate greet you with a smile at the door?" "Did you like the music over the sound system?"

OK, I haven't had that last one...yet. But I'm rarely asked "did you get what you came for?" or "Do we carry the items you need?" or "Were our prices and quality a good value to you?"

Obviously I'm not the target demographic. If you shop at a store because you like the color schemes on the SUP's on display, you're probably the one WM is after.

 

[twistedtree]

I think a lot comes down to what WM wants to be. They originally were a marine supply store. I think people decide to go to a store like that, and don't happen to see it and decide to go in. It's like an auto parts store. Location needs to be convenient, but I don't think it needs to capture walk-by traffic.


If, on the other hand, WM wants to be a "water lifestyle store" as envisioned by one of the past CEO's, I think it's totally different. Walk-by traffic I think it very important, just like all the other trinket and adornment stores in malls etc.

 

[MVDarlin]

I have found good service from Seaflo products at Amazon. Many common pumps to replace Sureflo at 1/2 the cost.

 

[jflongwell]

I bought an inflatable from them and it developed a leak. My warranty claim was ONE day after delivery and they did not honor it.
Never going there again.

 

[BandB]

I bought an inflatable from them and it developed a leak. My warranty claim was ONE day after delivery and they did not honor it.
Never going there again.

Would you elaborate a little? What brand inflatable? What did they say to you when you returned to the store with it? Did you contact the manufacturer? What did they say? What ultimately happened?

 

[jflongwell]

It was a West Marine brand (from China).
Model 310, aluminum structure (should have got fiberglass like my neighbor). Ordered it online.
One morning, I noticed a lot of water in it after sitting in the lake. Hauled out and on the trailer filled it with water then noticed water dripping out.
Contacted local store (no help), then on line.
They had all the ordering information and after a while was told to send pictures.
About a month later, they denied the claim as I was one day late for the one year replacement when filing the claim.
Using flex seal clear now.

 

[BandB]

It was a West Marine brand (from China).
Model 310, aluminum structure (should have got fiberglass like my neighbor). Ordered it online.
One morning, I noticed a lot of water in it after sitting in the lake. Hauled out and on the trailer filled it with water then noticed water dripping out.
Contacted local store (no help), then on line.
They had all the ordering information and after a while was told to send pictures.
About a month later, they denied the claim as I was one day late for the one year replacement when filing the claim.
Using flex seal clear now.

Then why did you claim in your other post that your claim was ONE day after delivery?

 

[jflongwell]

Typo, got to read my messages better.

 

[Steamguy]

problem fixed

Last week (actually five days ago) I bought a replacement bilge pump at the West Anacortes store. Hooked it to temporary 12v source and pressed the test; ran fine. Installed, it buzzed but pumped no water. Impeller rotated freely on the drive shaft...or vice versa.

So I returned it to the Tacoma store today and they made the refund very grudgingly. I was advised that they no longer give ANY warranty for any product they sell.

"This policy is clearly stated on our website."

AlaskaProf, I had the exact same problem with a bilge pump I bought at West Marine in Seattle. Same as you, I took it back. The salesman told me how to fix the problem of it not pumping. I did what he said and Voila! IT WORKED. This is what he said (me paraphrasing):



"Rule pumps have always had a problem they don't mention in the installation sheet. Reinstall your pump and attach the exit hose but don't push onto the tube seated all the way. Leave a slight gap. In this gap, on top of the tube, drill a 1/16 inch hole. This allows the air trapped in there to expel when it starts, and the pump will then prime. You'll get a little jet of water out of that hole but, so what?"



Ryan

 

[jmwatch]

It’s to remember that as others have also said here, West Marine is just the middle man. And when customers demand lower and lower prices, a distributor like West Marine must seek the cheapest alternatives. Meaning Chinese.
Quality is notoriously low, on most imported Chinese items. In my business, I try to avoid Chinese products as much as possible, but that also often means sending some customers away empty handed.

We inspect/test items before they leave the store. Because we’re unable to warranty any electric pieces, especially those imported from China. We also can’t warranty any “self installs”. The reason is because SO many people have no clue what they’re doing and burn items out in process of “trying to wire it correctly”.
With such a tiny profit margin, there’s no possible way we could warranty them when people are burning them out, then claiming “it didn’t work when I hooked it up”. Not implying anything about OP, but this is an extremely common scenario with electric items. So, we test Chinese products before we sell.

If they don’t do already, West Marine should offer a top quality alternative, as well as the inexpensive Chinese brand. And clearly tell their customers the difference in warranty/return policies.

 

[AlaskaProf]

AlaskaProf, I had the exact same problem with a bilge pump I bought at West Marine in Seattle. Same as you, I took it back. The salesman told me how to fix the problem of it not pumping. I did what he said and Voila! IT WORKED. This is what he said (me paraphrasing):



"Rule pumps have always had a problem they don't mention in the installation sheet. Reinstall your pump and attach the exit hose but don't push onto the tube seated all the way. Leave a slight gap. In this gap, on top of the tube, drill a 1/16 inch hole. This allows the air trapped in there to expel when it starts, and the pump will then prime. You'll get a little jet of water out of that hole but, so what?"



Ryan

Fascinating! But too late, bought a different brand from a different vendor. Works just fine.

'prof

 

[IWAB]

West Marine

Is everyone who has commented about West Marine in this thread considering their supply department known as Port Supply? I understand that Port Supply is part of West Marine, and I wonder if the difficulties experienced at one of their retail stores includes their distribution department.

I have frequently referred to “Worst Marine” because of their high pricing and poor attitude of some of their employees. I will be sad to see West Marine, as all are predicting, see West go. While they have their difficulties, at least it It is a brick and mortar store where we can usually find or order something marine that we need.

Where I have my boat, there is only one other chandlery, and they get most of their inventory from Port Supply. I will be sad to see West go, and hope they will be able to pull up their operations so we we as the boating public will have a place to go to buy that much needed product.

 

[GeorgiaSeafarer]

I have never seen a west employee with a bad attitude. What bothers me is they are turning into "West Fishing Emporium". Around here they have turned the entire front of the store into rods/reals/fishing tackle. Only one of the 5 stores that I've been into recently had any dinghies or outboard motors. The chart/book section is nonexistent and the boat hardware section is half the size it was previously.

It seems that the cruising boater is being forgotten. Probably because of a spreadsheet of what sells. They seem to be following the Harley Davidson business model. Ever wonder why there are more HD clothing/trinket shops than stocking motorcycle dealerships?

 

[FF]

"Ever wonder why there are more HD clothing/trinket shops than stocking motorcycle dealerships?"


Its easier to drag a trinket home than pull a Hog up into a pickup truck?

 

[Hippocampus]

Used to go to the local chandlery and ask “what do I need and how do I use it to fix…….?” Would get an education and critique of available ways and parts to do a job. Loved going to the chandlery. Often would run into friends there so it was a social occasion as well. Had choices but that chandlery was my favorite. That chandlery closed. Our local lobster and ground fish industries have contracted. Fewer people work on their own boats so the economics are gone. We had 4 chandleries in our town. Now we have none. Just a small WM miles from the ocean and a small store at the local marina which is a disaster since Safe Harbor bought it.
Started to use WM and was fortunate to honestly have access to their commercial account mechanism. Huge difference in price . Still, all in all really hope WM survives. Brick and mortar chandleries are disappearing. I think that’s tragic and a real PIA when you’re halfway through a job. I’ve lived with Island Water Works and Budget Marine. In comparison the big regional WMs aren’t that bad at all. The real enemy here is the success of the venture capital model of doing business. In boating it’s the same with Safe Harbors or WM. Mom and pop marinas or chandleries were a passion. A chain be it an Olive Garden versus a Italian restaurant owned by a family or a Home Depo versus a family owned hardware store it’s the same dynamic. In the past you walked into a restaurant, hardware, chandlery or whatever and they knew your name. Haven’t had that happen in any chain store.

 

[BandB]

Is everyone who has commented about West Marine in this thread considering their supply department known as Port Supply? I understand that Port Supply is part of West Marine, and I wonder if the difficulties experienced at one of their retail stores includes their distribution department.

I have frequently referred to “Worst Marine” because of their high pricing and poor attitude of some of their employees. I will be sad to see West Marine, as all are predicting, see West go. While they have their difficulties, at least it It is a brick and mortar store where we can usually find or order something marine that we need.

Where I have my boat, there is only one other chandlery, and they get most of their inventory from Port Supply. I will be sad to see West go, and hope they will be able to pull up their operations so we we as the boating public will have a place to go to buy that much needed product.

West Marine even eliminated the name of Port Supply and turned it into West Marine Pro. However, the service is just as bad and the discounts have decreased to many customers. They tried to combine the two entities and no longer does West Marine Pro or Port Supply compare to other wholesalers.