unhappy, mad and dissapointed

[bamaspiveys]

The story starts when I took my boat into the selling dealer for the 25 hour checkup, oil and filter change.

My wife picked the boat up and brought it home, when I got in from work I opened the cover up to start putting stuff back in the boat and to my surprise found a scratch just above the gunwale and the cover snaps. About 6 inches long and in a Z formation. I can post pictures.....

I immediately called the dealer and took pictures, the GM tried to deny it (typical) but I argued the point a few days later he called back and agreed to pay for the repair. I asked if I could finish the season and get it repaired over the winter. He agreed.

Now to the present day. I live 4 hours from the dealership, when I bought the boat he was the closest moomba dealer. I called to see how we were going to handle this and the GM agreed to pay for the repair at a local fiberglass shop or I could bring it down there and he would pay for my gas. Interesting turn around.

I searched around and talked to the local inboard shops and they all recommended the same repair shop. I took the boat to the fiberglass shop he estimated $400.00 to make the repair. I called the dealer from the fiberglass shop and the GM had quit, the new GM had no knowledge of the issue. Luckily I had the old GMs cell number and called him, he also recanted on his story and tried to tell me it was a dock scratch he told the new GM he never agreed to pay for the repair.

On Friday I talked to the new GM again, he had showed the pictures to his local guy and claimed they could get the repair done at their local shop for 250.00 and that my guy was taking me for a ride. (I live in a major city he is in a small town, need to factor that to be fair I guess)

On Friday the new GM agreed to pay 250.00 to my guy or pay for my gas to and from his shop and cover the repair with his guy. Then today he retracted everything and came up with the dock scratch story again. I went livid and decided I would just have to fund they whole damn thing myself. I cooled off and argured some more he finally agreed to pay me 250.00 but I am very dissapointed with the whole situation. This whole ordeal has really soured me on the moomba experience.

I needed to vent and hope SkiersChoice see this beacause I will never have anything good to say about this dealer.

If I am off base here please set me straight.

[zabooda]

I think the end result was favorable for you and the new GM was gracious in paying you when nobody supported your discussion with the old GM. The process you went through would be what 90% of the people would have to endure until you get him enough information to support what happened with the old GM plus the new GM didn't know you so he had to check your integrity. I wouldn't give up on the new guy unless you've exchanged some words. It was your word against nobody and you were convincing enough that he accepted it though maybe relunctantly.

[wakevet]

from your story it sounds like poor customer service to me. the GM should have dealt with the tech that serviced the boat to get to the truth about what happened. scratches happen, if the tech did it, he should admit it, the dealer pays to fix it, end of story. jerking you around like that is just plain poor customer service and I'll bet SkiersChoice will be looking into it. From what i've read on this site they really take service seriously because really, happy customers make you alot more money than pissed off customers! sorry to hear about your ordeal, must have been heartbreaking to see a scratch on your baby.

[volfo]

If you're in Murfreesboro, there is a new dealer in Hendersonville across the street from the Rivergate Mall up there. I think it's called Xtreme Marine. I have only used them for some very minor things, but they are very nice and seem to be trying hard to earn some business. I wouldn't hesitate to try them. They mentioned they move to Franklin soon if they can find a spot, but either way it's probably about the same for you. I'd give them a call from now on rather than hauling it all the way to Atlanta or wherever else you might have bought it. Also, I would assume that anyone that services Indmar engines, or really any inboard, should be able to take care of everything you need locally, unless it's some warranty issue.

[lanceswake]

bamaspiveys

Hey man sorry about what happened. I've been a Moomba owner myself for 3 years and I'm glad you posted what you did. Of course we've all got our proud pics & posts of our rides etc.., but I like to hear the good, bad, & the ugly. I think it's the way we look out for each other in the Moomba community. I don't live near you at all, but I would sure want to know if my local dealer were that way towards someone. I know you're bummed, but don't let this ruin your whole Moomba experience. There's always those few bad ones that try to ruin the whole bunch. Yeah if the idiot tech would have been a man and fessed up when it happend it would've avoided the whole issue. I'm definately givin my boat a good look over before I leave the lot next time I pick it up from being serviced.

[Buttafewcoe]

Yep, a walk around with the service rep would go a long way
.
B

[MasterMind3002]

This is one of those situations where you find out what a dealer is all about. Here is a guy with a $30000.00 + boat and he is asking for help with a 400.00 repair to fix something that happened at the dealership.

All I can say is the old addage really applies here: Make a customer happy and he will tell his friends. Piss him off and he will tell EVERYBODY.

I know Moomba doesn't do business this way.

By the way, I agree with Butta...........a walk around is always a good idea prior to leaving the shop.

[Psmartell]

[b]I understand your anger, here is my on the other hand story. Our 06 LSV got a dock scratch when I got off the boat at the dock to go get our tow rig. I took it in to Surfside Marine for the 25 hour service and check up and showed Service Manager the scratch to have them fix while there. Well needless to say after a month no boat yet and it's starting to get hot out here in sunny Arizona.So I call dealer and find out the old service mgr. got fired and left paper work in shambles,long story short they apologized and fixed gelcoat for free and pretty much washed the service off to!!!!! That day at the lake was a bad day from get go as my wife panicked at the dock and got in bad spot and I had to grab bow to keep from going aground big swells pick up boat slams on top of me traps me between boat and trailer as 7 people within short distance do nothing to help out. Thank goodness for my time in Navy Deep Sea dive program to help me maintain composure and survive the whole episode. Get this it all happened on our 26 th wedding anniversary. Talk about a dead quiet dinner that night at our favorite sea food restaurant.

[bamaspiveys]

Hey your new guy did the right thing for the dealership and the big picture. In my case the old guy and the new guy tried to weasle out of commitments and the tech did not step up to the plate either.

[tazz3069]

If I were you, I would notify SC about the problem. I am sure they won't be happy with that type of customer service. First, this company is representing a good product. Second, they %@!% up your boat and should take responsibility. I know, when I had a problem with my boat, I took it to my dealer (1 1/2 hrs) away, and they took care of the problem with no questions asked. That is the type of customer service that SC wants to see. I understand your dissapointment in Moomba. It is not the companies fault. It was the bonehead that ran the dealership were you purchased the boat. Sorry to here about the probem. I sure would contact SC and let them know your disapointment in the dealership you were dealing with.
Tazz

[tazz3069]

If I were you, I would notify SC about the problem. I am sure they won't be happy with that type of customer service. First, this company is representing a good product. Second, they %@!% up your boat and should take responsibility. I know, when I had a problem with my boat, I took it to my dealer (1 1/2 hrs) away, and they took care of the problem with no questions asked. That is the type of customer service that SC wants to see. I understand your dissapointment in Moomba. It is not the companies fault. It was the bonehead that ran the dealership were you purchased the boat. Sorry to here about the probem. I sure would contact SC and let them know your disapointment in the dealership you were dealing with.
Tazz

[Sled491]

It truely is a sad and frusturating story. Hope things work out for you and remember it was the dealer and tech not SC that did this to you :( :lol:

[zegm]

I question the mere fact that the service rep even questioned him at all. I cannot see someone scratching their boat and then driving all the way to the dealership to blame the dealer if it wasn't true. I feel the rep should have seen the boat was just there for service and said he was sorrow and just fixed it. I had Sears put some Michelins on my truck over a year ago, a couple of weeks ago I installed some new rear brake pads on it and to my displeasure I realized they stripped a wheel stud. I drove it back to Sears and explained that they were the last ones to take the tire off, yes 1 year ago and the service manager said "no problem leave it here and we will repair it." I felt really good because he never even questioned the issue, he was trained to treat the customer right!

[tazz3069]

zegm, Now that is customer service.

[zegm]

Ok to be honest I was surprised. I do ALL work on my cars and boats (BMW 540i and VW Jetta, Proline and MasterCraft). I mean I go to the point of jacking my cars up putting them on jackstands and then taking the tires and wheels loose down to Sears to get tires (I usually order from Tire Rack) mounted. The one time I decided to let someone else do it they stripped a wheel stud. Last year I had to have new seals put in the lower ends of my Evinrude 150s, well I have the factory manual but it states special tools so I take it to the Known "Expert" in town. He does the job at a good price but when I reintall the lower ends into the engines I can't get one of them in gear! I look in the factory manual and the shaft of supposed to be set at a certain length. I call him and he says yes he did it (but actually he asked his helper while I was waiting on the phone). Ok I drop the one lower end again and find out it was never adjusted after he rebuilt them. So the only time in 15 years I let someone work on my stuff they made mistakes. So yes I was ready to get "mean" :evil: with Sears but the guy was great! But I will still bring my tires in loose next time!

[bamaspiveys]

zegm, Now that is customer service.

Cost him 20 minutes and a wheel stud, bet he goes back next time he needs something and he tells people how great they were.
Big Picture

[JesseC]

zegm, thank you so much for posting that you take your wheels in loose to have the tires mounted. I though I was the only weird a$$ that did that. I do 99.9% of all my own work for the exact reasons you stated. Granted, there are reputable mechanics in all fields (cars, planes, boats...), but they seem hard to find. I would rather break somehting mys self and know that it was truly an accident rather than some jack a$$ with a brand new set of mack tools that thinks he's a mechanic and really doesn't know the difference between a line wrench and a crescent wrench.....ok, I need to stop now.....stepping off of soap box.

[zegm]

And here I thought I was the only one!!! :D
I started working on my stuff in high school after I had a couple of bad problems with repair shops. But the second issue about this is money! I love my toys but I cannot afford to pay a BMW dealer 120 bucks an hour! Or the Proline dealer something like 70 dollars an hour. And I make the decisions of what is broken or needs to be fixed or repaired. So I feel good about what I do and know it was done the way I want it done. But best of all it allows me to have MORE Toys!!! Especially now that I have 2 youngs ones I have to share them with!!!

[tazz3069]

I agree with Jesse. I do all my own work. I am an electrical contractor here in Las vegas. You should see the work that is being done out here. I just do not mean contracting. Even people that work at McDonalds have bad attitudes. I just want a hamburger, fries, and a coke. I also like doing my own work on my vehicles (Quads, dirt bike, motorhame, boat, and house. I feel better about it. I know that what I did will work and not worry about someone elses mistake. It hard to find good working people these days. It seems that the world has gotten lazy. OK I need to stop. this post can go on for days.
LOL Tazz

[kaneboats]

Ordered the tires for the Mustang from tire rack. Mounted them and balanced them myself though. My brother takes his in to walmart and let them mount and balance. I don't like letting people that don't care touch my stuff. I hate overpaying for simple fixes too. On Sun my neighbor had the hood open on his Ranger pickup. He said a dealer told him $680 to replace his coil pack and 2 1/2 hrs with a couple guys on it. I told him to go get the part ($80) and we could do it in 10 min. He was very happy. This is a guy that changed out his own transmission in his other truck but didn't know anything about the current truck. Anyway, if these shops showed some care and didn't steal I might use them. Instead I do it all myself.

[Aquaholic]

Please please please tell me that it was Atlanta Marine that damage the boat bamaspiveys.

[bamaspiveys]

No it was not Atlanta Marine, frankly I was fearful that if I mentioned the dealers name before I got the check they would use that as an excuse to back out of the agreement.

The dealership is Logan Martin Boating Center in Alabama. Today I called because I still have not received the check. The GM acted surprised that I called, and told me he was planning to make good on his commitment, but right now the company could not afford to send me the check. I was blown away and speachless.

Unfortunately, I felt like this was the first true statement I have heard from the dealership in this entire ordeal.


The good news is the local shop did a great job on the repair, I got the boat back on last week and you can't tell they even worked on it, no dust for me to clean out or anything.

Top notch job, by Four Corners Fiberglass in Antioch, TN.

[JesseC]

Hate to hear this, this is my local dealer!! Be glad that you did not let him do the fiberglass work, he told me about the fiberglass shop that does his work and talked about how they butchered a few boats! Let me know when this is resolved, I will be using a different dealer until you get this cleared up.....

[zabooda]

When I saw the title of the post I thought someone just got married.

[Sled491]

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA,

WHOOO....HA HA HA :lol:

[JesseC]

When I saw the title of the post I thought someone just got married.

I just spit my fresh cup of coffee all over my monitor! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA that is the best line yet! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[bamaspiveys]

Ohhhhhh I needed that good laugh

Thanks

[bamaspiveys]

Got a call from Anthony Cooper this week with Skiers Choice. Anyone here know that name?

Played phone tag with him on Thursday and Friday, so maybe I can catch him on Monday.

[jmvotto]

bamaspiveys

I believe he is th main customer service guru rep for SC, I left him a message last week and Reed (Clayborne ?) called me back due to anthony being out of the office.

He was a great helped with my questions and let me now the status of my bow filler cushion that jessse c help me out with.

Hope they attend to your situation :)

Little late but the marriage thing really made me laugh the other morning :lol:

[chillyx]

Aquaholic, I'm wondering why you were hoping it was Atlanta Marine that damaged the boat. I'm waiting on delivery on my new boat there. Is there something I should know??

thanks

[zegm]

Chillyx,

I just brought my boat back from Atlanta Marine. I dealt with Tim (my salesman) Lisa and Kurt the owners and Karl the finance guy. I also got a chance to meet all of the service guys. I can only say that everyone of them was Great to me and my family! I strongly recommend them to anyone in the area ( I drove over 5 hours to deal with them) looking for a new boat. They even found us a better interest rate while we were waiting for the boat to arrive without us even asking. Then Tim came in on his off day to make sure everything was good with our order and pickup!!!

Z.

[Sled491]

Ah poor poor Z,

I was your wife they liked, haven't you figured that out yet :lol:

Heck it took me a year to figure that out also, the dealer wasn't looking out for there new Bud ole Sled, no, no, no it was Mrs Sled they wanted to keep happy and coming around :wink:

[zegm]

Yeah I think I finally figured it out, they know who controls the money in our households!!!! :shock:

[bamaspiveys]

Talked to Anthony today and he has talked to the dealership and has a commitment from them to make this right.

I was wrong to blame the current Sales/General Manager at the dealership. Sounds like the original guy I dealt with left them in a bad way, when the new guy came in there were no customer records, or service records, they had to start from scratch. Anthony has been down there trying to help them, and I feel a lot better after talking to him.

I still think it could have been handled differently, but I also believe everyone deserves a second chance. I don't think Anthony would be defending them if they had a history of service like this.


So with that I am closing this chapter, and chalking it up to bad timing and bad communication.

It also increases my confidence in Skiers Choice, because they stepped in and stepped up to clear the air for me and the dealer on this.

[zegm]

I am glad to hear this! I know it must also make you feel better too! Nobody likes confrontation and bad will!
Have a great evening!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sled491]

Bama, that is really big of you. You must be a real stand up guy. glad to know ya :D

Glad everything worked out for ya 8)

[hiqualityH2O]

Bama - glad to hear this is working out for you. You definitely have taken a great approach to this whole thing.

[zegm]

Sled,


Are you saying that they know who controls the money in our households??

Hummmmmm???? :roll:

[Sled491]

Z, you said it not me :D

[zegm]

Sled!!!
You stated earlier that they like to make the Misses happy! How do they know these things?? Lisa owns Atlanta Marine with her husband and we have met with her a few times. She is a sharp lady, and great to work with. She is also nice to look at! If she reads this please this is a compliment, but it is nice to meet a woman who sells a product and KNOWS the product like she does. And she doesn't talk right at the man the whole time like some male salesmen do. She spoke to BOTH of us when we deal with her. I can't tell you how many times my wife the engineer, the race car driver, the mother, the slalom skier of the family has walked out of a place when the salesman answers her question looking right at me!

[Sled491]

Z,

Heck even I get treated that way sometimes. I walked into a local high end home entertainment store once wearing my work duds. I was driving one of my company trucks and didn't exactely look like the owner of a thriving local business. They ignored me completly. I went back on the weekend driving my wifes Jag and cleaned up with some designer clothes and they were all over me. I asked for the sales manager and relayed my experience to him and then walked out the door.

This is why 20% of the salesmen make 80% of the sales and 80% of salesmen make the other 20%. They are sometimes not the bright, no offense to any of the succesful salesmen or women on these boards

[zegm]

You know our boss makes us wear dockers and polo shirts while the base engineers run around in jeans, however I do feel way uptown when I go in Walmart!!!! :lol:

Not too happy today, :cry: my son woke up with a bad sore throat and then I had to buy a new alternator for a jeep Cherokee and then drive to my mothers house to deliver it to her. The only problem is she lives about 1 1/2 hours away. Luckily she has someone who will install it for her. Why do they mount the AC compressor above and over the alternator????
So the boat sat in front of the house taunting me!!!! And she (the new LS) was also mad because she could hear all of the traffic on the lake behind the house and she wanted to go play! Maybe next weekend! :roll:

[bamaspiveys]

I am glad it has worked out too, just be honest and treat people the way you want to be treated.

Thanks