West Marine

[firemedic1560]

All of us have had our say about the prices at West Marine. I don't want to get into that again. This weekend I arrived at my boat to find my battery charger not working and 5 dead batteries. I could not find the paperwork on the charger, but I knew I bought it sometime in the last few years. One West Marine store manager looked up the purchase for me and found I had purchased the charger in April of '06, and suggested I see what the factory warranty was. He also looked and found a store that had a replacement in stock, since the model was now discontinued. The manufacturer, Xantrex, chose not to help me at all since the product only has a 1 year warranty. I figured I was screwed and a $350 charger was done, on top of the 5 batteries I had to replace due to the charger failure.

I went into my local West Marine which happened to be the one who had the last exact replacement in South Florida. I spoke with the manager and explained the situation.

She sold me the charger for their cost of $165, even though the retail was $349. I felt like the company appreciated my business and made an effort to make me happy. This was for a product that was 2 years out of factory warranty. Sandra, the manager at the Delray Beach West Marine went out of her way to make sure I was happy. It is esy for us to complain when something goes wrong. I had to make sure she got the praise she deserved for going above and beyond.

[aimless]

Good job. Sandra should be commended because she apparently realizes that when you take care of customers they will come back.

[schoolsout]

All the West Marines around here would do that. I work part time at one...

also, you folks should check out the Mariner's Protection Plan....pay a little more for "insurance" and get free replacement on top of factory warranty.

Anything from sunglasses to electonics.

[cowdogs]

Good job. Sandra should be commended because she apparently realizes that when you take care of customers they will come back.

I live in Delray, and see Sandra a couple of times a week. She is the kind of manager West Marine wants and needs. I spend a bit of money there, and occasionally, she steps up and takes care of a situation in a manner where I feel like .. not to use a stupid cliche ... a valued customer.

[Gglow]

We all have our preferences .Mine is not WestMarine but I shop there sometimes anyway and I must say that, with a few notable exceptions, their customer service is good.

[prowlersfish]

They do stand behind what they sell and they will bend over backwareds to help

[PatrickG]

I think the Jacksonville Beach, FL West Marine is the most well run store I have ever been in. The manager is a great guy and he always does his best to provide excellent service. I wish my local West was as good as that one!