Kudso to Raymarine, Bule Sea Systems and Defender.
1- I dropped off my autopilot on Wed to have it repaired. Raymarine did not have the parts in stock but ordered them that same day. When I got home about ten minutes ago the AP was here on my door step all fixed. That means the parts came in on Thursday and they also fixed it and shiped it on Thursday. Very good service. Whom ever said Raymarine has poor customer service was wrong. They may be back ordered on lots of stuff but the customer service is great, even in mid season. Just to bad the repair cost as much as a new one..
2- I have a Blue Sea Systems ammeter/voltmeter that was fried and ordered a new one. I called them to order it on Tuesday and it was here today. They paid expedited freight and did not charge me!!
3- I ordered a Standard Horizon Matrix 2100-AIS VHF, Garmin GMR-18HD radome and a bunch of other stuff that was fried on Tue afternoon at 4:20 p.m. and the stuff was on my door step Wed evening with ground shipping.
4- I ordered a new GPS Map 3205 from Anchor Express and they had a $25.00 next day delivery deal going so I snapped it up. Not only that but the plotter was a steal so I could afford the expedited shipping. I CALLED them to order it and it was processed and shipped SAME DAY, asked nicely, so I actually had it the next day.
TWO THUMBS DOWN to the MANY on-line vendors who claim items are IN STOCK when in fact they are NOT!! Far to many vendors to list but I must have called nearly 30 looking for a new autopilot and a GPS MAP 478. In this day and age of inventory control this type of misleading BS is a little ridiculous..
Two thumbs down to the makers of marine & stereos who think a front AUX input is a good idea.. Finally found a Kenwood Excelon that was a LOT more than I wanted to spend but it has a rear AUX input for TV or iPod!!
What have I learned:
1- ALWAYS call and confirm availability!!! No phone number no business from me especially when the vast majority of vendors had the product I wanted listed as IN STOCK when it in fact was not. One even told me over the phone; "I have 12 due in on today's shipment." "Really? Cause I just got off the phone with Raymarine and they are not even expecting them into their warehouse until mid August at the earliest and they have been out for over a month and a half." LIAR!!!:cussing:
2- ALWAYS order by phone and ASK NICELY for same day order processing. Also ask for special shipping deals they might not show on the web site. With Defender you do not need to do this, they almost always ship same day as long as the order is in by 4:00 pm, but it is still a good idea to confirm availability.
So buy from the good guys when you can.
P.S. Garmin's tech support has gone in the tank IMHO. The folks who answer don't know anything and I waited on hold for a total of 1:25 minutes this week when trying to deal with them. As much as I dislike Raymarine plotters I almost pulled the trigger and ditched Garmin over the PISS POOR support. In the end it was easier to just buy new than deal with Garmin. I am a HUGE Garmin fan but this latest round, on top of the MAGNETIC DOOR on their new plotters, has me seriously re-thinking my next plotter upgrade..I really wanted to "upgrade" with Garmin but refuse to install a plotter that has a freaking magnet in it!!!
1- I dropped off my autopilot on Wed to have it repaired. Raymarine did not have the parts in stock but ordered them that same day. When I got home about ten minutes ago the AP was here on my door step all fixed. That means the parts came in on Thursday and they also fixed it and shiped it on Thursday. Very good service. Whom ever said Raymarine has poor customer service was wrong. They may be back ordered on lots of stuff but the customer service is great, even in mid season. Just to bad the repair cost as much as a new one..
2- I have a Blue Sea Systems ammeter/voltmeter that was fried and ordered a new one. I called them to order it on Tuesday and it was here today. They paid expedited freight and did not charge me!!
3- I ordered a Standard Horizon Matrix 2100-AIS VHF, Garmin GMR-18HD radome and a bunch of other stuff that was fried on Tue afternoon at 4:20 p.m. and the stuff was on my door step Wed evening with ground shipping.
4- I ordered a new GPS Map 3205 from Anchor Express and they had a $25.00 next day delivery deal going so I snapped it up. Not only that but the plotter was a steal so I could afford the expedited shipping. I CALLED them to order it and it was processed and shipped SAME DAY, asked nicely, so I actually had it the next day.
TWO THUMBS DOWN to the MANY on-line vendors who claim items are IN STOCK when in fact they are NOT!! Far to many vendors to list but I must have called nearly 30 looking for a new autopilot and a GPS MAP 478. In this day and age of inventory control this type of misleading BS is a little ridiculous..
Two thumbs down to the makers of marine & stereos who think a front AUX input is a good idea..
Finally found a Kenwood Excelon that was a LOT more than I wanted to spend but it has a rear AUX input for TV or iPod!!What have I learned:
1- ALWAYS call and confirm availability!!! No phone number no business from me especially when the vast majority of vendors had the product I wanted listed as IN STOCK when it in fact was not. One even told me over the phone; "I have 12 due in on today's shipment." "Really? Cause I just got off the phone with Raymarine and they are not even expecting them into their warehouse until mid August at the earliest and they have been out for over a month and a half." LIAR!!!:cussing:
2- ALWAYS order by phone and ASK NICELY for same day order processing. Also ask for special shipping deals they might not show on the web site. With Defender you do not need to do this, they almost always ship same day as long as the order is in by 4:00 pm, but it is still a good idea to confirm availability.
So buy from the good guys when you can.
P.S. Garmin's tech support has gone in the tank IMHO. The folks who answer don't know anything and I waited on hold for a total of 1:25 minutes this week when trying to deal with them. As much as I dislike Raymarine plotters I almost pulled the trigger and ditched Garmin over the PISS POOR support. In the end it was easier to just buy new than deal with Garmin. I am a HUGE Garmin fan but this latest round, on top of the MAGNETIC DOOR on their new plotters, has me seriously re-thinking my next plotter upgrade..
I really wanted to "upgrade" with Garmin but refuse to install a plotter that has a freaking magnet in it!!!
