rsarvis April 17, 2008 April 17, 2008 I bought some lights from Marine Depot. They took a while to ship, then it took me a while to get out to Great Falls to pick them up, then it took several weeks to find the time to take down my fixture and replace my old bulbs. It turned out one didn't work. Just called Marine Depot and they took a hard line on their 30-day replacement policy. son of a guns! As happy as I get when I'm treated well by customer service (see, e.g., my no-questions-asked replacement Hydor Koralia 4 after it stopped working almost a year after purchase), I get even more irate when I'm not treated well. Grrr.
MLazar April 17, 2008 April 17, 2008 I'm sorry for your misfortune, but glad you shared. It's good to know for the future. We're buying a lot of of things through the mail as we restart our 125. Maureen
YBeNormal April 18, 2008 April 18, 2008 They clearly have a 30 day return/replacement policy, you admit that you were well beyond the 30 day period and you are upset with them 'cause they won't replace the lights? Sorry dude, I have to side with MD on this one.
ErikS April 18, 2008 April 18, 2008 (edited) Yep, long ago lost any interest in doing business with Marine Depot. They are slow to ship & a PITA when something goes awry. To get anything accomplished it seems they need a public outing to get motivated, even then they may not be bothered. Yes, they have a 30 day policy............with their size they're not going to get stuck holding the bag, the supplier will make it right with MD you can count on that. So what's the downside for MD? None, except they lose a customer..........smart. And 30 day replacement is lame anyway. So once past 30 days YOU have to take it up with the manufacturer? You the consumer who has little or no leverage? As opposed to MD who has a ton of leverage? Yeah, makes perfect sense </sarcasm> I can see if you asked for a refund............but a replacement for a defective item? Now let's compare that to PA - who have multiple times gone WAY above & beyond the call to help me out, as they seem to "get" they have more leverage than the customer. Too many decent vendors to deal with the PITA folks like MD. But it all works out in the end. Dollars spent @ MD? Nada, zip, zero. Dollars spent @ PA? Thousands.......................So who's getting the better deal here? Edited April 18, 2008 by ErikS
rsarvis April 18, 2008 Author April 18, 2008 Sorry, Bob, but there's a difference between legal rights and good customer service. I'm not claiming I have a legal right to a replacement, I'm saying that there's good customer service and bad, and this I would classify in the latter category. I don't know if I had a legal right to a replacement Koralia (don't know their official policy), but they didn't ask for proof of when I bought it, they just sent a replacement. My girlfriend didn't have a legal right to a replacement heart monitor from Nike, but my girlfriend sent a letter to them along with the broken heart monitor and they sent a replacement. And those are things that worked when we got them but broke after we had them for a while. This was something that didn't work when it arrived. If it were my business, I don't think I would take a bright-line stance in that situation. Obviously, you would. That's fine, but I wouldn't give you much repeat business either. So your comment doesn't really respond to my post, but thanks for chiming in. They clearly have a 30 day return/replacement policy, you admit that you were well beyond the 30 day period and you are upset with them 'cause they won't replace the lights? Sorry dude, I have to side with MD on this one. Now let's compare that to PA - who have multiple times gone WAY above & beyond the call to help me out, as they seem to "get" they have more leverage than the customer. Too many decent vendors to deal with the PITA folks like MD. But it all works out in the end. Dollars spent @ MD? Nada, zip, zero. Dollars spent @ PA? Thousands.......................So who's getting the better deal here? Sorry to be obtuse (I'm sure if I think about it long enough I'll figure it out) but what's PA?
ErikS April 19, 2008 April 19, 2008 I think the PA Erik's referring to is Premium Aquatics. Yep, thanks.
gastone April 19, 2008 April 19, 2008 Not to play devil's advocate but... I order a widget from ACME. I get widget in mail. I *immediately* plug in/hook up/whatever and what have you said widget to verify that it does what it's intended. Garrett.
rsarvis April 19, 2008 Author April 19, 2008 Yea, I'll be doing that now, even though it's a PITA with my lights... Not to play devil's advocate but... I order a widget from ACME. I get widget in mail. I *immediately* plug in/hook up/whatever and what have you said widget to verify that it does what it's intended. Garrett.
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