Florida & Georgia - Boathouse Discount Marine- Jax, Fl

I believe this post has run its course and I have made my point. Thank you.

I have been buying from them for years, have met and talked to the couple that own the stores and found them and their workers to be very helpful. They have saved me enough money that I will continue to buy from them.
You on the other hand, I have no clue who you are or the extent of your problem. What I do know is that this is your first post here which gives you NO credibility. You don't even disclose what part you installed and believed to be faulty. I will assume your part is electrical which any novice knows are not returnable.

I have been buying from them for years, have met and talked to the couple that own the stores and found them and their workers to be very helpful. They have saved me enough money that I will continue to buy from them.
You on the other hand, I have no clue who you are or the extent of your problem. What I do know is that this is your first post here which gives you NO credibility. You don't even disclose what part you installed and believed to be faulty. I will assume your part is electrical which any novice knows are not returnable.

Well, let me throw my two cents in here as I've been on this forum since 2002 and believe I do have some credibility and I happen to know the details regarding this issue. The OP has recently done quite a bit of work redoing aged parts on his boat and trailer, trying to make sure that something that may go wrong/break in the near future was repaired or replaced as to give him a better sense of security on the water and the road. He was replacing a Lenco actuator which was 7 years old which was starting to make some unusual noises. Now anyone who has had Lencos on their boats will tell you that 7 years for an actuator is pretty good so the OP's plan to replace it was not a bad plan. Boathouse Discount had the actuator in stock so the OP bought it from them yesterday (friday). The OP installed the actuator as prescribed (friday night), did not work. Went over his installation several times and everything was installed correctly. This was a new part, not a cheap "as is" discounted part. It was also the only one that Boathouse Discount had in stock so a same day exchange was not possible. Being on a tight schedule as the OP had prior commitments to be on the water on Tuesday, the OP simply wanted to return (sat) the defective actuator for a refund and purchase another from another supplier on Sunday. Now considering the fact I would like to keep my credibility intact, I'll disclose here that the Return Policy at Boathouse Discount does state that Refunds will be issued for parts returned in uninstalled condition. But after being in the sales profession for the last 32 years, I've got to say that in most cases like this one, the retailer would have simply exchanged the part on the spot or refunded the money and then dealt with Lenco to get their credit on the actuator. That's part of being in business and providing good customer service. This all took place in less than 24 hours from start to finish and having spoke to the person at Boathouse Discount, would have to say she had an attitude from the start. This was a part that had to be installed just to find out that it did not work. The defective part was reported the next morning, not several days later. True, the OP only has one post but everyone on this forum over the years has seen guys come on and get blasted and labeled as a whiner with "no credibility". This is not the case. Sorry, some may disagree with me but OP-1, Boathouse Discount-zip. They handled it the wrong way.

I used this store over 7 years and I always received good customer service. I bought and returned a trailer tire I used as a spare on a cancelled trip I planned to Key West. They gave me no problem returning it for a full refund.

I work for Boathouse Discount Marine and I shared this post with Chuck Fisher, the owner and founder of the company.

Here is his comment --


"I normally do not think it is wise to air customer situations in public. However, since the customer chose to put this situation out for the world to see, and since he failed to mention a few pertinent facts, I feel compelled to respond.

First, I founded Boathouse in 1993 and opened the store at 5615 Blanding 15 years ago. Boathouse is strongly committed to customer satisfaction and this commitment is strongly emphasized to all employees. The manager who dealt with this situation has been in the marine business in Jacksonville for many years and her reputation is impeccable.

The Lenco part that the buyer attempted to return would have been accepted without question had he not cut the wires. I doubt that any other buyer would have accepted this trim tab actuator with cut wires, and we would not have been willing to sell it in that condition. We would however be willing to return the item to Lenco and let them make the determination.

We are greatly disappointed that we have an unhappy customer, but there comes a time when we must draw the line."

Charles Fisher, President
Boathouse Discount Marine, Inc.

Well, let me throw my two cents in here as I've been on this forum since 2002 and believe I do have some credibility and I happen to know the details regarding this issue. The OP has recently done quite a bit of work redoing aged parts on his boat and trailer, trying to make sure that something that may go wrong/break in the near future was repaired or replaced as to give him a better sense of security on the water and the road. He was replacing a Lenco actuator which was 7 years old which was starting to make some unusual noises. Now anyone who has had Lencos on their boats will tell you that 7 years for an actuator is pretty good so the OP's plan to replace it was not a bad plan. Boathouse Discount had the actuator in stock so the OP bought it from them yesterday (friday). The OP installed the actuator as prescribed (friday night), did not work. Went over his installation several times and everything was installed correctly. This was a new part, not a cheap "as is" discounted part. It was also the only one that Boathouse Discount had in stock so a same day exchange was not possible. Being on a tight schedule as the OP had prior commitments to be on the water on Tuesday, the OP simply wanted to return (sat) the defective actuator for a refund and purchase another from another supplier on Sunday. Now considering the fact I would like to keep my credibility intact, I'll disclose here that the Return Policy at Boathouse Discount does state that Refunds will be issued for parts returned in uninstalled condition. But after being in the sales profession for the last 32 years, I've got to say that in most cases like this one, the retailer would have simply exchanged the part on the spot or refunded the money and then dealt with Lenco to get their credit on the actuator. That's part of being in business and providing good customer service. This all took place in less than 24 hours from start to finish and having spoke to the person at Boathouse Discount, would have to say she had an attitude from the start. This was a part that had to be installed just to find out that it did not work. The defective part was reported the next morning, not several days later. True, the OP only has one post but everyone on this forum over the years has seen guys come on and get blasted and labeled as a whiner with "no credibility". This is not the case. Sorry, some may disagree with me but OP-1, Boathouse Discount-zip. They handled it the wrong way.

I have a hard time disagreeing with your logic. It seems something should have been worked out. With the owner responding to this post stating that wires had been cut, I can say I would be pissed if they were to try and resell to me as new. The boathouse we have in WPB has exceptional service and their prices are usually untouchable short of online.

The Lenco part that the buyer attempted to return would have been accepted without question had he not cut the wires. I doubt that any other buyer would have accepted this trim tab actuator with cut wires, and we would not have been willing to sell it in that condition. We would however be willing to return the item to Lenco and let them make the determination.

It really does not matter if the wires were cut on a defective item If the customer installed the item the correct way and the item did not work. He then has the option to return the item back to where he bought the item for a full refund. Customer service is where to business should be focusing on!

Who knows somebody probably bought the unit before and it did not work and did not cut the wires and returned it for a refund. Then they resold it to Islander.

I can tell you that they lost a customer over a refund. Pretty sad situation.