rwaldrop13
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2020
- Messages
- 774
- Status
- OWNER - I own a Hatteras Yacht
- Hatteras Model
- 54' MOTOR YACHT (1985 - 1988)
OK I apologize for the length of this post but I want to share this with everyone thinking about new AC units.
Within the past month my wife and I have bought 2 units from MarinAire. Honestly after installing the first one, I was excited to be working with a quality product that simplified the installation process and, well, worked. Disappointed does not even come close to where I was when I completed the install, checked my hose and electrical connections again, and turned on power to the unit only to have it be dead.
And by that I don't mean not cooling, or not heating, I mean dead. I mean it did not come on, the display did not light up, the unit I worked so hard to install was dead out of the box. So I called and spoke to Joshua (Jose? Josue?) and he assured me there was a simple troubleshooting procedure guide he would email me and then when I found the issue let him know so the company could resolve the issue.
So I followed the troubleshooting steps and the transformer failed the continuity check. I called back, and Joshua told me he would notify warranty so they could get a replacement part out to me. This was around 430 this afternoon - Friday Mar 26. Keep in mind this is our second purchase from MarinAire within a month's time. He said he needed to transfer me to a coworker to verify the address and set up the replacement part. Said co-worker immediately started asking me the same questions Joshua had already gone thru with me. When I said I was supposed to be getting shipped a replacement transformer for the brand-new unit that arrived not working, she became argumentative and told me it wasn't my role to dictate what MarinAire was going to do, and if it was up to her they would send me a RMA label to return the whole unit. I said I received a defective unit that was not working right out of the box and if I don't have the replacement part Tuesday I will be calling my credit card to open a purchase protection claim. Frankly under the circumstances, I believe MarinAire should be sending a rep out to resolve this considering the amount of money in a very short time I have spent with them. What I don't find acceptable is a customer service rep telling me that "they're closing in 5 minutes and I just need to wait until Monday when 'they' make a decision about my case and what MarinAire is going to do.
Customer service is a dying art. I don't care how close it is to the end of the day, when a customer who has spent $3000 plus with my company in less than a month has an issue on their second purchase, you do what you have to do to help that customer feel valued, not like they need to rip the whole unit out, drive it to the company office and dump it on their doorstep. You especially don't tell a customer that they don't have a say in what's going to happen and that they have to comply. You especially don't tell them they're going to have to rip out the unit they just spent a week installing and return it (and if you think that is going to happen you better send a new box too).
And you don't send an email to the customer telling them that "while your warranty doesn't include shipping of replacement parts, as a 'courtesy' you're paying shipping this time". The unit was obviously shipped without any quality checks, and telling me "these things happen" does not help the customer who's facing 90 degree heat without air conditioning but just spent $2000 on a whole new unit. You don't transfer them to a co-worker who starts asking the same questions they've already answered, when they've been told it's just to verify the ship-to address.
We are going to be purchasing 2 more units over the next year, and right now I don't think MarinAire wants my business. We were introduced to them at the Fort Myers Boat Show, and the people we talked to there seemed to be a very different sort of customer-focused staff compared to my experience today.
Within the past month my wife and I have bought 2 units from MarinAire. Honestly after installing the first one, I was excited to be working with a quality product that simplified the installation process and, well, worked. Disappointed does not even come close to where I was when I completed the install, checked my hose and electrical connections again, and turned on power to the unit only to have it be dead.
And by that I don't mean not cooling, or not heating, I mean dead. I mean it did not come on, the display did not light up, the unit I worked so hard to install was dead out of the box. So I called and spoke to Joshua (Jose? Josue?) and he assured me there was a simple troubleshooting procedure guide he would email me and then when I found the issue let him know so the company could resolve the issue.
So I followed the troubleshooting steps and the transformer failed the continuity check. I called back, and Joshua told me he would notify warranty so they could get a replacement part out to me. This was around 430 this afternoon - Friday Mar 26. Keep in mind this is our second purchase from MarinAire within a month's time. He said he needed to transfer me to a coworker to verify the address and set up the replacement part. Said co-worker immediately started asking me the same questions Joshua had already gone thru with me. When I said I was supposed to be getting shipped a replacement transformer for the brand-new unit that arrived not working, she became argumentative and told me it wasn't my role to dictate what MarinAire was going to do, and if it was up to her they would send me a RMA label to return the whole unit. I said I received a defective unit that was not working right out of the box and if I don't have the replacement part Tuesday I will be calling my credit card to open a purchase protection claim. Frankly under the circumstances, I believe MarinAire should be sending a rep out to resolve this considering the amount of money in a very short time I have spent with them. What I don't find acceptable is a customer service rep telling me that "they're closing in 5 minutes and I just need to wait until Monday when 'they' make a decision about my case and what MarinAire is going to do.
Customer service is a dying art. I don't care how close it is to the end of the day, when a customer who has spent $3000 plus with my company in less than a month has an issue on their second purchase, you do what you have to do to help that customer feel valued, not like they need to rip the whole unit out, drive it to the company office and dump it on their doorstep. You especially don't tell a customer that they don't have a say in what's going to happen and that they have to comply. You especially don't tell them they're going to have to rip out the unit they just spent a week installing and return it (and if you think that is going to happen you better send a new box too).
And you don't send an email to the customer telling them that "while your warranty doesn't include shipping of replacement parts, as a 'courtesy' you're paying shipping this time". The unit was obviously shipped without any quality checks, and telling me "these things happen" does not help the customer who's facing 90 degree heat without air conditioning but just spent $2000 on a whole new unit. You don't transfer them to a co-worker who starts asking the same questions they've already answered, when they've been told it's just to verify the ship-to address.
We are going to be purchasing 2 more units over the next year, and right now I don't think MarinAire wants my business. We were introduced to them at the Fort Myers Boat Show, and the people we talked to there seemed to be a very different sort of customer-focused staff compared to my experience today.
