I've been holding off on posting this in case someone in management contacted me to resolve, or, at least, respond to my concerns. They haven't. I can't tell you how hard it is to use family language here.
In January, I took my boat into Texas Marine for a "Spring Service". Change the oil, check bilge and water pump and check batteries/charging system. I was specific on that last item, and it was part of the work order - check batteries and charging system.
After a week they called me and told me my boat was ready. We had 2 weeks of bad weather predicted so I decided to have them perform a couple of upgrades. I had a stereo installed and a new Talon Shallow Water Anchor. The work was completed just in time for a rare January weekend of mild weather.
I was alone so I just tied the boat to the side of the dock and bumped it off of the trailer while I parked my truck. When I got into the boat to head out, the motor wouldn't crank. Completely dead. Fortunately, I was wearing waders so I hopped into the water and hand loaded it back onto the trailer and drove straight back to Texas Marine. They told me that they had checked everything and I had probably run the battery down listening to the new stereo. Ok, unlikely, but not impossible. I took it home and put the charger on it. No good.
I took it back to Texas Marine and dropped it off, asking them to double check everything. I got a call a few days later that I had a "bad cell" and needed a new battery. Riiiight. They installed it and I picked it up. No discounts, no explanation.
A couple of weeks later we got another break in the weather (although a little breezy) and I headed back out to Sabine Lake. Headed to Johnson Bayou area, set the Talon, dropped the trolling motor and sat down to tie on a lure. I looked up and I was being blown into the shoreline. I hopped up and turned the trolling motor to full and... nothing. I used the big motor to get back into the middle of the lake and found that not only was my trolling motor dead but the Talon had never deployed. I drifted for a few minutes but had lost my desire to fish that day.
I took it back to Texas Marine (4th visit in 4 weeks) and told them about my problems as well as a new one - when driving across the lake, the console depth finder/plotter would power off constantly. When sitting still, it didn't happen.
Ok. At this point, I know that someone screwed up my electrical system and shorted something. Most of you suspect the same thing.
I got the call. The charger was malfunctioning and draining the batteries. Easy fix. The Talon, on the other hand, needed to be sent back for repairs. They had it for about a month.
When I picked it up they had only charged me $1030.00. That's right, two batteries and a charger at list price and full labor. I was told I was lucky that the Talon was warranty (it's never worked!) and the problem with the chart plotter is that it's old. They power down when moving when old.
While waiting to pay, the kind lady reminded me that I would need to pair the remote to the Talon. Seriously, after everything I've been through, knowing they keep damaging my boat, they leave a little extra something for me to do. Anyway, there's only one credit card machine so I hooked my boat up and went back inside to pay. When I went back out, there was a tech in my boat. Working on the Talon. The brand new it's never deployed, Talon. I laughed, dropped my tailgate and sat down to watch. 35 minutes. That's how long I sat in the service drive while they worked on my boat. I didn't even ask what they were doing. I wanted nothing else but to leave and never come back. Even if there is an electrical problem when I next take it out, I'll burn it to the trailer before I set foot back in Texas Marine. I don't care if there's another warranty problem with my Talon, I'll tie a rope to it and use it as a weight.
They messed up. The tech knows it, the service manager probably knows it and not one person has said anything except sorry. I left word for someone in management to call me with multiple employees. Not a word. I'm not angry at having to spend money. I'm angry because I have very specific concerns and complaints and nobody will address them. That explains the service I got. It's a company-wide attitude. read more
