jtmiller02

99% of the time this type of issue has nothing to do at all with the company the product was purchased from. Many parts are not stocked and there are often delays this time of year getting the parts from the suppliers quickly. Its kind of like taking your boat to be serviced on the first 80 degree of the day and realizing you are not the only one. Or going to the ramp tomorrow and realizing you are not the only one who enjoys boating on holiday weekends.

Often times parts are shipped from the manufacturer direct to the purchaser (drop shipped) meaning Fred or whoever you bought from didn't get a chance to look in the box. They also just moved locations in the past month meaning they likely don't have everything 100% to speed and stock levels 100%.

I deal with people every summer who come on vacation and think they are the only ones who want to go parasailing on Friday afternoon and suddenly its my fault they didn't plan ahead and book early.

You want the best speed and service for your boat, don't look for it between the month of march and june because every single person with a boat is pulling the tarp off at the same time. If you want parts right away you should plan accordingly. When you don't you should be prepared to wait in line like everyone else..

tomdjoe

His computer is down. Simple as that. He did get the bezels and Fred was finally trying to get everything straightened out and shipped.

tomdjoe

Well after many calls and being told that parts were shipping and then not showing up when told putting you get tired of working the normal means. Trust me we are smart enough to call and work with them first. I think 4 weeks into it shows plenty of patience. Putting a thread like this may help by getting noticed at the supplier. It COULD affect his business negatively by making other think twice about ordering thru them. It COULD help him positively if he finally takes care of the issue and then that will also be posted on here. As it stands now Fred has finally said the parts are not at his office. Until now he said they were sitting there and "going out today". He said this afternoon he was trying to find the missing items to get them shipped overnight but have not heard if he did. We are hoping he did since it has been 4 weeks with the boat down and Memorial Day is here.

I am sure he is a good person and we know many peolple who have bought from them and that is why this order went to him. He shipped the wrong bezels the first time. Not a huge deal, mistakes happen. But it took 4 weeks to get the right ones shipped. The steering came with parts missing. Again, he kept saying the parts were on his desk but only now tells us he is waiting on the parts from the manufacturer. Not trying to make a huge deal and BASH the guy, just wondering if this has been the norm or if it is the exception. I am sure if any of your boats were down for four weeks after you have installed part of the new hyd steering you would be getting frustrated as well.

Phantom1

Good post. Many of the marine retailers want Trick out of business - PERIOD. Fred has brought a business model to the industry that has pissed off many of the good old boys. Personally, I will do whatever I can to support Fred. When I was racing in '99 to '01, I paid out the azz to get things from most of the major parts guys (some of whom are sponsors here). There was no respect, no concern for fairness.................just, here's the price - pay up!

Fred has tried to serve you, the typical powerboater, with more respect, and to earn your business by giving better pricing. It drives the bigger marine retailers crazy, and I suspect that they have complained to the manufacturers that they both represented. I won't bother telling you about marine retailers that I don't trust, but there are many. I will tell you that I trust Fred Cecil, and I fully believe that some of the recent posts about "lack of service" have a hidden agenda.

Maybe I should share some stories about dealings with..........

bajaholic

I havn't posted alot, so no one really knows me here, so if you dont know me from other sites, dont get totally livid, but I am brutely honest... This being said:

I have seen a couple of threads about Fred in the last couple of weeks, I Dont get it, why are these people having such problems, I have had numerous orders, never a problem, lots of others have had the same. Is it the person complaining that really has the issue or is it Fred?

It is now spring, what have these guys been doing the last 6 months? Lets see, oh yea, WINTER!

It just seems in life, people who are trying to stirr the pot, are generally the ones that are looking for the "special" things in life and won't/can't take no for an answer, so attitude gets in the way, and smarts get left behind.

"My friend" is total BS... people should handle their own problems...

Just a side note: last week we visited Fred at his new shop during bike week, I found it very well run, great person to meet, along with the staff. Yes many of the parts are straight from the supplier, so before you jump to conclusions, call...

Oh yea, we did discuss a couple of the posts from last weeks problems, when you get the real story, many of the "posts" facts have been tweeked by the complainer, invoices that were ordered on line, with out all the parts, now requested, and many other small issues, and how do you suppose they cover their own problems, bash the guy trying to get them...

JMHO

Dean Ferry

Fred has always been a great guy to deal with, always takes my calls, and he delivers.
I'm sure he will make it right.
Dean

the duke

I'm glad to see that someone with some real knowledge of Trick just posted, (Phanton & Bajaholic). The "big" guys out there are not happy when someone comes into their ballpark, and sells only high quality products, and at a lower price than they do. Everything that I've bought from Fred has come within 3 days.

I've seen 3 or 4 complaints about him, and dozens of good stuff. How many places can you say have that ratio of customer service? and when you look at the marine industry as a whole, there is a lot more negative than positive. At least as far as Trick goes, it has changed for the better.

tomdjoe

Well first of all I am sorry this has got so many people wound up not our intention. As far as me saying "my friend" and you thinking is is BS sorry but it is not my boat. I have just been trying to help him with it and his computer is down. And yes you are right, Winter has been here for the last six months and not everyone can have a nice warm place to work on them over the winter. I do not know about you but we were not into working on the boat in freezing weather and uncovering each time to just get to the boat. I no more then you can imagine what this boating industry is like from March to June and hearing from your customers about getting their boat in the water. And again, not saying that he is a bad guy, do not know him! Just tired of the run around and would have liked a straight answer much eariler so the parts could have been found in another manner. Called several times over the past few weeks and kept being told parts were sitting there and shipping today. Ordered Hyd. steering and parts were missing from the box. Not something we forgot to order and trying to get something for nothing.

Those who know me will tell you that I am not doing this to "stir the pot". I am also in the distribution/service industry and know what it is like to be on both sides of the fence. I can tell you that I do treat my customers in the same manner I want to be treated. I rather give them an answer they may not like then no answer or one that may not be completely true.

Said enough and will hopfully post good results in the next day or so since I believe in giving the whole story and would love to say how he went out of his way so the boat could be on the water this weekend.

StrikinLightnin

I've purchased a lot of parts throughout from Trick.
Never had a problem in which Fred hasn't been able to get straightened out for me.
Which were far and few.
+1 Trick Marine

NJgr8ful

You're welcome Biotch ... sounds like you're talking from experience and remember no one was ever supposed to see that ... guess you can ignore my last PM