Whats going on with Fred @ Trick?
 

I've been waiting for parts for three weeks ,Talked to Fred Last week, Then the tragidity with James's Girlfriend.. they have been closed for two days.. supposed to reopen today but still no answer ??? I hope everyones ok???

STILL NOTHING FROM Trick,...are they no longer in business ???

Veterans day is a holiday.Are you a vet?

Wish I had off today.....:rolleyes:

CHILLLLLLL They are still in business, A major set back but Fred will get you your parts .
ROCK ON !:cool-smiley-027::cool-smiley-027:

VETS DAY,,(yes I am a vet ) COME ON THEY WOULD NOT BE CLOSED..I 'VE kNOWN FRED SINCE HE WAS FLIPPIN BURGERS..:ernaehrung004:.WEIRD THATS ITS A FEW WEEKS WITH NO WORD FROM ANYBODY ????:food-smiley-007:

I have been waiting 4 weeks for my stuff.

But he still seems to be moving stuff on EBay....

No big surprise waiting forever on parts and no return calls from Trick Marine.

Me2:D

Still boating up in Cleveland?

You're making a good point, and I like Fred.
I don't know what DMC's situation is, but I'm doing work on my boat right now to be ready for next season. There's kind of a timeline on what I need to get done, so this could be setting him back.
I'm not bashing Fred on this, and I also agree DMC is "beating his drum" to get his parts.
But I also understand having deadlines.
Back in Sept. when I bought my boat, my wife ordered some life vest's somewhere so that we'd have them the following weekend. Still haven't showed up, although I've been a couple hundred $$ shorter from the CC payment.
Finally canceled the order, and have yet to receive an e-mail to confirm the cancellation. So I understand DMC's frustration.
If I was short on parts to put my boat back together right now, I'd be a little more upset.
Just a response would help matters.
Fred, if you want some help, just offer me a job:D I know you've had your hands full with this.

come one guys cut fred and the crew at trick marine some slack i'ts been a damn rough year for them.

let not forget:
fred tragically lost his son
they moved the bussiness
fred himself had some health problem
one of his top employees (it's a small company) lost his girlfriend

all this occurred within the space of a few months. Most small bussiness wouldn't be able to survive all that.

cut em some slack and get back out in the cold to winterizing your boats. You've got 5 long months till spring.

Guys..by no means am I bashing Fred and Trick Marine.. I consider Fred a friend and I am concerned for him, his family and business.. do not read more more into this.. thanks..Dave

All I can say is the guy took several hundred $ from me a month ago.
Sends Email stating stuff will be shipped next day.
After that when I call no one knows anything and will call right back.
Well guess what, zero returned phone calls.
I Email. Guess what, zero responses.

Then their phone goes unanswer for 2 weeks (tomorrow).

But I still see stuff selling and shipping on Ebay only Trick has
had a name change.

Seems like someone could be selling off on hand inventory before going under.

Sorry they are having personnal problems but still a phone call or Email will had gone a long ways.

I just want my money back so I can get the stuff before the lake is empty.

I've been down that road before...... Some other vendors think that just because your season is over they have the right to thing that you don't "need" your stuff...

If I buy something or have service done I don't care what time of year it is, I just want my chit done as long as it normally takes to get it done...I don't care if it sits in my garage for 5 years afterwards..:hitfan:

PS, I've never had any problems with Fred, he's always done right by me. My frustration comes from "other" vendors/suppliers/builders/drive builders etc.. :food-smiley-007:

Ordered stuff last week.... Got it yesterday no problem

Humm I called you yesterday and the lady said she could not find you!

Still no one answering phones !!

Just the week old recording.

Why have there been so many complaints about Trick marine in the last year or so? I have orderd from Fred before with no problems at all. This is strange

I understand that everyone wants their orders, but let's not start feeding on our own. There are many post on here that praise Fred / Trick for being the BEST and far superior to the other so called suppliers. Fred has always be good to me and done everything that he can to get my rig running and back in the water. I will just have to give Fred the benefit of the doubt and wait to hear from HIM.

I agree....but I am concerned...

I gave up a year ago. I understand alot has gone on, but my last order was placed 2 months before his son was killed, 4 months later I finally had to get my money back from the C.C. and buy elsewhere. James told me no less than 6 times he would take care of it...never got a return call.

I fully agree with the others here to cut Fred a little slack.
I also agree a little communication from Fred and his gang could go a long way.
I remember when Fred was still flippin' burgers, and was just contemplating this idea of getting into the marine business.
We all knew he has integrity. And we encouraged him to do it.
I'd be willing to bet the vast majority of his problems in getting your parts out are more of him having a problem trying to get them from the manufacturer.
Let's face it, this is the marine business. There is a timewarp in every other area of the marine business. 2 weeks turns quickly into 6. And I think all the dealers are victims of that time warp. Fred included. We all had high hopes it would be different with him, but I truely think it is out of his control.
He's still in the early stages of this business, and likely doesn't have the capital (or chooses not) to "stock" many parts, in all the various colors and configurations that are available.

Love the way the diehards defend old Freddy no matter what. I gave him one chance when he started out and he failed miserably, never tried again.
If this was Joe Blow Marine you guys would all be talking bats again...test period over.

Fred was more then flipping burgers he owned the place/places. His ship is sinking fast unfortunately

Yes, if you recall, I was also here back in the day.
I believe he owned 7-9 burger flings, and wanted to get out and get into marine. If I'm not mistaken, his original intention was to do it more as a hobby - but this business won't let you do that.
It's a tough gig, and yes, if he doesn't handle it correctly, it'll fall apart on him - just like any business. He's been dealt some pretty tough blows, but I agree business is business.
I wish him and his crew the best, and If I can do anything to help, I would, both for Fred, and the customer.
Just speaking my thoughts on the situation.
I think it probably sucks for all involved.

I ordered a set of CMI exhaust from Trick Marine last year, they came right away, no problems at all. What name is he using on Ebay? Im in the marine business and it is a tuff job that is very demanding, it is a short season for most, and people dont like to lose time or money, sorry to here about this.


www.WMFwatercraft.com

While I don't have a dog in this fight at the moment, I've had several very good experiences buying from Fred earlier this year....

Being someone who relies on manufacturers to supply my company with material it is a never ending struggle to get things when were supposed to...Unlike in past years today everyone orders equipment just in time and they never make deliveries even with 10-12 weeks lead time...

One thing that most of my suppliers lack is in communication when something isn't going to be delivered as required usually we have to call and call and hopefully we get a response of some sort...

Hopefully the Fred and people at Trick can do a better job of communicating with their customers even if they don't have any concrete answers...

Just my $.02

:Whatever::Whatever::Whatever::Whatever:go stick a sock in

Yep.

Yes poor poor Fred, he took peoples money, doesn't return calls or e mails to folks he owes...and I'm the bad guy?

No matter what he is going through thats no excuse for not following up or refunding. I think all you Fred lovers should guarantee the deals, put your money where your mouth is.

I find it interesting that he can't email or call his customers
but when some one on EBay left him negative feedback he
responded right away (on a Sunday night).

I cancelled my order, asked for refund and have gotten Amex
involved. Smells allot like credit card fraud to me.

:violent-smiley-045:

Too vaclempt to deal with customers but well enough to shovel stock out the back door on EBay !!!

So some of you guys want all these issues to be kept quiet so others can go thru a charade as well ??? Nice.. :rolleyes:

I feel bad for all he has gone and wish him MEGA better luck in future endeavors as well as life, but continued bad biz practice by a advertiser on the site needs to be known as well irregardless of who they are and what they have gone thru. It's simply buisness, and maybe this biz isn't his calling. It happens..

I've been around here a while too, and met Fred in Miami a few years back in Miami. He seemed like a pretty nice guy. I've never had any business dealings with him.

After reading multiple threads about his endeavors into the boat parts world, I will have to agree with the above post; business is business. It deals you all kinds of ups and downs.
These boats are personal toys. If I were in the business of maintaining or modifying these toys for you folks, and I had tried Trick as a vendor to do that for you, it certainly appears from what I've read it would have been necessary for me to have found another source ASAP in order to keep you happy.

I've been up this road before in a personal toy of a different sort. Although maintaining $30 million jets for private individuals is a little different, expectations are not. Those expectations are to have it done in a reasonable (or sometimes unreasonable, like yesterday:rolleyes:) amount of time, and if I can't perform that simple request due to a vendor's lack of performance, sorry, but I'm getting a new vendor in a hurry. I realize a lot of these orders are for your own personal use as do-it-yourselfers, but aren't the expectations in vendor performance the same?
Jim

No dog in this fight but ...

To the guys who are attacking Fred on a personal level, stick to the facts. You ordered something you didn't get. You have a totally legitimate gripe. No business, no matter how beloved by the members of this forum, should be immune to customer service issues.

To the guys who have tried to defend Fred by bringing his personal life into the argument, bad idea. In business, no one cares. That's the hard truth. Best to defend him on the basis of the great, consistent customer service you've received. That's a legitimate defense.

Jim, I agree with you.
And in what I say next, I may be taken as contradicting myself from earlier statements - but I'll say it anyway.
My JOB is "procurement of consumable supplies for a manufacturing facility".
What that means is I'm responsible for spending about 1.4M a year on all the supplies and materials needed to make a product.
That also means if we don't have one of those hundred supplies, we don't produce anything, and 150 people on the production floor go home because they have nothing to work with. I'm dealing with budgets, stock levels, shelf lives, and International transport of HAZ/MAT goods, and getting supplies through customs.
Yes, if I have a vendor that isn't performing, I'm going to someone else immediately. I have to - for productions sake. Sometimes there is only one vendor for a specific product - I need to plan accordingly.
But, if vendor #1 has a better price/quality, I let them know their service is lacking. Get their service up, and I'll be back.
Sometimes I go with a vendor that I know will have a long lead-time, or are a PITA to deal with, but the quality and price are favorable.
IE - I have one vendor that requires a faxed PO for every order. If there is a price change that I was not notified of for as little as $0.10, I must revise my PO to reflect that. This is on an order for several thousand dollars. PITA, but I get good product, although it takes awhile.
I guess my point is, you do business with those you like doing business with.
If they are having a hard time delivering, you let them know (discreetly - so as not to hurt the rest of their business and start a smear campaign), and let them work out their internal issues.
I just think it's good business ethics.
In the past, I have also had a customer tell me they are not happy with my service. I asked the details, and told them use someone else for 30 days - give me time to work out the issues, and then come back and try me again. As a customer they will respect that.

I have ordered a couple of things from Trick and had no problems. I really do like to support vendors from this site and fred's prices are great but there have been a number of similar threads to this one lately and I am nervous about placing another order with them.

VERY GOOD POINT made here. I had a number of conversations with Fred and came away feeling he would be a great guy to hang out with.......I just can't count on his organization to fulfill it's obligations (or even do what they tell me they are going to do)

Not sticking up for him but I ordered a couple of items from him in August and recieved them without any trouble. I highly agree that there isnt any excuse of not talking with his customers no matter what the situation is. Even if he said they are out of luck. You would sure think he is reading this.