"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 16 Jun 2005 07:38:38 -0400, DSK wrote:

wrote:
NEWS From BoatU.S.
BOATU.S. ONLINE CONSUMER DATABASE DEBUTS
... (snipped for brevity) ...

Thanks, Chuck. I'm a Boats US member and didn't know about this.

BTW if the Boats US magazine is included in the $14 membership, I'd
recommend it highly as a good deal.

Give me a good reason to join BoatUS for $14 per year - seriously, as
a member, what do you gain for the $14?

Without being a member, I can walk into their Rochester NY store any time I
want and be "helped" by some of the worst retail staff I've ever met. :-)

Went in last week to buy a boat ladder. The ones they had wouldn't fit, but
the merchandise label showed the model numbers for OTHER sizes, one of which
I wanted. Went to the vegetable at the counter and asked if she could give
me the phone # of the West Marine 15 minutes away so I could call & see if
they had the ladder. She said she could check their inventory from her
computer. She punched in the model number and came up with two results:

Model 385788 - 3 Step Ladder 7" Hook - $34.95
Model 385788 - *** 3 Step Ladder 7" Hook 6 Pack - $38.95

She asked "Which one is it?" I said "They both show the right model number,
and the first one matches the right price on your shelf. I don't know what a
6 Pack of ladders is all about, so it has to be the first one". She says
"Well, it shows both in stock, but I can't call them to be sure unless
you're sure of which one it is". I said "It's YOUR computer system. Aren't
you supposed to know more about it than I am? How about just giving me their
phone number?" She walks away and gets the manager, who goes through the
same routine with the computer. I finally convinced them to just give me the
damned phone number. It took about 30 seconds for the human at the other
store to find out that he had the ladder, and set it aside for me.

The store's like this ALL the time, and has been for years. West Marine, on
the other hand, is a dream to shop at. I don't understand how the two
companies can be related.