"Tamaroak" wrote in message
...
I'm one of those part time West Marine employees. I work almost entirely
for the discount (certainly not the wages!), although my wife says I have
to quit before we go broke. I am outfitting a trawler for the Great Loop
and need the price break. Some of the discounts are around 50%. Most are
about 33%, but electronics are poor, as there is little profit in them.

I think most of the associates are people like me, although most work more
than I do. Their advantage is that many of us really do know what we are
selling. If you walk into a store and ask if anyone has ever taken a boat
to _____ and how did they outfit it, someone will tell you to talk to
____, who will almost always not be working that day. The disadvantage is
that we are not all really as devoted to the company as we are to our
boats and working part-time sometimes keeps us out of practice with their
awful computer system.

It's a fairly decent company to work for with a 401k that they contribute
to, health and dental insurance for those who work more than 20 hours a
week. flexible hours and, most importantly, THE DISCOOUNT. It's boring up
here in the cold weather and very hectic in the warm.

Our catalogue is a wealth of information and worth the cost of a
membership just for the information. Renew now before the price goes up.

Prices are sometimes higher than the competition, but we match theirs. We
also take back anything you are unhappy with.

There are certainly things I would do differently if I ran the company,
(such as their advertising, for example) but I don't, and don't want to,
either.

Capt. Jeff

Maybe things are different from where you hail... it's all over the map down
here with who works there. A large percentage of employees are strictly
retain. They have experience only wrt WM stuff. Of course, there are people
who are quite knowledgeable as you suggest (and as you are).

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com