In Dave writes:

On Tue, 17 Jan 2006 16:25:36 GMT, "Bob Cross"
said:

For several years I worked for two locally owned Marine Supply Stores. We
prided ourselves in boating knowledge and service. Many times we could get
obsolete and hard to find parts for our customers and personal service was a
hallmark. Lots of special orders, special attention and a wealth of marine
know-how.

Unfortunately when West Marine cameto town our customer base vanished
overnight..based on price alone ..and most could care less about the
knowledge and service we provided. Both stores closed up. I guess you get
what you wish for. When I hear folks gripe about West Marine I remember
back when...Just some thoughts on how we all got ourselves in this mess.

This has been a problem for single-store retailers for at least 50-75 years.
I remember my father talking about it. And my grandfather. Not the marine
business, but same principle.

People in many cases gat what they want to pay for, but unfortunately
they do not understand it themselves. Good service is something most
people notice only when it is absent.

- Lauri Tarkkonen

"Lauri Tarkkonen" wrote in message
...

People in many cases gat what they want to pay for, but unfortunately
they do not understand it themselves. Good service is something most
people notice only when it is absent.

- Lauri Tarkkonen


The root of the problem, whether you are talking West Marine, Wal-Mart or
health insurance for that matter, is the consumer. We all want it cheap.
We expect competent help and service, but in their absence, we'll take the
cheap.

Often we hear people bragging about the low price they paid for something.
Rarely do you hear of anyone claiming to have paid a bit more, but it was
worth it for the expertise of the salesperson.

Health insurance? The system of major medical coverage was fine until the
advent of the "HMO" whereby you only had to pay 5 bucks to visit the doc.
It's been downhill ever since.

Eisboch

Eisboch wrote:
The root of the problem, whether you are talking West Marine, Wal-Mart or
health insurance for that matter, is the consumer. We all want it cheap.
We expect competent help and service, but in their absence, we'll take the
cheap.

The problem with WM is, they are no longer cheap...in fact, they have
become the most expensive. They bought out all their "bricks and
mortar" competition, but as online chandleries continue to poliferate, I
believe their perceived monopolistic attitude has already begun to bite
them in the @$$...I expect them to be in chapter 11 within another 5
years. I THINK they'll survive it, but only by coming marine
"convenience stores"...on every corner, but only stocking those few
items people typically need right now, and therefore have no choice but
to pay list+50% for.

A shame...because it was only 10 years ago that they were the
superstar...their people were the most knowledgable...best prices...but
then they decided to buy out everyone else and it's been all downhill
since. The history of their stock price since they first went public in
the mid '90s tells the story...and IMO also forecasts their future.


--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books...ku=90&cat=1304

"Peggie Hall" wrote in message
...
They bought out all their "bricks and
mortar" competition, but as online chandleries continue to poliferate, I
believe their perceived monopolistic attitude has already begun to bite
them in the @$$...I expect them to be in chapter 11 within another 5
years. I THINK they'll survive it, but only by coming marine
"convenience stores"...on every corner, but only stocking those few
items people typically need right now, and therefore have no choice but
to pay list+50% for.

Here in Beaufort, we have a WM Express which just about that. I was
disappointed with the selection of stock. It seems that they weren't even on
a par with the fishing and boating gear in the sporting goods section at out
local Wal-Mart.

Leanne

In article , Leanne wrote:

"Peggie Hall" wrote in message
t...
They bought out all their "bricks and
mortar" competition, but as online chandleries continue to poliferate, I
believe their perceived monopolistic attitude has already begun to bite
them in the @$$...I expect them to be in chapter 11 within another 5
years. I THINK they'll survive it, but only by coming marine
"convenience stores"...on every corner, but only stocking those few
items people typically need right now, and therefore have no choice but
to pay list+50% for.

Here in Beaufort, we have a WM Express which just about that. I was
disappointed with the selection of stock. It seems that they weren't even on
a par with the fishing and boating gear in the sporting goods section at out
local Wal-Mart.

Interesting... when I owned my own boat a while ago, I signed up for
some part time work at the local WM, so that I could get the employee
discount for my project.

It was an interesting experience. There were some people who worked
there who had a vast amount of experience, others were strictly retail
clerks with no experience other than ringing up stuff. I don't claim
to have vast experience, but I think 30+ years of sailing counts for
something. :-)

I found it to be a depressing place to work. The "managers" were very,
very concerned that I was interested in stealing their jobs (masters
degree, etc.). I wasn't at all. I was only there for the discount and
would have worked for zero $ if they had given me the option. I tried
hard to explain that to them, since their unease was obvious. It
didn't help mostly. The store manager was not much better. He was only
interested in getting the registers working continuously, and while
there's nothing wrong with that, he really didn't care about the
customer beyond them buying something. Actually, he was quite savvy
about that, constantly reminding us to not discount customers who
looked poor. (My experience was that these guys, mostly asian, would
walk in and buy several outboards in one pop in cash, and they weren't
even concerned about a discount through their advantage or port supply
cards.)

So, I, thinking that I could possibly help customers make some good
choices about what they were looking for, would sometimes spend a few
minutes talking to them about such things as anchoring techique,
equipment to buy, merits of this item over that. Man, did I get in
trouble. Apparently, I didn't always recommend the most expensive
item, and had the temerity to actually talk to them, when I was
supposed to immediately hand them off to a more "senior"
person... e.g., someone with more retail experience. :-)

Well, I got the parts I needed, then I quit. But, I do know a couple
of people who've stuck it out. They had bigger projects. :-)

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

"Jonathan Ganz" wrote in message
...
In article , Leanne
wrote:

snip, snip

It was an interesting experience. There were some people who worked
there who had a vast amount of experience, others were strictly retail
clerks with no experience other than ringing up stuff. I don't claim
to have vast experience, but I think 30+ years of sailing counts for
something. :-)


At our local store most of the sales people are part-timers, either
semi-retired boaters or students. I think the only full time person is the
store manager. Not enough business, especially in winter, to have more full
time staff.
I think the level of service and expertise shown by the staff must vary a
lot from location to location and I don't really think its entirely fair to
complain about this. You have to assume they hire the best qualified local
people that apply for the job. Same thing for the store manager's attitude
toward customers.
My local independent chandler has some dim bulbs working for him and some
very helpful guys. It pays to get to know whom you need to speak to so I
wouldn't necessarily make a final judgement based on 1 visit.

Interesting... when I owned my own boat a while ago, I signed up for
some part time work at the local WM, so that I could get the employee
discount for my project.


So, how much is the employee discount? What sort of bennies, if any ?

L8R

Skip, rehabbing to be able to continue to refit until my shoulder's finished
and we leave

--
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
http://tinyurl.com/384p2 The vessel as Tehamana, as we bought her

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore.
Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

It really is a good experience to do business with people with experience
(like yourself) when shopping at WM. Easy to tell those folks from the
"professional retail types", especially when I makes cracks about $200
impulse buy sunglasses, the sailors laugh and the others frown!
"Jonathan Ganz" wrote in message
...
In article , Leanne
wrote:

"Peggie Hall" wrote in message
t...
They bought out all their "bricks and
mortar" competition, but as online chandleries continue to poliferate,
I
believe their perceived monopolistic attitude has already begun to bite
them in the @$$...I expect them to be in chapter 11 within another 5
years. I THINK they'll survive it, but only by coming marine
"convenience stores"...on every corner, but only stocking those few
items people typically need right now, and therefore have no choice but
to pay list+50% for.

Here in Beaufort, we have a WM Express which just about that. I was
disappointed with the selection of stock. It seems that they weren't even
on
a par with the fishing and boating gear in the sporting goods section at
out
local Wal-Mart.

Interesting... when I owned my own boat a while ago, I signed up for
some part time work at the local WM, so that I could get the employee
discount for my project.

It was an interesting experience. There were some people who worked
there who had a vast amount of experience, others were strictly retail
clerks with no experience other than ringing up stuff. I don't claim
to have vast experience, but I think 30+ years of sailing counts for
something. :-)

I found it to be a depressing place to work. The "managers" were very,
very concerned that I was interested in stealing their jobs (masters
degree, etc.). I wasn't at all. I was only there for the discount and
would have worked for zero $ if they had given me the option. I tried
hard to explain that to them, since their unease was obvious. It
didn't help mostly. The store manager was not much better. He was only
interested in getting the registers working continuously, and while
there's nothing wrong with that, he really didn't care about the
customer beyond them buying something. Actually, he was quite savvy
about that, constantly reminding us to not discount customers who
looked poor. (My experience was that these guys, mostly asian, would
walk in and buy several outboards in one pop in cash, and they weren't
even concerned about a discount through their advantage or port supply
cards.)

So, I, thinking that I could possibly help customers make some good
choices about what they were looking for, would sometimes spend a few
minutes talking to them about such things as anchoring techique,
equipment to buy, merits of this item over that. Man, did I get in
trouble. Apparently, I didn't always recommend the most expensive
item, and had the temerity to actually talk to them, when I was
supposed to immediately hand them off to a more "senior"
person... e.g., someone with more retail experience. :-)

Well, I got the parts I needed, then I quit. But, I do know a couple
of people who've stuck it out. They had bigger projects. :-)

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