Help! Custom Leaning Post Gone Bad ...

[omaier]

Last March while preparing for the 2005 season, I contacted a reputable custom marine fabricator in the northeast about building me a leaning post. After several discussions and me providing a to-scale drawing of what I wanted him to weld in April, he gladly accepted my $500 deposit. As part of the discussions I was extremely clear about why I needed the dimensions I did, the materials to be used to cover the post and the overall look I was trying to achieve and that if he needed to deviate from the drawing to call and discuss the options. Fast forward to September ... I won't bore you with all of the details ... basically he wouldn't return calls, provide any of the progress photos (although he promised he would in April) or give me a good date for delivery (I got the "ready next week" more than once) ... He finally sent me pictures and dimensions. Wrong dimensions, post is similar in concept to what I wanted (custom swing-back leaning post) but not close to the drawing and had the wrong covering material. The builder refuses to refund my deposit and has sent me several emails (each escalating in tone and becoming less "customer service" oriented) ending with the last that offered me no solution to the situation, explaining that he would keep my $500 (I guess deposits are not refundable regardless of whether the builder follows directions or not) and sell the leaning post at the next boat show.

Anyone have any ideas how to proceed?

Mike

[NoBones]

I contacted a reputable custom marine fabricator

Maybe not so reputable after all. I think I would have a face to face conversation and demand what you had originally asked for or your money back.
There are to many guys out there bending pipe to be this arrogant. Word of mouth can be more damaging than any other
form of communication. Good luck, Ken

[tinboat]

I would tell him that you are going to expose this situation on the Internet unless he refunds your money asap, and if he refuses to do so, post it - with his name - on this site, The Hull Truth, Continuous Wave, and any other marine site you know about.

[Abe's Rocket]

You could go to the boatshow and "help" potential customers of his, with feedback from your experience with this fabricator.

Is there any chance that you take the leaning post and sell it yourself? even if you lost $200 or $300, it would be less then losing your entire deposit....still sucks

[Reel Smoker]

Mike,I would do exactly what No Bones said and tinboats idea afterwords. That sucks,I dont understand why these guys work this way they obviously dont understand that word of mouth is the best advertising there is.Good luck.

[OFFSHORESYSTEM]

mike sorry to hear about this problem with a marine vender. i owne a small fiberglass shop in the north east and hate to hear about this type of behavior. i always seem to get a little behind but i always make a effort to return phone calls .could you give us there name so maybe we dont get taken by them i would think that they would rebuild it or make some adjustments with the finall cost

[omaier]

Thanks for all of the support!! Several people have asked for the name of the shop. The name of the company is Arc-Tek Marine in Connecticut. I have also included a couple of choice emails I received from him explaining his position on constructing custom products and customer service. Many people have talked about the power of "word of mouth" ... I'll take one for the team, all I ask is that you share this experience with other boaters so that they don't have to go through the same nightmare. Also, if any of you happen to be at the boat show and see Arc-Tek selling a leaning post please make sure the customers hear this story ... thanks!!

Mike


Email #1: He was having trouble getting me a picture of the leaning post so I asked if I could get a local from THT to stop by and take a couple of pictures ... here is the response:

-----Original Message-----
From: James Tatler
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 10:16 PM
To: Maier, Michael A
Subject: RE: 23 Seacraft Leaning Post


mike, i am trying for pics......if you are trying to be funny.....dont work..this is 1 hell of a post...my computer is f....ed...which accepts my kodak program...wich doesnt work.......as far as tht....who cares??????noone in the northest caresabout thth.......tht is goin to flop...as far as the post..i am trying to send pics...my computer takes an hr to send a pic..i want this leaning post to you as i know you do....i will use it on my boat.........as far as bashing me.....do what ya need to....it works both ways...it really does...sorry ...i am a big mouth with a bigger following...f tht........have a great nite.....jim

Mike wrote:
Were you able to get pictures and dimensions? I was going to ask for help on THT ... ask if someone in the area could stop by your shop and take pictures and dimensions, when would be a good time?

Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Maier, Michael A
Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 11:56 AM
To: 'James Tatler'
Subject: RE: 23 Seacraft Leaning Post


Do you have any pictures? I would also like a picture with the cover on the leaning post.

Mike
Email #2: String of emails (addresses removed) after I received pictures of the leaning post:
mike, heres how this works. i the builder. me. builds these custom items for many customers. maybe 200 posts a year. what a person draws on paper does not always work on pipe. everything works on paper . including stick figures. i spent enough time on this post. including. cushions/labor/ pipe/time. i have towers that dont require this much attention/time. the 500.00 deposit is non refundable...... ..... ... i put alot more than 500.00 into this project. sorry, but i am giving this till sep 25. 2005 then i will put it in the boat show for sale...i cannot entertain this no longer. i am a very busy shop. this is my last email. balance is 1150.00+ 6% ct sales tax. this includes the custom cover....thanks and have a great night......jim

Mike wrote:

Jim,
Unfortunately that is not what you told me in April based on the diagram I faxed to you. You indicated that you would make it per my diagram and if that if you ran into challenges that we would stop and discuss alternatives. I have some very specific dimensions I was trying to accommodate and by making it larger than requested it will not work correctly on my boat. At this point I think we need to figure out how to remedy this situation.

Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: James Tatler
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2005 10:04 AM
To: Maier, Michael A
Subject: RE: pix


mike, being a fabricator for 20 yrs your drawing would not have worked. your verticals would have been to narrow for the cushions. you also have folding footrests.. plus the storage trays are molded a certain size. the frame would have looked like an upsise down..wouldnt work..i also lost all my original emails...jim

Mike wrote:
Jim,
Thanks for the pictures, I did receive them both times (deleted them from this email to not blow up any email servers). In April, I provided a drawing with specific dimensions of the post I wanted built. I was extremely clear about how the down tubes were to be oriented (vertical) and the maximum front to back dimensions of the main post assembly (18-19 inches). I was also clear with my request to have smooth vinyl. We agreed that in the event you needed to deviate from the scale drawing I provided that you would call me to discuss the available options and agree on a solution. Appears that we are now beyond that point. How do you propose we resolve? Please call with questions (###) ###-####.

Mike

[Finster]

That makes sence. I don't know and haven't delt with the guy or seen his work, but he's already got a pretty bad reputation around the net as it is.
You should have called Pipedreams. He made me one for my Aquasport last spring....Oh no wait. Now I remember, he was supposed to build me one for the Aquasport last spring. So thats why I keep falling out of the boat everytime I lean back?....Yeah, its all coming back to me now. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

Nah, I can't bust his nad's, he's building it as a favor and I haven't had a chance to go down and feed him beers while he builds it.

[RS]

So what it seems to boil down to is that he took $500 from you knowing that he could not build it to your specifications. That sounds like fraud to me. The CT AG's office can probably help.

[jorgeinmiami]

Here in Florida we have small claims court
Do you heve that there?

People seemto react when theyget in front of a judge