Mule
Guru
Well here we go, I have pigeon holed Westerbeke in the same file as March raw water pumps.... Neither seem, by my experience give one whit about customer service. I do have documentation of my mistreatment as a customer by both. I hope others have had better experiences, but as for me I hope I do not have to ever deal with them again meaning ACE, Westerbeke or March.
Warning issued
Below is a long e mail concerning the efforts to get my genset repaired, a 3 cylinder genset. I have achieved success but with no help from Westerbeke or any dealer. The closest thing to help was being honored with the opportunity to buy a $207.00 head gasket for the genset 3 cylinder diesel. This should be a part, with a reasonable profit margin selling for below $50.
I spoke with a friend in the marine parts business and he discussed the horror stories being caught between the customer and distributer, with the customer being down for months. So be warned, if you have Westerbeke anything you may very well be looking at the end of a barrel as they hold a gun to your head. Many marinization companies disclose the engine manufacturer and perhaps the generator manufacturer. Not Westerbeke, they need the end user as hostage for extortion.
=========================================
The first week of January I googled Westerbeke Dealers near 34946 and Ace popped up. I called Ace and talked to a man named XXXX about a service call insofar I had been unsuccessful in getting my generator to start.
XXXX said they were extremely busy and the earliest he could have a tech out would be in three weeks, but if he had other calls in Fort Pierce he might have a tech do a drive by while a tech was in Fort Pierce. OK, I agreed on the 3 week max and that was that. I was to get a call.
Fast forward 3 weeks. I knew my genset was not being worked on because my phone was not ringing. I called XXXX again gave me the busy dance and recommended another tech that was independent that sometimes does his overflow. I called Michael
Michael was here the next day and tried to fix but the trouble is mechanical and Michael said that he was really a boat electrician, not a mechanic and he felt it needed a compression check and a fuel injector pump pressure test. I was very impressed with Michael, his electrical competence and his customer manner.
I called XXXX back, and Michael also called XXXX and filled him in. That was last week and the commitment was to have an Ace tech out here this week. This week is over insofar as this is Friday, February 5. Still another broken commitment, still no closer to having my generator fixed, still not one call to update me on why, when, how.
There are always problems, but communication between a business and a customer is important. I am taking the time to write this, and I will post it elsewhere, because I do not like being ignored, diminished and a non issue.
Every conversation I had XXXX acted as it the drive from Vero to north Fort Pierce was akin to driving from Pensacola to Miami. It is about 12 to 15 miles most of the way 60 mph is the common speed.......at most 15 minutes. I do not get it.
I can only assume that Ace does not value their Westerbeke customers. My neighbor had turbo work done on his Cats by ACE and I met an employee named Chris. The boat owner and I were both very impressed by Chris. He called after I did, his work is done and has been a couple of weeks.
At this time I a not sure what I am going to do. I have trust (justifiably so) issues with Ace and I a not so sure what it would be like AFTER I give Ace my money if another problem arises considering how unreliable my experience has been thus far.
===========================================
This e mail went to the HQ of Westebeke and ACE. I got a call AFTER calling in to Westerbeke 3 weeks later. The call came from Grove Co. Out of Houston, the parts distributer.
Sidebar; My Generator ran for the first time last Friday, March 11, 2016. Valve job, $100. Head gasket and assorted small gaskets and seals $283. Including shipping.
Warning issued
Below is a long e mail concerning the efforts to get my genset repaired, a 3 cylinder genset. I have achieved success but with no help from Westerbeke or any dealer. The closest thing to help was being honored with the opportunity to buy a $207.00 head gasket for the genset 3 cylinder diesel. This should be a part, with a reasonable profit margin selling for below $50.
I spoke with a friend in the marine parts business and he discussed the horror stories being caught between the customer and distributer, with the customer being down for months. So be warned, if you have Westerbeke anything you may very well be looking at the end of a barrel as they hold a gun to your head. Many marinization companies disclose the engine manufacturer and perhaps the generator manufacturer. Not Westerbeke, they need the end user as hostage for extortion.
=========================================
The first week of January I googled Westerbeke Dealers near 34946 and Ace popped up. I called Ace and talked to a man named XXXX about a service call insofar I had been unsuccessful in getting my generator to start.
XXXX said they were extremely busy and the earliest he could have a tech out would be in three weeks, but if he had other calls in Fort Pierce he might have a tech do a drive by while a tech was in Fort Pierce. OK, I agreed on the 3 week max and that was that. I was to get a call.
Fast forward 3 weeks. I knew my genset was not being worked on because my phone was not ringing. I called XXXX again gave me the busy dance and recommended another tech that was independent that sometimes does his overflow. I called Michael
Michael was here the next day and tried to fix but the trouble is mechanical and Michael said that he was really a boat electrician, not a mechanic and he felt it needed a compression check and a fuel injector pump pressure test. I was very impressed with Michael, his electrical competence and his customer manner.
I called XXXX back, and Michael also called XXXX and filled him in. That was last week and the commitment was to have an Ace tech out here this week. This week is over insofar as this is Friday, February 5. Still another broken commitment, still no closer to having my generator fixed, still not one call to update me on why, when, how.
There are always problems, but communication between a business and a customer is important. I am taking the time to write this, and I will post it elsewhere, because I do not like being ignored, diminished and a non issue.
Every conversation I had XXXX acted as it the drive from Vero to north Fort Pierce was akin to driving from Pensacola to Miami. It is about 12 to 15 miles most of the way 60 mph is the common speed.......at most 15 minutes. I do not get it.
I can only assume that Ace does not value their Westerbeke customers. My neighbor had turbo work done on his Cats by ACE and I met an employee named Chris. The boat owner and I were both very impressed by Chris. He called after I did, his work is done and has been a couple of weeks.
At this time I a not sure what I am going to do. I have trust (justifiably so) issues with Ace and I a not so sure what it would be like AFTER I give Ace my money if another problem arises considering how unreliable my experience has been thus far.
===========================================
This e mail went to the HQ of Westebeke and ACE. I got a call AFTER calling in to Westerbeke 3 weeks later. The call came from Grove Co. Out of Houston, the parts distributer.
Sidebar; My Generator ran for the first time last Friday, March 11, 2016. Valve job, $100. Head gasket and assorted small gaskets and seals $283. Including shipping.
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