Where Credit is Due: September 2012

Brewer Pilot’s Point - Marina in westBrook

I was on the last leg of a six-day sailing trip heading back to Branford, Conn., when I badly injured my hand. As I was checking the engine’s V-drive housing, my hand made contact with the spinning flange on the propeller shaft, mangling two of my fingers. One of my companions administered first aid, but it was obvious I needed medical attention quickly. The wounds were very deep, and there was a real possibility I could lose my fingertips.

Westbrook was the closest port, and having stayed at Brewer Pilot’s Point (www.byy.com) many years before, I knew it would be an easy harbor to enter for my inexperienced crew.

We contacted the folks at Pilot’s Point in Westbrook, and they jumped into action. They gave my crew clear instructions and told us they would be of any assistance we needed. They directed us to the service dock, and within minutes, employee Kris Schmid advised us he had contacted the ambulance and EMTs. They arrived shortly after that and transported me to the hospital for treatment.

I want PS readers to know how well I was treated by the Pilot’s Point staff and how much I appreciate their assistance and genuine concern, and how impressed I am with their professionalism and skill in dealing with my emergency.

Hendrik J. Hali

Windrider, Pearson 365

Milford, Conn.

Polyform

I had a Polyform HTM-4 fender fail after several years of use. I spoke with Byron Liddle at Polyform (www.polyformus.com) and sent him some pictures. After a few questions were asked and a very helpful conversation, Byron and Polyform sent me a new replacement fender at no charge. They even inflated it for me!

Great product and great service!

Ron Rubin

San Diego, Calif.

Questus Marine

Many thanks to Rob Gorman and the team at Questus Marine (www.questusmarine.com) for their outstanding customer service and product support. My six-year-old, self-leveling radar mount was robustly built but self-destructing nonetheless. The Questus staff was tenacious, eventually diagnosing and correcting a small, but serious, installation error at a very reasonable cost.

A Questus mount will be one of the first things I buy for my next boat, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a high-quality and thoughtfully engineered product.

David Ricciardi

Via email

Edson Corp.

Recently, a well-intentioned, but heavy-handed friend snapped the retaining clip off the end of my Edson Wheel Storage Device (item No. 683-1S). I emailed the company for information on a replacement part. After receiving a very prompt email from Ken Martin in customer service, two replacement parts arrived within a few days and at no charge. Edson even paid for the postage.

While other companies ream you for every small replacement part, Edson (www.edsonmarine.com) obviously understands that sometimes it's the little things that insure repeat customers!

Clint D. Harper, Ph.D.

Southern Cross, Catalina 42 Mk ll

Channel Islands Harbor, Calif.

Princeton Tec

Over the past 20+ years, we have purchased five TEC 400 dive lights from Princeton Tec (www.princetec.com). We love them for Scuba diving and for using around the boat. The two oldest lights had magnetic slide switches that eventually failed by sticking in the on position. We emailed Princeton Tec to see whether they sold a repair kit to replace the switches. They promptly responded and advised us to send the lights in for repair.

We were surprised to receive two, brand new TEC 400 lights at no charge. They even included batteries! Service doesn’t get any better than that!

Susan and Bob Parker

Punta Gorda, Fla.

Raymarine

My 2004 Raymarine C80 Classic Multifunction Display went bad. After some troubleshooting to no avail, I looked online and found that Raymarine/FLIR has a flat repair fee of $675 for the C80—ouch!—but the fee is actually the maximum charge for repair.

I sent the unit to Raymarine (www.raymarine.com), and to my surprise, I received the C80 back in the mail, postage paid, and no service charge. They found a loose jockey-board connection and re-seated the connection. While I would have been OK with their regular $90 diagnosis fee, plus shipping, I think Raymarine demonstrated great customer relations.

 

Michael Dobrzensky

Wind Star, Hunter 33

Santa Barbara, Calif.

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