T&T: Fw: West Marine Price matching

[Larry N. Brown]

Love'm or hate'm, West Marine store are everywhere and I've had very good 
luck on price matching at our local place. The state and local taxes are a 
wash with the internet store shipping cost, so the difference is that if I 
have a WM product or my WM receipt' I can exchange the part almost anywhere 
locally.

That being said, here is a caveat. To cut costs, they have hired an 
increasing number of bright looking young people who don't know squat about 
boats, boating, epoxy, EPIRBs, battery wire size, or anything else. They are 
as useful as a Radio Shack "associate" when you go in to buy a resistor or 
LED. Used to be a lot of old salts there who could help you out. No longer. 
They also don't know the ins and outs of the price matching program. A 
shrewd manager who knows all the various wormholes does. When I go in, I 
take my internet price sheet and go directly to the manager. If the 
manager's not there, I come back when he is.

Yesterday I called WM to order a $175 part and asked for the manager. Can 
you match Defender? What's Defender? $134.99. How about $122.99? Yes. It'll 
be here next Wednesday. I'd heard you no longer matched internet prices. 
That's true but there are ways around it. OK, thanks. So, I'll have my $175 
hose for $133 and a receipt for when it breaks- if I'm not blown up in the 
process!

Regards,

Larry & Teri Brown
MV Cigano, 47' Prairie Sundeck
Still glued to the dock in Covington, LA