Customer service ! Where is it? Rex Marine rant!

[The Big Al]

I ordered a Black Battery box 2 month ago. I was told back order be 4-6 weeks.
I checked today.

This is the answer!

============================================
Hi Al,

Thanks for your order. Due to poor sales I'm fairly certain that we will not be building these BIL boxes this year. We can keep the order going and call you when they are available or you can cancel and look for something else.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Regards,
Brian @ Rex Marine

=============================================

They want my thoughts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

POOR SALES! NO ****!!!!!!

[transomstand]

I have 40 years business experience.

I have learned that if you have no inventory of a particular item, sales will be poor

[JohnR]

If its billet, see if CP has something like it. I called several places looking for my shifter, I believe Rex was one of them and they all told me 6-8 weeks. CP said it'll be in my hand in 2 weeks and it was here in less.

[georgiariverrat]

Check with Dana Marina as well. Ordered from them many of times with great service.

http://www.danamarineproducts.com/index.cfm?CFID=1302795&CFTOKEN=382f68-b868fb3d-b466-4e25-9a21-623ba96c4466

http://www.danamarineproducts.com/GroupCatProducts.cfm?group_id=2&catid=1&CFID=1302795&CFTOKEN=382f68-b868fb3d-b466-4e25-9a21-623ba96c4466

[99fxst99]

I understand REX's position, and "what are your thoughts" should have been "what would you like to do". I have dealt with REX many time in the past with good results. I work with many specialty vendors and due to the economic situation of the boating industry many have fallen on hard times, unable to keep inventory, COD, etc. We have recently purchased a sizeable number of battery boxes from Livorsi. Give them a call.

[TNT]

www.eddiemarine.com

www.danamarineproducts.com (http://www.danamarineproducts.com)

[Ron V]

I agree with transomstand, although working in inventory for my living I will say that you also can't sit there with every possible flavor of every possible item stacked to the rafters just in case someone decides to call up and buy it someday. BUT, to reply with that kind of answer after the promise date has come and gone is pretty priceless.

[nelsoncat]

I went through the same thing with them last year with a linear actuator. Said they were on backorder but on there way from the vendor. Guess what? Over a month passed and nothing. Cancelled and re ordered and the same thing. First excuse was they lost the order. So I said "so every one you got in is sold?" The answer then was no we aren't getting them. By then I didn't want it any more!

Craig

[Forkin' Crazy]

I have 40 years business experience.

I have learned that if you have no inventory of a particular item, sales will be poor

So what do you do? Build just one box and go in the hole doing it? Or build several of them and let them sit on the shelf?

[Sonik]

Just another option for you depending on what you are looking for in a mount. I went with a single black powder coated group 34 mount and they had it on my doorstep quickly and its a nice piece.

EDIT: Group 34 battery, not 24. :p

http://artecindustries.3dcartstores.com/Battery-Mounts_c_134.html

[transomstand]

So what do you do? Build just one box and go in the hole doing it? Or build several of them and let them sit on the shelf?

You don't offer it at all, then you don't get threads like this.

[Forkin' Crazy]

You don't offer it at all, then you don't get threads like this.

Can't argue with that. I bet it's hard to make that decision.... when to discontinue a line. I remember ordering parts, etc and had to wait until they ran a "line" of them.

So Al, did they take your money?

[moomba]

I ordered a Black Battery box 2 month ago. I was told back order be 4-6 weeks.
I checked today.

This is the answer!

============================================
Hi Al,

Thanks for your order. Due to poor sales I'm fairly certain that we will not be building these BIL boxes this year. We can keep the order going and call you when they are available or you can cancel and look for something else.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Regards,
Brian @ Rex Marine

=============================================

They want my thoughts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

POOR SALES! NO ****!!!!!!



Dont know if this helps but I have this box http://www.screamandfly.com/showthread.php?237861-Eddie-Marine-Black-Powder-Coated-Stringer-Mount-Battery-Tray

[Rexone]

First off, as owner of Rex Marine I would like to apologize to Al for not notifying him properly of the disposition of his pending order. We dropped the ball, no question. I'll also include a response from Brian to Al via email that Al didn't post:



I'm sorry Al. Trust me, I wish things were better and we had 100's of every part in stock. Two months ago, when you placed your order, we were hopeful that with "the economy getting better" and boating season coming our sales would pick up and warrant us to build more product. Unfortunately that just has not happened this year. The marine industry is still very much in a recession with little light at the end of the tunnel.

I hope that you can kind of understand our situation and I apologize for any delay we may have caused.

Regards,
Brian @ Rex Marine



Now I'll expound a bit beyond the above covering some of the member comments and explain the reasons why things are they way they are. I've too been in this business for 40 years now, have been through several recessions, upturns, downturns, etc. In my 40 years I've never seen one on anything close to this magnitude. On the west coast anyway, boat builders and suppliers alike's businesses have been dramatically effected. Many builders are gone. Others are in hiatus until things improve. Others are in Chapter 11 reorganization. Not because of a bad product, just because of no customers due to economic pressure and inability to borrow money to buy boats. That trickles right through the entire supply chain. Of other builders that remain, many are 80-90% off former revenue levels of 2008 and prior. To add to that, aftermarket customers like yourselves largely, as a group, are not buying anywhere near as much last year and particularly this year (not only from us but from everyone). The clamps are on everyone's revenue in a huge way right now.

I'll throw this in right now before I forget as the question was asked directly... no we did not take or hold anyone's money on this battery box order. We never charge anyone until their order ships unless it is a specifically agreed to special order scenario (which this wasn't).

So given the above, inventory management is now a completely different animal than it was even 2 years ago. Good solid products that we previously were able to manufacture in reasonable quantities to offset setup etc. unfortunately are now under scrutiny as to "what makes sense" to build during this extreme recession. I will take the battery box here as an example, but this could apply to dozens of other products we make and distribute as well. The 124XX box Al ordered (we call it the 120XX series the 4 just indicates black) historically has been an iffy mover. We build 40 min at a time and that's about a years worth of this particular style. In 2010 we only sold 8 units and early this year ran out of the style from inventory. This year, shaping up poorer than last, I now have to take a hard look at items like this and make hard choices what is economically wise or viable to build until the market for product comes back (if it ever does). This particular box style was on the build sheet until about 4 weeks ago when I personally pulled it off the production schedule. That is when we should have called Al. We didn't, our screw up. Unfortunately when hard decisions like refraining to build good solid products or laying good employees off to make continuing business viable in tough economic times are made, people aren't happy about it. In this case I'm not happy (as I know this is a good viable product in better times), Al and anyone else that might have wanted to order one this year isn't happy either, as we're not making any right now. The same happens when you have to lay someone off due to tough times. The employee isn't happy and at least in my case neither am I. But we've had to do that as well over the past 3 years several times.

So the 120XX boxes are on hiatus so we can continue to build other styles that still have sufficient numbers. To set up and build say only 10 of the 120xx's just isn't viable. The cost goes up so much per unit no one would want to buy it. I might do this during winter if I had idle machine time or $$, but not now, because I have neither. Unfortunately I've had to make this same decision on several dozen products, in order to continue making multiple hundreds of others that are more popular. If I had unlimited funds I wouldn't worry about it, but I don't so that is the decision we are forced to make.

Also you will probably notice this year many things (not only from Rex) are hard to come by. This is because throughout the marine supply chain no one is building inventory in advance in any quantity due to tough times. As a couple said above, you simply can't afford to inventory stuff that has a low likelihood of selling anytime soon, just to have it on the shelf in every flavor and color for that one guy who might come along and buy one. Some or our suppliers (not most) have maintained unreasonably high minimums on things required to purchase at a competitive price. Consequently we make decisions to just not sell those items for awhile until the economy improves. Most vendors are in the same boat and understand that minimums of past years can no longer apply in this economic environment. A few manufacturers haven't and we are just not selling their product due to unreasonable minimum purchases. I am referring mainly to product that we distribute here, not stuff we make.

Anyway, I hope that explains some of the "why don't you have it" questions. I'm sure the internet is full of critics on how we could do it better, you should always have it all, etc. Such is life. The internet brings out the best in some and the worst in others, 99% of which have never actually done it or anything close to it. I just tell it like it is and let the chips fall. Not everyone likes what I have to say all the time but again, that is life.

In closing, again we apologize Al, for not notifying you of the no-build status I was forced to place on these boxes. We should have, we didn't, it fell through the cracks, no excuses on that f'up.

Mike (rexone)

[Tom Foley]

Mike , honest response to a tedious situation . We too are a small manufacturer of Custom and Semi - production marine products relating to mainly fishing and water sports boats but we have really felt the crunch and struggle to maintain display inventory for our local customers . In plain english " it ain't what it used to be and in my opinion ,never will be again " The business climate is forever changed I'm afraid for small manufacturers at large . Keep your head up ...it's got to get better !!

Marine Specialties Custom Fabricators Inc.
marinespecialties.com

[Ron V]

Mike - as good of answer as any. While I said that for you guys to reply back with your answer to Al after the promise date was "priceless", I will readily admit that my company has pulled some "priceless" stuff too, and quite honestly I don't think many of us can avoid it at the moment. The panic and hysteria in today's business climate is at incredible levels, everyone is exhausted, and nobody has enough people left to do the work properly and in a timely fashion anymore, and it just plain sucks. Like I said, managing inventory and dealing with minimum order quantities versus inventory turnover is how I make my living. This is a horrible situation for anyone in manufacturing. Our business (tool steel and specialty alloys) has picked up considerably and we currently have the opposite problem of keeping enough material in stock, but this is also happening with the backdrop of the corporate goons breathing down our necks trying to reduce cash outlay and micro-scrutinizing everything we purchase. Bottom line it is never easy, and when we were in survival mode two years ago (I think we will be again in another few months), we went through a lot of the pain that you are. We sent out excess bar stock of a size that we had too much of, and had them turned down to smaller sizes that we needed, and ate the huge weight loss plus the machining costs just to avoid placing a new order with the mill. I truly hope that a lot of guys in the marine business are able to pull through this situation over the long term, because it won't be good for anyone if more continue to close their doors.

[Rexone]

Mike - as good of answer as any. While I said that for you guys to reply back with your answer to Al after the promise date was "priceless", I will readily admit that my company has pulled some "priceless" stuff too, and quite honestly I don't think many of us can avoid it at the moment. The panic and hysteria in today's business climate is at incredible levels, everyone is exhausted, and nobody has enough people left to do the work properly and in a timely fashion anymore, and it just plain sucks. Like I said, managing inventory and dealing with minimum order quantities versus inventory turnover is how I make my living. This is a horrible situation for anyone in manufacturing. Our business (tool steel and specialty alloys) has picked up considerably and we currently have the opposite problem of keeping enough material in stock, but this is also happening with the backdrop of the corporate goons breathing down our necks trying to reduce cash outlay and micro-scrutinizing everything we purchase. Bottom line it is never easy, and when we were in survival mode two years ago (I think we will be again in another few months), we went through a lot of the pain that you are. We sent out excess bar stock of a size that we had too much of, and had them turned down to smaller sizes that we needed, and ate the huge weight loss plus the machining costs just to avoid placing a new order with the mill. I truly hope that a lot of guys in the marine business are able to pull through this situation over the long term, because it won't be good for anyone if more continue to close their doors.

The bolded above really hits home Ron. 7 years ago there were 16 of us. Now there are 5 including us 2 owners. We've downsized facilities twice in that period too. It does suck. Some people just haven't been replaced, some have been laid off, positions have been eliminated and 5 of us do most everything now. No one just does one thing. Tasks that only 2-3 years ago had dedicated personnel to handle are now shared. I for example have packed outgoing orders for the past couple weeks. Not complaining, just that we had a dedicated shipper up until last year that did all that. I have not been the main shipper for many many years. Times have changed. Now it isn't worth paying a shipper's salary, not even a part time person. Because of lack of personnel unfortunately situations like this one with Al's order happen more often now, particularly during the small peaks in business level as everyone is stretched thin.

Most I talk to in small business in our area have been hit hard. Storefronts are empty and remain empty for months. The Quiznos sandwich shop we get lunch at some of the time is off 60% in revenue from 2 years ago. The building I moved out of 13 months ago to downsize remains empty today. And the one next door to that, and the one across the street. They were empty before I moved out 13 months ago for quite some time too. Home prices continue to drop locally. In our industry, service shops that are normally booked for weeks in advance servicing boats are hunting for work. None good signs for our local economy and I think it goes far beyond local in many regions across the U.S.

I hear you on the material too. I've done the same exact thing producing parts from larger round material than we normally would buy for the part. Just because we had excess and to minimize purchasing more bar. When things are this tough you look in every corner to save money without sacrificing quality, which I'm a big stickler on.

Glad to hear you are doing well at the moment and hope all small business sees at least some recovery in the coming months.

[stokernick]

www.eddiemarine.com (http://www.eddiemarine.com)

www.danamarineproducts.com (http://www.danamarineproducts.com)

I concur!! [better products,too!]

[99fxst99]

[QUOTE=stokernick;2191665]I concur!! [/[B]QUOTE] :icon_bs:ALL make good product. I've used them all. REX, thanks for speaking up, and good luck in the future. I know you are not alone in your situation.

[Forkin' Crazy]

I concur!! [better products,too!]

That I can tell you from experience that is BULLS.HIT!!! :mad:

[Forkin' Crazy]

Thanks for your reply Mike. All my dealings with Rex Marine and been good and I know they are stand up people. When I decide to buy some new goodies, you can bet they will be the first on my list to call!!! :thumbsup:

[mariah2]

Kudos to Mike for a courteous and professional response and boo, hiss at the Big Al for not including the response from Brian, thereby only telling part of the story.

In 1995 I bought a Rex liquid filled speedometer for one of my projects along with several other guages. They shipped same day and I got them several days later. I let all of the guages and speedo lay around for over a year before I got back started. When I put the speedometer in the dash it leaked the fluid out in small quantities over several days, but messy none the less and the level was obviously dropping. I got a very helpful employee on the phone and he suggested something I might do to fix it that was quick and easy. Unfortunately it did not work. I called back for another suggestion and the same person said not to fool with it anymore and he'd send a replacement. To my surprise the next day the replacement showed up where he had overnighted it. He even said not to worry about sending the other one back. I still have it hanging on my wall as a display and reminder of a first class company. I have bought other things from them since and have always been very pleased with theire products and service. I give them an A+ from my personal experience with them.

[mariah2]

The economy dose suck and like Mike said of the marine business, little light at the end of the tunnel. 5 years ago I was almost totally retired. I still looked over sales reports and other financials but took no active roll in the daily operations of a small business with 15 employees. Now the business is down to 7 and I work full time, assuming entire management position. Sales are off 60% from 2001 and many competitors have closed. We have cut our profit margins even as overhead has continued to spiral upward. The current crop of fools in Washington who shamelessly admit their agenda of spreading the wealth continue with their economy busting strategies of tax and spend and ineffective shortsighted stimulus packages which target specific areas outside the realm of economy enhancing industries. Call me a doomsdayer but I see little hope for economic recovery in spite of the hoopla in the media to prop up their boy until after election time.