Two days before I went into surgery for spinal reconstruction, I wound up having to document my experience at #BassProShops in Bridgeport, Ct because they fucked up and tried to con me. They’ve gone as far as telling me that their employee didn’t lie to me! He only “exaggerated the truth”. Isn’t that a watered down version of lying?
So… here’s the scam they(Bass Pro Shop Garage) tried to pull. First, they never called me after they looked at the boat on Saturday. Made me think something was wrong…
So I go down there yesterday and talk to the guy (Leigh) in parts I set up the inspection with.
First thing he tells me is that the technician fell through the floor in the boat and that there’s a hole there. I tell him I’ve been all over that boat and never felt unsafe. He sticks to his story.
Then he tells me they got the engine started. But… a huge black cloud came out and the technician said it smelled like electrical so he shut the engine off, not wanting to start a fire. I play along.
Then he tells me it could cost upwards to 6k to fix the engine, 15k got a new 150. BUT… he says the boat isn’t worthwhile fixing because it’s just going to be a can of worms and it would be better to…
Wait for it…
BUY A NEW BOAT!
(Not done yet…)
I ask to see the boat. He says it’s in one of the yards and will take about 20 minutes to arrive. Fine. He then proceeds to change his story about the hole in the boat. He says that under the seat behind the driver at the rear of the boat is “soft”. Mainly because now he’s going to get caught in a lie. I already know how meticulous my brother is, so the condition of the engine was never in question. But I allow him to continue with his spiel.
The boat arrives and he insists this huge black cloud was electrical in nature and I should just scrap the boat. Says he will give me $400 for the trailer and if I buy one of their boats, they’ll take care of getting rid of the boat.
I tell him I’ll get back to him and drive home, forgetting to bring the boat home with me.
No sooner do I get in the house he calls me wondering when I’m coming back to take the boat. I guess he figured the jig was up. What he didn’t figure out was that I’m going to Corporate with this…
Which I did. The gentleman I spoke with was concerned and I was told it would be looked into. But I never received an apology or anything from the store.
Fast forward to Four Months later…
I’m feeling much better. Enough to bring the boat back down and give them another chance. I speak with the Boat Manager and we set a game plan. He tells me he’s going to order a part and to bring my boat in the next week and they’ll install it and do the maintenance they never got around to.
THREE WEEKS go by and I get a phone call saying there’s a problem with the boat. I tell them to fix it. They hang up the phone. ANOTHER MONTH goes by and I wind up calling THEM! I set up a meeting between the acting store manager, marine manager (who in turn gets the boat mechanic/technician manager) and they tell me my boat’s engine froze up at some point over the winter, damaging the head or possibly gaskets. They never went any deeper into it. But they’re not going to fix the boat. Instead, the Marine Manager, after bantering about with me, makes me an offer.
“I can’t give you a NEW boat,” he says, “but take a look in the corral and see if there’s anything there you like.”
No mention of cost, financing or anything. I figure he’s spoken with the head of sales in Springfield, Mo. since it has been a couple of days since the setting up the meeting. So, because he says he wants to make up for the problem and regain my trust, I take him at his word. He’s offering me a replacement because 1: I was taken advantage of the first time… and 2: I was made to wait TWO MONTHS on a job that should’ve taken two days. Now, eight weeks of waiting. Forty hours a work week x (conservatively) $25 a hour is $8000. I figure their integrity was at stake and they were going to make good on their offer. What a sham! They show me the perfect boat from up in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Price tag, used, is 24k. Nice. In my mind, a good neighbor policy plus great reviews and personal advertising for helping out a person out in my medical circumstances would do them far better than any Madison Avenue worker could. And at a better price, to boot.
So Wednesday night, my wife and I go down to discuss their offer. And that’s when I’m blindsided.
Their “offer in good faith” turns out to be $4k for the trouble. I refresh his memory about the exact words he spoke to me. “Oh,” he says, “that’s not what I meant. Sorry.” And he tells me that, for the most part, I should be happy with that. He also questions my brother’s integrity as well as my own, tells me that I really don’t have that much influence because I’m “local”.
Integrity is being called into question here. He made me an offer to give me a used boat. He NEVER SAID “I can’t give you a boat.” He said “I can’t give you a NEW boat”. I have kept and maintained my calm throughout this entire event. I ask him to consult corporate and run the numbers. He tells me he’ll get back to me on Friday. Today.
So I finally get to talk to Loretta, the Store Manager. I recorded the ENTIRE conversation. To make a long story short, they have given me a week to get my boat off their property(which I can’t do because the van is in the shop waiting on a steering column), they’ve contacted corporate and their legal department and no longer want to do ANY business with me! So much for integrity. So much for being taken at your word. I have NO USE for a company that shits on you, makes you a verbal offer of a used boat and then reneges on it and call both you and your brother incompetent. I won’t suggest what you can do to protest this slap in the face, but if you decide to act accordingly, make sure your ending statement is “I would’ve bought all this stuff from you but you screwed my friend and kicked him out of your store. Then leave it on the counter and never return again. Except to make your point again.
Now, the owner and CEO of the company, Johnny L. Morris, is a wonderfully, kind man. A great friend to fishermen. Honest. Has tons of integrity. I’m pretty sure he would be in disbelief of what these people did.
And, to top it off, they KNEW my tow vehicle was in the shop waiting on a steering column. So they tried to strongarm and intimidate me as well. Is this behavior proper OR acceptable?
No, on either count. But these days it seems Big Corporate feels it can get away with most anything because they have the Big Bucks and High Paid Attorneys and we’re just insignificant worms.
