Anonymous
map-marker New Britain, Connecticut

To get information and purchase canopy

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The company is non responsive to emails or telephone calls. I have sent emails begging for someone to call so I can ask questions about a boat canopy I want to purchase.

Their telephone number will not even get you to a voice mail. Horrible experience so far.

Art

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Dalanie Cwk
map-marker Malvern, Pennsylvania

Great Service

Spoke with Sean in their parts department. Trying to find the correct Bimini parts and Sean was super willing to help me find the correct part

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Zelia Aox

Great customer service.

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I'm a new boat owner of a older boat, the transom cap was mssing so I called just to see if (a) the cap was available.

I talked with Alexis on the phone for about 15 minutes, she searched exhaustedly and couldn't find the cap I needed.

She was great, she was very patient and very helpful and even told me how to send a picture(s) of the cap, even though the part was not in inventory.

Alexis is a GREAT Customer service person she gets 5 Stars!

Mark in North Dakota

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Pros:
  • Great customer service
  • Alexis has excellent product knowledge

Preferred solution: A cap that you dont carry.

User's recommendation: Talk with Alexis at customer service.

Anonymous
map-marker Morayfield, Queensland

DTS control 877775A20

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Hi Team , I require DTS control 877775A20 , the part below says you have in stock

can you confirm please and if so send me a invoice to buy please

regards

Bill Nochevan

Boat part number 108**** is a new SmartCraft dual throttle control kit from Mercury Quicksilver, part number 493**** .

This throttle control kit includes the following:

(1) Top Mount Dual Lever Control | 877775A20

(1) Switch Kit w/ Lanyard | 87 81****A 3

(2) Ignition Switch w/ Keys | 87 89****A04

(2) Modules | 8M0031080

(2) Relay Harness Kits | 84-89****K30

(2) Harness Assembly | 84 85****T03

Throttle Control

This top mount, dual lever throttle control is silver colored with black accents and button pad. Measures approximately 6 3/8" L x 7" W x 9 1/4" H with handles in the upright position.

Hosts (2) 5-pin male and (1) metri connections.

The push pad features the following labeled buttons:

Troll

Sync

Transfer

1 Lever

Throttle Only

Dock

Switch Kit

Constructed from black marine grade plastic, this switch measures approximately 2 1/2" Dia. x 2 1/4" D overall. Requires an approximate 1/2" Dia. cutout.

Hosts (4) wire lead connections. Lanyard and hardware included.

Ignition Switches

These ignition switches are constructed from black marine grade plastic. Each measures approximately 2 3/8" Dia. x 5" L with keys overall.

Requires an approximate 2" Dia.

cutout each. Each hosts (1) 6-pin female connection.

Kit sold as shown in photos.

Specifications:

Part Manufacturer: Mercury Quicksilver / Cummins

Part Number: 493****

Material: Marine Grade Plastic

Color: Silver | Black

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User's recommendation: Great Lake Skipper has been very helpful and i have no issues with recommending them..

Owen F Hyt

This review is from a real person who provided valid contact information and hasn't been caught misusing, spamming or abusing our website. Check our FAQ

Verified Reviewer

Very disappointed

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Ordered a 2015 Gekko boat cover. Got it fast and efficiently.

Once we got it we opened it up and noticed it was missing a boat clasp, we let them know immediately they told us to take pictures and send it to them so we did. Haven't heard from them since. It's been 3 weeks now. Paid $1000 with exchange and now we're stuck with a boat cover that is *** Once they get their money they don't care about their customers.

Will never recommend them to anyone. Will not recommend W

View full review
Loss:
$1000
Pros:
  • Fast delivery
Cons:
  • Very poor customer service

Preferred solution: Replacement

User's recommendation: Will not recommend

John H Qik

ITEM WENT ON SALE 3 DAYS AFTER ONLINE PURCHASE > REFUSED CREDIT

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I purchased a tachometer online. Three days later(item was still in the mail), the same item went on sale.

Noticing the price drop, I called to request a refund of the difference. Simple solution that most companies would gladly offer...

They refused without explanation. Won't be purchasing from them again.

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Preferred solution: Price reduction

Sully Xbt
map-marker Buffalo, Texas

A+++ fast shipping

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Staff very helpful and attention to detail. Searched for most cost effective shipping without having to ask..They will sell what you ask for not just sold in larger bundles.

Thanks Guys. you are the best.

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User's recommendation: Check them out before you buy

Anonymous
map-marker Glen Rock, New Jersey

Very shady

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These people are incredibly shady. They sold me a manual bilge pump new without a handle - sort of like selling a new car without a steering wheel.

When I called they seemed unsurprised, as if anyone would buy a pump without a handle ("well, maybe they already have a handle" they told me).

The product was shipped without the original manufacturer's packaging and in a random USPS box that it did not even fit in.

They said they do not buy from the manufacturer or the manufacturer's distributor. Instead they said they source from some unspecified sellers that they would not identify.

Shady and amateurish.

Under no circumstances would I ever buy from these people again.

Dan

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User's recommendation: Do not buy from them

1 comment
Guest

They don’t even sell bilge pumps

Anonymous

Happy customer

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After a year of looking for a bracket for the seats of my boat. Justin went out of his way to find it.

He followed up with me asking for pictures of the brackets and measurement me finally found one. Excellent customer service he should be a trainer for others thanks justin

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Anonymous

Misleading ads

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The main ad page says this item is new but in the disclaimer section it says that it doesn't come with the manual, power cable or any hardware to mount it with. This should have been mentioned in the main ad, very misleading.

The Better Business Bureau gives this company a D- rating. I should have check this out before ordering.

View full review
Loss:
$46

Preferred solution: Full refund

User's recommendation: Be sure and read the fine print, these people deal in salvage.

1 comment
Akane Ogv

Good day R.V.; Thank you for taking the time to review our services. It appears you were not satisfied that our product did not come with an instruction manual or power cable (wiring harness).

We did mention in the ad that the item did not include instructions and that the product was being sold as seen in the photographs. A review of our photographs showed the gauge from front, back and included a picture of the technical tag on the side of the gauge for your reference. We work very hard to represent exactly what we are selling in both text and image formats so there is no confusion. You are mostly correct that we have a poor rating with the Better Business Bureau, although we rate only slightly higher at present with a D Plus.

The BBB only allows for good scores if we choose to pay for their services. If we paid for services, we would be able to remove or mitigate negative reviews (just like the site you reviewed us on today). We appreciate fair and balanced reviews and we refuse to pay for good reviews. Therefore, we must take what is offered by the BBB.

For a more accurate view of our positive and negative reviews we suggest looking at our Google Reviews as those are more current and balanced. We must take issue with your claim that we deal in salvage. 99.9% of our stock is new stock, OEM stock and never been installed parts. On occasion we obtain "demo" products such as a propeller that was taken off the line for QA purposes.

In those cases, even though they have never been installed, we sell them as "used" to be transparent with customers. In your case, we were selling the original clock gauge designed specifically for MasterCraft boats. Finally, we see that you did speak with a customer service representative. We offered the wiring harness that would work with your boat and gauge, but it appears you rejected that option.

If there is anything else we can do for you, please don't hesitate to give us a call at 262-898-1855.

Again, thank you for your feedback on the service you received. We appreciate the time you took to review us and we'll take some time to see if there is anything we can do to improve our internal processes.

John S Tmm

Not happy

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Updated by user Jul 09, 2020

wasn't looking for a refund just another tach that works.

Updated by user Jul 09, 2020

Spoke with customer service and still no satisfaction at all, all they can say is willing to give me another tach at 20% off. There reason for not sending me another is I should have read the (about us) on their website stating they deal in older new inventory old stock, my boat is a 2005.

Original review Jun 09, 2020

Purchased a tach, installed about 4 months after purchase knowing Faria had a 3 year warranty while Great Lakes had 3 months didn't care about the 3 mo. warr.

as Faria has 3 years, the second time I took the boat out the tach quit working so I call Faria and they asked me to look at the build date on the tach, I was surprised as the build date was 9 years ago therefore they would.t cover under warr. I wrote Great Lakes and they said sorry however they would give me a 20% discount on another, if Great Lake had told me before purchase it was old stock and would not be covered under Faria warranty I would not have purchased.

NOT HAPPY WITH GREAT LAKES

View full review
Loss:
$75
Cons:
  • Not much response from my email

Preferred solution: Full refund

1 comment
Akane Ogv

Good day John; We are sorry to hear that you were not satisfied with your experience with Great Lakes Skipper. We specialize in original equipment (OEM) and hard-to-find boat parts.

Occasionally we discover that our customers don't consider the age of their boats when they purchase OEM parts from us. Yes, we have the original tachometers for thousands of boats. But when those boats are 10 or more years old, that means our new gauges (meaning never seen the light of day) are really the same age of the boats in which they were meant to be installed. So, yes, the gauge is new but may be out of factory warranty.

That is why we offered a 90 day warranty on the gauge to make sure that nothing goes wrong. In your case we offered you a 20% discount on a comparable, current tachometer that we know would still work with your boat, however, you chose to decline that offer. We wish we could cover every possible situation; unfortunately we cannot. We believe the 90 day warranty on the gauge you purchased was enough to identify any issues in a reasonable amount of time.

We think we went the extra mile by offering a significant discount on a more current gauge. We wish that all parties could have come to a more win-win solution in this case. Regardless, we do thank you for your honest review on this site. We will continue to strive towards earning a 5 star review from every customer.

We have asked our staff to look at this review and identify any reasonable improvements we can make to our internal processes.

Thank you again for taking time to review our products and services. Great Lakes Skipper and crew.

Larry K Zgf

Good service and deliver

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Recent purchase of misc pontoon parts including door hinges, railing brace, railing shims, dock lights were delivered as promised. When I called to verify if a warehouse pickup order was ready the customer service person was helpful and accurate.

I have been shopping at Kendor and GLS for many years and when I need boat stuff they have always had everything I needed and other things I never thought about. This is my type of store.

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User's recommendation: A go-to place for any type of boat part

3 comments
Akane Ogv

Hi Larry; Thank you for that 5 star review. Our staff works very hard to make sure every contact with us deserves a 5 star review.

We search the world over for the hardest to find boat parts and that often means we find the OEM materials that were used to make your boat. We're so glad to hear that our hard work is paying off.

Thank you also for sharing your feedback and helping get our name out there. The Skipper and Crew

Guest

I agree. You almost never see a positive comment on this site.

My experience with this company has been really good.

There was a mistake made about 2 years ago and they worked really hard to get the issue resolved in a very short amount of time. I highly recommend.

Guest

It's nice to see somebody on this site say something positive about a company.

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Albert E Xzu

This review is from a real person who provided valid contact information and hasn't been caught misusing, spamming or abusing our website. Check our FAQ

Verified Reviewer

Warranty

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Bought a "new" depth finder gauge. Lasted less than one season.

Went to mfg for warranty, and they had me check the date code. The gauge from GLS was 17 years old. Older than the one I replaced. No description from GLS that the unit was new old stock.

No disclaimer that mfg warranty would not be honored. Asked for a replacement or refund and GLS said go to *** Stay away GLS is peddling old junk and calling it new.

View full review
Loss:
$66
Cons:
  • Old junk sold as new

Preferred solution: Full refund

User's recommendation: stay away old junk sold as new

1 comment
Akane Ogv

Good day Albert; Thank you for taking the time to review your experience. We are sorry to hear that you were not satisfied with your experience with Great Lakes Skipper.

We specialize in original equipment (OEM) and hard-to-find boat parts. We do take issue with the comment that our company is "peddling old junk and calling it new." That is simply inaccurate and does not reflect the market which we serve. We also take issue with your statement that "GLS said go to ****." We would never speak to a customer in that manner. A quick check of our Google Reviews (which are much more representative of our customers thoughts versus this particular site) would quickly demonstrate that we go out of our way to satisfy our customers.

Occasionally we discover that our customers don't consider the age of their boats when they purchase OEM parts from us. Yes, we have the original gauges for thousands of boats. But when those boats are 10 or more years old, that means our new gauges (meaning never seen the light of day) are really the same age of the boats in which they were meant to be installed. So, yes, the gauge is new but may be out of factory warranty.

We have asked our staff to look at this review and identify any reasonable improvements we can make to our internal processes.

Thank you again for taking time to review our products and services. Great Lakes Skipper and crew.

Anonymous
map-marker New Brunswick, New Jersey

Stay Away! Buyer Bewarer

I purchased a Raymarine multi function display from this company in April. my boat delivery was delayed a month and I had to wait to get an appointment for the boat manufacturers dealer to install the unit as he was booked.

The dealer tried to install the $600.00 unit and it has a faulty jack on the back of the unit. I called Great Lakes Skipper and spoke to Kevin who basically said we have a 30 day return policy and it is your problem. He also said they are not a Raymarine dealer even though they sell there products. I asked to speak to the owner of the company and he said he would get the General Manager.

After 10 minutes on hold he said the GM was busy in a meeting and could not talk to me. He said the owner does not speak to anyone and could not help me. WOW! this place is pitiful.

It is getting to a point where the ONLY internet place you can get customer service or shop at an internet place that cares about its customers is Amazon. I am a customer and the owner and the General Manager would not speak to me. I do not leave reviews but I really felt as if I needed to warn the public about this company so you do not waste $600 the way I have.

BUYER BEWARE SHOP ELSEWHERE. Never buy from a small business where the owner hides behind his employees and computer.

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Mark W Wsy
map-marker Racine, Wisconsin

Absolutely worst customer service on the planet!

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Updated by user Feb 11, 2019

Feb 11, GLS stepped up and sent another order of vinyl but it was defective also. When notified of this they offered a total refund which was aggred to. Issue closed as far as we are concerned.

Updated by user Feb 06, 2019

Made second call to Great Lakes Skipper (GLS) customer service (CS) and asked for a full refund again, they refused. Explained to them that I filed a review of their poor performance on the Pissed Consumer website and that I also planned to share my experience on Facebook.I have also filed a complaint with the Wisconsin BBB.

Original review Feb 05, 2019
Ordered 2 yards of foam backed vinyl for a small upholstery job. Packaged arrived in a hodge-podge of small boxes all taped together end to end.

Vinyl was removed and found to be severely creased and wrinkled. The material was spread out flat and left that way for a couple of weeks and did not get any better. We tried steaming the vinyl to no avail, the creases are so deep no amount of steaming helped. Called customer service and they refused to help.

When reminded that it was damaged when the boxes were opened they still refused. We have ordered lots of material from other stores and understand that once the material is cut there can be no refunds, but when it is shipped to you damaged an exception should be made.

Buyer beware this place is a joke. 02/05/2019
View full review
Loss:
$100
Reason of review:
Poor customer service

Preferred solution: Full refund

1 comment
Akane Ogv

Good day; Thank you for your review of our products and services. Our records show that on the original complaint, there was a mention of the vinyl being defective and it appears we worked through that concern.

It appears that we were able to refund your order. We were able to identify a human error condition that occurred during our order cutting process. We have been able to update our training guidance for our staff to prevent this issue in the future. Thank you for updating the tickets here and for coming to a mutual conclusion to this concern.

We appreciate that you chose Great Lakes Skipper and we will continue to work hard to earn 5 star reviews from every customer . . . even if positive reviews all but rarely arrive on this site.

We want to provide the best products and service levels for all our customers. Good day and we'll see you on the water . . .

at an appropriate social distance of course! Great Lakes Skipper and crew

PHIL S Kif

The worst customer service on the planet

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I ORDERED A BRONZE COLORED BOAT WINDSHIELD FOR MY PONTOON AND RECEIVED A BLACK WINDSHIELD ,WHEN I CALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE THE WOMAN TOLD ME THAT WHEN YOU ORDER A TINTED WINDSHIELD IT CAN COME IN ANY COLOR , I SAID IT SAYS AND SHOWS A BRONZE WINDSHIELD. SHE SAID YEA AND WHEN YOU SHIP IT BACK YOU HAVE TO PAY SHIPPING AND A 15 % RESTOCKING FEE BECAUSE ITS NOT OUR FAULT .

GREAT LAKES SKIPPER SUCKS . AND CUSTOMER SERVICE IS CRAZY.

NEVER AGAIN. {{Redacted}}

View full review
Loss:
$142
Cons:
  • Customer service sucks
Reason of review:
Poor customer service

Preferred solution: Full refund

3 comments
Akane Ogv

Good day; We just noticed that there was a claim that a refund was never offered and that we were just trying to make ourselves look good. We found this disturbing.

We have located the original order and there are clearly notes to indicate that the customer called us in a timely manner to report that the windshield was not acceptable. Due to the circumstances at the time, the order notes indicate that the customer was offered a partial refund, OR, the customer could return the windshield as stated in our initial response in 2018. The original notes indicate that following a discussion, the customer chose to accept a partial refund for the order and chose to keep the windshield as shipped. To address the claim that no partial refund was offered or given, we have very clear records that show that just days before this original complaint was filed, the customer's original method of payment was issued a partial refund as agreed in the order notes.

The claim that we responded to this complaint just to make ourselves look good is not accurate. There is clear evidence that our staff in 2018 did, in fact, issue a partial refund to the customer just days before this complaint was filed on this site. We are not perfect and we are always looking to do the right thing. When we make a mistake, we go out of our way to not only correct the mistake with our customers; we also go out of our way to institute preventive measures to keep similar issues from recurring.

In this case we did not make a mistake, but we were willing to make a win-win for a customer who was not satisfied with a purchase.

Unfortunately it appears the solution agreed upon was really not a win-win in the end. Thank you for choosing Great Lakes Skipper.

Guest

The customer ordered a windshield that is bronze tinted and unfortunately our photo shows the tint to be a little lighter than it actually is. We checked our remaining inventory to see if any of them were lighter and none of them were.

We then offered the customer a partial refund to keep the item, or he was able to return if he preferred. This customer accepted the partial refund and decided to keep the item.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1546023

YOU CANT EVEN TELL THE TRUTH, I WAS NEVER OFFERED A PARTIAL REFUND AND YOU KNOW THAT . BUT I UNDERSTAND YOU NEED TO MAKE YOURSELF LOOK GOOD BECAUSE YOU DONT GET IT FROM YOUR CUSTOMERS.

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About

Summary

Great Lakes Skipper is an online store of boating inventories. For over 10 years, the company has been servicing the upper Midwest and the world with its marine products. It is headquatered in Racine, WI. Great Lakes Skipper offers a wide range of boating products, accessories and hard-to-obtain items in large quantities. More than 20,000 items are available at on-line store for immediate shipment. Among those products, these are boat appliences, boat navigation, watersports and boat engine, etc. The online store distributes also boat seats which include fishing seats, pontoon boat seats, helm chairs, captain chairs, folding fishing boat seats and more. Boat consoles and panels, electrical supplies, boat steering and boat gauges are also available at Great Lakes Skipper. All boat parts are manufactured by leading marine electrical supply companies such as BEP Marine, Marinco and Carling Industries.

Great Lakes Skipper reviews and complaints

Great Lakes Skipper is ranked 38 out of 374 in Water Transport category

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