Help! Custom Leaning Post Gone Bad ...

omaier · #1 09-20-2005, 10:15 PM

Thanks for all of the support!! Several people have asked for the name of the shop. The name of the company is Arc-Tek Marine in Connecticut. I have also included a couple of choice emails I received from him explaining his position on constructing custom products and customer service. Many people have talked about the power of "word of mouth" ... I'll take one for the team, all I ask is that you share this experience with other boaters so that they don't have to go through the same nightmare. Also, if any of you happen to be at the boat show and see Arc-Tek selling a leaning post please make sure the customers hear this story ... thanks!!

Mike

Email #1: He was having trouble getting me a picture of the leaning post so I asked if I could get a local from THT to stop by and take a couple of pictures ... here is the response:

-----Original Message-----
From: James Tatler
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 10:16 PM
To: Maier, Michael A
Subject: RE: 23 Seacraft Leaning Post

mike, i am trying for pics......if you are trying to be funny.....dont work..this is 1 hell of a post...my computer is f....ed...which accepts my kodak program...wich doesnt work.......as far as tht....who cares??????noone in the northest caresabout thth.......tht is goin to flop...as far as the post..i am trying to send pics...my computer takes an hr to send a pic..i want this leaning post to you as i know you do....i will use it on my boat.........as far as bashing me.....do what ya need to....it works both ways...it really does...sorry ...i am a big mouth with a bigger following...f tht........have a great nite.....jim

Mike wrote:
Were you able to get pictures and dimensions? I was going to ask for help on THT ... ask if someone in the area could stop by your shop and take pictures and dimensions, when would be a good time?

Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Maier, Michael A
Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 11:56 AM
To: 'James Tatler'
Subject: RE: 23 Seacraft Leaning Post

Do you have any pictures? I would also like a picture with the cover on the leaning post.

Mike
Email #2: String of emails (addresses removed) after I received pictures of the leaning post:
mike, heres how this works. i the builder. me. builds these custom items for many customers. maybe 200 posts a year. what a person draws on paper does not always work on pipe. everything works on paper . including stick figures. i spent enough time on this post. including. cushions/labor/ pipe/time. i have towers that dont require this much attention/time. the 500.00 deposit is non refundable...... ..... ... i put alot more than 500.00 into this project. sorry, but i am giving this till sep 25. 2005 then i will put it in the boat show for sale...i cannot entertain this no longer. i am a very busy shop. this is my last email. balance is 1150.00+ 6% ct sales tax. this includes the custom cover....thanks and have a great night......jim

Mike wrote:

Jim,
Unfortunately that is not what you told me in April based on the diagram I faxed to you. You indicated that you would make it per my diagram and if that if you ran into challenges that we would stop and discuss alternatives. I have some very specific dimensions I was trying to accommodate and by making it larger than requested it will not work correctly on my boat. At this point I think we need to figure out how to remedy this situation.

Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: James Tatler
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2005 10:04 AM
To: Maier, Michael A
Subject: RE: pix

mike, being a fabricator for 20 yrs your drawing would not have worked. your verticals would have been to narrow for the cushions. you also have folding footrests.. plus the storage trays are molded a certain size. the frame would have looked like an upsise down..wouldnt work..i also lost all my original emails...jim

Mike wrote:
Jim,
Thanks for the pictures, I did receive them both times (deleted them from this email to not blow up any email servers). In April, I provided a drawing with specific dimensions of the post I wanted built. I was extremely clear about how the down tubes were to be oriented (vertical) and the maximum front to back dimensions of the main post assembly (18-19 inches). I was also clear with my request to have smooth vinyl. We agreed that in the event you needed to deviate from the scale drawing I provided that you would call me to discuss the available options and agree on a solution. Appears that we are now beyond that point. How do you propose we resolve? Please call with questions (###) ###-####.

Mike

Finster · #2 09-21-2005, 12:16 AM

That makes sence. I don't know and haven't delt with the guy or seen his work, but he's already got a pretty bad reputation around the net as it is.
You should have called Pipedreams. He made me one for my Aquasport last spring....Oh no wait. Now I remember, he was supposed to build me one for the Aquasport last spring. So thats why I keep falling out of the boat everytime I lean back?....Yeah, its all coming back to me now. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

Nah, I can't bust his nad's, he's building it as a favor and I haven't had a chance to go down and feed him beers while he builds it.

RS · #3 09-21-2005, 10:38 AM

So what it seems to boil down to is that he took $500 from you knowing that he could not build it to your specifications. That sounds like fraud to me. The CT AG's office can probably help.

jorgeinmiami · #4 09-21-2005, 10:44 AM

Here in Florida we have small claims court
Do you heve that there?

People seemto react when theyget in front of a judge

rockdoc · #5 09-21-2005, 12:34 PM

I would give up trying to deal with this a##hole and look into the small claims court route. There's no reason you should be treated like that, and no reason he should be able to keep your money. I wonder how your email records of communications with him could be used as evidence.

rockdoc

John R · #6 09-23-2005, 10:25 AM

I guess I'm glad I did not take this guy on as a sponsor on S-B [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] . He really did not meet the criteria anyway... I think he is or was a sponsor on THT a while back.

And THT is still influential in the northeast, not like what it is in the south but it is still the biggest boating site around that I am aware of...

Hope the problem is resolved..

ScottM · #7 09-23-2005, 01:16 PM

Quote:

I think he is or was a sponsor on THT a while back.

I don't spend a lot of time on THT, but for a while this guy was posting left and right and seemed to have amassed quite a fan base. You don't see him on there anymore, so something must have gone wrong, especially in reading his email comments about the site that Mike M posted.

dcobbett · #8 09-23-2005, 04:33 PM

Arc-Tek built a post for me back in February. When I went down to see the operation and place my order, it looked like he was busy. There were a lot of boats in the yard, most for T tops. My simple 2 week project (taking one of his standard posts and scaling it down) actually took 4+ weeks. When I went to pick it up, he said he and his partner had a falling out right after they started my post, he was way behind and didn't see a way out of the backlog scenerio. It seemed to me that the partner was more the "worker", and Jim was more of the sales and marketing type. He also said (basically) that he hoped I was happy with the post 'cause he was not in a position to do anything with it if I was not!

All in all, the product he made for me is fine. There are a couple of welds that didn't get the best grinding job, and some of the tubing still had reference marks on it. No issues structurally, it has been used a lot this season and it has held up fine.