West Marine

If I could sum up my West Marine experience today it would be in the negative numbers as the steam is still coming out my ears. I was at the Peabody store, and asked for a hand held electric horn. The overly solicitous and somewhat condescending gentleman did not believe me there was such a thing. So he walked me over to the horn section to show me there was no such thing… at which point I informed him again it is on the catalog. So then I stood there while he looked it up. Voila… and seabrook had one. We called ahead to hold it and then drive up.
At Seabrook the customer service was no less irritating. Two registers open. One where several of the staff was working with one man at length… all of them staring at the computer. The second one operated by a young lady. The other young lady in front of me was rather chatty, had to run back for a price on something that she couldn’t find? And kept chatting even after she paid. I finally interrupted and asked if she knew where they were holding my ELECTRIC air horn. (At this point there was quite alone behind me too) and was told that I had to go to customer service…
So I sat there for a while, alone at first, and then Jed Clampett showed up with another salesman. The idle conversation was no less infuriating…
Another person came over to look up something for someone else, and I grabbed him and asked him for my air horn. I took it back to stand in line, and finally left.
I’m not sure whether the lack of intelligence or courtesy in their stores is a plot by West Marine to get us to shop more online, but at this time I am happily in support of a conspiracy theory…