Hobie Cat Forums

Complain to about my local Hobie dealer. Any email or phone number at Hobie Corp office?

I have tried to get some info on some parts I ordered and they are no help. I don't even think they ordered the parts after I called this morning to check on them. It's been well over a week since I placed my order. I even gave them the exact part numbers. They said they have no idea when they will be in. I call BS. Any company will/can give you an ETA of when they will ship the parts to the dealer. Even USPS will give you an estimate of when parts will arrive once shipped.

Hobie: Do you tell dealers when parts are shipped? Or when you will ship them when they place an order? Do you give tracking info?

I try to buy local and support my local vendors but they are a joke! I don't expect them to keep stock but at least have some better communication and organization. This is the second time they have burned me.

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H16

I feel for you. Hobie dealers range from great to very much less than so. I had the similiar problem, the local was a 'part time' dealer and hard to get to do anything, so I went to a larger Hobie dealer (Seattle area), but most parts were not stocked and had to be ordered (1 - 3 week delay). You can try to keep working with the local, go to other Hobie dealers, or go to an independent like Murrays http://www.murrays.com/ like I did. They stock almost their entire catalogue (includes many Hobie parts) and can have parts to you in a couple days. Good luck.

Most orders ship same day ordered (if before noon). We do provide invoices and tracking numbers electronically the night of the shipment.

We do have a large amount of back ordered items this time of year. This is an especially tough year as it is mid season, sales are very strong and suppliers are not keeping up. We do not provide clear ETA for many back orders... It simply is impossible in this industry to get timing commitments from vendors or even our own factory.

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Matt Miller
Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Hobie Cat USA

I suggest you call sail and ski connection in Myrtle. They were the top east coast dealer back in the day and still keep a good inventory of new and used parts for most Hobies. Ask for Norris or Charlie and they will hook you up quickly!

Good luck especially if you need Hobie Europe parts. I have been trying to get a new forestay for my tiger for about 7 months now.

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Rich Vilvens
F-18 5150
R.Vilvens@yahoo.com
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/f-185150sailing/

That is hard to believe... 7 Months? We stock several hundred thousand dollars in Hobie Europe parts. We don't have that one part in stock at the moment, but I see 10 were ordered from France in July.

We do show one on order from Surf City... your dealer? Order is dated mid July.

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Matt Miller
Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Hobie Cat USA

re ordered in July. Ordered in Feb the first time.

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Rich Vilvens
F-18 5150
R.Vilvens@yahoo.com
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/f-185150sailing/

So it sounds like we just have to find someone else to order through. That's lame for those who have local dealers now that shipping will be tacked on.
I know that if someone was selling my product & people were complaining about their sh!tty service I would want to know. I'd find someone else to sell it.

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H16

My local dealer is awesome! Check out Mariner Sails in Dallas: http://www.mariner-sails.com/. They have a large inventory on hand and if you order before noon they'll normally ship it the same day. If they don't have what you want, they'll get it, and will even have it drop shipped from Hobie to you. Aris Tsamas and his staff provide great customer service and know every nook and cranny of your boat. Their phone number is 800-536-9463.

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Mark Van Doren
Division 9 Chairman
H20 #647
H14 #47787
H16 #112205

Guys, understand the 'system' and don't knock Hobie as a brand.....as a company, they are very responsive to customers.

Yes, there can be hiccups in any system. However, like Mike said, find a good dealer and work with them. Jeremy at Surf City, Fogh Marine in Toronto, Rob at Boat Works in Syracuse, Hank and Josh at Nautical Ventures in Ft Lauderdale, and many others.....they know their stuff, they can help, they have good inventory of most of the popular parts.......yes, they do run low on certain items, and as Matt Miller explained, this is a 'supply chain' issue. The Hobie factory ships as soon as they can, if there is inventory in stock. Depending upon the supplier/volume of sales/inventory levels, some parts are 'tricky'....and your dealer should know about things like Hobie 18 cross bars, or FX4 hot-sticks, and be able to make suggestions if timing is critical. Some dealers, like Jeremy and Backyard Boats even carry large inventory of 'used' parts.....where there is a will......

Now let's get out and go sailing.....

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1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

Yep, Jeremy is great. http://surfcityracing.org/ Also Brad at Sunjammers. http://www.sunjammers.com/page/view/28

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Wave
FX-1
Do you want me to tell you for the 1,000,001 time! The Wave...

I'm biased towards my local dealer, Mariner Sails, but I've also dealt with Brad Stevens at Sunjammers, Jeremy at Surf City, and Jim Sohn in Des Moines, all with positive results. I thank all of you for your excellent service and supporting this great sport. Keep in mind that if we don't support our dealers, our sport will dry up. Neither West Marine nor Murrays (can't knock their inventory or service) will be selling anyone a Hobie 16.

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Mark Van Doren
Division 9 Chairman
H20 #647
H14 #47787
H16 #112205

Hobie dealers have to support us, if they do, we will support them. Unlike a parent/child relationship, it's not unconditional love.

Had crappy service from my closest dealer 3 hours from here. So I went 7 hours away and had crappy service again. Now I deal with Fogh Marine in Toronto 15 hours away and have been happy.

I think we have to support the good dealers and let the crappy ones die on their own.

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Marc...
1978 Hobie 16 Keoke, sail# 36 84

Agreed, support the Hobie dealers that provide good service. There have been several recommended in this thread.

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Mark Van Doren
Division 9 Chairman
H20 #647
H14 #47787
H16 #112205

Hi,

I believe Mr John Lunn mentioned the next nearest "Hobie" dealer to you .... Backyard Boats ... Jay has a great rep .... and they're located in Northern Virginia just outside Washington DC ...

I would check them out .... but note all the others mentioned are great dealers that provide superior service and support to our sport ....

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HarryMurphey
H-18 mag/ #9458
Fleet 54 Div 11