About 7 weeks ago my friend and I ordered sails for our 22' sailboats. We negotiated a package deal for a very good price. My friend had to do some back & forth as he decided exactly what he wanted, so when it was all finally sorted out he had it all billed (~$2500) to his Visa, and I paid him for my sail.
I ordered:
-Furling genoa in Silver Dacron with white UV strip
-CDI roller furler
My friend ordered:
-Furling genoa in white dacron with blue UV strip
-CDI roller furler
-mainsail
-Blue boom cover
He was supposed to send out the roller furlers right away, but forgot to. No big deal, because we both ended up having a LOT more work to do on our boats and haven't launched yet. The sails were supposed be be delivered in 4 weeks, but took 7. Again, not a huge deal in the end, but could have been an issue if we'd been waiting for the items in order to launch.
Anyway, because they were large packages, we had them shipped to Maine (from New York), and drove across the border to pick them up on Friday.
When we collected the packages at the shipping wharehouse, we found:
-My friend's sails are perfect, but his boom cover is missing
-My sail was done in white dacron, not silver.
The sail is really nicely made, and I got a good deal on it.... but it's the wrong color.
I emailed the sailmaker that night:
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We drove to Maine after work today to pick up our sails and furlers.
I was surprised and disapointed to find that my sail was done in white dacron, instead of silver... despite very clear instructions.
Two weeks before I hope to launch, and I'm left with a sail very different from the one I wanted, ordered and paid for.
Jake
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He replied at ~3AM:
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The white Dacron is the only one available at this time but if you wish I can refund your money when you return the sail as far as quality is concerned , you should have no concerns since silver is extremely rare and whit is extremely common. if you look at our eBay ad you will see that we say that there is no difference in price between the two and we say "when available)". It is not very different than what you ordered and I resent your implication that you were ripped off.Just send the sail back for your refund and i would appreciate the furler back as well because it was a very reasonably priced PACKAGE DEAL
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My response:
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Wow, that's an unfortunate response to a legitimate complaint.
I agree that it was a "very reasonably priced package deal", and the sail seems to be very well made. I certainly wasn't implying that you "ripped me off", and I regret that my email was interpreted that way.
My issue is that I ordered and paid for a sail made with silver dacron, and that's not what I received. If you were out of silver dacron, I would have expected an email letting me know, so I wouldn't have been suprised when I opened the package. I would have ordered a blue UV strip, or perhaps even waited until you had silver dacron back in.
A little communication goes a LONG way, especially when doing a long-distance transaction.
Jake
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He replied:
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Blue sumbrella sun covers cost more, we charged [name deleted] more for his although the sail was actually smaller.
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My last email to him:
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Had it been communicated to me that the item would not be delivered as I had requested and paid for, I would have gladly paid more for the blue sumbrella in order to get a sail I'd be happy to look at for the next 10+ years.
Jake
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Anyway, I'm torn about what to do.
Sending it all back would cost ME ~150, and then I'd be without a sail for the rest of the summer.
However, the whole deal was done on my friend's CC, and he still has the boomcover missing. I don't want to create a situation where the sailmaker doesn't send my buddy his items.
If it was mid-winter I'd be more likely to send it back and deal with the complications & hassle, but I'd really like to just get sailing again and maybe I could live with the "plain" sail.
It is a good sail, and it was a good price, but it's really gnawing at me.... it's not what I ordered. This was a "custom" made sail I waited 7 weeks for, not something I just picked up off the shelf.
My wife thinks I'm too picky and my expectations are too high. Am I being a fuss-a$$? Should I just live with it?