Disappointed With The Marina On Okeechobee

[MainelyBASS]

Bass boat rentals come with 2 fish finders according to their advertising page, they didn't know they advertised that until I told them. The one fish finder it did come with was busted and they knew it when they sent me out. The depth never read more than 4ft, which never having been on the lake I thought I was just fishing in the shallow areas. GPS was non-functional as well. I never ran the boat faster than headway speed in fear that I would have to replace a prop. By the time I idled out to a spot I checked to see if the GPS was functional seeings that I marked a way point at the marina, and I got nothing. When I returned the boat the gentleman who checked it over for its proper return told me that the fish finder was broken and they should probably get around to fixing it. I shared my feelings with the manager in the politest of manners, and he said he was sorry I felt that way and continued on into his office. Im sure 9 out of 10 times the marina is a good deal for fisherman, it's just disappointing to be in the minority when it costs over $1500 including airfare and gas to get there from Maine. Im not trying to bash the Marina, as I said before I am sure it was just a rare accurance, none the less unfortunate. Managed to catch a few dinks, that was all.

[OkeechobeeAngler]

North end or south end ? Okee Tanie ?

[Teal]

I really think you express your disappointment in a letter or email to the owner of the marina.

[tbone1993]

Bass boat rentals come with 2 fish finders according to their advertising page, they didn't know they advertised that until I told them. The one fish finder it did come with was busted and they knew it when they sent me out. The depth never read more than 4ft, which never having been on the lake I thought I was just fishing in the shallow areas. GPS was non-functional as well. I never ran the boat faster than headway speed in fear that I would have to replace a prop. By the time I idled out to a spot I checked to see if the GPS was functional seeings that I marked a way point at the marina, and I got nothing. When I returned the boat the gentleman who checked it over for its proper return told me that the fish finder was broken and they should probably get around to fixing it. I shared my feelings with the manager in the politest of manners, and he said he was sorry I felt that way and continued on into his office. Im sure 9 out of 10 times the marina is a good deal for fisherman, it's just disappointing to be in the minority when it costs over $1500 including airfare and gas to get there from Maine. Im not trying to bash the Marina, as I said before I am sure it was just a rare accurance, none the less unfortunate. Managed to catch a few dinks, that was all.

Skip the boat rental and go out with a guide. My buddies went out with scott martin and loved it. As people have said before, send them a letter. 

[Dwight Hottle]

Bass boat rentals come with 2 fish finders according to their advertising page, they didn't know they advertised that until I told them. The one fish finder it did come with was busted and they knew it when they sent me out. The depth never read more than 4ft, which never having been on the lake I thought I was just fishing in the shallow areas. GPS was non-functional as well. I never ran the boat faster than headway speed in fear that I would have to replace a prop. By the time I idled out to a spot I checked to see if the GPS was functional seeings that I marked a way point at the marina, and I got nothing. When I returned the boat the gentleman who checked it over for its proper return told me that the fish finder was broken and they should probably get around to fixing it. I shared my feelings with the manager in the politest of manners, and he said he was sorry I felt that way and continued on into his office. Im sure 9 out of 10 times the marina is a good deal for fisherman, it's just disappointing to be in the minority when it costs over $1500 including airfare and gas to get there from Maine. Im not trying to bash the Marina, as I said before I am sure it was just a rare accurance, none the less unfortunate. Managed to catch a few dinks, that was all.[/quote

You have a right to be upset . As suggested sometimes you are better off to go out with a quality guide. Send me a pm.

[MainelyBASS]

Unfortunately it was a one shot deal being that I came down from Maine. Renting the boat was $100 less than a guide. Without question I should have chosen to go with a guide, however when you live in Maine and don't make a ton of money cutting corners becomes a necessisity in some areas. I am not sure that a letter would ever find its way to the owners, however It won't stop me from trying.

[MainelyBASS]

North end or south end ? Okee Tanie ?

South end.

[topwaterrob]

Sorry that happened to you man...  Did you catch any though?

South end.

[buzzed bait]

i'd agree with the letter and would also work to locate/contact the owner more so than the manager as the letter will likely be received in the mail by the same manager you dealt with….

[Mainebassin]

I relocated from Maine to Fla 2 years ago....Believe me I feel your pain !!!!   But if you ever come down again  look me up ...I can hook you up with a good guide in the Central Fla area....Reasonable priced and a really good guy....

[wrat]

What marina?

[SFL BassHunter]

Boat Rentals in my past experience have never been good. But now I know what to look for and what to ask for when calling about boats. For example I won't touch a jon boat rental unless it has a trolling motor or at least an anchor. I ran into a place where my friend and I rented a skiff at a great price, then as the current was taking us down the canal we realized well we don't have an anchor. We spent about an hour and a half trying to get the hang of course correcting with the outboard motor so we wouldn't get pushed into the mangroves. Eventually we decided to look and see how much gas we had. So we left the motor on the entire time and would course correct constantly. At that point we didn't feel bad at all about wasting all their gas. On top of it the skiff was very unstable. 

[South FLA]

Plenty of good guides out of Roland Martin marina as well as some local that are on this forum that might be willing to extend a "friendly" trip for gas money and conversation... hint hint. 

[gar-tracker]

Rented boats get beat to death.But thats no excuse for bad info.

[MainelyBASS]

Plenty of good guides out of Roland Martin marina as well as some local that are on this forum that might be willing to extend a "friendly" trip for gas money and conversation... hint hint. 

That would have been AWESOME.

[South FLA]

That would have been AWESOME.

 

We have a great forum here!

 

Most members I have come across BR are pretty good about pointing you in right direction or even offering a seat in their boat for their respective body of water.

[SFL BassHunter]

We have a great forum here!

 

Most members I have come across BR are pretty good about pointing you in right direction or even offering a seat in their boat for their respective body of water.

Very true South FLA! I am very happy to have come across bassresource.com it is a great forum with great people on it.

So far everyone has been real nice and given me great advice! 

[MainelyBASS]

Glad to say that I got a phone call from the GM of the Marina and he has graciously made the situation right by me. I called and left a message and a few days later he called and made sure that I was properly taken care of. As I stated in my op, being in the customer service business it's rare and unexpected to never have things go wrong with the products you are selling. It's how you handle the processes that make a big difference. I was glad they called and apologized. I would love to use them in the future, but felt I couldn't because of the way my first experience went. Now I feel comfortable in knowing that if things at Roland Martin's Marina don't go as they should, they will have my back as a customer. I don't expect things to go poorly again when I return, but if they do I know the staff will treat me fairly.

[SFL BassHunter]

Happy to hear it MainelyBASS! Hopefully you'll get another chance to come down to the Big O and have a good time!