conocean Posted May 10, 2017 Report Share Posted May 10, 2017 I took my well used 19p Yamaha Pro prop to the experts at Frank & Jimmie's Propeller last week expecting them to tell me that it's time to retire the old girl because it's already been reconditioned by them a few times in the past. The rep (Miguel) said that she had at least one, maybe two, more reconditions left before I make her a spare. To my amazement the techs were able to make the prop look like almost new but with a satin finish instead of polished. The best part was that it was only $121! It sure beats buying a new prop for $550+. Great communication & customer service by Miguel; the prop was ready for pick-up on schedule too. Check out Frank & Jimmie's Propeller when it's time to make your prop blades look sexy again: www.fjprop.com / 954-467-7723 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coto Posted May 10, 2017 Report Share Posted May 10, 2017 I agree with Paul. I have been using them for years. Excellent work. Rick is the person I used to deal with there, he was a forum member "ExHewes". He used to take care of other forum members....not sure if he still works there. Hec of a nice guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted May 11, 2017 Report Share Posted May 11, 2017 3 hours ago, conocean said: I took my well used 19p Yamaha Pro prop to the experts at Frank & Jimmie's Propeller last week expecting them to tell me that it's time to retire the old girl because it's already been reconditioned by them a few times in the past. The rep (Miguel) said that she had at least one, maybe two, more reconditions left before I make her a spare. To my amazement the techs were able to make the prop look like almost new but with a satin finish instead of polished. The best part was that it was only $121! It sure beats buying a new prop for $550+. Great communication & customer service by Miguel; the prop was ready for pick-up on schedule too. Check out Frank & Jimmie's Propeller when it's time to make your prop blades look sexy again: www.fjprop.com / 954-467-7723 I unfortunately had the exact wrong experience....never never again would I go there...I got screwed out of $200 when they recommended a prop for my Pathfinder 17T and then would not take it back as agreed for a return... I had to use the remainder of the credit for the prop for my PT....I called Marcus and told him about it and would NEVER NEVER RETURN. buyer beware...I bought my last prop from a PT dealer in Tampa on line as I did not want to give a single $ back to F&J's Sorry for the contrary view........ dc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conocean Posted May 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2017 That stinks, Dino. Sorry you had that experience. Merritt's has been using F&J since they opened and we're very picky about who we do business with. They're bound to have a few unhappy customers based on their volume of business. You're the first person I've even known that had a bad dealing with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted May 12, 2017 Report Share Posted May 12, 2017 11 hours ago, conocean said: That stinks, Dino. Sorry you had that experience. Merritt's has been using F&J since they opened and we're very picky about who we do business with. They're bound to have a few unhappy customers based on their volume of business. You're the first person I've even known that had a bad dealing with them. Yep Paul...it was a bad deal all around... The sales rep, I can't remember his name, but will find it, suggested a Mercury, aluminum 4 blade for my skinny mini 17T. When it arrived, it didn't fit exactly right, but, he said it's ok - had slip, so I believed him, I took it to Chokoloskee and ran it one trip. I did not hit any oysterbars, etc but, it show useage after one day's running. I took it back and then asked to purchase a NEW PowerTech prop that had a value of about $450. The value of the Mercury was about $275. He said because of the "damage and use" he could not give me any credit, more than $100 towards the new prop. Give me a friggen break dudes It's a prop shop and in two minutes, they could have applied some paint to make it look new.....and he had assured me that the prop would have been returned for full credit. So, now he has my prop (i paid $30 for the freight) previously and he wont' give me any discounts or help me on the new PT....I had to pay full price, no discounts or even help on the freight from PT. I called Marcus and sent him an email and told him I would NEVER NEVER RECOMMEND THEM AGAIN... I NEVER POSTED MY BAD EXPERIENCE UNTIL NOW AS I WASN'T GOING TO DO SO UNLESS I SAW SOMETHING LIKE THIS.... I'll search my old emails later and will post further details; however, I cannot recommend them and they lost a customer. My last prop for the Maverick was bought by Admiral Prop in Tampa via a drop ship, based upon Marcus' recommendation as I told him I would not work with them..the PT dealer in Miami never responded to my inquiries..the guys at Admiral were great...took Paypal, and everything arrived as delivered. Again, I don't want to derail your good experience, but, as we have different experiences and we share them as part of a public forum, I wanted to give mine. I'm sure there are 100 more positive, or some negative, but, mine was this... DC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conocean Posted May 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2017 22 hours ago, Wanaflatsfish said: The sales rep, I can't remember his name, but will find it, suggested a Mercury, aluminum 4 blade for my skinny mini 17T. I took it to Chokoloskee and ran it one trip. I did not hit any oysterbars, etc but, it show useage after one day's running. I took it back and then asked to purchase a NEW PowerTech prop that had a value of about $450. The value of the Mercury was about $275. He said because of the "damage and use" he could not give me any credit, more than $100 towards the new prop. Give me a friggen break dudes It's a prop shop and in two minutes, they could have applied some paint to make it look new.....and he had assured me that the prop would have been returned for full credit. So, now he has my prop (i paid $30 for the freight) previously and he wont' give me any discounts or help me on the new PT....I had to pay full price, no discounts or even help on the freight from PT. Ok so, you bought a $275 prop from F&J that you not only water tested but actually used for a day in Choko then tried to return it and they would only give you $100 credit due to it showing wear. Then you wanted a discount on a different pricey prop. And because it's a prop shop you thought they could paint or recondition the used, returned prop to make it look new in order to give you more of a credit towards another prop. From my experience, here are my thoughts/opinions..... ALL of the new or reconditioned props I've had on my Mavericks have shown wear after one day of use in the ENP, even if I didn't hit an oyster bar. Regardless, if F&J could've reconditioned the used, returned prop to look new they still couldn't sell it as new in order to keep their integrity. Freight is a consumer absorbed cost as far as I know, especially in the marine industry. And PT props likely have a slimmer profit margin than props made by Merc, Yammi, etc. so I can't see them being able to discount that prop for anyone. Most prop dealers will give you 75-100% credit for a prop that is " water tested" as long as you buy another prop from that dealer but using a prop for one trip in Choko is much more than a water test. I'm sure F&J thought you were going to just water test the prop which is why they said they would take it back for full credit if you didn't like it; that makes perfect sense. (Clear communication on your use upon purchase of that prop prior to return may have made the difference in this instance!) Spinning any prop for a day in the shallow, sediment filled water of the Glades (and getting on plane in skinny water throughout the day) is certainly going to show more than just a little wear. I challenge anyone to buy a prop from any reputable prop dealer, use it for a day in Choko then try to return it for even a 50% credit. That most likely is not going to happen! Lastly, my initial post was giving props to F&J's reconditioning service. But I have ordered one prop from there in the past and it was a good experience but no discount or discounted freight, which I wouldn't expect. Over the years we have had hundreds of clients at Merritt's who deal w/F&J's for their skiffs, center consoles, fishing yachts & mega yachts and I've never heard a complaint. But a business cannot do the volume that F&J's does without having an unhappy camper somewhere along the line. It's a shame that you are that unhappy camper, Dino! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted May 14, 2017 Report Share Posted May 14, 2017 14 hours ago, conocean said: Ok so, you bought a $275 prop from F&J that you not only water tested but actually used for a day in Choko then tried to return it and they would only give you $100 credit due to it showing wear. Then you wanted a discount on a different pricey prop. And because it's a prop shop you thought they could paint or recondition the used, returned prop to make it look new in order to give you more of a credit towards another prop. From my experience, here are my thoughts/opinions..... ALL of the new or reconditioned props I've had on my Mavericks have shown wear after one day of use in the ENP, even if I didn't hit an oyster bar. Regardless, if F&J could've reconditioned the used, returned prop to look new they still couldn't sell it as new in order to keep their integrity. Freight is a consumer absorbed cost as far as I know, especially in the marine industry. And PT props likely have a slimmer profit margin than props made by Merc, Yammi, etc. so I can't see them being able to discount that prop for anyone. Most prop dealers will give you 75-100% credit for a prop that is " water tested" as long as you buy another prop from that dealer but using a prop for one trip in Choko is much more than a water test. I'm sure F&J thought you were going to just water test the prop which is why they said they would take it back for full credit if you didn't like it; that makes perfect sense. (Clear communication on your use upon purchase of that prop prior to return may have made the difference in this instance!) Spinning any prop for a day in the shallow, sediment filled water of the Glades (and getting on plane in skinny water throughout the day) is certainly going to show more than just a little wear. I challenge anyone to buy a prop from any reputable prop dealer, use it for a day in Choko then try to return it for even a 50% credit. That most likely is not going to happen! Lastly, my initial post was giving props to F&J's reconditioning service. But I have ordered one prop from there in the past and it was a good experience but no discount or discounted freight, which I wouldn't expect. Over the years we have had hundreds of clients at Merritt's who deal w/F&J's for their skiffs, center consoles, fishing yachts & mega yachts and I've never heard a complaint. But a business cannot do the volume that F&J's does without having an unhappy camper somewhere along the line. It's a shame that you are that unhappy camper, Dino! Paul, It's about customer service and expectation....I could give a Sh$&77 about the money.... First, they prop'd me wrong. I went to F&J's personally to make the order and spoke with he rep-I can't find his name, but, trust me, Marcus will be happy to chime in privately. I was trying to save a few $ and the rep "assured" me that the prop would be fine....from the moment I started the engine in the water at Out Door resorts, it "thunk'd". Now, I have $50 worth of shrimp in the boat, $60 in gas round trip, food, ramp fees, etc.....so I have about $150 in the day.......to run a prop, the rep assured me would work and if I "don't like it", bring it back for full credit. I'm not a prop expert....but, more on the story: I also brought the boat to F&J"s when I first made the order so he could see the splines and the lower unit....I also brought it to them when I bought the prop, to insure it would fit...when we installed the prop, it didn't fit snug, but, the rep said, it's normal for a Mercury prop to"clunk" on a Yamaha when it's seating on the spline when moving from neutral to idle....I also brought back the boat to F&J"s (now this is the 3rd time I've now spent about 5 hours of my time trying got get the right prop).... So, let's recap...He gives me no discount on the first prop, says to me "no problem, just bring it back", and now, I have $40 in shipping in the Merc which they will keep to sell the prop to another customer, I had to buy a special spacer for the splines and lower unit another ($25), and then he tells me, nothing he can do on the new "PT" prop - I even call Marcus and asked if he could help - it's my now 4th Power Tech prop - and the guy says, sorry, take your $100 credit and go buy something elsewhere, or we'll give you a credit. I was so pissed, I just said take the $100 credit and let's get the Prop as Marcus had already sent it after the problem with the Mercury...I called Marcus on Monday after the trip... So, this was about the absolute customer service and disrespect to a customer I've ever had...it was F'n take it or leave it. It was a $450 prop.... Sorry to dis-rail your "props", but, this was much more than just a phone call to F&J's and order some "prop". I"m happy others have had good experiences, looks like mine was a rarity based upon your experience......I'm just saying, buyer be ware when dealing with F&J's, based upon my experience. BTW, great to see you today....you have a great place over in Choko.....I hope the wind gods are favorable and I can get back over and spend an evening next week..I still owe you the bottle of RuM...I was in a rush this morning and forgot to bring it... DC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted May 14, 2017 Report Share Posted May 14, 2017 BTW, further thoughts... Had F&J's sales person just said, look, we don't have what you need for what you want to pay, we are sorry, just buy a PowerTech, then none of this would have happened...again, the sales guy was "anxious" for the sale....he pushed me into the 4 blade Merc. prop...I did not suggest it or bring him a "model" number...he explained that since the skiff was so light, that I didn't really need a "SS blade"....it was my first skinny mini...all my other prop's were PT's and stainless..so I felt why spend $450, I"ll get it and check it out...no risk... Again, had they said, hey, we'll give you a $225 or something reasonable, pay the freight on the new prop, etc. towards the value, I was "ok" with trying...and say, ok, lesson learned..but, this was BS BTW, I checked my emails and found the name of the salesperson and the note I had sent to Marcus, I forgot that there were actually two people who came out to try and get it to fit..the sales guy couldn't figure out how to get it to seat and then another guy came out and brought a "kit" to have it retrofit the splines....even then, it had play..but, they said it was normal... I"m done with this....but, let's remember the first rule of customer service....deliver what you said you are going to say and do it. Be happy to PM the name of the rep if you need or what to pass it along to your friends at F&J"s. dc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conocean Posted May 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2017 Wow, now that I have the whole story I can see why you were pi$$ed! I wouldnt have been happy either.... All good though. Thanks and I look fwd to seeing you and donh next wkend!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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