Alaska Raft & Kayak

So, for the last year or so I've been telling people to shop at Alaska Raft & Kayak, but my last two experiences have been pretty bad.

1) My wife went in and bought me some Hobie beach wheels. They charged my wife for the trax-2 30cm wheels, but gave her the smaller 24cm. That's a $50 mistake...I returned it for her, and was able to receive a refund. The employee was not very apologetic, and he plainly said he gave her the 24 cm wheels since they were out of the 30's. I'm okay with that, but just don't charge her for the 30cm.

2) Had a friend go shopping for an Outback there, and the sales guy had zero knowledge on the Hobies.  Gladly I was there to help, but I feel bad for anyone new to kayaking, you won't get your questions answered there.

Anyone else have any problems there lately? I'm a big supporter of local business, but now I'm back ordering online for the time being.

They are a new Hobie dealer, and I don't think anyone on their staff is a Hobie enthusiast. If you are a moderately interested buyer, you probably already know more about Hobies than the sales guy that's going to be helping you out.

That said, they are a real, brick and mortar store. So if you want to see something in person it's nice to be able to go check it out (if they have it, which is hit or miss).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I received a call from Alaska Raft and Kayak, and they were very apologetic about my experiences with them as of late.  I really appreciated the call, and I understand that sometimes people make mistakes.  It shows they really do care about their customers by following up so quickly.  Thanks Rudy for passing on the message!

In response to the post regarding our customer service at Alaska raft and kayak.
We are very sorry any of our customers had an experience with us that did not exceed their expectations. We pride ourselves on our customer service and strive to meet or exceed our customer’s needs and expectations, to be as knowledgeable as we can on the products we sell. We ask that if you have any issues with any of our service (myself included), please bring it to my (Mark Cohen’s) attention, it will be addressed immediately. We cannot fix a problem if we do not know about it. We are enthusiastic and love what we do. We try our best to be knowledgeable and have the products our customers are looking for. We are an Alaskan business and take great pride in what we do and appreciate and value our customers.
Regards
Mark Cohen
Alaska Raft and Kayak

Hey Mark!  Glad to see you joined us! 

Martin,  glad ya got it resolved.  I was in meetings all day.  I know I had promised Mark to get with his staff and tell him about some of the experiences I have had with the Hobies. So part of it is on me.   I think it would also help if we all need something to let them know.  Sure it is often cheaper to by from the internet, but I think its in all of our bets interest if we could let the local retailers know what we would like to see stocked.  Mail order might be cheaper but if it isn't available locally, it may not be available when you need it. 

I agree with you in that I like to support local folks.  I know in the past people have had issues with the kayaks as they were delivered and it would be a major bummer if you couldn't take it back to a local dealer to get it fixed.  Whether it be at Alaska Raft and Kayak or a place like B&J sporting goods, the smaller local retailers too me are worth their weight in gold.  Though many big box stores may have a decent return policy, thats typically all they do.  In terms of getting things fixed and customer service, it is hard to beat the locally owned stores in my opinion.  I know Mark has toured the Hobie facility a couple of times so he knows a quite a bit.  Sometimes it's a challenge to pass that info on in its entirety to your entire staff. 

Let's fish!!!!