Dave Scadden Pontoon Boats, proper business practice? You be the judge!

I bit the bullet and ordered the Renegade w upgraded oars..."supposedly" is shipping today and will be here by end of week but I am interested to see what shows up and when. Knew the service was going to stink going into this so just hoping the boat does what I think it will and Ill be happy.

Unlike most of the posts here, my brother ordered a Renegade at the Puyallup show and everything was shipped on time and he is very happy with the boat. I think you will be too. There is really nothing like it on the market and I would assume that is why, despite all the negative stuff on this thread, you ordered one. You will be glad you did, at least if things go like they did for my brother. I've had a two man Mackenzie Scadden for about 4 years now and it has been a great boat for me. Rick

I heard from Dave Scadden this morning, and he said they have been out of the office for several days filming videos. Now that they are back, maybe biz will be taken care of.

In spite of some snags in the initial ordering / fulfillment of the boat, I am thoroughly delighted with my Rampage and Lightspeed oars at this point.

I am jacked about it, think it is THE boat when you look at capability + portability...my only tough decision now is what rivers to run this weekend.

Well my Renegade finally showed up as ordered and working! Few days late and they definately still are a bit on the "rough" side on customer service but I am happy and the boat appears to be very worthy of some serious whitewater even at 9ft long. Grabbing the light spey, doing a long test float tomorrow and if the stars align might just say hello to a chrome summerrun...cheers

Don't know the fellow 'from Adam's odd Fox.' But did the office recorder say they were off and running for a few days? Yes, yes, let them know you're gone and ..... oh forget it 99.99999999% of the time.

Just curious, just curious.

fae

I don't know, Fred. Why don't you call them and ask them?

(801)392-5404

Or are you just trying to stir the pot?

Quite the contrary. I was responding (scratching my head is more like it) to this post:

"Originally Posted by Michael Nelson
I heard from Dave Scadden this morning, and he said they have been out of the office for several days filming videos. Now that they are back, maybe biz will be taken care of.

In spite of some snags in the initial ordering / fulfillment of the boat, I am thoroughly delighted with my Rampage and Lightspeed oars at this point."

Not in the least, But lets just say that it's not considered a 'good business practice' to close down an office for several days (how small is this business?) without 'something' to advise your present/future customers that you're not available 'from/to.' (Voice mail recording at the least asking the caller to 'leave his name/number and we'll return you call, etc'.)

fae

really had no issues contacting them via phone during M-F bus hrs and i called alot over the past two weeks...

Thanks Keith ("really had no issues contacting them via phone during M-F bus hrs and i called alot over the past two weeks... ). That makes a bit more sense; had the impression there was dead silence when you tried to contact them by the choice of words used earlier.

fae

First mistake: "On February 5th I called Dave and cancelled my order."

When money is involved, especially this much, it needs to be in writing, and to be safe should have been sent registered.

You've already learned, via the VISA company, about your other mistake(s), most involving timeliness.

I'm sad to hear what happened to you, but I'm not surprised about the issue with Scadden. It sounds like you need to be persistent with phone calls and maybe a certified letter or two. It might be worthit to fly to his office and confront him directly.

Ordered a Renegade via phone & had several telecons with Dave . . . no issues, excellent boat, arrived on time. Travel bag is back-ordered, but over the years I've had lots of stuff hit the back order list. I'm happy & he made me a good deal.

Cancel the bag and order one here:

http://www.giantduffle.com/main/review/product/list/id/28/

It's the exact same bag and will cost you less than 30 bucks.

Sorry for your problem, however, I have been buying Scadden boats since 2000 and have bought 8 boats from Dave for me and my friends. I currently have 4 of his boats at home. I can say I have only received outstanding service and support from Dave and his staff. I have had 2 warranty issues and they where resolved with a phone call and new parts where shipped to me immediately without any charge.

I would not hesitate to do business with Dave. His boats are top notch and are innovative.

Giz... (Walt P. Vanc. WA.)

I agree gizmo, a little quirky but the innovation makes up for any minor shortcomings. My back order duffle showed yesterday about 10 days after my boat, no biggie and I LOVE the new Outlaw...

It seems I am not the only one who had to deal with Dave Scadden. Dave seems to stretch the truth and he is good at it. He knows that he can't deliver on allot of his promises so he stalls until he can. It's funny he always sends a check and doesn't charge back your credit card. The man definitely has a problem and can't help himself. My outlaw avenger is a quality boat though but that does in no way excuse Dave for being the way he is. He is a big kid in a mans body. Steeling from peter to pay Paul then steeling from Paul to pay Paul is how he operates.

Moderators, what say you finally bury this thread?! Now, some will say just don't read it.... I responded to the first post just to help the guy out and haven't bothered with any of it since. 2,244 views and 35 posts?? I'm sure some have had reasonable complaints, but 2,244 views ?? Small wonder the Camano Island genius folk hero has a 100 grand!!

I agree with sportsman. I wrote the post and I am tired of looking at it, so be my guest, burry it, what ever that means!

Dave has never been the model of customer service. I definitely had my "fun" when ordering an X3 a few years back. To his defense, he did make it right, but it definitely took some phone calls and a whole lot of patience. He does have a decent product, and I have not complaints about my boat. Although, in the grand scheme of things there are other companies out there with great products. ... and with that, probably better customer service.

i think dave ROCKS... i recently had my skykomish sunrise stolen from the bed of my truck and insurance ended up covering it. when i called dave to order another he set it right up. the next day i got a call from hmi saying that they would be out of stock of the skykomish sunrise for a while so he would just upgrade me. he ended up sending me the new 2011 model of the Outlaw Rebel CSI... he told me im the first person to have one, and so far the thing is !@#$ing amazing. He even threw in a free pump

no complaints here... about customer service or the boat