Cabela’s\Minnkota = Bad experience (long)

Hey guys I have to vent a little. I called Cabela’s in Owatonna wanting to purchase a 65lb Minnkota Maxxum trolling motor and was told they had it in stock so I drive the 1 1/2 hours up there only to have to order it. I then wait 1 week for my motor and get it all installed in the 100 degree heat only to find that the shaft is bent and is eating the plastic everytime the prop spins. So I am then told to drive back to Cabela’s to drop it off. Needless to say I tell them I am not wasting more gas to drive back up there. They then charge me for another trolling motor and send it to me. I then wait three weeks to get a UPS tag to send the other one back after calling four times to remind them. I then go out fishing last Monday and the tension cable breaks in my foot pedal. I then call Minnkota to let them know I am a little upset about this and they basically blow me off and tell me to drop it off in Rochester at Lake Sonic. Why should I be taking a three week old product in for warranty after I just spent $600 on it? So basically I missed the last month of fishing and still don’t have a working motor, spent $60 in gas to drive to Cabela’s to order a trolling motor I could’ve got over the phone for free, and am paying interest on my credit card for a broken motor. Sorry for the rambling, but I thought Minnkota and Cabela’s would take better care of their customers. Am I the only one who has had a problem with these people?

Buzzbait…..Sorry to hear about your problems with the trolling motor at Cabelas…Whenever you decide to call a place to ask if they have something in stock may sure to tell them to put a customer hold on that item, so it does not get sold during your commute to the store..Also if you tell them to put a customer hold on your item you know 100% that its in stock…They cannot hold an item for you in which they have to order….I know first hand the confusion that goes on in the marine department at Cabelas cause I work at the Rogers store part time… Right now most stores do not carry a lot of trolling motors in stock just cause of the time of year…Yes they can be ordered from the catalog at all times…Also when you recieve the item make sure you inspect it carefully…things do get damaged durning shipping.

Buzzbait….I am not saying that you did anything wrong here, I am just giving you a heads up on what to do next time to prevent this from happening again…..

Just my 2 cents!!!!!

Yeah thanks for the heads up. What made me mad is they told me I could drive up and pick it up instead of waiting to be shipped and when I got there they said they never stock that motor. The box was in perfect shape to and unless you would pull the prop off you would never notice the shaft was bent. When the tech at Minnkota blew me off that pretty much did it though. All he kept saying was “we have very few problems with our motors you must have done something to them”. Yeah I really like to bend the shaft and break the tension cables on my trolling motor so I can miss the rest of the season.

If you heard my saga of trying to get a new trolling motor, you would feel a little better. Needless to say, it took me from early October of last year until late March of this year to get a new motor installed. It took another couple of months before the credit card company decided to resolve my complaint on the charges for the first motor which Fedex lost and said that I did not have it insured. 3 motors later, I am set, hopefully the wait will finally be over soon for you.

Its very rare that we hear about the good things or smooth sailing with custmor service!!!!!
I am sure that Cabelas will do whatever it takes to make you happy as a customer…Once again sorry to hear about your deal with the trolling motor!!!!!

I had a trolling motor quit working 1 day before a tournament 4 years ago while fishing Alma, WI (Pool 4). The closest Minn Kota service center was over an hour away in Rochester, MN. I ended up driving to this place which I believe was Lake Sonic? or something like that. Anyway, the service guy was on vacation so I was spilling my guts to the owner of the place telling him basically that I’m screwed. Long story short, his service guy came in on his day off and fixed my motor!!! I will never forget customer service like that!

…and from what I’ve heard many Cabela’s have service centers second to none!

Just to clarify, my experiences were NOT with Cabelas. It is extremely frustrating when numerous screw ups lead to delays in getting a product to you. Just letting the original poster know that he is not alone.

I have had nothing but great service from Minn Kota and Cabela’s. Minn Kota has taken very good care of me on all my concerns even this year on my 101. Fixed fast and right now.

I was at Cabela’s Saturday and had the BEST service on finding a sale item that was in the back room. The young lady walked around the store and found me to give me the items!

Here’s my $.02

Next time order it from Wade at Jolly Ann Marine. Ordered a depth finder from him and it was here in a couple of days, I was PM’ing him at 11:00 at night and he was responding, great service and I know where to find him if I need to. I have had no bad experiences from Cabela’s but Wade is usually cheaper too.

Just my $.02

What truly sucks about all of this is the usually the messenger gets beat up. Cabelas has one of the best return policy I know. Can’t be beat by anyone. They will take back anythingk, even if it isn’t theirs, they will take it back.

As for Minnkota, that sucks. Maybe next time, try being a little more assertive with them. For example, we all know the Auto Pilot doesn’t work very good. They have a bad reputation on their compass boards.

Anyways, a buddy purchase an autopilot. It acted up first day. He took it back and got a new one. 2 weeks later, and 3 days prior to heading to the big Vermillion Lake muskie tourney, it acted up again. He called, raised Hades and the next afternoon, he had a brand new trolling motor on his door, and instructions and pre-paid shipping to send the old one back.

Mark is right though, I’ve never heard anyone say even “average” customer service from Jolly Ann. Everyone I know or seen from this site that has done business with Jolly Ann has bragged every time with the lowest pricing and best service.

Thanks for the input guys. Cabela’s isn’t really at fault for anything other than taking three weeks to get me a call tag for the first broken motor. Other than that I can’t complain and took care of the problem. I am just fed up. As far as Minnkota goes maybe I just talked to the wrong person, but I worked customer service for 7 years and now work in IT and that is not how you treat your clients. I wasn’t asking for anything than a working motor so I could fish before the season is over and I didn’t feel like I should have to use my warranty after 4 times on the water. Anyways any suggestions as far as a different motor goes. It will be on a 17′ Nitro 170DC

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Mark is right though, I’ve never heard anyone say even “average” customer service from Jolly Ann. Everyone I know or seen from this site that has done business with Jolly Ann has bragged every time with the lowest pricing and best service.

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Well that is one of the places I checked and they returned my email saying that they had none in stock. They then said that if I could not find one elsewhere I should get back to them. I did and never heard anything back. The rest of the saga is too long for here.