I've been wanting to post this for the last few weeks, but unfortunately I've have had a lot of family and personal issues to attend to since I have recieved and sent my stand back to Marcus. I feel this site does a fantastic job of keeping brewers informed of both great and not so great experiences. Both are equally important, when hard earned money is involved. Here we go.
My communication with Marcus started back in the begininning of this past January. As most of you would agree, my inital communications with Marcus (Pre Sale) were great. I would email his site or PM him thru this site and he always got back within the next few hours to a day. I remember thinking how impressed I was that he would take so much time to discuss things with me in the middle of the day, when I figured how busy he must be. We talked at GREAT lengths before I ordered about what I was looking for and what my expectations were from him. I explained ad nauseam about how I am as being as far away from a DYI'er as anyone could imagine. Describing me as not handy would be and understatement. I explained I would want as many extra touches and finishes from him as he could possibly do for me. I explained I basically wanted something out of the box ready to brew with. He always reassured me this would be no problem at all. He would wire my pumps to switches, push to start would be assembled and ready to go, a little later I added the BCS wireless integration, and again he reassurred me this would ready to go out of the box. One other modification was to have the hlt side raised so I could gravity feed from it. No problem at all. He even explained if he had to ship it differently to make it out of the box he would.
Marcus explained the Build time would be "around 8-10 weeks" I told him that was more than exceptable and with all the extra touches he was doing for me. I paid him in the beginning of February and then again for the BCS upgrade a month later, to the tune of $2300+ dollars. March, April, May came and went with no word. I figured it was time to call and or email and see how we are doing. The tone of that first f/u call was very different, Marcus was still his amicable self, but there was this feeling that he really wasn't sure of anything we had spoke to. Given it been a couple of months I reassured myself, that a f/u he was going to have it staightned out. Well, it took more calls and emails to get another. He said he did have me "almost done" This is June. Again he as always very reassuring that with these delays I was gonna be blown away and ready to brew, with "very Little" assembly.
Well the month of June there were more and more excuses, Ok fine. I at this point started to get a little concerned and PM'D some other guys that seemed to be buyers and asked them about there stands and experiences. Two things that concerned me most we're that all but one of them, said that the stand when it arrived after many delays also, still needed parts, or more assembly by the buyer of mentioned later arriving parts. There also were a few that had some mild damgages to the stand. The most bothersome thing t all the guys I talked but one mentioned, was that they wouldn't do buisness with Marcus again. Well after more and more and more inquiries. Finally I recieve an email From Marcus on July 12th, that my stand is finally on Central Freight and would be there in a week. He also had to Blichmann Kettles he was supposed to be doing welds and autosparge install on. No mention of those, No tracking? I repeatedly respond asking for tracking and inquiring if my kettles are finally arriving as well? This goes on until July 22nd! He finally answers his phone and in an "OH, oh yeah" You won't beleve this manner, explains how my stand just came back to him late the day before and he was just gonna call me. Apparently their just so happend to be another drunkmonk email he was finishing up at the same time, and it got sent to the wrong address?? He told me to resend my mailing info again so that he had it right and he would send it right back out, WTF?? He is still unsure of my info this many months into the sale??? All along Marcus's demenor is like oh well, it will get there. I told him to grab a pen and I will give it to him right there. No pen, just email it to me, don't worry..It's goin out first thing tommorrow. We'll about 6 more exuses later...
The Final Frontier: aka the last 4 weeks.
Its now August the 15th. He's decided that we are back to ups and not standard Frieght. I don't know why, but I actually have 3 actual tracking #'s!!! Hallelajuh, this business transaction is finally comming to an end??!!
Not so fast. Lables created, but not going anywhere for another 3 weeks...WHY?? We'll sit back and relax while Marcus spins another tale thats not his fault. "Somehow they ripped the labels off the boxes (?all three) before they were scanned in." He has already found my kettles but is in "search of" my stand. I called UPS and asked them about this. I could tell the guy didn't really want to call total bull**** on this, but he wound up saying Highly unlikely with a giggle. I also have a very good friend that's worked with UPS and FedEX for 18yrs that said this is VERY rare. How lucky am I? Well I keep calling him for the next 4 days or so. One time he picks up the phone and I say hey there marcus and he starts to answer me, then can't here me? I finally get him again the next day. He states this is frequent problem with his boxes and the labels being removed. (???) He then tells me that UPS thinks they might have my long lost stand, and he has to go down to the UPS facility to "ID" the box. It's found and comfirmed still alive, Ol Marcus says I'll be happy he did some re-wiring while it was delayed and I'll be very pleased. Well do you think I should Marcus?
5 days later, the SAME THREE, tracking #'s appear to be finally on the way. On Sept 6th the stand Finally arrives!!!! Unfortunatly I am out of Town tending to a Family Emergency. Tropical Storm is raining down that day, probably the most rain we've gotten all summer. How fitting. My mother in law accepts a badly damaged box. When I return home nine days later, I can't wait to finally see this puppy, but you can already see it thru both ends of the box!! UPS had a field day with it.
The Stand or Grossly incomplete stand:
No bottom to stand or wheels.
No elevation/modification to the HLT side.
No pumps or pump sheilds wiring to switches
No push to light system.
No BCS box or hook up.
To top it off one of the burners is falling off the stand only attached to on screw, Welds to base of burner are broken thru. Not a stich of protective packing to be found. I'm kind of surprised there wasn't more damage.
Of course off to the phone, to call Marcus for another "WTF" moment. Not there. Finally calls me back very calm and non apologetic for what I just opened up after almost 8 months. Get ready...wait for another it's not my fault story fromo O'L Marcus. "Ya know, I think your missing a box?" "Yeah, I sent you another box that you didn't get." Oh yeah Marcus, where was that tracking #? You failed to send me the 4th tracking #??
You mean you send something that costly off and don't get a report from UPS back stating your shipments have arrived or they are held up or even worse lost again!!
Marcus is very good, but I remind him of one HUGE thing. We talked for mult Days how he was going to have EVERYTHING installed on the stand (pumps,Push controll panel, BCS box and wireing). REMEMBER Marcus "No Problems" Marcus??
No sorry, just "Oh, well now, your right." "Well, this is what we're gonna do, I'll send ya some return slips tommorrow." "When I get it back, I will send you a pic of it fully assembled, so that you see we are on the same page, then I'll send it back out to ya." Marcus how the hell can't we be on the same page after this long and so many freakin converstaions??
Marcus sends me his return slips. To add insult to injury, I wind up paying another $8 to get it pick up and sent back to him. He say's "I'll fix that, I don't know why they did that?"
POST MORTUM:
I tryed to cool down for a day, then sent an email asking for my immediate refund on both Invioces, minus the hole he drilled on one of my kettles and for an Autosparge. This is over two weeks ago, and of course he has not responded to any of my repeated emails, phone messages, and Text's. It's safe to say he's gone underground. I am currently working with my Visa to get all of my money back plus shipping costs incurred to get the stand back to him. He is not going to give me my money back and has basically ROBBED me at this point. He has got HIS incomplete stand back however, 3 weeks ago.
If anyone has had an experience where they needed to get charge backs from Visa and you have any advice for me at this point I would greatly appreciate it. Please PM with any thoughts or pointers. I'm obviously really stressed out about this right now.
It sounds like from someone elses recent post that Marcus still monitors these boards. If so Marcus, Please feel free to contact me and let me know why this business transaction should continue from here on out. If Marcus does contact me with Refund, I will be sure to update this.
So again, sorry for the long drawn out post of my experiences with Brewers Equipment. I hope this helps someone avoid the same. Thanks for hearing me out.
Cheers,
Joel
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