Change is not always improvement [Defender Marine Supply]

[peaman]

I just gotta say that since Defender redesigned their web site, I've been getting a lot more familiar with West Marine's web site. Has anyone else felt this, or is it just me?

 

[Dave G.]

Yeah not a fan of the new Defender site. Unfortunately unless it's on sale @ West they are generally quite a bit more expensive.

 

[bsangs]

Oh the new website is a cluster****. Not only that, I recently placed an order for in-stock items that took two weeks to finally be completed. Normally my Defender orders reach me within two days. They were apologetic about it, but the early returns of the change are not promising.

 

[Bolo]

My biggest complaint with the new and “improved” Defender web site is that my order history has been erased! I have in the past looked back at what I purchased, at what price and when but now that info is gone. Sent them a message about this issue and basically they said that they’re working on trying to get the order histories back and repopulated into the new site. I’m not holding my breath for that promise.

 

[bsangs]

My biggest complaint with the new and “improved” Defender web site is that my order history has been erased! I have in the past looked back at what I purchased, at what price and when but now that info is gone. Sent them a message about this issue and basically they said that they’re working on trying to get the order histories back and repopulated into the new site. I’m not holding my breath For that promise.

Yes! That was very aggravating to discover. Wanted to do a simple check of what size lines I purchased last summer, but the order history was gone. I still have the receipts in a folder on the boat, but, well, I wasn't on the boat at the time I needed to know.

 

[peaman]

The previous version organized things based on taxonomy, so it was possible to drill down into their inventory by general trade, systems within trade, main components of systems, specific offerings. In the present state, if the search term is not adequately specific, the returns will include every item in inventory, ordered by "relevance"? That's pretty much what West does, which has been really aggravating for me:

Me: "I need a left-handed wing nut"
West: "Look at these insulated cups with built-in USB port".

I hope it gets better pretty soon.

 

[peaman]

Email from Defender in response to a complaint I posted to Customer Service:

Hello ___________,

Thank you for taking the time to reach out to the Defender team. We appreciate your feedback on our new website. I will certainly escalate your complaint to upper management. Our apologies for the inconvenience. Thank you again for contacting Defender.

Please let us know if there is anything else we can help you with.

Thank you,
Karla Burke
Customer Service | Defender Industries

 

[G Kiba]

The new Defender website IS horrible. At first, I thought at first it was me. Reason is that I have experienced just too many apps on my phone that lead me to pages where I just don't know what to do.

 

[Pete the Cat]

I believe the Defender company was recently sold. It was a family operation for many years. You might try Hodges of Maine or Hamilton Marine. I have ordered from both and their prices are reasonable, delivery was good and they actually have folks who know what they are doing answering the phone. I do not have much hope for Defender and I was a long time customer through refitting several boats. Something happened in the sale.

 

[bsangs]

I believe the Defender company was recently sold. It was a family operation for many years. You might try Hodges of Maine or Hamilton Marine. I have ordered from both and their prices are reasonable, delivery was good and they actually have folks who know what they are doing answering the phone. I do not have much hope for Defender and I was a long time customer through refitting several boats. Something happened in the sale.

Well that does explain a lot. Hadn't heard that, but after reading your post, a quick Google search found several stories. https://news.yahoo.com/defender-industries-acquired-canadian-online-050100180.html

 

[Bolo]

Well that does explain a lot. Hadn't heard that, but after reading your post, a quick Google search found several stories. https://news.yahoo.com/defender-industries-acquired-canadian-online-050100180.html

Hmmmm....this sounds familiar. A company buying another company in which they have no experience in running or understanding of their customer base.

 

[KS Dave]

Wanted to do a simple check of what size lines I purchased last summer, but the order history was gone.

I will mention that I just noticed that they restored my old 'wish list' upon my request (it wasn't there originally). No order history, however. The old order history didn't seem that useful, however. I thought it was kind of clunky. But I'm happy to at least have my wish list back.

I believe the Defender company was recently sold. It was a family operation for many years.

Sad to hear it's no longer family-owned. It's a tough environment to maintain if no one in the family wants to take it over.

 

[peaman]

I believe the Defender company was recently sold. It was a family operation for many years. You might try Hodges of Maine or Hamilton Marine. I have ordered from both and their prices are reasonable, delivery was good and they actually have folks who know what they are doing answering the phone. I do not have much hope for Defender and I was a long time customer through refitting several boats. Something happened in the sale.

I have used both Hodges and Hamilton and have always been happy with product and service and will continue to use them. Only problem is their relatively limited line of products.

I am deeply saddened to hear that Defender has changed hands. No doubt the new investors will find many opportunities to squeeze value from sales to profit their shareholders. A quick check on the investor's Fortnine.ca website for motorsports parts and accessories shows offerings with 20% to 100% higher costs than their major competitors.

 

[Tin Kicker]

Well that does explain a lot. Hadn't heard that, but after reading your post, a quick Google search found several stories. https://news.yahoo.com/defender-industries-acquired-canadian-online-050100180.html

I'm into motorcycles and Fortnine has also been damaged. While technically the purchase was by the Sawaf brothers who run FortNine, there's a Canadian VC group called Novacap behind this all. Novacap bought FortNine mid 2020 and has been squeezing what they could out of it with similar reported changes in customer experience on our motorcycle forum. (advrider.com)

As far as pricing, being a Canadian company alone makes FortNine pricier than their major competitors since most are US based. They're the biggest in Canada and were undercutting other Canadian companies till being bought but they still are pretty close to other Canadian motorcycle parts prices. Motorcycle people were complaining by January 2021 about increasing prices and calls to customer service.

Now suddenly Defender is doing exactly the same thing that happened to FortNine. Pity because I liked and bought from Defender regularly.

 

[bsangs]

I have used both Hodges and Hamilton and have always been happy with product and service and will continue to use them. Only problem is their relatively limited line of products.

I am deeply saddened to hear that Defender has changed hands. No doubt the new investors will find many opportunities to squeeze value from sales to profit their shareholders. A quick check on the investor's Fortnine.ca website for motorsports parts and accessories shows offerings with 20% to 100% higher costs than their major competitors.

And they've already eliminated the Defender One program so that "everyone can save with our great prices." Defender was my go-to source for pretty much everything during my first year of boat ownership last season, and I couldn't have have been happier with the products and customer service. They're 0-for-2 on new orders since this change though, so seems clear I'll be expanding my horizons.

 

[Loren Beach]

Considering that shipping is so easy nowadays and store location is not always so relevant, perhaps you might like to check out https://www.fisheriessupply.com/ out of Seattle.
I use them often, especially when one of my friends with a wholesale account is not available. Their 'list' prices on-line are often higher than the price quoted in the actual order.
They carry a huge assortment of sailing related things.
(I have no personal or financial interest in them, but am just a customer.)

 

[toddster]

I did encounter the new Defender site last week. Kept getting the "Unable to process your credit card. Try again later" message. They ended up charging my card four times. No order generated. Supervisor has no solution. I guess Defender is dead to me.

 

[bsangs]

Think it's only fair that I chime back in here to mention I ordered something from Defender on Thursday, and it arrived here today using its "Free Shipping" option. Just like it always did under previous ownership.

 

[Christian Williams]

Man, I have ten years with them and the account history was where I looked see to line diameters, brand names and such. It was invaluable.

From: Defender [mailto:cs@defender.com]
Sent: Saturday, February 25, 2023 11:17 AM
To: Christian Williams <cw@christianwilliams.com>
Subject: Re: Defender - Report Website/Content Issue - Contact Us

Hello Christian,
Thank you for visiting the new Defender website!
Your previous orders will not be listed under your new account order history currently. We are working on adding this information back to your account history. However, we still have access to this order data. If you have any questions about a prior order, please confirm the order number, your name or email address, and we'd be happy to assist you further.
Please let us know if there is anything else we can help you with.
Thank you for your patience and understanding,
Leah
Customer Service | Defender Industries
1-800-628-8225 | CS@defender.com

Better get our account histories back fast, if you want business. This is widely discussed as a good reason to ditch Defender.

 

[peaman]

So far, members have recommended the following:

Hodges Marine
Hamilton Marine
Fisheries Supply

I wonder what other great marine supply distributors should be high-lighted to help fill the void left by Defender's new owners?

Spring is coming