I avoid CREDIT cards to keep myself out of trouble. I'm not the most financially disciplined person, and I know my weaknesses.

To be honest, your debit card situation makes it a little difficult on the seller, and especially if your item wasn't in stock. It sounds like they didn't charge you when you placed the order because the item wasn't in stock. It also sounds like they weren't going to charge you until they knew it was going to ship.

If you didn't have this situation where you had to call to raise the limit in order to make your purchase, your probably would not be on here complaining. I understand your frustration and the fact that you were looking forward to getting your new yak, but I'm not sure ACK has done you wrong.

At the very least, they sold me a kayak listed as "in stock" that was NOT "in stock". While everyone seems to think my debit card "situation" makes things so hard for ACK, I have NEVER had an issue before. I have made large internet purchase many times without this confusion.

I agree with J.P. on this one. A phone call and getting a confirmation that the kayak was in stock, explaining the debit card situation, and making the transaction over the phone where they could then tag the kayak sold could have saved you a lot of grief.

I have personally bought two kayaks from ACK and I have done many online purchases over the years and I have had excellent customer service, as well as many others that I know.
Great people, and great service!

Can't speak to your particular situation, but I think the reason some on here defend ACK is because they generally have a very good reputation among Texas paddlers. Also in the interest of fairness, I would like to point out that ACK does an excellent job of supporting their local paddling community. The latest example being their support of the Fort Hood Heroes on the Water chapter where they offered us the use of some of their demo kayaks for our first event. When the RSVPs outnumbered the boats, they quickly agreed to offer the use of more boats. Support like that should always be taken into consideration before forming an opinion IMHO.

BTW, three DFW 'yak dealers, Mariner Sails, Mountain Sports and Cowtown Kayaks also offered support. Again, that says a lot for them and should be considered as one factor when deciding where to spend your hard earned money.

Ok, so their inventory was off and they were out of stock. They called you later that day to explain the error. All your other issues stem from your unusual debit card situation.

Move along folks, nothing to see here.

With online orders, sometimes you can have a situation where the item will say it is in stock, but in the fine print, it will say that the item ships directly from the manufacturer. I know, sometimes, this causes hiccups regarding online orders due to communication issues.

(Example) The online shop is under the impression that the manufacturer has the item, but in fact they don't.

Just playing devils advocate, because as others have stated, ACK is generally regarded as a leader in our sport.

I would ask to speak to a manager, and if in fact they were in any wrong, I'm sure they will do whatever they can to make you happy.

I have ordered many items from them and never had any issues, and as others have stated, it magically shows up at my front door the very next day.

Why should someone have to call to see if it's in stock if a website says it is? And the debit card should have been ran and processed the first time when he called to raise the limit. Their system is to not run it when the customer inputs it so that too is their fault. Poor performance all around IMHO.

Yeah, I'm with the original poster on this one.

The debit card limit made things a little funky but that should have been worked out after the first run in with the limit.

If the factory was giving them the run around then they should have been proactive and called him to let him know what's going on. He should not have had to call to see if it was in stock if it said it was in stock or to keep checking the status of his order. Again they should have been proactive.

This does not negate the good work they have done for others or for our Heroes. Nor does it let them off the hook for the way this all went down. As a whole they seem like a solid company and I would buy from them (well if Mariner didn't take care of me so well I would). However, they stumbled on this one but it happens to us all from time to time. I also see no need to jump the guy for stating what happened to him.

I appreciate the last few folks to post here with a little support.

The day I posted this, I was contacted by an individual, thru PM. He stated that he, too, has had terrible customer service from ACK. He advised me not to expect much support in public forum here, as most of you either work for, are sponsored by, or are otherwise affiliated with ACK, and therefore are SCARED to let the truth get out. And until the last few people posted on this thread, that seemed ton be coming true.

Same day, I had a handful of people comment on my Facebook post, stating that they have all had bad customer service experiences with ACK.

The experience has only gotten worse, after I have involved management, and had to deal with the aweful shipping company that they have used (a shipping company with the crappiest online reviews I have seen). But, I will not go into further detail here, as it seems most of you choose to not hear the truth, but rather keep your eyes closed due to affiliation.

Mariner Sails will be getting my business from this point on.

LOL! Thanks Todd

I have only good things to say about ACK... And feel no need to bitch about it :-)

I have visited the ACK Austin store many times, ordered merchandise online, and also ordered merchandise in-store for warehouse pickup without any problems. Of course since I do not work for, are sponsored by, or are otherwise affiliated with ACK, my experiences and opinion is worthless.

There is always the possibility of problems with any merchant you deal with and if the service is not what I expect I do not spend my more of my money with them.

Where one gets the idea that those who support ACK are affiliated is somewhat laughable. Being a customer makes a person affiliated?
ACK is a reputable company and has been around a long time. Things happen, and I think talking to the right person at ACK would have yielded better rusults instead of getting on a forum and throwing them under the bus.
There are a lot more satisfied customers than unhappy ones or they wouldn't be in business and doing as well as they are and expanding.

On the contrary! If your opinion is unbiased by financial gain, that is the most honest, BEST opinion. Much like mine, though our opinions oppose, both are based soley on experience.



I agree. Thus ACK will no longer get MY business. I'm sure that my piddly few dollars won't hurt such a large organization, but I still reserve the right to vote with my dollar.