Well well well, got a surprise from Humminbird today

[billd]

I just bought a brand new 176i Pmax with GPS knowing that Humminbird has the nice transducer exchange program for the Ocean Kayak with the scupper hole. I called them getting ready to get the exchange going, and then I got this ....... "Send us the new transducer and we'll send you the one for the scupper hole for your Ocean Kayak ..... then charge you $75" Wait a sec ... I thought it was a free exchange ?? Nope, it will cost $75. For real ????? This was the reason why I bought this dang frickin Humminbird in the first place !!! Funny ... I called them weeks before I made the purchase and it was a free swap then. I'm pretty upset with HUMMINBIRD ! I'm about ready to bring it back to the ole bass pro shop. Dang it. Dang it. Dang it.

[billd]

Oh, I forgot to mention. She would be happy to sell me the scupper hole transducer outright for $135.

[buzz]

Oh now this is not good.

[Memory Maker]

Are you sure you didn't read it wrong .....it doesn't make sense that they would give a $135 transducer on a $140 df ....... if you have the advertisement then show it to them ...... they will honor it ...... Humminbird has been good to me

[Mmacro]

Social media is king... Get on Humminbird and Bass Pro's Facebook and Twitter feeds and voice your disappointment with their service. When you air THEIR dirty laundry on a public forum you generally get a fast response offering to correct the situation. They don't want potential new customers seeing bad publicity due to their poor performance.

I had a pair of new boots I bought that are covered under warranty... but your supposed to take them back to where you bought them for the warranty. Uhm... that was in upstate NY. I'm not making a special trip up there for that. One Tweet on the mfg's feed about how let down I was with their boots and I got a response that they would like to have me mail them my boots for repair/replacement, and they would pay for the postage.

[billd]

you're prob right memory maker, but unfortunately that wasn't made clear when talking to them before I made the purchase. Guess that's my fault for not asking a million and one questions. Still dang it.

[assists21]

I had the same problem with HB 2 weeks ago! I even wrote corporate and they responded with the same $75. I returned my FF and will probably go with the HB FF that ACK sells. It's cheaper to buy the combo from ACK. They sell a 386ci with the scupper mount included for $350. I may just go with Lowrance due to the inconvenience. Not sure yet. I feel your pain!

[buzz]

I just got off the phone with them. It was rather weird. The woman I spoke to told me that in the 8 months she has worked there, they have always charged $75 for the exchange. But then after talking to me for a while she then said that it used to be a free exchange but they started charging the fee in January.

...well, I guess I'm screwed.... my $242 steal just went up to $317...

[billd]

I have a feeling a week after I decide to keep it and install the supplied transducer in hull HBird will change their minds and offer the free exchange again .....

[buzz]

yeah.... and I'm starting to think I should just shoot through the hull since i will have to put all that extra cable in there anyway.

With the scupper mount you have the cable from the transducer going into the hull to coil and then coming back out to go to the FF. And with the intended scupper hole in the foot well I'm wondering if peeps have trouble with their foot catching on the cable.

[Memory Maker]

I have a feeling a week after I decide to keep it and install the supplied transducer in hull HBird will change their minds and offer the free exchange again .....

I don't think you are going to see any difference between mounting it in the yak or thru the supper. In fact you will probably be more satisfied with the hull mount.

[billd]

I hull mounted a ducer on a previous yak, worked out fine but you cant slide stuff around inside the yak without getting caught on the ducer. The cable thing isn't much of an issue with me, I was hoping for a more cleaner install this time.

[mytmouse]

This is a shame... I have no idea why they are doing this. It just doesn't make any sense to me! The scupper swap was the decisive factor, well that and the fact I have a Ocean kayak, for going with Humminbird. It's not like it's a price difference between the 2 where they'll lose money on it. It seems like greed to me.

MM- I've seen a many of issues with mounting in the hull. The scupper transducer is not only a breeze to install, but also care free because you don't have to worry about if your getting a good reading or interference from shooting through the hull. I intended on buying a new FF this season, but this is definitely changing my mind!

[buzz]

Social media is king... Get on Humminbird and Bass Pro's Facebook and Twitter feeds and voice your disappointment with their service. When you air THEIR dirty laundry on a public forum you generally get a fast response offering to correct the situation. They don't want potential new customers seeing bad publicity due to their poor performance.

Can't blame Bass Pro.
I don't do Twitter... does it get more exposure than Facebook?
I'm sure some companies are more responsive than others. Something tells me that with a company as big as Johnson Outdoors its going to take a whole lot of angry fishermen to make them reverse their position on this.

[MetroMan]

That definitely sucks that they're charging this fee. It really showed a sense of appreciation on the behalf of Johnson Outdoors for folks who stuck to their brands (Ocean Kayak, Humminbird, and others). Now they're saying screw you, pay us more for the part you need.