M & W Mobile Marine Service

These are some of the best people around on Lake Murray! So many talented and determined people here!

They responded quickly, diagnosed the problem correctly - the first time, and ordered the needed parts. They made two trips, and replaced two parts (deep inside my motor). My motor now runs great. Total bill? $286. What's not to like?

I am very unhappy with M & W Mobile Marine Service! I couldn't believe it when they told me their hourly service fee is $150.00!! That is insane! Who pays $150.00 per hour for their services???!! I hope a tube of lube comes with that service because you can surely expect to get screwed.

Very professional; prompt service; reasonable prices. Was very pleased with the work they did and will use them again.

First part of review: I wanted to review my initial experience with M&W as they work on my boat. I dropped off my boat on Friday 9/2/11 after speaking with John on the phone. I met the W of M & W when dropped it off. They were very nice and listened to my explanation of the problem and took notes. They said they would start on Tuesday 9/6/11 and it normally takes 3 days to fix. They seemed professional and would keep my boat secured in their fence. As of now I am pleased with their customer service. They did assure me they would call to let me know what they found. Time will tell if they are able to repair the motor and how they continue to treat me, but as of now I see no issue with their customer service.



I will report back after the repair.



A follow up to my review and reduction in stars due to poor communication:



On 9/6/2011 I got a phone call from the mechanic @ 9 am. He wanted to hear my description of the problem and committed to call me back after they determined the issue. At 4:30 I called back due to no phone call from them. He reported that he found the issue and had ordered the part (power pack), but could not tell me the price when he returned to the shop. He said he would call me back that day. I called back after 6pm and spoke with John.. John was able to give me the price, but the mechanic had left for the day. John said the mechanic would be in @ 8 am Wed and call then. @ 10am on Wed I called, but John said the mechanic was out on a call.



I did speak with the mechanic on Thursday (I wanted to hear how he found the issue), he was not real clear on how he found it, but was sure it was the power pack.



I got a call on Thursday afternoon confirming they had lake tested it and it ran fine.



I picked it up on Friday and spoke with John (a great employee)



I did test it over the weekend and the boat ran fine (great even) Seems the power pack was the issue. The price they charged for the power pack may have been a little high by 100.00 (boats.net had it cheaper). With lake tests and repair of power pack they charged 4 hours labor. But did a great job and even fixed a key switch (it was loose). Although did change my spark plugs, even though on Friday I reported I had just changed them less than 3 months and charged me 20.00 for the work. When asked John replied that you can change spark plugs once a month and it would not be bad. Although I agree it would not "be bad", it is not needed. I think that seems a little strange. Maybe there another reason.



Over all I am pleased with the work. They found the issue that two other shops in Columbia did not. Their communication needs some work. If you commit to a phone call you need to follow through. It goes to trust. I am only giving 4 stars due to communication issue.



In short I will use them again, but know that I may not get called back when promised.

We live on the lake and keep the boat in the water. My husband is very mechanical and electrical savy but we have a problem that we need a boat repair person for. We were willing to pay extra to have the technician come to the house so that we could be there when he diagnoses the problem. We contacted M&W Mobile Marine. They were backed up a week or two, but that was OK with us. They said that they don't take appts but would call us the day before coming. Well, a few days later, we got a call at work (which is 45 mins from our home) from them saying that they were at our house and if the keys were on the boat. We said no and again, we want to be there. He said he was just in the area and would try to call when he was able to come. We don't really need much heads up. Night before would be best, that morning dooable or even the same day giving us enough time to get home. He called my husband back and said that if we could not leave the keys on the boat, we needed to look for someone else. They could not call us before hand. REALLY!!!!!!! YOU HAVE CUSTOMERS WAITING AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHERE YOU WILL BE ON A GIVEN DAY!!! Customer service tells alot about a company. If they don't even have the courtesy to call ahead, what kind of service are you going to get going forward. They may do fine at the repairs, but if they don't give a damn, then I don't want to be their customer and you should not either. I got on the web and looked for other local boat repairs. My husband called Brown Marine (off Wessinger) and not only did the guy answer the phone on Saturday (which M&W didn't do) but he aplogized that he was on his way out of town for the weekend and would get back in touch on Monday. He also probably diagnosed the problem with my husband over the phone and said he would take care of it immediately. Now that is the kind of person that I want to do business with.