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December 2023 by John-Philip Markovic
I’m a returning customer to Gull Lake Marine and can provide a pretty in-depth review after purchasing a boat during the pandemic, which was probably one of the toughest times for dealerships and customers. It’s a little bit of a long read but it’s worth it.I bought a Boston Whaler 190 Montauk from Brandon VanMeekeren in 2018. Brandon was great to work with and delivered a flawless boat—and I am meticulous. I used the boat for 3 years and got the itch to upgrade (yes, right in the middle of the pandemic). It was a no brainer to reach out to Brandon again in 2021 because of how easy it was to work with him the first time.Brandon was straightforward with me from the get-go about logistical hurdles and cosmetic quality issues boat manufacturers—and thus, dealerships—throughout the US were experiencing because of the shutdowns and supply chain shortages.It took a while to get the boat from Boston Whaler like he said and there were indeed cosmetic flaws (scratch in acrylic windshield, gelcoat defects, scratches in stainless steel railing, gash in cowling of motor, etc.). I noticed all of them, of course, but Brandon didn’t try to pull one over me or pacify me with words. Instead he got his team in the service department to actually fix the cosmetic defects and again delivered a cosmetically flawless boat—windshield without any scratches, shiny gelcoat, buffed and polished railing, new cowling. Of course, I didn’t have to pay for any of that either.I ended up asking Brandon to install autopilot on the boat, which was a custom job because Boston Whaler doesn’t provide that option from the factory. He got Gull Lake Marine to do the install and the autopilot worked perfectly. The install looked professional as if it came right out of the factory that way. This was at a time when dealerships were turning down custom work because they “didn’t have time” or “didn’t have enough workers.”I couldn’t recommend Brandon VanMeekeren or Gull Lake Marine more highly. Brandon was always professional and bent over backward to make me happy and ensure I remain a loyal customer during a time in the boating industry that was challenging, to say the least, for customers and dealerships. I’m not sure other dealers would have gone that far. He dealt very fairly with me, was very responsive, and didn’t lower his standards even though the boating industry in general lowered theirs during the pandemic.Of course, the pandemic is over and many of the issues the boating industry was experiencing are now much better. Whether Brandon and Gull Lake Marine know it or not, I really did notice and truly appreciated their efforts to make me happy and go the extra mile for me as a customer. Nobody wants to have a bad experience when buying a new boat.There’s really nowhere else I would go for service or if I wanted a new boat. I’m a happy boater and will be doing more business with Brandon and Gull Lake Marine in the future.
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December 2023 by Anne Kisly
Great experience here, buying our first boat. Sales people were friendly, informative, and supportive after the sale.
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October 2023 by Robert Loupee
Brandon at Gull Lake Marine made this a great buying experience. Honest guy who really cares. We highly recommend that you consider him when you’re looking at boats!
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August 2023 by Jeremy Guenther
Saved our summer vacation - no, really! Unfortunately, we only get to boat during our 2 week summer vacation, and during the first week the impeller went out. Not only did the service team spend a lot of time with me on the phone to try and diagnose the issue, they also fit me in same day for service, and stayed late to complete the job. We were back on the lake the next day with a smooth running boat. So, when I say “saved our summer vacation” I mean it…vacationing on a lake with no boat just isn’t the same.Thank you to everyone at GLM for your help, and especially the service team for your outstanding work.
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August 2023 by Sarah Dunn
Took our new boat to be surveyed and after spending a grand it was left inoperable. They provided just a half page summary about only the engine - not the rest of the vessel. And even broke off three spark plugs in the process! We followed up and no amends were made. Unacceptable.
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August 2023 by Vince Gawerecki
Stacie and Trent were amazing to work with. Very informative and very quick to respond to any questions I had!
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July 2023 by Dan Luts
My experience with Gull Lake Marine and specifically Trent Miller was exceptional. I was in the used boat market, and Trent treated me like I was buying new. He spent a significant amount of time over the course of three weeks educating me about the different features and attributes of the boats we were considering, and was honest and upfront about pricing.Trent never leveraged time, tried to create urgency, or used any of the other high-pressure sales tactics. He said more than once that getting the boat that's right for our family is all that matters, and he didn't waver from that position even when I was looking at boats with other sellers.I will happily work with Trent Miller again and encourage you to do so as well.Sincerely,Dan
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July 2023 by William Green
Through the initial discussion, purchase, delivery and post purchase support, Brandon and team have been fantastic. Informative, responsive and helpful. Thank you for your fantastic service!!
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June 2023 by Keith Bruns
Great service on my pontoon. Brandon, Travis and the service department did a great job of repairing my motor and getting it back in the water quickly. Boat is running great!!
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May 2023 by Kevin Aspinall
Brandon in sales and Tony in finance are so knowledgeable, see them for all your watercraft needs! Above and beyond in every aspect of our purchase!
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May 2023 by tyler hubert
The staff at Gull Lake Marine is first rate! Stacie at the service desk is absolutely amazing, makes sure that every visit be it scheduled or unexpected leaves me feeling valued as a customer. Huge thank you for taking care of a small item that I needed to get the boat in the water, she always finds a way to amaze! Probably should make sure I give a shout out to Brandon who helped us design and order out T220, great experience start to finish and greets me genuinely everytime I stop in...Can't say enough great things about their top rate customer service, thank you!
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May 2023 by Theresa W
Jason Klein, I agree with your comment 100%! I too have bought a brand new boat from GULL LAKE MARINA and have had many problems. *Buyer Beware, Once you walk away with your brand new boat, they treat you like you do not exist.We have had REPEATED problems with our new pontoon boat bought from GULL LAKE MARINA. She has given me one excuse after enough of why she forgot to call me back or simply does not call you back! I’ve had to trailer the boat at least four times back to the dealership. Unfortunately, it was on my own time and trailer because GLM was going to charge me for the trailer rental, mileage and for any repairs that had to be done!These problems started 1 month after the purchase and 2 yrs later we are still trying to get our boat built to spec. The last time we trailered it to GLM in Richland the boat sat there for a month so we made the trip back to GLM there sat our boat and nothing was fixed. Once again, we trailered it back to storage while we wait to her back from the Service Advisor. It has been 7 months now since the 4th time returning the boat for repairs and we still have not gotten a call or email from her!It’s May 5th, 2023, no confirmed plan from GLM for the $50,000+ un-safe pontoon boat GLM sold us!I’ll post pictures of the cobbled up, tripping hazard cables and other issues GLM has done to the boat and y’all can see for yourself!Think twice before making a purchase!!
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April 2023 by Jason Klein
I don’t know why but this company does not pay attention or care about their customers. The service is terrible and it’s consistently terrible. Every year our boat comes back in worse shape then we found it. The say they perform services that they actually don’t do and we have to fight to get a refund for the service. We bought our boat from them and they treat us and our boat with so little care that we can’t buy anything from them in the future and we are scared to buy a boat in general because of the lack of options to store and service our boat.This year the boat was supposed to be cleaned and detailed nothing happened. The dash had the trim gauge broke and what looks like a coffee cup stain on the seat. In general I would use someone else if possible.
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January 2023 by Oliver Howell
Very happy with the GLM team! I recently purchased a Harris tri-toon - Darren Fish was immensely helpful in advising a first time boat owner. Thank you, Darren!
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November 2022 by darrick clemons
Gull lake marine is the place to buy from. Brandon, Tony and Trevor made my boat purchase very quick and easy. These guys went above and beyond on every aspect of buying and gave top dollar for trade. I can't say enough good things about these guys. Overall an awesome buying experience. These guys will forever have my business...
