Peterson Marine Service LLC

Got recommendation from two guys on Captain Mel website to take my early 80s Mercurcy 9.8 hp to Peterson Marine for servicing. I needed general maintenance, tune-up and pull cord replaced due to fraying. Spoke to Paul and he said worst case scenario it would cost $200-$300. I live in Riverview and drove all the way to Largo on a Saturday and said should be done in about 2 weeks. No call from them after two weeks and sure enough the bill was right at $300. Asked to see it run when I got there and it was like I was bothering the owner Jeff. Motor sounded good. Took it out and it seemed to be more difficult to pull start and motor did not push the boat as fast as before. Got out in the bay and pulled rope and luckily it started. The "replacement" rope was too short and the flywheel got stuck and the rope would not retract back into the motor. My fishing day was done. Called Jeff and he said they had ordered another rope and replaced the old one. I do not believe them. It appeared to be the same rope and I know it was the same color. I believe they cut the rope where the fray was and just re-attached the same rope, thus accounting for the rope not being long enough. Jeff said bring it in. Took a day off work to take it in on a Friday. Called back the next Friday and was advised by Paul that Jeff was still looking for a rope from the supplier, the same one they got the other pull rope from. Thiat is ridiculous. It is a pull rope. how hard is it to find? So another week with no motor. This place does not call you to inform you of the progress of the work and they do not return phone calls left on their answering machine. They got their money and now do not want to be held accountable for the problem that remains and should have been fixed the first time if they had really gotten a new rope. Looks like I may have to take it to another dealer for a simple fix. I will never use this place to service my engine again.