Avoid This: Rosepoint Navigation and Coastal Explorer Review

If they had read a few more threads, they would have realized that Gary was actually being pretty nice to them. They should read what he says when he's really ticked off...

If one of my employees did that, they would have spent several months on the graveyard shift helping contractors that can barely speak English install patches all night...

 

I got you Gary. I wasn't doubting you, just was trying to play the other side to see if maybe there could have been a better way to handld it. I've been through something similar and it's frustrating as Hell. I guess everything happens for a reason.... had this not, you wouldn't have found the new Active Captain software!

Doug

 

none of this would happen on an iPad. This is a PC owners problem.

 

I have used Rose Point Navigation for a few years and find it very user friendly and the company itself very reactive and helpful.
I guess more than anything I hate to see the blog title "avoid this:" everytime I view this web site.

My experience from the time I bought the program (probably 3 generations ago) until today has been excellent from a product and service standpoint.
Customer service has taken me through the confusion of a computer program ( Yes I'm a computer illiterate in Seattle.....but I did breed to give you experts!) and took me to solutions using language I understood.

I had a tradgedy 3 years ago (boat sunk at dock). I called Rosepoint when all was settled and into a new boat...explained the situation and asked to buy a new replacement program (old destroyed in sinking)....Rosepoint sent me a new program N/C within days.

No one has asked me to send this ...I just felt like giving my opinion about what I feel is a customer oriented company and tired of seeing the blog title.

Bud

 

I'm wondering if you bothered to read the posts by the OP in this thread............separate Gary's friends giving him a hard time from his posts and the picture is pretty clear. I am glad you had good experience with this company, but had Rosepoint treated me as they did Gary, I would be livid and would chase them to the end of the earth to get what I was due under the terms of the software license and warranty.

 

How do you see a "Blog Title"? I thought this was a thread that Gary started after he had quite a different experience than yourself. I only see this title when someone posts a new reply.
I am sorry for your loss on the old vessel and glad to hear that this company treated you right when you needed it!

 

Gary, I just enjoyed a wonderful experience with Active Captain. (read with much sarcasm)

I was invited to try Active Captain by someone?? I liked it. I jumped in with both feet. I contributed and got to the "free hat" level quickly. I recieved an e-mail and instructions on how to get the said hat, but I couldn't figure out the process.
I sent a sarcastic thank you but I guess the free hat is not so free. The web page kept wanting me to enter my credt card info. to charge me $15.00. The Active Captain guy sends me an attacking e-mail that says I can't seem to follow directions, and maybe I should read the whole e-mail. Well enough of that.

I just thought I'd say I'll not be doing any business with Active Captain. I'm a small fish and I guess who cares.
I could post the e-mail responces as well, but It's not my wish to bash him, just bring awareness.

Dang it, I was just going to go away, but heck, I don't usually let someone attack me without responding. Anyways imagine my surprise when I seen this thread. I just had to post this.

 

Declaring that you are not going to do business with Active Captain is cutting off your nose to spite your face. Active Captain is the cutting edge of vast improvements to the way we access navigation and cruising data, plan and share routes and collaborate as a boating community. Active Captain is run by a husband and wife team (he and I happen to have the exact same name, but I hear he is better looking). They are a small business in every sense and I would encourage you to give them another chance.

Mark my (and other people's) words - Active Captain holds the key to the future of marine navigation. You may own a Raymarine, Furuno, Simrad, etc. system. You may use navioics or C-Map, you may rely on a PC, Ipad or Android device, you may display maps using Max Sea or Coastal Explorer - but their performance an utility will all ultimately be enhanced by interegration with Active Captain.

My own experience has been that they are very responsive to questions and criticism and are deeply committed to helping fellow boaters.

 

I haven't gotten a hat from them either, but that's not really why I use their info. I'm all into ActiveCaptain and I use it for ALL of my trips. by ALL I mean ALL. Everything from fuel prices, to anchorages, inlets, marinas, and now routes. I spent probably 3 weeks plotting my east coast route in google maps, now with a click of a button, I can get the same route and alternate routes WITH mileage of each section and I can import that into a chartplotter with way points. How freakin' cool is that. wasted 3 weeks of my life doing it the other way. So screw the hat, go boating and use the great info.

 

Mike, I'm totally surprised by your experience. I've been using ActiveCaptain since day one and have the hat to prove it(Grin). Seriously Like Turtle and Sea Gull said they have been very responsive every time I've had contact with them. The latest heads up software "The Companion" sounds cool. Can't wait to see it in action.

 

And with their recent announcement of "Companion" it gets even better.

 

Ok, stupid question but what EXACTLY is Active Captain? And why is it needed if you have a plotter etc. Please be easy on me as I have never plotted a course in my life but hope to do so this summer.

 

user generated cruising info.

 

Turtle, it's not about the hat. I got plenty of hats!

Sea Gull, I understand what your saying, but I gotta draw the line somewhere.

The issue was the e-mail I received from "him". Now I started it by sending him a sarcastic e-mail. Not nasty by any means. I just stated that "I guess the free hat is not so free". and signed off with "disappointed". He shoots back with a if you would have read the whole e-mail, you would have known what to do........yada yada, chewing my butt like I was three years old.
I told him I was smart enough to figure out the web site pretty quick, and maybe I could follow instructions' but maybe there was something wrong with his link. He ended the conversation by telling he I was the single most annoying person he had to deal with in the past year, and closed out my account. Go away, I don't want you here type of stuff. Thousands of people have gotten their free hats and something is wrong with you. SOOoo, later it's your ball, see you around.

 

Don't ask, go try it. You will soon get the idea.

+1 on how good it is. Used it throughout my trek to bring my boat home from Florida to Canada. Invaluable.

 

I really liked the idea, and it is a great tool. I contributed alot of information, FAST. I was at 300+ points in two or so days. I was in with both feet. Then the hat offer came in and the rest is history.

I couldn't believe how unprofessional he was. My OPINION. I'm not in the business.

 

Well Chuck, I guess I'll see it the next time we boat together! hahaha I crack myself up.

 

In your attempt to discredit ActiveCaptain on this thread, you might have read the entire thread to see that I've made multiple postings on it.

We receive about a hundred emails a day from our current 130,000 users. About 30% of them are questions about ActiveCaptain. About 30% are questions about getting internet on boats, chartplotter software, and other marine electronics questions. The remaining 40% are usually incredibly thankful, nice, and wonderful emails telling us how the data has made a positive difference in the writer's cruising experience. We get very, very few sarcastic, nasty, or mean-spirited messages.

Here's is the exact text of the message we received from islandhopper00 yesterday:
Hmmm, I feel duped. My FREE Active Captain hat will only cost me $15.00. Yea, Ill pass. Well at least you got some free information from me. Take care. Signed disappointed.

That's the full extent of the text sent. It was the first contact made about the hat issue from this individual. I wrote explaining that he jumped to a conclusion about any fee and provided the link again. He responded back with a very nasty email that isn't worth the electronic storage to repeat.

You know, we bust our asses 7 days a week building ActiveCaptain. We charge nothing for it. We've given away about 1,500 hats. There's no charge. We even pay the mailing fee - even internationally. People who have had issues with the hat had the issues because the award email went into spam and they missed it. When they've written, we've helped them get signed up for it. They're usually nice when they write.

We ask for nothing. But you know, we don't have to put up with sarcastic bull created by mean spirited hotheads. Thankfully, it doesn't happen often.