Penn cleans house

[JohnR]

BK - I don't think there are many that hate Penn or at least won't warm back up to Penn if the company gets its sheet together. I think Penn can win a lot of them back but it will take a combination of savy and dependable product, a true and noticeable commitment from Penn to the customer base (maybe this is the start? Hope so but not holding my breath) and MADE in USA product.

If Penn is still a US company (don't worry, we still are) and you are arguing for made in the US, than why favor foreign competitors? I do not understand.

For years, that Made in USA was the make or break for a lot of people to chose from your product over the Shimanos and Daiwas of the world. Buying Made in the USA when the product sucks The product of recent years has not been of sufficient design and quality to stand above the better imported reels. Right now, especially with the condition of the Penn product in the state that it is in, there is little incentive to buy a Penn over another reel. Forget about Saltigas and Stellas, why buy a Slammer over a Stradic? If you are one of those that believe it is a toss up in quality on the reel, many might buy the Penn because it is made here instead of by the People's Liberation Army.

As for the graphite - I checked a couple out but nothing gave me the warm and fuzzies that I had to go and trade one of my Stradics in for one. As for the size reel I fish? 220yds of 12 # test ( BTW - your website is screwed up on the line sizes) is not going to do it for me. A Slammer 560 has borderline capacity for where I feel I need to be for surf fishing. I typically run about 170-180 yards of braid on one of my conventionals, 300 braid/mono on my 975. This is for what I consider average surf fishing for stripers. That graphite 5500g for "Trophy" fish ain't big enough for the trophys I chase. Hate to see what someone chasing bigger fish from shore would need. A 7500 or 8500 is too unwieldy for plugging although it has sufficient capacity. But then there is the bail thing...

Right now, I don't think Penn has enough of the right stuff to get me purchase their product. I've owned a few Penns, I am (was) one of your customers. Time is going to tell if I decide to purchase a Penn reel again. It won't happen if it is more of the same. If the company is truly turning the corner maybe I will. I won't buy one if it is made in China - that much I can say. Philosophical problem. I try not to buy from there when I truly have a choice. I will consider Taiwan. Putting my money where my mouth is...

MikeCC, How about this for believing: Within five years, Penn will regain any lost ground from the past 15 year hiatus and move to the top of the food chain once again. Don't worry, there are still many that believe in Penn, and this includes Dealers up and down and around the coast. And as far as believing, Penn believes in Dealers that believe in us.

I truly would like to see that with a US made product. As for Penn belieiving in dealers that believe in Penn. Mike was one of your biggest supporters. He runs a first class shop. I don't entirely recall what some of the Mickey Mouse rules were for being a Gold Dealer but but there is soome Mickey Mouse - something like you need to carry X type of other reels from Penn, whether it is your market or not, or you need to carry a crappy reel as well or both, I don't remember correctly and I went looking for the thread but could not find it. Mike is the kind of shop you WANT to be a Gold Dealer. Knowlegeable, helpful, stands behind the product.

BTW - we DO appreciate your sitting in on this thread and discussing this with us. This is a very good start. So while it may appear that you are getting hammered, OK - you are a little bit - it is not personal, but a very rare time that Penn is taking upon itself or maybe just you, to connect with their buyers.... It is very appreciated. where it leads as well as other changes Penn makes down the road will mean a lot for people moving back to the Penn name....

Hey Eben - do you still have that picture of the PennStaal from SOL? I think BK needs some inspiration

[Billybob]

If it is cheaper to make the spinners in China, why isn't cheaper to make the conventionals there?Maybe they're not losing money for you, but it's only a matter of time before some bean counter uses the migrated China spinner model across the board.
Then, who is gonna be buying these reels?
I don't blame you - everyone's doing it, but it's a recipe for disaster IMO.
If you design a better product, with outstanding service, and parts - you should be able to make a go of it here.I own a lot of Penns, and some of them are older than me - you can still get parts for them.
But then, I like Snap-on tools.
.
Advertising catches people's attention.


Reputations are much harder to come by, but infinately more valuable

[snake slinger]

bk iam not trying to p you off.mikecc is a great dealer i bought a reel from him a month ago i wanted better drag washers put in not only did he have the washers in stock but he put them in free of charge while i wated.i owen 6 penn reels.i wish penn made a 660 slammer they need to up grade the 704 .when i used to read MADE IN USA on the penn box it made me proud.snake slinger

[lurch]

These discussions are GREAT! It is nice to know that Penn is listening lets hope the folks on the board can help change things.

BK thanks for listening and adding your input!

[Karl F]

Not Eben's Penn Stall, but BM's Von Penn.....

[Backbeach Jake]

I was thinking the same thing , Lurch. It took more than a little guts to offer an e-mail address to the potential avalanche of angry mail BK could face every morning. Just let me say this: I own at least a dozen Penn reels all but one work well. The one that doesn't has a graphite rotor that keeps breaking and won't be fixed yet again. It was replaced with a 460. The non-Penn reels that I own number about 4. None of them still work, and never will again because of parts availability. Let's just say that they were tuition in the School of Hard Knocks. I'll stick with Penn. Thanks BK for showing up.

[mikecc]

1. Stop selling spinning reels altogether. Save a $3mil lost, stop selling all spinning reek products, while foreign competition continues to pump reel after reel into the market.

The first step that penn should have asked well before it got to 3 mil or even 1 Mil is why are we loosing money. Product support?? If Penn had addressed the issues long ago this would not be an issue.
If Penn is serious about this they should fix the problems.

The main people who supported penn were verterans. Now if they do not have a choice of US made spinners they may as well choose the best feel and fit. If Penn can step up than fine if not only time will tell.

MikeCC, How about this for believing: Within five years, Penn will regain any lost ground from the past 15 year hiatus and move to the top of the food chain once again. Don't worry, there are still many that believe in Penn, and this includes Dealers up and down and around the coast. And as far as believing, Penn believes in Dealers that believe in us.

I hope Penn regains a lot of ground.

I also hope that penn listens to this message . There is a lot of knowledge on this board . Reels that we have been asking for years. Most of us feel that nobody has listened. You are a step in the right direction.

Here we are, launching new, improved, and revolutionary products and/or accessories; not really the sign of a company that does not believe in itself. What about the new Penn Dura-Drag, the Baja Special, the 118 new rods that we designed for 2005, the new fishing line that we launched this January, the new XXXX and XXXX-X that we can't talk about yet?

You don't want to get me going on the short comings of some of new products and gold lable program.I do like the swimsuites tho

As far as line every one and their brother has new line . The reason Pure fishing aquiring Stren and the big 3 Wholesalers cant sell pure fishing products.
The biggest profit market is line so why not lets make it someone has to fill the gap.

I think if you check I am not your run of the mill tackle dealer. I know the products better than most reps that are supose to show it.
This area is where most companys fail on their products we do not want yes men we want some one who knows the product. I will say on one of the worst snow storms in years Penn reps were at the NET show. Most reps never showed.

If you want to talk call me at the shop on wednesday I'm sure we can have a constructive talk 508-291-0820

[fishweewee]

Penn has to come up with something big to bring it back from where it is now, dontcha think?

Oh well, at least I picked up a minty-fresh 706 and a few Slammers.

[NIB]

So does this mean the Z series is going by the wayside.Do I have to pick up a few more an some of the parts that go with time.Is it finally the end of the 706z areal thats been my staple in the surf for many yrs?