Absolute poor service

[PowerYachtBlog]

Sure anyone can choose the boat he wants, and I can understand that with his money one does what he wants. You did not get the expected after sales service so it is fair that you remove Absolute from the list.
I would do the same.

But I never sort of believe the grass is greener stories, hence some years ago I was taking care for a client of myn new Fairline Phantom. Boat had second AC unit that never worked form delivery, we made two years fighting back and forth with the dealer and Fairline to fix this unit, so much that we gave up and fixed it ourselves.
I never buy new so I am used to solving problems on my own.

 

[Portofino]

Its not as if I'm asking anyone to hold stock, just a little customer service, such as an email suggesting possible suppliers.

Eldest son who will inherit business, property etc has already expressed interest in a new flybridge, top of his list Fairline,
So their poor service has cost them much, as he too loves the boats.

Imagine the after sales service of a new boat if FL went bust again in 2020 ?

Heard on the grapevine from a supplier and colleague of another supplier that it’s touch n go at the mo .
The CEO made a few disastrous cost cutting decisions at Oyster before sinking that Co .

Autumn saw the restructuring of Hythe .....the orders aren't flowing in for the profitable bigger boats .

 

[jrudge]

Porto, I dont really agree with you running down Fairline in the absence of real proof. Things like this on social media can make a real difference to a company.

The Oyster guy has been sidelined. This to me is positive. In my limited view ( I only read the whole Oyster Story which I took at face value) he didn't seem the most wise of hires - so that is old news.

Hythe. The public comment is that it was a logistical nightmare and they could not get decent staff. Both add up to me. Coastal sites are now rare - so they had to secure it. It is now ( I believe ) let until such time as they build their 80 wish footer.

I saw the Squadron 68 at the show. I have not disliked the smaller ones ( 53?) but not fallen in love with them either. The S68 is under £2m ex vat fully specced and is a much nicer boat that the Manhattan 68 at £2,5m +. When I bought my S65 the list was £1,75m plus vat so the price inflation is modest compared to others.

The F33 personally I think is dear - not at base price but by the time you spec it - , but it looks great and seems to sell well.


I would imagine that if one looks not very hard you will be able to come up with rumours about the majority of boat manufacturers.

If you have proof then fire away.

 

[rafiki_]

Porto, I absolutely agree with Jeremy. Unless you have proof positive, then please be very careful what you write about F/Line or any other boat builder. There will be many suppliers with sorry tales about payment, in this and other industries. What Fairline has achieved since it rose from the ashes not so long ago is remarkable, and more power to them in my opinion. It has not been an easy ride for them, and I’m sure there will be many more challenges ahead. Their new product portfolio is looking fantastic, and I think their build quality holds up against their competition. The Hythe investment has also proven challenging, and until they‘re in series production with their new larger boats, will be mothballed. Nothing wrong in that. Oundle is more than capable of building the current line-up, and helps to manage costs and quality.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I saw the Squadron 68 at the show. I have not disliked the smaller ones ( 53?) but not fallen in love with them either. The S68 is under £2m ex vat fully specced and is a much nicer boat that the Manhattan 68 at £2,5m +. When I bought my S65 the list was £1,75m plus vat so the price inflation is modest compared to others.

IMHO the Sq68 is a very competitive offering. Apart from not having a side access door and a dinette opposite the galley, its a very well designed boat and to squeeze 4 good cabins into a 68ft boat with standard shaftdrive is an achievement. I think Mancini has done a good job of disguising its bulk too unlike similar offerings from Princess. Also it may be a small thing to some people but the fuel capacity of 4680 litres is significantly more than most of the competition. If I was in the market for a boat of this size and type, the Sq68 would certainly be on my shortlist

 

[rubberduck]

Imagine the after sales service of a new boat if FL went bust again in 2020 ?

Heard on the grapevine from a supplier and colleague of another supplier that it’s touch n go at the mo .
The CEO made a few disastrous cost cutting decisions at Oyster before sinking that Co .

Autumn saw the restructuring of Hythe .....the orders aren't flowing in for the profitable bigger boats .

As others, this sort of talk can tip a good company over, no need.

 

[TonyR123]

Porto, I dont really agree with you running down Fairline in the absence of real proof. Things like this on social media can make a real difference to a company.

The Oyster guy has been sidelined. This to me is positive. In my limited view ( I only read the whole Oyster Story which I took at face value) he didn't seem the most wise of hires - so that is old news.

Hythe. The public comment is that it was a logistical nightmare and they could not get decent staff. Both add up to me. Coastal sites are now rare - so they had to secure it. It is now ( I believe ) let until such time as they build their 80 wish footer.

Agree with jrudge - I would be amazed if Fairline have any issue. They have sold a few of the 68 already (not sure what hull they are up to now), but hull 1 was only ready in July (I say ready, it was mostly finished for sea trials) and was also taken to Cannes. They do have plans for larger yachts as well.

I saw the Squadron 68 at the show. I have not disliked the smaller ones ( 53?) but not fallen in love with them either. The S68 is under £2m ex vat fully specced and is a much nicer boat that the Manhattan 68 at £2,5m +. When I bought my S65 the list was £1,75m plus vat so the price inflation is modest compared to others.

I do like the Squadron 68 - probably has the best flybridge in class BUT think they have missed a trick by not having seperate master cabin access. This then allows both 3rd and 4th cabins to have 2 singles/double rather than the 4th cabin as bunks. Manhatten 68 for me has better accommodation (but poorer flybridge). Guess it is down to what you want from a boat. They both have pros & cons. Manhatten 68 would only be £2.5m+ with everything going and upgrading the engines. I specc'ed one up the other day (and I usually have most extras) and was def below £2.5m. A fully specc'ed s68 is £2.2m + vat. The sunseeker is more expensive but def not £0.5m for the same spec.

 

[MapisM]

As others, this sort of talk can tip a good company over, no need.

P, I can see why yourself, jrudge and others are suggesting PF to avoid running down companies based on "grapewine" alone.
And I don't disagree with that, in principle - far from it.

Otoh, I suppose that your son can't have, if nothing else for age reasons, half of the experiences/memories that most of us have on the boating industry.
So, my 2c is that doing a bit of homework before putting a deposit down for a new FL is not a bad idea at all, regardless of how substantiated PF remarks can be. Truth is, there's only so many players in this industry whose financial stability is bulletproof, unfortunately.
In fact, in a theoretical financial ranking, even if I wouldn't I'd put Abs anywhere near the very top, ironically I believe it's safe to place them well above FL...

 

[jrudge]

The pricing was the " as shown" price at the show. I had no ability to compare like for like, but they are all usually pretty well specced if at the show.

Re Mapism above - I completely agree. I would do diligence on any boat builder before I gave them upwards of £1m in stage payments pre getting my hands on the product.

 

[rubberduck]

P, I can see why yourself, jrudge and others are suggesting PF to avoid running down companies based on "grapewine" alone.
And I don't disagree with that, in principle - far from it.

Otoh, I suppose that your son can't have, if nothing else for age reasons, half of the experiences/memories that most of us have on the boating industry.
So, my 2c is that doing a bit of homework before putting a deposit down for a new FL is not a bad idea at all, regardless of how substantiated PF remarks can be. Truth is, there's only so many players in this industry whose financial stability is bulletproof, unfortunately.
In fact, in a theoretical financial ranking, even if I wouldn't I'd put Abs anywhere near the very top, ironically I believe it's safe to place them well above FL...

Sam is if anything over cautious. Before he deals with anyone they are credit checked, if its a large amount of money he will dig deep.

 

[TonyR123]

The pricing was the " as shown" price at the show. I had no ability to compare like for like, but they are all usually pretty well specced if at the show.

Re Mapism above - I completely agree. I would do diligence on any boat builder before I gave them upwards of £1m in stage payments pre getting my hands on the product.

not sure how their spec got to £2.5m + vat. Just spec'ed one now (without hardtop) and was £2.16m + vat (with basic MANs)

 

[jrudge]

No Idea - it was just the price lable!

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Agree with jrudge - I would be amazed if Fairline have any issue. They have sold a few of the 68 already (not sure what hull they are up to now), but hull 1 was only ready in July (I say ready, it was mostly finished for sea trials) and was also taken to Cannes. They do have plans for larger yachts as well.



I do like the Squadron 68 - probably has the best flybridge in class BUT think they have missed a trick by not having seperate master cabin access. This then allows both 3rd and 4th cabins to have 2 singles/double rather than the 4th cabin as bunks. Manhatten 68 for me has better accommodation (but poorer flybridge). Guess it is down to what you want from a boat. They both have pros & cons. Manhatten 68 would only be £2.5m+ with everything going and upgrading the engines. I specc'ed one up the other day (and I usually have most extras) and was def below £2.5m. A fully specc'ed s68 is £2.2m + vat. The sunseeker is more expensive but def not £0.5m for the same spec.

I'm very sorry but I cannot understand how the Galeon 680fly does not come into the equation? Its actually nearer 73ft, has a carbon fiber everywhere, flybridge (the size of a 6 aside pitch) and hard top is standard with 4 cabins for less than £2.0m inc VAT for a full med spec. That's list price! before you have a punch up! Think it won some awards too.

 

[TonyR123]

I'm very sorry but I cannot understand how the Galeon 680fly does not come into the equation? Its actually nearer 73ft, has a carbon fiber everywhere, flybridge (the size of a 6 aside pitch) and hard top is standard with 4 cabins for less than £2.0m inc VAT for a full med spec. That's list price! before you have a punch up! Think it won some awards too.

lots of criteria come into play. 73ft is too big to fit onto an 18m mooring. I think 21m is the max length and the gallon 680 is over 22m. I do like galeon but next boat I also want local dealer support (I am based in mallorca). Besides I don’t even think the fairline or sunseeker are first choice for me currently!

 

[Kubcat]

I realise this is an old thread but when I purchased my 2003 Sunseeker over a year ago, I emailed Sunseeker UK and they provided the original manual and drawings of the boat.

A few months ago a window seal went and they put me in touch with the company that made it. I got my seal for about 60 Euro delivered to Australia.

I really can’t fault Sunseeker service.

 

[rotrax]

I dont think dreadful service is a problem with just a few boat manufacturers but with the whole boating industry. If I treated my customers as I have been treated by some boat manufacturers and dealers/brokers in the past, I would have been out of business years ago. The amazing thing is that none of them seem to realise that providing good service promotes customer loyalty and selling spare parts to those customers can be very profitable

Basically the boating industry is a cottage industry stuck somewhere in the latter half of the 20th century

There are a few exceptions, but many are exactly as you say.

In our busy motorcycle shop we had two relevant sayings.

The first was that if you did a good job the customer might tell a few others about how pleased they were. If you did a bad job, they tell everybody!

The other was as the keys for a new or used bike were handed over.

"Its all yours. If you get a problem, come right back. We will fix it quick, and fix it with a smile."

It worked for us.

 

[hullabaloo]

But between you and me, Beneteau aren’t any better

Do you mean, between me and 158 Members + 523 guest ?

 

[DougH]

I realise this is an old thread but when I purchased my 2003 Sunseeker over a year ago, I emailed Sunseeker UK and they provided the original manual and drawings of the boat.

A few months ago a window seal went and they put me in touch with the company that made it. I got my seal for about 60 Euro delivered to Australia.

I really can’t fault Sunseeker service.

Agree 100% Have had my Manhattan 60 nearly 12 years and Sunseeker factory and Sunseeker Poole have been first class.

Even when I wanted small items like rocker switch covers on the flybridge Sunseeker Poole was right on the ball. I could have purchased them from a Carling distributor but Sunseeker Poole knew the exact item i wanted just by me giving the HIN number. Their records are first class.

 

[VladN]

In my country if you dont give the customer good service they shoot you?

 

[Mr Googler]

In my country if you dont give the customer good service they shoot you?

then there would be no one left to serve you......seems counter productive ?