Does nobody want any business?!

[Hambleite]

Sorry to hear of your woes...

We've used Covercare in Emsworth over the past 13 years and we've had excellent service. This includes design, manufacture, fitting, annual laundering and repairs (zips/seams/extra vents). They've also re-upholstered the rib twice during that period.

http://www.covercare.org.uk/

 

[alandalus11]

Just going through the same thing myself with a marine engineer. I left numerous messages for the chap to call me back and nothing, eventually after about 5 weeks he called me. Said he would love to come down, have a look at the boat, engines, give me some idea if he could do the jobs I wanted and costs etc. Said he would call me when he was in the area and we could meet up and discuss my requirements. This was back in mid October. Since then nothing. Called his office again a few times and no return calls. I don't think it's a case of being busy but a case of ignorance and rudeness with lack of respect for the customer. What these tradesmen fail to understand is that with the prevalence of social media the customer can can kill a business in one click with poor reviews. There is no excuse for that sort of customer service. If the tradesman is too busy then say so and not string the customer along. I would rather be told 'sorry i'm too busy at the moment' because at least then I can look elsewhere rather than be left frustrated and annoyed with a lack of reply.

 

[volvopaul]

Post has turned into bash the marine industry post , what people fail to realise is the fact this country has turned into a push button computer I pad tech call centre industry where school leavers just want to keep their hands clean, wear a white shirt and suit, own a BMW at 18 , call in at the costa drive through on there way to the office.
Sadly quite a few of major players in the marine industry service sector don’t take on apprentices any more because of lack of training available , engineers don’t stick it , the good ones leave the dealers and set up on there own because the wages in the south are poor and the price of housing is horrendous.

Young people who do well at school want better jobs than woodworking , polishing and antifouling boats in the cold and wet on £6 an hour, with a result of this there is little continuity for the future this is why boat owners struggle to get good trades people.
I find new business comes to me from recommendations, this forum , word of mouth , I will also say that most new clients have had bad experience with main dealers . As a so,e trader I’d rather keep a nice portfolio of existing clients than be a one hit wonder with any client , unfortunately others don’t .
I know many people in the industry that talk about leaving it wishing they had done something else, sad state of affairs .
The marina capitalists don’t make it easy either demanding big rents for onsite units , this puts people of investing in what could be an on-site service to boat owners, it will only get worse. I’ve always been a man in a van and will continue to do so until I’m too old to lift a spanner .

 

[alandalus11]

As the OP has said, the issue here is that people have told him they will get back to him and no one has. That's just plain ignorant, rude and shows a total disregard for the customer. I've experienced this myself recently. As I said, if the trades are busy and can't fit you in or do the job then why not be upfront and say so rather than ignoring the customer. I would respect someone more if they said they couldn't do the job than string me along and annoy me and not return calls.

VolvoPaul, it's go nothing to do with people wanting to keep a nice portfolio of existing clients, or people leaving companies to set up on their own for better earnings. I don't have a problem with that, everyone has the right to choose who they want as customers and what they want to charge etc. It's the ones that treat their customers like people and look after them who will in the end win. The ones that ignore their customers and don't return calls etc are the ones that will end up going out of business through no ones fault but their own.

 

[volvopaul]

As the OP has said, the issue here is that people have told him they will get back to him and no one has. That's just plain ignorant, rude and shows a total disregard for the customer. I've experienced this myself recently. As I said, if the trades are busy and can't fit you in or do the job then why not be upfront and say so rather than ignoring the customer. I would respect someone more if they said they couldn't do the job than string me along and annoy me and not return calls.

VolvoPaul, it's go nothing to do with people wanting to keep a nice portfolio of existing clients, or people leaving companies to set up on their own for better earnings. I don't have a problem with that, everyone has the right to choose who they want as customers and what they want to charge etc. It's the ones that treat their customers like people and look after them who will in the end win. The ones that ignore their customers and don't return calls etc are the ones that will end up going out of business through no ones fault but their own.

OP is one of my clients .

I’m afraid the trade is full of them, a lot of people cherry pic there work by taking on the work then never turning up Because their busy doing the nice work . With my existing client base I know exactly what’s in store and who I’m doing it for.
Year after year I work for the same people building up a relationship with them along the way, it makes life a lot easier I can tell you . Your quite right it’s not fair but that’s the way it is with some people . There are not enough people in the trade to service the demand properly , I won’t go into some of the headaches and obstacles but believe me there are many, sadly some borne from people in the trade.

I’ve sent the OP some names who I’d trust .