Dreadful after sales service

[Spicemariner]

MMMMMMM

Oyster take many weeks to Rig & PDI their boats, absolutely everything is checked electrical items "burnt-in",boat trim,windows tested with high pressure water pumped over them, sea / engine trials all done to a standard "Beyond owner Expectations".

Well they must have missed the 125 faults friends of ours had when their brand new Oyster was delivered. Took 1 year back in the yard to fix.

I think most new boats have troubles and Jimmy Cornell bought a production boat, as in his experience, most of the boats which had problems in his rallies were the more expensive variety. We have owned two Bavs and neither of them had any build problems. Both sailed a very long way and we are still cruising in the second.

 

[TonyS]

Why don't you sell it and buy a quality, well built boat like a Bavaria. Bavarias have very few faults if at all. That is why they are so popular among charterers. Mine of 2003 had an exhaust bracket break in the first 12 months because of resonance. All 36s were then repaired and modified. The only other problem was the charger which failed at 18 months and was replaced free of charge. My friends wth HRs keep having to have warantee work.

 

[Bav34]

Why don't you sell it and buy a quality, well built boat like a Bavaria. Bavarias have very few faults if at all. That is why they are so popular among charterers. Mine of 2003 had an exhaust bracket break in the first 12 months because of resonance. All 36s were then repaired and modified. The only other problem was the charger which failed at 18 months and was replaced free of charge. My friends wth HRs keep having to have warantee work.

Don't forget that the rubber cap that covers the shower on my transom snapped off. £4.99. 9 years old now ... that's it.

 

[Tranona]

TonyS and Bav 34. I hope you get away with this heresy here. When I (and a couple of others) suggested the same on Scuttlebutt, the whole "proper boat" brigade descended telling us we don't know quality (never mind good design and intelligent use of materials) when we see it. Apparently you need to own a good English boat about 30 years old to appreciate sound build quality.

The thread is headed Keel Cracks with well over 100 posts if you can stand it!

 

[Rafiki]

After sales service

Your story of poor after sales service seems not uncommon, a friend of ours splashed out on a brand new 36 footer and then spent most of the first season trying to get minor probbs repaired including teh ubiquitous desiel leak.
Much better to buy a 5 yo or 8yo boat when you know those problems have all been sorted and then budget to replace the sails, rigging etc.

My experience with cars is somewhat similiar; the more expensive they are the more frequently they have niggling faults, but oh boy they are repaired damn quick !

 

[Albert Ross]

I have just received an e-mail from the supplier of my boat.
He has listed the current outstanding problems and told me that he is sorting them out.
I will keep you all posted with the progress.
Thank you all for your suggestions and support.

 

[exfinnsailor]

Name and Praise

What about the good guys .. We bought a Beneteau 323 from Fox's Yacht Sales in Ipswich .. Ok we had the odd hickup but it was attended to .. A phone call and an explanation was all that was required .. First class service all the way .. What more can you ask for ..

 

[gerry99]

have you thoguht of publicly naming the dealer? There is nothing quite like going public to bring pressure to bear and also perhaps save others getting caught with the same problem

 

[Ubergeekian]

TonyS and Bav 34. I hope you get away with this heresy here. When I (and a couple of others) suggested the same on Scuttlebutt, the whole "proper boat" brigade descended telling us we don't know quality (never mind good design and intelligent use of materials) when we see it. Apparently you need to own a good English boat about 30 years old to appreciate sound build quality.

That's a travesty of the discussion, which is mainly owners of new Bavarias saying "My boat's in better nick than a 30 year old Westerly", others saying "Ah, but what will your boat be like in thirty years" and the aforementioned Bavaria owners simultaneously spitting their dummies out and wetting themselves. One wonders just what they're worried about ...

-- Owner of a thirty two year old english boat which is a bit scruffy but which I Iike. So nyaaah.

 

[Bav34]

That's a travesty of the discussion, which is mainly owners of new Bavarias saying "My boat's in better nick than a 30 year old Westerly", others saying "Ah, but what will your boat be like in thirty years" and the aforementioned Bavaria owners simultaneously spitting their dummies out and wetting themselves. One wonders just what they're worried about ...

-- Owner of a thirty two year old english boat which is a bit scruffy but which I Iike. So nyaaah.

Please don't misquote me.

I have owned 7 boats dating from the 70's and 80's. There is very little that I read on these forums that I have not suffered from in the past ranging from a keel that leaked 2 gallons an hour on port tack ... required removal and stringer reinforcement (UFO 27), bulkhead compression problems and gearbox problems (Vega) , headlining falling down and gelcoat wearing away (Westerly), interior joinery actually detaching (Feeling) ... and so on.

My 2001 boat has cost me £4.99 in repairs.

Spitting their dummies out and wetting themselves ?

I really don't think so.

 

[Ubergeekian]

Please don't misquote me.

Erm, as far as I can see you haven't actually contributed to the "Keel Cracks" discussion, which is what I was referring to, so I don;t quite see how I can have mis-quoted you.

Anyway, Bavaria owners are like american tourists or BMW drivers. We only notice the brash, aggressive ones - the civilised ones sink into the background. Or, in some cases, into the Aegean, but I'm assured that that little problem has been fixed now.

 

[sailorman]

My 2001 boat has cost me £4.99 in repairs.

how many mls per Annum

 

[FullCircle]

Erm, as far as I can see you haven't actually contributed to the "Keel Cracks" discussion, which is what I was referring to, so I don;t quite see how I can have mis-quoted you.

Anyway, Bavaria owners are like american tourists or BMW drivers. We only notice the brash, aggressive ones - the civilised ones sink into the background. Or, in some cases, into the Aegean, but I'm assured that that little problem has been fixed now.

More keels fell of Westerly Centaurs than Bavarias. Wind yer neck in.

 

[Ubergeekian]

More keels fell of Westerly Centaurs than Bavarias.

So far.

Anyway, I don't have a Centaur, I have a Jouster. That's a VW Scirocco compared to a VW Camper van. Mind you, I had to beef up my keel mountings too ...

 

[Bav34]

how many mls per Annum

Early days ... perhaps 500 to 800 , now closer to 1200.

Note that I said 'repairs' and I suppose that I should have quantified that as ''Bavaria related repairs''

I'm not including 'service' items i.e servicing the engine, gearbox and Eberspacher ... valeting the sails etc.

Nor am I including the Lewmar hatch hinge that started creaking ... they gave me a new one ... nor the screw that fell out of the Furlex drum ... they gave me a new one ... nor replacing a propeller bolt that I was careless enough to lose , oh, I suppose that I should include the Nasa wind head that I had to replace, but hardly a Bavaria issue ...

I'm just about to drop the rudder to check the bearings ... there's a small amount of play.

So, yes ... Bavaria related costs ... £4.99

 

[robertj]

flat one,

I do sympathise with you but you are contributing to your own demise.

By not naming the dealer he is getting away with bad practice and why not? As long as they can fob you off, and they do not suffer, why not continue with their bad service? In the end they wear you down and and you get the work done at your own cost.

So unless you take action to rectify it then i am sorry for you as you will be the loser and the rest of the forum if any are looking to buy a New boat.

Hit them where it hurts if find is the best answer, as priviously mentioned then a trip to Paris, failing that NAME them here!!!!!!
Dealers need business and dont take kindly to having their name branded with bad service and lack of customer care.
Mention to the dealers that you have written on a reputable forum about you dealing with them.

Ask another jenneau dealer if they can help, I doubt if very much, but it will add fuel to their fire when selling as they can name the bad dealership to any inquiring customers. If you can do this in writing, then better still as the dealership will have written proof of their competitors bad behaviour. This will improve their selling power no end, to the cost of the and one (and why not).

Is your boat in a marina or layed up? Put a nice note on the side to any future jenneau buyers to beware of the mentioned dealership

The legal way is good but it doesn't do anything for improving service to other poor customers who might be looking to purchase a jenneau form them. The dealers will say that you were a picky silly little person who they bent over backwards to help but as they say 'you can help those sorts'.

I do hope this helps but takes a little comittment from you as when money is involved and losing business i do find it works.

 

[Steve Clayton]

I tried that at the Southampton Boat Show.

The after sales man at The Show was very polite and helpful, he promised various things, none of which he has delivered on despite various e-mails to remind him.

So by checking on which dealers were at the show it's not difficult to figure out which one you spoke to - (and it doesn't surprise me)

 

[Albert Ross]

Thank you all.

I've had several requests to reveal the name of the dealer concerned.

My original aim was to get the Forum's advice on the best way of getting things sorted out, but this thread then generated so much interest that I then decided to copy it to the firm in question and ask for their comments.

I was just about to e-mail them yesterday with a link to this thread when I received a message to say that they would sort out all the currently known problems.

I don't want to speculate whether it was a coincidence that they contacted me at this time or whether they also look at ybw.com (it is a truly excellent website and I think they'd be silly not to) ... whether it was a coincidence or not doesn't really matter .. however, assuming that they are acting in good faith, I have decided not to publish their name.

If they have suddenly learned the importance of good customer care, and deliver this, then I wish them well.

If on the other hand their latest promise is not fulfilled very rapidly I will of course name them repeatedly and if I must, I will also take them to Court.

 

[sailorman]

Thank you all.

I've had several requests to reveal the name of the dealer concerned.

My original aim was to get the Forum's advice on the best way of getting things sorted out, but this thread then generated so much interest that I then decided to copy it to the firm in question and ask for their comments.

I was just about to e-mail them yesterday with a link to this thread when I received a message to say that they would sort out all the currently known problems.

I don't want to speculate whether it was a coincidence that they contacted me at this time or whether they also look at ybw.com (it is a truly excellent website and I think they'd be silly not to) ... whether it was a coincidence or not doesn't really matter .. however, assuming that they are acting in good faith, I have decided not to publish their name.

If they have suddenly learned the importance of good customer care, and deliver this, then I wish them well.

If on the other hand their latest promise is not fulfilled very rapidly I will of course name them repeatedly and if I must, I will also take them to Court.

Citizen Smith " Power to the People"

 

[mcframe]

G***y, of this parish, can tell you all about getting wrongs righted!

I recently visited a rather nice, small, tide-constrained south coast marina. Compared with my last visit, I noted the lack of large powerboats for sale and undergoing maintenance on the hard - it wasn't until I read the spray-painted words on some scrap-metal pit-props in the corner of the yard that I remembered the reason for the lack of the aforesaid large powerboats...