I've had enough of..

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Cheesey69

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Bad and out dated service standards from my local marina.
I'm based on the Medway and in need of some work done, the usual stuff, anode, anti foul and prop replacement and as an aside, yearly mooring.
The problem is that I'm out of contact or on the move a lot so lengthy phone conversation is out. But they have a website and an email address which they totally ignore.
Multiple times I've asked for an estimate only to receive no reply.
As an added problem, this area isn't awash with easily accessible workshop facilities that don't require creek crawling.
It's not hard to reply to an email, my business use one all the time and its the modern way to connect each other.
So this place is losing work and a yearly mooring fee for failing to be, well, polite.
And I still need the work done....
 
A real tightwad boater comments....
Cuxton area boatyards are downright scruffy and cannot put you back in anytime.....
Medway bridge sort of the same and also cannot put you back in anytime.......
MDL very limited ashore space so not that bothered about your business...
Gillingham, tiny bit more expensive but far better facilities and manager is actually interested in your money.
All IMHO.
 
Advice could be given if type of boat, and where it is, were provided.

oldgit you for got Hoo Marina where you sit in mud full of c**p from the houseboats nearby and the owners of the marina are more interested in mobile homes than boats.
 
Sorry, westerly Longbow.
Can't get past Rochester bridge with my mast so anything below is out.
Have used Gillingham marina in the past as I was moored there and yes, that's the place I can't communicate with unless it's face to face.
But to be honest, the communication wasn't great then, the boat handed back three weeks late and I was a berth holder at the time.
Maybe me, but I'd to think over estimates, phone and get it sorted a bit like I do with my car, drop off boat and then pick it up when complete.
I'm not being awkward but I'm stationed in Cornwall at the moment and its a he'll of a round trip
 
Concerto said:
Advice could be given if type of boat, and where it is, were provided.

oldgit you for got Hoo Marina where you sit in mud full of c**p from the houseboats nearby and the owners of the marina are more interested in mobile homes than boats.
Click to expand...

..............................easily accessible workshop facilities that don't require creek crawling. :)

might be worth a call to yard in Otterham Creek or Jim Bretts old place in Queenborough, not sure thats even still up and running ?
 
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Cheesey69 said:
Bad and out dated service standards from my local marina.
I'm based on the Medway and in need of some work done, the usual stuff, anode, anti foul and prop replacement and as an aside, yearly mooring.
The problem is that I'm out of contact or on the move a lot so lengthy phone conversation is out. But they have a website and an email address which they totally ignore.
Multiple times I've asked for an estimate only to receive no reply.
As an added problem, this area isn't awash with easily accessible workshop facilities that don't require creek crawling.
It's not hard to reply to an email, my business use one all the time and its the modern way to connect each other.
So this place is losing work and a yearly mooring fee for failing to be, well, polite.
And I still need the work done....
Click to expand...

You have not said exactly where your boat is lying at present. ie on the hard at the marina or on a mooring somewhere
To be honest if one cannot see the boat, the state the existing antifouling is in, the types of anodes. the state of the prop and what sort of job it is going to be to get off then one is going to get a " how long is a piece of string" answer; so they probably think you are just a time waster. If you took the bother to actually phone up then they would probably treat you with greater respect.
Emails can be a pain, anyone can flick a few keys & expect the yard to spend a couple of hours preparing a quote then they just ignore the quote. You have only had to flick a few keys, the yard have been put to a load of work. The person making the inquiry cannot take the time to make a proper phone call ( you had time to do this post at 8-09 so why did you not try calling then- get the point?) - forget him !!!

Somehow I cannot blame the yard
 
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Daydream believer said:
You have not said exactly where your boat is lying at present. ie on the hard at the marina or on a mooring somewhere
To be honest if one cannot see the boat, the state the existing antifouling is in, the types of anodes. the state of the prop and what sort of job it is going to be to get off then one is going to get a " how long is a piece of string" answer; so they probably think you are just a time waster. If you took the bother to actually phone up then they would probably treat you with greater respect.
Emails can be a pain, anyone can flick a few keys & expect the yard to spend a couple of hours preparing a quote then they just ignore the quote. You have only had to flick a few keys, the yard have been put to a load of work. The person making the inquiry cannot take the time to make a proper phone call ( you had time to do this post at 8-09 so why did you not try calling then- get the point?) - forget him !!!

Somehow I cannot blame the yard
Click to expand...

The truth being the yard is too busy to be bothered, a quick reply with a rough idea of cost with the caveat that would need to see boat to quote properly & there is a wait would take seconds.
I would not use anyone who can't be bothered to reply to an email enquiry, as they are probably as inefficient in every other aspect of their business.
 
rubberduck said:
The truth being the yard is too busy to be bothered, a quick reply with a rough idea of cost with the caveat that would need to see boat to quote properly & there is a wait would take seconds.
I would not use anyone who can't be bothered to reply to an email enquiry, as they are probably as inefficient in every other aspect of their business.
Click to expand...

it does not take seconds to prepare proper quotations

So you are suggesting it would have been ok to send a reply like

" We thank you for your enquiryof """"" Approx cost between £1000 & £ 7000 but we need to see the boat first . Timing to commence & complete depends on extent required in final analysis"
Regards

What is the point in that- totally useless and a waste of time- no one is any further on . Might not have bothered
There are instances where emails are a total waste of time and a blight on business.
In the OP's case I suspect that this is one of them.

People seem to think that everything can be transacted by email. Once works are agreed and under way or if something is concrete & already agreed then one would use emails, I accept.
However, there are many instances where email inquiries are totally mis-used by the sender and because they often do not operate in that scenario they do not realise this. In my business I would probably have just ignored certain types of casual email, unless they enclosed concise detail; but of course those from known customers would have been dealt with promptly.
So I would not blame the yard
 
So your point is that I should pay something like 300 notes for the yard to lift, price job and the pay again if they get the go ahead?
The hull ain't going to get any bigger, that's a known quantity, neither are the anodes going to be anything special, only the prop may need my go ahead all of the above is normal boatyard work.
And yet, when someone contact's me to replace their JCB engine I don't say " sorry sir, I have not a clue", I quote the cost of engine, bits and pieces needed to fit it and man hours then state this as a minimum price subject to anything unexpected popping up.
If you ask a garage to replace your brake pads, they would give you an estimate and call you if they found something odd.
The answer is that the place has a virtual monopoly as its easy to get to and has not much competition so they can afford to turn away work.
 
Cheesey69 said:
So your point is that I should pay something like 300 notes for the yard to lift, price job and the pay again if they get the go ahead?
The hull ain't going to get any bigger, that's a known quantity, neither are the anodes going to be anything special, only the prop may need my go ahead all of the above is normal boatyard work.
And yet, when someone contact's me to replace their JCB engine I don't say " sorry sir, I have not a clue", I quote the cost of engine, bits and pieces needed to fit it and man hours then state this as a minimum price subject to anything unexpected popping up.
If you ask a garage to replace your brake pads, they would give you an estimate and call you if they found something odd.
The answer is that the place has a virtual monopoly as its easy to get to and has not much competition so they can afford to turn away work.
Click to expand...

This is where I do not think that you have thought it through. A JCB engine is a pretty much fixed unit ( depending on model) but a boat's antifoulling can involve just a light sanding and a couple of coats of paint or it could be a case of sand blasting badly rusted bilge keels , scraping years of old paint back to a sound surface , new epoxy layers metal primer and new antifoul paint. In other words there is a wide range of work that could be required. This is all labour intensive which needs a study of the boat first. If you want a new prop, How long is a piece of string - Prop shaft condition, measuring prop tapers etc, or is it just a straight spline shaft?
There is a whole range of things that can affect the price & nothing sours customer relationships more than a price increase half way though a job that the customer can ill afford.
So the job is not a known quantity. You are looking for a cheepo deal & you ain't going to get it. the yard have sussed that and ignored you
 
All good points and I may stand corrected.
But, and here its a big but, they never had a problem 2 years ago when I was a berth holder. Indeed, they had a special on anti fouling and they did a good job.
But that isn't the point of my original post.
The point was a lack of use of what is now the most common use of business communication.
E.g. Asking a brokerage for more details on a boat for sale on the broads. Nothing.
Yet boatshed kent, right back with details.
It won't take long to fire off an email saying what you said and I would have phoned them instead and maybe a potential customer wouldn't be lost.
 
I prefer contact by email, although i'm happy with phone calls too. An email means i can reply when it suits me, rather than having to answer the phone when i'm upside down in the bilge of someones boat. A typical first contact email introduces the potential customer, gives me an idea what his problem is and tells me what boat he has/where it is located. There is rarely (and understandably) enough information to provide a quote or even an estimate. I may reply to the email asking for some more information, but often i'll follow it up with a phone call.

I agree that in many cases with a boat it's very difficult to give an idea of cost without seeing it. But, i also agree that it doesn't take much to reply to the initial email, no matter how vague it may be. I do often find that some businesses are slow to respond to emails, if they respond at all. Maybe they are still stuck in the days when the phone was the primary method of contact, i don't know.

I really vague email can easily be responded to in little time with a simple, "Thanks for your inquiry, i'd need to see the boat/have more info". Or i could pick the phone up and call them.
 
Cheesey69 said:
The answer is that the place has a virtual monopoly as its easy to get to and has not much competition so they can afford to turn away work.
Click to expand...

With at least dozen other places with a hours sail,all probably cheaper,not sure this is totally true ?
We experience dictates we allocate the following importance to requests for estimates on cost of our installs .
Email 10 %
A phone call 90%.
A phone call costs time and money on the part of the customer.
Usually can gauge if the enquirer is actual possible customer and not a serial price checker, best left for our competitors to enjoy.
 
oldgit said:
With at least dozen other places with a hours sail,all probably cheaper,not sure this is totally true ?
We experience dictates we allocate the following importance to requests for estimates on cost of our installs .
Email 10 %
A phone call 90%.
A phone call costs time and money on the part of the customer.
Usually can gauge if the enquirer is actual possible customer and not a serial price checker, best left for our competitors to enjoy.
Click to expand...

I said " I do often find that some businesses are slow to respond to emails, if they respond at all. Maybe they are still stuck in the days when the phone was the primary method of contact, i don't know. "

Your post confirms my suspicion. But then you are an Oldgit :)

You can also now bend your experience to say that most email inquiries are a waste of time, as you rarely get a job from them :)

A typical email inquiry looks like :

Good afternoon, you have recently been working on xxxxx I own a xxxxx sailing yacht which has a yanmar inboard which I would like serviced please. It’s in good order but needs an oil and filter change etc... What sort of cost and timescale please?
Click to expand...

A five minute email reply and i had the job.

Or
Hi Paul,
It's been a while since I've made the request of xxxxx and had no response (+6 months) for some electrical work on our boat, so am happy to look elsewhere. I've seen your posts on the East Coast Forum and combined with your clear website I think you're exactly what we're after.

<snip personal stuff, including brief description of problems>

I really would like you to let me know what you think and give me an idea of pricing. And, of course, I'm more than happy to pay for that initial review.
Click to expand...

Never mind waiting 6+ months, a quick email followed by a short meeting onboard and i had the job, followed by some additional work later in the season and a customer for life.

So far this year, two emails that i dealt with didn't result in my getting the jobs. I like answering emails :encouragement:
 
Personally, I use email as my primary means of communication for business purposes. It has several advantages over telephone conversations:
1) The receiver can open and read the email when it suits them, and answer as convenient. If that's going to be a long time, I'd expect a preliminary reply starting how long that might be and, if necessary, requesting further information.
2) Email provides a record of EXACTLY what was said, so if necessary I can return to it in the event of any disagreement about what was said.
3) Email isn't subject to problems of regional dialects. Not too bad on the East Coast, but when I was based in Scotland I did have problems talking to people speaking in a broad Glaswegian accent while on a dodgy mobile phone connection when they were in the middle of another job in a marina somewhere.

I agree with those who say that failing to answer emails is unprofessional and does not encourage me to use the services offered. That said, there are unfortunately well established and respected establishments that seem to ignore email until you ring them and say "I emailed you last week"!
 
Some companies don't want to answer emails and yet complain about lack of work, for example I emailed two local tow bar companies for a quote to fit one to a motorhome, I supplied year of manufacture, model, base unit, and chassis type, my details, phone number , nothing, not even a " piss off ", and yet they complain about lack of work so I am told.
 
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