Name and Shame

RufusM

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To drive up customer satisfaction in this boaty World should those companies and marinas who:

moan
complain
overcharge
offer poor customer service
are rude
and are ONLY in business because they own a bit of water and pontoon that we need to use our precious babies on


...be named and shamed - come on - if some of them were in any other business sector they wouldn't last a week!!

(I know there are some great companies and they should be praised equally from on high)

What say you???
 

demonboy

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Goiot hatches.

Refused to answer emails spanning 3 months. After sending my final, snotty email complaining about customer service they replied with an equally snotty email claiming they were on holiday!

They still couldn't help with my enquiry and ended up having to source the correct replacement seals through a third-party distributor.

Not sure how long this thread will last before being pulled........
 

RufusM

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Ok well balance is in order - so Mark Parkin at Navman is great - very helpful sorting out my NMEA wiring problems. I would certainly recommend him for his patience and expertise. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 

ccscott49

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Companies are often named on here, but I think they get pulled, due to liabilty thingies for YBW.
 

seaplane

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I totally agree with Nighthawk that this topic needs to be balanced so........

Name and shame customers who:
Don't pay on time.
Constantly change their minds.
Blame engineers for inoperative equipment when they've had nothing to do with it.
Don't turn up for appointments at their boat.
Try to get something for nothing.
Want hours of advice then borrow tools so they can do the job themselves.
Are rude to engineers.

Seaplane
 

MoodySabre

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[ QUOTE ]

and are ONLY in business because they own a bit of water and pontoon that we need to use our precious babies on

[/ QUOTE ]

Errr - what else migh they do when they own water and pontoons? not much money to be made as a car park or cinema or railway if you just own water and pontoons. I'd love to have some and of course you could all stay for free /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

Frontier

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[ QUOTE ]
I totally agree with Nighthawk that this topic needs to be balanced so........

Name and shame customers who:
Don't pay on time.
Constantly change their minds.
Blame engineers for inoperative equipment when they've had nothing to do with it.
Don't turn up for appointments at their boat.
Try to get something for nothing.
Want hours of advice then borrow tools so they can do the job themselves.
Are rude to engineers.


[/ QUOTE ]

I think you have a point; customers can be as unreasonable as suppliers. Maybe the best thing is to just describe the service you have had and the price you paid, without actually going off on one about how bad it was. If it was poor service at a high price everyone will get the message.

To be fair to suppliers there must be as many unreasonable customers as suppliers, as you often come across Mr Grumpy and Mr inconsiderate while out on the sea /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

RufusM

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Yes Seaplane but those problems are encountered by everyone who is trying to run a business, customers CAN be a pain. It's just the way it is and businesses have to try to mitigate these customers by identifying them early and choosing not to work for them.

My point is about customer service from suppliers and I was thinking about one in particular when I started this - the free things in life:

- a smile
- a civil tongue
- a care for customer service
- providing a reasonably quality product

...and that boaters sometimes have to put up with a service which doesn't include the above makes for an unpleasant experience.

Loadsa great companies and people out there but a few that would be better shut down as the service is poor and they don't promote boating in the way that you might - positively that is!

Khwk /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 

jb2006

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Okay - so I am probably not the easiest customer, I phone up and chase delivery dates (a lot), I change my mind (a bit) and when I'm spending what is, to me a lot of money, I expect a lot. That said, Premier Yacht Sales have been excellent - stopping short of "oh no not you again" and generally behaving somewhere between totally professionally and beyond the call of duty.

Now you can go back to moaning.
 
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I've got a Masters Degree in 'Grumpy' when a company fails to provide what it's being paid '100 pence-in-the-pound' good sterling, or fails to do what it has undertaken to do, in getting the business. By writing a well-reasoned letter of formal complaint to the MD or the Director Responsible for Marketing, good can often be squeezed out of evil - when properly justified. And creating a potential 'win-win situation' is ultimately beneficial for the company.....

By following this principle, in recent months I've benefited from free tool hire, a deeply-discounted replacement kitchen, large credits on cranky bills from BT and British Gas, and flowers to My Lady Eleanor from Tesco Customer Services.

Most companies have a well-exercised complaints procedure - even having pre-printed Complaints Forms - but few have an equal 'Compliments Form'. I believe we should swiftly complain when justified, but equally make a point of commenting on good service. It's in our interests - encouraging the good promotes its repetition by others in the organisation.

Here's an example - today I sought 'price and availability' on the replacement exhaust box for my wife's car. Four out of five 'Yellow Pages' advertisers responded in a lackadaisical, inadequate and unhelpful way to my telephone calls. The fifth was fine - found out what I wanted, elicited what he needed to know, and asked that I call with the car when convenient so he could be certain of quoting/ordering the part correctly. So I did.

After he'd put the car on the ramp and inspected it, he asked if I'd want him to do a free brake check 'as they seemed a little faded'. He correctly identified uneven wear, and suggested that they could solve the matter quickly and economically while the exhaust was being done. He was quite right, I agreed, and a pair of them got on with it.

While I was waiting, I spoke to the fellow who was clearly the manager of the outlet - and another visitor - remarking how effective his operative had been, compared with the opposition. The visitor was overtly attentive - it turned out he was the Regional Manager of over 30 of these outlets - and his parting comment to the local manager, about the helpful operative, was "Let's look at him. Maybe he's who we're looking for, and we could save the advertising..."

QED
 

poter

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Goiot Hatches in France - [info@goiot.com]
great company - replied by return to my enquiry regarding my 1974 hatches on a Dufour 35. Gave me all the retail prices of the perspex & seals.

No problem at all.

In fact I have found the French manufactures to be better informed, more courteous & cheaper than most of the equivalent brits!

poter.
 

Cliveshep

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For good ones - Linden Lewis at Shepperton, whilst annoyingly often "out of stock" on small things, prepared to order in and post, likewise Thames Ditton Marina, on this Forum, Malthouse Marine with exceptional service, kept me very well informed, offered good advice, went the "extra mile" so Top Marks to them.
 

TiggerToo

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[ QUOTE ]
Ok well balance is in order - so Mark Parkin at Navman is great - very helpful sorting out my NMEA wiring problems. I would certainly recommend him for his patience and expertise. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

so is Paul David: also at Navimo. As said before, they have a fantastic customer service ethic.
 

copterdoctor

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I think (or I try) to start out as an easy going customer but I do like people to deliver/provide what they say and it seems the marine industry brings out the worst in me.

Compass 24 fail more often than not. I/daughter is still waiting for my birthday present to arrive. I have previously paid for 24 hour delivery and not had it.
 

mobeydick

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[ QUOTE ]
- and his parting comment to the local manager, about the helpful operative, was "Let's look at him. Maybe he's who we're looking for, and we could save the advertising..."

QED

[/ QUOTE ]

So he will be promoted to run a branch, get ulcers, be a hopeless manager, and you loose your good operative
 
G

Guest

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Re: Name and Shame - the problem.

It is a good act to Name and Shame ... but I know from personal experience that doing so leads to action by the shamed party.

I shamed a company on here ... I was then contacted diplomatically and CORRECTLY by IPC regarding the matter. The post was pulled and I was informed of why.

I in no way blame IPC or have any bad feeling about it ... IPC were protecting themselves from Court Action by the Shamed party.

As I understand it - IPC providing these "live" forums risk such action if a post is damaging etc. Being "live" - IPC has no way to police posts and lets be honest who is going to read all posts to moderate before display.

So yes - would be great to have a N & S thread . section - but in reality IPC cannot carry the risk - it's also unfair of us to expect them to.
 
G

Guest

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[ QUOTE ]
I think (or I try) to start out as an easy going customer but I do like people to deliver/provide what they say and it seems the marine industry brings out the worst in me.

Compass 24 fail more often than not. I/daughter is still waiting for my birthday present to arrive. I have previously paid for 24 hour delivery and not had it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Compass24 ... now I had good service ... called them from Latvia about an item .......... they dispatched item and it arrived in reasonable time. Only complaint I have is that item was priced cheaper in Euros from their German outfit. But I could only get it from UK section. When it arrived (having paid the UK price) it was sent by German Depot from German stock. Still it was cheaper than nearest rival ...

Another good service is Land & Water Lieisure (I think thats the name .....) part of Marinescene I think !! I bought my Chart plotter and later chart cards from them ... quick replies and accurate to emails etc. Friendly and curteous on phone ...

Bad ones ... see later post !!
 

areid12

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not sure weather we can put company names here, i guess the moderators will remove this if we cant (appoligies in advance)

www.marinemegastore.com

this campany has not been very helpfull in parts dillervery nor in refunding monies for the undillivered part.

hopefully this was just my bad luck, they have not been at all helpfull in there communications, ive recieved non from them, and have had to initiate all of the communications.
 
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