Somebody should tell Fairline that the world has changed

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted User YDKXO
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That exactly what happened to me a few ago at SIBS.

'My man' was a Peters fellow and whilst I was on parade at the appointed time he was not. SWMBO and self were left on the public side of the barrier until he could be found...... We were at the show and had the appointment to choose carpet colours etc and sign a cheque believing that the general atmosphere and having a similar boat there on the water would enrich the experience.

Upshot was we got fed up waiting and went around the corner which happened to have Princess with a similar boat behind their 'welcome' desk. Can we look? Of course you may.

The rest is history, we actually prefered the Princess (cannot understand why I had overlooked them as an option) and paid a deposit two hours later for a new boat.

I still like Fairlines but feel their customer service needs attention. These threads have been saying this for years yet no-one at FL seems to take the ball.

Bloody silly - wake up and smell the coffee guys! Listen to boat people who actually own and buy boats!
 
I think Fl and other branded renowned builder with a similar problem should follow what Cranchi and Azimut do in Genova
now Genova is a 300.000+ visitors venue in 9 days, that is x6 to London and so far the most visited boat show in the world apart from being among the biggest
what I saw Cranchi doing in 1999 is genius IMO as they put staff from the factory who has perfect knowledge on the boat you visit, which as soon as you come on the boat and there is no one onboard he guides you to it, if there is 2 group of people you have to wait till one of the group is finished, this is very fast and with the super visits on Cranchi stands in Genoa it worked perfectly, the guy also was very knowledgable on the boat in question being it construction, optional etc
then for the price he makes you to contact with the dealer
in 2004 Azimut followed a similar principle and it was again a very good experience
in 1997 Ferretti had a similar concept, but with a person from the Enginnerring department more to clarify boat questions from the dealer then to tour you on the boat, which is what Cranchi and Azimut basically do
Sunseeker in 2000 again in Genova had a similar concept, but still not as good as Cranchi

now how do I get Fairline to pay me for this tip, for this minimum I deserve a free 38 Targa or not /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Hurricane, I'm not disputing that on a one to one basis, the Fairline dealers are as hospitable and professional as anyone. It's just that there are some punters like me who don't want to wait around for 'my' dealer, don't want to be qualified and don't want to be followed around by 'my' dealer like a labrador following his master and don't want the follow up afterwards. I just want to look at the boats. Apart from anything else, it's actually wasting the dealer's time when he could have been attending to a more serious prospect
 
PY, I went to the Genoa show in 2003 and had a similar experience on the Azimut stand. My wife and I were barred from getting on any boats until the UK dealer had been found despite the fact that the stand was virtually empty and despite the fact that I insisted that I didn't want to see the dealer. We stood around for 15 mins or so looking silly before we left. Maybe AZ have changed their policy now?
 
I dont know now Deleted User, but 2004 I had the experience as I say
there was a hostess from Azimut for the 68S and then for the 43, which was premiered there she told me you have to wait for the other person responsible, at the time was busy with a group of persons but after a few minutes they finished and I went up
in 2000 I had to wait for the dealer as you say
 
[ QUOTE ]
He had told them he didn't care who turned up, rich man or pauper, they'd paid to get in, they must like boats, "so you are to treat them seriously, be polite and show them around".

[/ QUOTE ]

What a brilliant attitude and echoed by my experience of Sunseeker at shows.

I really don't understand the standoffishness of some sales staff. I can't remember actually being turned away from a stand, but have often been amazed to see sales staff talking to each other and ignoring the punters altogether.

Not trying to knock FL but the worst example I can recall was SIBS 2007. I reached the FL team on the pontoon at about 6.30 pm. There must have been seven or eight of them, all refusing to make eye contact with anyone else. Clearly it had been a long day and the bright lights of Southampton beckoned. Odd behaviour for people working on commission, I thought.
 
Sealine Sales Hamble /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

What abunch of , well i'm not lowering myself to describe them. I know some people will say they're alright, well some might be. Not the ones I met
 
I've never had a problem getting on Fairline or Sunseeker boats. Now Sealine I've always had a salemans follow me. I've not got the money for a new boat maybe sealine thought I was going to steal something.
 
Well, I can only speak from my personal experience and I have never had any problems with getting on the Fairline stand. I do think the barrier is a mistake as a lot of people clearly find it intimidating but once you are through then they seem perfectly happy to let us crawl over whatever we want to see. We went back later in the afternoon, when the show was VERY quiet and just walked up and through the gate. Prine

I don't see anything wrong with a Salesman accompanying us around the boats, they are there to sniiff out potential sales after all, its how they pay for the stand - I'm pretty sure thay dont get any of the "gate" receipts. So no problems with Fairline but I do wish they would get rid of the barrier. Princess were fine too.

It has to be said however that they could all learn a lot from Sunseeker who really seem to welcome everybody onto their stand. We were "shown around" by a Salesman but really we were just chatting and he even offered to take us on the big stuff outside if we fancied "just for fun".

The worst experience for us was Azimut. Despite the fact the stand looked deserted we were told that we would have to make an appointment to view later in the afternoon, we decided not to bother thank you very much.
 
Just a thought!

Have any of you 'Moaners' taken a look at your image lately??? Maybe your all still wandering about in fleeces and deckies??? So 1997............You have to work hard these days to look worthy of a lookie lookie!

Even those of you who own the 'Biggest Boys Toys', take a look in the mirror.............If SWMBO isnt carrying the latest Gucci, with the gold and diamond Cartier on her wrist how can you possiblky expect admission to a Targa 64 worth 1.3 Mil???

Stop moaning, and pull your socks up, Ted Baker T-shirts and Gucci shoes, are the way ON............Guys trust me!

I am going on Wednesday, and will give a full pictoral report of how easy it WAS to get on the Fairlines!!!

Jas. LMBO all the way! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Any pictues of these said 'barriers' - I have images of a prison wall going on feedback from this thread
 
[ QUOTE ]
I am going on Wednesday, and will give a full pictoral report of how easy it WAS to get on the Fairlines!!!


[/ QUOTE ]

Richard Shead reports on Scuttlebutt (It's another forum on here /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif) that the barriers on the Fairline stand have been "modified" and jhr has photoshopped a funny.
 
So, in what way do you think I should change my image:

hobo.jpg
 
I haven't been to a boat show for about three years now. I get sick to death of the snotty sales people.

The final straw for me was when I complimented the sales people on a boat (can't remember exactly who) at SIBS. The woman gave me a snooty look and told me that I might be able to afford the deposit if I sold my house!

At the time my own boat was worth twice theirs and I had enough cash in the bank to buy another two.....
 
I've noticed similar attitudes from dealers/employees at Boat Shows and Dealerships. It's really shocking if you think about how much business these guys are costing their bosses/companies. In Europe, there's a lot more focus on 'how you dress/look'. I always felt that the boat show staff was judging people based on presentation. Big different to the North American mentality where you could go buy a private jet in a tracksuit.

Another thing that ticks me off is the reluctance to answer questions/provide information through email. When you're looking at 10 boats, from 10 different companies, it's a full time job to get sales staff on the phone and to manually track down all the information/bs they answer verbally. Much easier to get things done through email imo. European dealers need to wake up.
 
"It's really shocking if you think about how much business these guys are costing their bosses/companies"

Doubt it very much,they know their market and their customers very well,stick your average well heeled actually got real money buyer in a cabin of average joes out for a day looking at stuff they have not a hope in hell of buying and 99% of the time he will stick out like a sore thumb.
Before anybody mentions that they are super rich but dress like a chav have a quick look at the old watch....Rolex or Timex ?
 
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