What Bugs you about the marine industry ?

[oldgit]

Re:Lack of choice

Could the fact that many boats of that size are imported from countries where the price of marine diesel is not kept as low as it is in the UK and petrol is a bit/lots cheaper, have anything to do with it?

O my Gawd its still going ahead......

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

Start of June, boat hauled out
Arrange two weeks leave as last 2 weeks of August, advise boatyard
Middle of June, engine removed
End of June, new engine delivered, advised gearbox not man enough for new engine
End of July, new gearbox delivered.
Two weeks before holiday engine bearer fit started, leaving horrendous mess.
10 days before holiday bearers started.
1 week before holiday, bearers no futher forward.
4 days into holiday, bearers finished, not good cosmetically. Only done because I sttod over yard staff until they worked. Literal fact. I had to do all the cleanup of matting etc, despite several complaints. Engineer seems to have been abducted by aliens.

Likely result at present rate of progress, no boating holiday despite 2 1/2 months on shore. I'm tempted to involve a solicitor but that just gets more expensive. I'd like to see what the forum think is reasonable recompense. Engineer will blame the lack of bearers for his tardiness, despite not starting the job until badgered.

Result so far, mucked up annual holiday and two very disappointed children.

I have to say that so far I agree with those who are not impressed by the marine industry. We expected some form of works order setting out who did what and when, and when they expected to be paid, plus what recompense is usual in the event of default. No such animal apparently exists.


Two beers please, my friend is paying.

 

[PGD]

Time for change !!!

Gludy, Mustard and Learner you are all victims, like me, of the industry I want to change but in a slow and credible manor. Nice to see Mr Boatmatch muddied by others. I decided not to fallow the sarcastic reply that is all too easy to post – “What a dot com that works hard” – yeah right and “I bet I can slang you job more that you can mine” – just the reply I expected from the marine industry – “ What a customer complaint – I’m sure we can shut him up with a few insults” far be it from us to sorry or sort the problem.

So – time to sow some seeds – if you want change in this industry PM me with what you want to change – it won’t happen overnight but in time and with a lot of hard work and commitment then things will change. All I will say for now is watch this space.

Keep me posted on both good and bad experiences.

Peter

 

[oldgit]

Re: Time for change !!!

I doubt the marine trade is any different to the construction business.
Many customers/ much money chasing few craftsmen/skilled workers.
All got rid off or not trained because of the need for short term profit considerations.
Short season and not enough hours in the day.
People pushing to get jobs done resulting in rushed and botched jobs which satisfy no one.
Been both pusher and pushed.
Things may change only if less people go boating or more people are encouraged into boat building and allied trades.
PS.I have recently purchased new house and if you think you have had problems because your "toy" was not ready................

O my Gawd its still going ahead......

 

[Guest]

A lot bugs me about this industry, I work in it a lot of the time, because it is surrounded by leisure I am sure that this is the reason for all the faults it has.
It is supported at the top end by some very wealthy people, but at the level that I am involved in it is supported by people that have had to work hard for what ever boat they are able to own and that really concerns me because I am one of them too. I would love to name and shame companies that I deal with, but could not possibly do that as my business relies on supplies from these outlets, they know who thay are!, take for instance the Yamahaagent I deal with, after endless phone calls of the last few days I am still waiting for them to call me back to order parts, they have the attitude that makes me sick, I suppose they think that we wont shop elswhere, Wrong, I have done, but they will still survive from all the other that will keep buying from them. I like to think that I give my customers a good service and work on improving all the time, but rely on others in this trade to supply me in order to carry out my tasks, in my opinion some of them should not be dealers at all manufacturers should boot them out and give it to others that care and can do the job..
Paul js

 

[PGD]

Re: Time for change !!!

HI, used to be in construction and commercail estate agency now in marketing, know what you mean. But I intend to bring about chnage, not atree hugging or antagonistic way, but something far more credible, like I said watch this space and keep me posted - remember we are all the eyes ans ears on this industry

Peter

 

[PGD]

Hi, I understand your problem, but the customer is king and the sooner there is a medium that is in a position to highlight the errors of the industry the sooner the customer will exercise their ultimate right - and that is choice - you've already done it and your dealer lost out - the one that won was the one that was geared up for business, you got waht you needed and he got the busisness - win : win.

Keep in touch.

Peter

 

[Gludy]

Re: Time for change !!!

PGD -
As a businessman I cannot help but observe and act.
So, it seems there are few of us who might be saying watch this space


Paul

 

[DepSol]

This is exactly what I was thinking when coming up with a company name and also taking on new products and services.

I called my company Dependable Solutions because I aimed to give people the product they wanted at the right price and for the right cost in a short space of time and all was right and working properly first time. If it was faulty or there is a problem then I would have it fixed even if I lost money doing so.

I was doing some general stuff with fuel tests and checking this that and the other out when Soltron popped up, after two weeks I knew it was good so I got involved. I then moved on to NV Equipment who can provide me with any boating cover I order from their range in 3 weeks to my door great 10 days was the quickest so far for a full tent cover for a Leader 805, no not mine. Now we are moving on to propellors and we will be stocking a large selection of duo props so that when someone dings a prop we exchange it and send the dinged one off for repair. This will get people boating and back out at the weekend after something has happened that would usually leave them high and dry for a week at least.

There are a few other products in the pipe line but ntil they have been tested and we know they work as good as they say they do we will not release them to our customers.

Now everything has run smothly so far except for a few hitches where freight companies have lost the goods or let me down. The supplier has had the goods held by customs (esp since 11th sept) or bad weather has stopped the goods coming in. All out of my control but the service I have provided has been always within my motto and I get very displeased if I deliver late or cannot deliver at all. I feel it effects me personally and money gets knocked off if I dont fulfill my side of the deal ie what , where and when I said would happen.

If everyone took this attitude or at least part of it the service boaters got would be what we want. the right product first time on time and at the right price. After all we are paying for it!


Dom

I am boating again ;-)

 

[poter]

Re: Time for change !!!

Oldgit
I’m in the building industry and I am afraid to say that I wholeheartedly agree with you.
New houses are one of my BIG bugbears all the trades are in a rush to complete and many so called tradesmen are unqualified.
Yes you are correct, there has been very little money invested in appretiship schemes for the past 20 years and I suspect that is also true of the boating industry.
But there really can be no excuse for bad sales personnel. I have been looking for a Yacht for the past year and have got so fed up with missed appointments, no reply’s and crap boats, that I am now looking to purchase in France as the sales backup and follow up by the French broker’s is excellent.
I must say however that I did find Opal marine to be very professional and their sales team are on the ball.

 

[Guest]

This is my first season boating, so obvoiusly I had a lot of gear to purchase. On not one occasion did the chandlers satisfy me. Several weeks prior to my first proper trip 200 miles around the coast I ordered the requisute paper and electronic charts from the local chandlers and arranged to collect them a few days before setting off. Not only did they not have them on time but having been told daily that they'd be in the next day, I finally had to travel with borrowed charts but (get this!) the chandler offered to forward the charts to my ultimate destination for me! How the f**k he thought I would even find my destination is beyond me.
Furthermore, a substantial deposit was taken from me at the time of ordering so I couldn't go elsewhere. In addition the Zodiac dingy I paid so much for was supplied without a pump. My own fault of course for not double-checking but I just believed them when told explicitly that the pump was included in package. Luckily kind woman on adjacent mooring had same dingy & could lend me her pump.

So when you ask me what I'd like to change about the marine industry it's hard to be specific. I'd scrap the whole thing and start again. New staff, new ethos. What're the chances?

 

[poter]

Not a lot I\'m afraid. nm

.

 

[Guest]

Re: Dependable solutions

Not for the first time I wish I did my boating on Guernsey, as Depsol seems to be a genuinely valuable resource to leisure boaters. When do you plan on expanding internationally? Big opportunities round Ireland!

 

[Guest]

I suppose what really annoys me is that they don't care how annoyed we get cos we just keep coming back with our cash no matter how badly we're treated!

 

[terence]

yes i agree if my sales pepole went on like some of these brokers they would be up the road quick time

 

[oldgit]

Dealing with both leisure and business users of our trade I am amazed at what can only be described as the "tantrums" thrown by some of our "hobby" users and have to contrast this with the people who relay on our services to earn their living.
Regretably we always find that the desperate "need it done now "people are always the ones who cause us most grief.
Having squeezed them in they either do not bother to turn up or we have trouble getting them to pay.
After a while you do tend to "vet" the people you feel inclined to do business with.


O my Gawd its still going ahead......

 

[DepSol]

Re: Dependable solutions

That is the key to it all, I would not expand until I was 100% sure I could give my customers abroad the same service as the ones here.

Dom

I am boating again ;-)

 

[ari]

Another forum I use is for owners of a certain make of quality car. I don't know how many members there are, but certainly well into four figures. A topic of conversation often occurs when someone has a problem, either with the car or dealer and wants to pool information, see if anyone else has a similar experience or just sound off, same as any board (including this one).

One day someone new posted saying that they were about to buy one of these cars, but having read about all these problems were having second thoughts. Immedietly he was met by a barrage of postsfrom people saying that their car had been faultless, dealer excellent etc etc.

The point is, as one guy wrote, no one ever posts to say "Got in my car this morning and it started first time, the lights worked when I switched them on and the windows went up and down when I pressed the button very nicely".

Likewise no one ever posts on here "I phoned a broker today and asked for some details of a boat, and guess what, they turned up!" cos it is a complete non event.

Result is, of course there are crap brokers, crap car dealers, crap house builders and so on, and of course we rant to our friends, post messages etc when we are (rightly) upset by bad service, but there are plenty of brokers, car dealers, house builders etc doing a good job out there.

Talk to people, use your nouse, and don't use the bad ones, use the good ones. That way the good ones will prosper and the bad one won't.

The points raised on this thread are valid, and unfortunate. But it's life I'm afraid...

Ari.

 

[mustard]

Fair point - but personally I'm approaching this as a newbie, and the response has been extremely off-putting! It hasn't been like that in any car showroom I've walked into recently, but there might be exceptions.

Following an idolatrous lust for years I finally bought a big Mercedes - which was absolutely the worst car I've ever owned - 50 separate faults, four strandings incl. blown engine @ low miles, gearbox, lock barrel and assorted problems. By the time i'd finished with totally obnoxious local dealer's response, the whole of my town knew about it - i don't think they sold a car there for a while after. ( Or so I'd heard).

I don't want a repeat process buying a boat worth more than my house cost to build - and thats the issue. There's a lot of money, a lot of responsibility, a lot of time going into the whole process If v***o engines are as reliable as I'm led to believe in your forums, frankly I've been looking at Cat options, so the forums work, at least. And their a lot of issues that really have bent my thinking about boat size, dealers, options. But whatever i finally settle on I'm sure there'll always be problems, if not with the boat I choose, then with the services that follow......

 

[tico]

Seeing all the flak aimed at Fairline, i just wanted to award a bouquet where deserved.
Spoke to a very helpful young lady there for any info they had on my 13yo Fairline....... 5 mins later came copies of the original build specification, original invoice and a whole host of other bits. Next day arrived in the post a replacement owners manual and original brochure. All FOC.

I have no objection to 'naming & shaming' those involved in the industry who give cr*p service as long as those who give excellent service are praised too!!!