Whinge: Marina websites that don’t give annual berthing costs.

[fredrussell]

On my local river, the Orwell, there are five or so marinas, only two of which have their annual berthing charges displayed on their website. It’s very annoying and I can’t for the life of me see why a company would do so. Is this the norm or is it just a feature of these shadowy east coast marinas?

Incidentally, well done Shotley and Levington for displaying their charges clearly.

 

[Sandy]

If sir needs to ask then he can't afford our services.

I agree with you. Why make it difficult for a prospective customer.

When I retired I wanted to know how much it was to become a member of David Lloyd's club, would then give me a price over the phone, nope. I had to visit, do the tour, then get a price. Which was way more than I wanted to pay to join a day centre for the fit over sixties.

 

[Wing Mark]

I've been chatting to a few marinas and mooring providers.
It's a bizarre game.
The would-be customers are frustrated at the lack of information from the providers, the providers are frustrated by 'customers' who want to be offered stuff that they won't commit to.

I'm possibly about to buy a boat without a firm offer of anywhere to park the damned thing.
One boatyard chap explained that he got loads of enquiries from people who never got around to owning a boat.
He also got the run-around from yearly berth-holders who keep changing their minds about hauling out for winter, so he didn't know what winter berths he could offer until it happens.

I suspect a lot of places don't want to offer places at a published rate if they can't actually offer the berths.
They may annoy existing customers if they publish cheap prices.
They may be hopeful of hiking their rates if the market booms.
They may want to choose their customers? Pick people who will stay for many years or something? Avoid certain groups as being 'high maintenance' in some way?
Maybe they just want people to phone them? It might seem like a waste of their time, but some people say talking to your customer base is always a Good Thing?

 

[syvictoria]

I suspect a lot of places don't want to offer places at a published rate if they can't actually offer the berths.

A published rate doesn't constitute an offer of a place. And it would in theory remove the time/effort needed to respond to many of the direct enquiries.

They may annoy existing customers if they publish cheap prices.
They may be hopeful of hiking their rates if the market booms.

Not a good way to do business, or to keep existing customers. Very poor ethics IMHO.

They may want to choose their customers? Pick people who will stay for many years or something? Avoid certain groups as being 'high maintenance' in some way?

Understandable in a smaller location, and possibly larger ones too.

BTW, the lack of an up front price list frustrates me personally.

 

[Wing Mark]

A published rate doesn't constitute an offer of a place. And it would in theory remove the time/effort needed to respond to many of the direct enquiries.



Not a good way to do business, or to keep existing customers. Very poor ethics IMHO.



Understandable in a smaller location, and possibly larger ones too.

BTW, the lack of an up front price list frustrates me personally.

Sometimes when people have been in the trade for a long time, you have to accept they know what they are doing, and the fact that what they do seems illogical to outsiders cuts no ice.
I've known of similar irritations in other areas of retail being based on hard-learned trade knowledge.
I suspect that stumbling in as a customer won't change the industry.

 

[syvictoria]

Sometimes when people have been in the trade for a long time, you have to accept they know what they are doing, and the fact that what they do seems illogical to outsiders cuts no ice.
I've known of similar irritations in other areas of retail being based on hard-learned trade knowledge.
I suspect that stumbling in as a customer won't change the industry.

What, even if they are, according the reasons you cited, blatantly trying to rip the customer off?! With no disrespect meant, that sounds like it's coming from someone who's either happy to accept poor and/or over priced service willingly, or someone who is 'inside' the industry!

 

[doug748]

As far as I have seen all the main marinas in Plymouth publish their contract prices with one exception. That exception seems to be Queen Anne's Battery part of the MDL group.

I think it probably means they are very expensive but have not asked recently so I don't really know for sure.

.

 

[wombat88]

With some marinas it is possible to find their price list via Google rather than via their website..

 

[Sandy]

As far as I have seen all the main marinas in Plymouth publish their contract prices with one exception. That exception seems to be Queen Anne's Battery part of the MDL group.

I think it probably means they are very expensive but have not asked recently so I don't really know for sure.

They charge you to breath at QAB! I had a quote from them last year, 50% higher than my current marina.

 

[Lucy52]

A very common practice in marketing. They want you to engage with them so that they can discover your needs, blag you into buying something they have got, and blag some more. They get your contact details so that they can carry on blagging you for ever more. It's called, “customer engagement.”

 

[PeterBoater]

Incidentally, well done Shotley and Levington for displaying their charges clearly.

Also Fox's

 

[fredrussell]

Also Fox's

Yes, silly me - forgot about Foxes. Fair play to ‘em.

 

[Sandy]

A very common practice in marketing. They want you to engage with them so that they can discover your needs, blag you into buying something they have got, and blag some more. They get your contact details so that they can carry on blagging you for ever more. It's called, “customer engagement.”

In my book that p!$$!ng people 0ff

 

[BigAlbatrossBird]

I guess it makes it easier to have uncompetitive pricing. Some people won't be bothered to do the extra legwork required when prices aren't published to find the cheapest marina in their area.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

The thing that gets my goat (not specifically marinas) is websites where they could perfectly well simply put prices on the website but instead ask you to hand over your email address, address, telephone number, and shoe size just to get a quotation! Double glazing is the most prominent user of this technique; I'm sure they could give indicative prices even if there is an element of making the stuff to order. After all, bricks and most window frames come in standard sizes!

 

[KompetentKrew]

They charge you to breath at QAB! I had a quote from them last year, 50% higher than my current marina.

I do hope it didn't make you gasp!

 

[Bru]

The thing that gets my goat (not specifically marinas) is websites where they could perfectly well simply put prices on the website but instead ask you to hand over your email address, address, telephone number,

Mr. Michael Mouse
The Hole
Skirting
Neverland
NN0 1FU
01234567890
mickey@mouse.com

Works (nearly") every time

Although I do hope nobody actually has the number 01234 567890!

* Once I did have a website clearly setup by a cunning bar steward with a similarly twisty mind to me ... it's response was "Ha ha. Nice try"

And for the ones where your email address has to be real, I have a gmail account that I don't normally look at or forward anywhere

(Once upon a time, when I worked in the internet business, I also had a burner mobile only used for dealings with suspect or dodgy websites and a pay as you go credit card. I still have a bank account which is only used for web transactions and which doesn't normally have any money in it)

 

[ashtead]

I can see how marinas find this hard but I guess all marina find they have smaller berths for example that are harder to fill or ones next to a wide mobo that needs a narrow sailboat to berth alongside. When we first enter boating with our boat we found finding a berth hard but my impression is unless you want a cheap river mooring in say Lymington and can buy a local property to get on the list that most marinas seem to be chasing the same static market . Do most marinas now seem to be adverting or is that just my impression in the south? Is there lots of i taken space out there or is it like the property rental market with few leases coming up?

 

[Wing Mark]

I can see how marinas find this hard but I guess all marina find they have smaller berths for example that are harder to fill or ones next to a wide mobo that needs a narrow sailboat to berth alongside. When we first enter boating with our boat we found finding a berth hard but my impression is unless you want a cheap river mooring in say Lymington and can buy a local property to get on the list that most marinas seem to be chasing the same static market . Do most marinas now seem to be adverting or is that just my impression in the south? Is there lots of i taken space out there or is it like the property rental market with few leases coming up?

One marina I spoke to said they were full, citing people bring boats back to the UK post Brexit.
Another said something along the lines of 'more uncertain than usual this year'.

 

[Tranona]

You are right about the uncertainty. Number of reasons, often interconnected. More boats going back in the water for use rather than being laid up or for sale on the hard, boats coming back from Europe, boats not leaving for Europe or other long distance sailing. These changes tend to affect marina based boats perhaps more than swinging moorings because marinas have always had "fluid" populations.

Lack of pricing information has not been my experience when looking around, although appreciate there are exceptions. Perhaps PBO can bring back their annual marina review which used to have prices for all marinas in the UKJ, or at least those that agreed to submit their prices.