Boat shop

[Noelm]

yeah, that may be a good plan, but then we would end up as a chain store, the ones we all complain about, with no staff and no service, still yet to hear any viable option for our ailing industry, I seriously doubt any sort of "bail out" would happen (like the car industry) and to a point I guess that's how it should be, we are building bugger all here, and really never have built any marine engines as such, so, back to the drawing board.

[BigE]

It laways starts with "giddya mate ....Can i Help you" and stuff in the middle like " there are 4 types they all do the same thing ...... this one costs $$ and this one has #### on my boat I'd have this one cause. it ends with "if you have any drama's just call or bring it back so we can sort it out" The maccies /crabs/jacks are on at ther moment and the guys are getting them on (something that isn't on sale in this shop) scores bonus points.

Intrest in my problem interst in me situation and solid unbiased advice will get me to drive miles. Price is important but not as important as the customer experience. if price was the be all and end all i wouldn't buy $4.00 coffee i'd drink instant. Good business make you feel important and valued.

BigE

[stevej]

i want them to be honest, i priced a package last year and sent my mate in the weekend after to price the same thing 3k difference
why he liked him more didnt like me ?

i want them to be professional not giving me a dubnier catalouge with kfc grease on it from his lunch that he still eats
the local western sydney merc dealer the staff wouldnt even make used car salesman standards

so i use blakes marine and have bought several trailers 2 hulls and 5 engines off them, but the guy i use to use is retiring and the new blokes just dont get it the way he did

[charleville]

hhmm, I find it strange that service is the highest priority to us, yet we still buy from over seas via a computer where there is no service involved at all, or am I barking up the wrong tree? I guess to a point, technology has had an effect (good or bad) on the way we shop these days, most have some sort of device (or several) that will allow us to "shop" anywhere in the world and expect a reply in an instant, we can "tweet, facebook, myspace, email, text, MSN.. . . . maybe that is the downfall of the Australian home/small business?

"Service" can mean all sorts of things to all sorts of people in all sorts of buying situations.

I cannot identify much "service" in the advice given by a sales person in, say, a Harvey Norman or any other sort of a transactional business. Who can ever trust a sales person? (I know 'cos I was once a sales manager for a few years and understand the sales maxim about "fear, uncertainty and doubt" as a sales tool to win a customer over.)

However, when it comes to getting trade work done, such as a boat motor service, or a car service or an aircon installation, then service becomes a key differentiator. The bloke who offers special advice or who does some minor repair without charging for it when doing a regular servicing will always be worth a price premium. Someone who just stacks shelves with an imported product and does no more than that and then cries "foul" when a consumer buys the same item cheaper online is not worthy of a price premium.

What businesses have to do is to deliver what they promise. I have been frustrated several times over the past few months by the woodworking tool retailer, Carba-Tec, because of their lack of stock on consumables and other popular small items. I was so driven to disappointment recently, that I searched online for the products and discovered that I could buy them from Amazon in the USA delivered to my door within a promised two weeks (6 working days was the actual delivery in lieu of the vague promise of about six weeks by Carba-Tec) and at a cheaper price. That includes products as mundane as a pack of 500 screws. Go figure!

I was happy to buy from Carba-Tec at a reasonable price premium. The shop assistants there are always helpful. However, they failed their intrinsic promise to customers to have stock on their shelves at a not-unreasonable price.


Here is one example ....

Click for large view - Uploaded with Skitch


Versus my shipping docket from Amazon in the USA. The item arrived in 6 business days...


Click for large view - Uploaded with Skitch


Retailers must deliver on what they explicitly or implicitly promise.



.

[charleville]

yep, I can see how shopping on line has grown out of sight nowdays, BUT how would (say) and Aus dealer, setup an on line shop and still compete?,

Well, some do it and do it well.


See this thread ... http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/sho...attery-charger


Likewise, when I want welding materials, I instantly look to a Ballina home based online seller, http://www.bobthewelder.com.au/home....c564647e4becb3 , because he can sell me welding rods that I cannot get at Bunnings and have them delivered at my home on the next day at a quite reasonable delivery cost.

Both of these guys are Aussie retailers who have to pay GST yet they are making great business and are not grey market sellers. ie their warranties are Aussie warranties.


Service online is about speed and reliability and that friendly hand written note of thanks slipped inside the package.


I am looking at buying another airconditioner and my online search with the word "cheapest" in the search line brings up these northern NSW bricks and mortar retailers who are selling online in a way that Harvey Norman does not seem able to emulate. http://acummings.com.au/shoppingcart...ontact-Us.html


It seems to me that it is all doable.

[Noelm]

bit of a mixed bag of comments really hey, some say service will win their hearts (and wallet) some say price alone, some say both, some say product in stock, so I wonder how an aussie boat/tackle business can possibly live a long life, surely they will just slowly one by one, close and disappear forever, I kind of reckon that every area will end up with one (maybe two if it's a big area) boat retailer, and that survivor will be the shrewed operator that knows how to run a business, has low over heads (like owns the building) and has a good product, well I hope anyway.

[ozynorts]

Why can't an Aust marine retailer source from more than one supplier? If I need a thingy made by bobs boats and bobs is a worldwide company why does my local shop have to buy it from joe who imports it from jim. Why can't my local shop source the product at the best price and pass the savings onto me? I'm happy and tell everyone on a fishing forum and he gets more business. Our aussie businesses need to get more proactive in findings ways to source their product. My father had a retail store and he got sick of the "suppliers" so he did his research, got his import licence and sourced all his product at the best price.

[Scott aka Escapee]

Hi guys my 2cents worth..

Went out got motor serviced by well knowen mechenic knows his stuff..
Power pack replaced, serviced and tuned, went great that weekend no problems. But failed to charge batteries on outing But didn't recharge them after service and went to launch following weekend.. Motor did not run for long then would not start, bloke from local dealer said it would be the trigger pack and stator as they replace all three if one item if faulty... Sounds ok if you have plenty of money to waste about $1200 in parts alone ... So home i tow. Rang mechenic who serviced motor after talking and following his instructions we found it was the dead man switch was faulty, also while checking ohms volts etc from CDi power pack found a dead regulator rectifier , so instead of a $1200 bill my fix was $120 2nd hand reg/ret. and a switch a few $$.. As the guy who said they replace the striker and stator when they replace a power pack seems only to be after ya cash and not finding out what's faulty and what's not.. So trust in a good mechenic who is fair with price and replaces parts that are faulty and not because it's a routine they got in to.
Trust honesty and looking after the customers financial situation for the repairs..and good friendly straight shooting no crap attatuide

Cheers scotty

[Goldfinch]

Noel..you pretty much just summed it up. Some will survive, most wont, chains will grow and be owned by the big multi corps and their buying power and homebrand products will fill the shelves as we get comfortable buying their homebrand products. And yes, overheads are a massive killer for so many operators. I can't believe the overheads that some businesses run with.

Ozynorts...there are still so many old fashion thinkers out there in some industries who will refuse to embrace new thinking and will "devolve" as businesses. Cutting out the middle man is the only way to reduce costs and improve retail prices to consumers.

[ozynorts]

And another thing, why in this "Global Economy" aren't things like warranties global? If a company operates globally then their warranty should be global.

[stevemid]

I do my research on-line. Read all the reviews etc. Read the blogs and forums in the product area. From that I decide what product I want to buy. If I can purchase on-line, I do so, for the convenience of it. If I can buy from an Australian seller, I usually do so for shipping and accountability, however, with paypal, I'm not so concerned about getting stiffed.

The question about service is a tricky one. I have VERY low expectations of retail staff. Having to drive anywhere in Sydney is such a PITA that I'm PO'd before I start. It seems that most of the stuff we buy lately has become commoditised, therefore, with the research I do on-line, I generally know more about the product area than the retail staff.

They said it 10 years ago. DIS-INTER-MEDIATION: the web killing off the intermediaries (eg retail stores.) Sad but true, they are going the way of the dinosaur.
Steve

[EdBerg]

It is a shame that half the time the sales people do not know what they are selling, I recently had a need to buy some 12mm and 14mm Nylon rope, I rang around about five stores who I expected would have those ropes, a large hardware store said they didn't, but in actual fact did have the 12mm as I found out a few day later when I went in for some ply, a girl at a major fishing chain store store said she wasn't 100% sure but didn't think so and said she thought that silver rope was the same as nylon, a few others as well, in the end I said stuff it and rang a local chandlery where I stated twice that I wanted it in Nylon, they gave me a price of $2.60 for the 12mm and $3.60 for the 14mm, I went down there only to be told that the guy who I talked to wasn't in and they don't carry 14mm Nylon and the price was probably for the silver rope and when I wanted the 12mm nylon the guy wanted to charge about $4.95.

By that time I was pi..ed off with wasting about 40 minutes of my time and so on principle I headed up to Whitworths up the Sunshine Coast where I paid $2.95 for the 12mm and $3.95 for the 14mm in Nylon, whilst there I also bought another Life jacket and also a couple of other things. At least the guys there know what they are talking about and I will never go to that local chandlery again on principle.

[thylacene]

I prefer to support Aussie business, evidenced by our choice of hull, could have bought better for the same or less money from the states, But we were more comfortable buying in the country. Our choice of engine/hull combination still meant that the purchase occurred 700k's from home. The industry trend of maintaining only one engine brand at a dealer is possibly not the best model in such a small market. The dealer was honest and upfront, and has demonstrated that was not just sales spiel for the couple of minor issues we have experienced. 700k's each way is just a bit too far for servicing. The Marine Shop at Melton in Vic has my recommendation.

I often buy bits online, and am happy to pay a small premium to deal with an Aussie retailer. Being in a landlocked territory means the local dealers are geared up to support the lake fishermen and ski fraternity but not a lot to offer offshore fishermen. It takes time to do repeated trips to the local boat shop, and requires me to take time from work. A lack of range (understandable given the geographic location) is the driver in this respect.

When it came to servicing, there are two dealers, one means towing the boat 270k's from where it is stored to home, and then to their workshop, then tow it back down the coast. The other is a 100 k tow each way after a 270k drive. Our preferred choice came down to how our initial enquiry was met, and subsequent interaction with the mechanic. We get Wayne at Fraser Marine Eden to do the servicing, top operator, knows his stuff, and if I need anything, happy to purchase from them.

Probably the most expensive and complicated way to do it all, but the decision making has been based on service and trust, and the level of risk.

The majority of fishing gear is sourced from the local tackle shop at Bermi Bridge Motors. Scotty, the guy that runs the show, was kind enough to provide some really good advice when we started out, before I even knew he had the tackle shop, and his manner, and subsequent service has me happy to pay a little more than I could online. Honesty and trust are of value.

As for the BCF arrangement , it suffers from a lack of knowledge on the floor, happy to sell you anything, but little in the way of product knowledge.

I reckon the ultimate question is value, which is a combination of price, service, quality, trust and honesty. The challenge for the industry is volume, given the ridiculous rents, Australian wages and distribution model ( the middle man) for imported goods, the tax system, not to mention the raft of insurances to protect from litigation. The overheads are huge for low volume dealers, and the Australian market is a mere dot when compared to the states.

At the end of the day, if we don't support the locals, or at least the Aussies (and yes at a cost) there will be no industry. That said, the dealers need to ensure that they operate in a manner that builds trust.

If you do the sums, $500 a week for rent, another $200 for power, phone office supplies, $100 per week insurance, $1000 for a decent mechanic by the time you pay super, sick leave and the odd bit of training, $600 for a receptionist and book keeper is almost $2500 per week without drawing a wage or paying interest on loans or floor plan.

Those numbers mean you have to make $75k a year just to open the doors on a small operation. If you are only moving a handful of boats each month, say one boat a week with an average margin of $3000 and your mechanic is 70 percent booked (28 hours at say $70 charge out ) so about $260000 turnover, less the 75 k to open the doors is about 185 before tax at say 40 percent, or around 100k per year net and the dealer works 6 or 7 days a week. Would you go and borrow a couple of hundred thou to set up a dealership? If you don't have plenty of customers coming through, it is a fine line.

Just my .02

Cheers

Ty

[FishHunter]

In order of importance to me, HONESTY, decent stock holding, good service and competitive price.

[Noelm]

still a bit of a mixed bag really, but honesty and service are right up there, so by that, I do hold some hope for at least one og my locals, they have service, honesty and a pretty good stock of "stuff" so lets see in a few years who and what survived and why!