Why The Aussie Boating Industry Could Be In Trouble

[nigelr]

Good point Mal, certainly talking up the good ones is a great idea, but if nobody whinged about the bad ones, how would we know which ones to avoid?
And speaking of good ones, thankfully my local, North Coast Boating Centre, is a ripper. Great work and service at a great price; they are winning quite a bit of business from those that are less competitive....

[MudRiverDan]

Whilst we are all on a whinge, I've got a 2010 model MAN truck that cost me $250k. It split a radiator hose and it took 2 weeks and 2 days for the dealer to get one from Germany. They don't keep them in stock in Australia. Can you believe that?! The worst part is, they don't give a 5hit about my time off the road, or the stress of worrying about it. Insert swear words here.

Wow that is incredibly bad.

I have worked with a lot of drivers and two weeks off the road is a lot of lost money, even lost contracts.

They should have had it flown express , 2-3 days.

I am a bit off topic.

Dan

[FisHard]

Wow that is incredibly bad.

I have worked with a lot of drivers and two weeks off the road is a lot of lost money, even lost contracts.

They should have had it flown express , 2-3 days.

Dan

You're not wrong Dan! It arrived on Wednesday morning and I was supposed to get it fitted then, but they didn't unpack the shipment, so I had to wait another day. Care factor of MAN: 0 Frustration factor for me: 1000000000
On a positive note (and more marine related) I've had excellent service from Wallrock Marine in Sydney and also pretty happy with Wynnum Marine with the work they did on my Seafarer and its old Evinrudes.
Personally, I wouldn't be involved in the boating industry for quids! Anyone who's sold a boat privately, can attest to the mobs of daydreamers and downright losers, that you have to deal with! Its hard to sort the wheat from the chaff, so to speak.

[Andy56]

Crikey, I have two neighbors on this site! Guys, I am in Bulleen!

[Almako]

Just a few words

1. Just because there is a boat show that is no excuse to not respond to a potential customer quickly, 3 days is 3 days to late. After all isn't that why your attending the boat show, to find customers.
2. I just can't forget the story from one of Richard Branson's books, something like but not exactly; to succeed I picked up every phone call no matter what time of day.
3. (On another topic) In my opinion I just don't understand why we are paying these huge sums of money for substandard boats. What I mean by that is I don't understand why boats aren't like cars, why don't they come with everything to start with. I mean why do we have to buy extras like radios etc. When you buy a car it's just all there isn't it? The friggin back seat and side comings in my boat was an optional extra for christ sake.
4. Maybe the quicker China picks up on this the better (bring on mass production). Never thought I'd say that!!
5. The service I have received from buying from the states has been second to none. Delivery quicker than local, online tracking systems, perfectly packaged, payment/insurance systems in place etc etc. I have worked and currently work for a massive Australian company and all of these companies would struggle to offer anywhere near the service that I have received from US.

That's my rant!!

[TopBhoy]

Just a few words

1. Just because there is a boat show that is no excuse to not respond to a potential customer quickly, 3 days is 3 days to late. After all isn't that why your attending the boat show, to find customers.
2. I just can't forget the story from one of Richard Branson's books, something like but not exactly; to succeed I picked up every phone call no matter what time of day.
3. (On another topic) In my opinion I just don't understand why we are paying these huge sums of money for substandard boats. What I mean by that is I don't understand why boats aren't like cars, why don't they come with everything to start with. I mean why do we have to buy extras like radios etc. When you buy a car it's just all there isn't it? The friggin back seat and side comings in my boat was an optional extra for christ sake.
4. Maybe the quicker China picks up on this the better (bring on mass production). Never thought I'd say that!!
5. The service I have received from buying from the states has been second to none. Delivery quicker than local, online tracking systems, perfectly packaged, payment/insurance systems in place etc etc. I have worked and currently work for a massive Australian company and all of these companies would struggle to offer anywhere near the service that I have received from US.

That's my rant!!

Providing the customer is informed at the time that a phone, email or internet enquiry is made that it will be dealt with on return to the office after the boat show then that is surely sufficient. To expect anything else is unrealistic. Boat shows are expensive enough for companies and I can only imagine that the people who would be able to properly answer any enquiry would be busy at the boat show. Imagine the outcry if someone was given an incorrect answer by the Saturday shop assistant with no real intimate knowledge of every boat spec, options, pricing, etc. Is a 3 day delay in receiving an answer (from a relatively small company) deserve to be castigated when the initial decision probably took several weeks to decide upon; not in my book.

[ozynorts]

I can understand that during the boat show they are busy. Why not put on an auto reply on the email system stating that they are busy with the show, your call/email is important and we will respond within x number of days. The customer is aware of the dealer being busy, and has a time frame to work with for contact.

[Almako]

I still think the point is being missed completely. You have customer wanting to buy something, but there's no salesman on site to make a sale. Instead your all at the boat show standing around twiddling your thumbs, trust me i've been there.

[stevemid]

I was in sales for 30 years. It seems to me the the worse things get in a company or industry, the more they NEED sales, the less sales support you get. It seems like salespeople lose hope. They tend to see walk-ins and enquiries as tyre kickers and time wasters. This is especially true with experienced reps. It's best to search out a trainee or beginner who is to dumb to know that "it cant be done."

[slider65]

I don't think all dealers are like that, Last week i down loaded the brochure from the manufacturer of a 5.35 & 5.75 meter plate alloy center console i was interested in. Within 5 hours i got a phone call for the sales manager of the boat company which is located in Melbourne, Were we talked about what i was looking for and what setup i wanted. And within 4 hours of that phone call i received a email from my local boat yard who also happens to be the local dealer for this brand of boat with full quoted pricing on the 2 models i was interested in with the exact setup i had spoken to the sales manager about earlier.

[Kero]

I don't think all dealers are like that, Last week i down loaded the brochure from the manufacturer of a 5.35 & 5.75 meter plate alloy center console i was interested in. Within 5 hours i got a phone call for the sales manager of the boat company which is located in Melbourne, Were we talked about what i was looking for and what setup i wanted. And within 4 hours of that phone call i received a email from my local boat yard who also happens to be the local dealer for this brand of boat with full quoted pricing on the 2 models i was interested in with the exact setup i had spoken to the sales manager about earlier.

That's not just good service, it's how all customers should be treated, all the time. Sadly, not all businesses work this way and it's disheartening for the customer.
As a business owner, I always listen to what my customer wants, display enthusiasm & honesty, all the while trying to be as prompt as possible. If all of this is done, all the time, then at least you can tell yourself (sale or not) that you tried to please. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't, but it sure helps the cause when some effort is put into it.