Should I be Angry

[Hunt_trex]

All,
This is this first time I've had a boat that has not been trailered and where I can do all the work to it myself.

I'm really put out with the way the marina has treated me and I'm wondering if this is just normal and it is the new way things go or should I be as as angry as I am?

The situation:

The 356 needed a bottom job, so back in February I got put on the books to get the job done late April early May. Well I ended up dropping it off on the 13th. I called and asked if they were ready for it. They said bring it on. I was told it would be a week job weather pending. A week went by and I watched the weather they only had rain one day in that week. Then another week went by with no rain and low humidity. Called me on Thurs before Memorial day weekend said it would not be done. Had to Cancel my friends and my week log vacation that I planned. Then I get a call yesterday and they said they have STARTED the work on my boat and it will be done Saturday. I'm put out because this is my new toy and they have just been sitting on it for weeks. In addition, they said it would take a week for the paint to cure properly. Now they job can be done in 3 days an there is an 80% chance of rain for the next two days. Were they lying to me about the curing or are they doing a half-assed job? I'm also that they can't manage their schedule properly.

Ted

[Midnight Sun]

Welcome to the wonderful world of every boater wants everything done in May. Everyone is booked to the gills and he who screams loudest or has connections usually wins. I have found almost everyone in the "Marine" industry is a liar when it comes to delivery times. Your experience is why web sites like this flourish and we help each other out to do things on our own. Don't be mad, just be informed that any job given out is going to take twice as long sometimes longer.

[waybomb]

Next year do the bottom in fall.

[RGrew176]

A business, in this case the marina should not make promises they cannot keep. I hired out some work to be done on my Carver and I was given a tentative date for it to be done with the caveat, weather permitting. Well, the weather did not cooperate and the job took a week longer than planned.

Based on what you posted you were promised, yes you do have the right to be angry that they did not meet THEIR promised date to complete the job.

[mjk1040]

We all need an "Angie's List" when it comes to marina's, even though there are several different types of bottom painting and procedures, marina's shouldn't make promises they can't keep, period. Scheduled work to be done missing the due date by a day or 2 is one thing, but a week or 2 is unacceptable. I'd definitely give this marina a 2 thumbs down for sure. I would make sure I let the general manager and the owners of this marina know I was not a happy camper, (BOATER), and expect a discount and the service charge for this job. If I was not satisfied with the response, letters to the better business bureau would surely be in order. Marina's should be required to have a signed work order with a completion date and a discounted rate if the work order contract is not met within human possibility. What ever happened to customer service????GRRRRR-Mike

[Viper]

I agree with ALL the above. I'm sure the marina got caught with their pants down. Either they got more work than they can handle at once, or simply let it get away but I keep coming back to the same thing; communication. Had the marina kept you in the loop, you may have considered the option of taking her elsewhere in hopes of getting it done sooner. A customer in the loop is usually a happier one even with delays. At least the ball would have then been in your court; leave it there or take it elsewhere. The key is honest, sympathetic communication.

Having said that, you now have two options; you could roll up your sleeves and get ready for a fight to get some sort of compensation, let it fester in you while you lay awake thinking about how you've been wronged, or you can put it behind you, move on, and enjoy your summer.

I would certainly wright a letter to management outlining the expected delivery date and the chain of events that followed. Let them know that you are an unsatisfied customer and that compensation of some form would go a long way in changing your opinion of their services and whether you'd use or recommend them in the future. If they come through, great, but don't expect it or you'll have a shitty season. If they don't come through, you have your answer on whether they care about their customers or not. I'd never let someone work on my equipment that has low customer service standards, it usually shows in their workmanship.

The key here is that you move forward and enjoy your season. Up here it's a short one, too short to let bitterness ruin it. I go to the boat to get away from all that.

[deenbob1]

I am a member of active captain and eboatcards for active captain. Here is a link for ecards where we as boaters can rate our services from marinas and other boating services. Not endorsing it but it is a place I look to what services are available and what reviews are given. http://www.eboatcards.com/

[Viper]

Statistics show that disgruntled customers tend to make more noise and make their voice public/known more than satisfied customers do. Just take a listen to the dock talk at any marina and what you'll find is the few pissed off customers that keep bringing up the same thing over and over again. While their beefs are sometimes warranted, one must remember that there is always two sides to every story. Unfortunately for the marina though, their side is seldom heard on the dock. One also rarely hears about the positive experiences of the other 98% of the members. This is also a statistic that shows for the most part, a satisfied customer rarely makes his satisfaction known to others. They're not pissed off so they don't feel the need to bitch about anything, or get into marina/customer politics. Their issue got fixed, their happy and they move on to better/happier discussions.

I'm not a marina hugger, heaven knows there are some with very poor customer service and work ethics, but there are many others that are first rate operations with staff that really care about boaters' needs. Unfortunately for those operations, one bad post on a rating sight can do a lot of damage. The problem is that rarely do we get to read the marina's side of the chain of events.

Ask every boater you run into in your area about who they'd recommend for service/repairs. Give them a shot, and if they're really good, hold on to them as tight as you can.

[feeez]

This is certainly interesting reading. We have not had much dealings with the service department at our marina as we are DIY boaters as much as we can. On the few occasions we have used them I have seem both ends of the service spectrum. Last season the challenge was getting them to put a quote for some work on paper that ended up not materializing. I sometimes get the impression they feel because we are the owners of relatively expensive toys that money is no object.
I agree with Viper that the "dock talk" is always focused on the negatives of the marina and rarely on the good things they do. It seems the crowd that have been there the longest seem to have the most propensity to complain.... maybe it is time to see if the grass is really greener elsewhere.
Again as Viper says.... the season is short get on with boating and leave the bad stuff on dry land....

Cheers to all
Fraser

[RGrew176]

The best thing I think you should do is as others have already posted, put this behind you and move on with the season. Whats done is done. Go out and have fun with your boat.