Active Active   Unanswered Unanswered

Customer Service – Bumped At The Hoist

Winterizing? Summerizing? Covering? Trailering? If it is about a boat out of water put it here.

Moderators: Don Ayers, Al Benton, Don Vogt

User avatar
evansjw44
Posts: 1865
Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2006 8:46 am
Location: Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
Contact:

Customer Service – Bumped At The Hoist

Post by evansjw44 » Sun Oct 27, 2013 1:06 pm

Well I didn’t expect it but I shouldn’t have been surprised. I made my haul out date a month in advance and made sure they knew I wanted to be shored on timbers and NOT on jack stands. My vintage Sea Skiff need her canvas cover and that’s not compatible with jack stands. So when I walked up to the yard crew to see if they were ready for me to pull my boat into the hoist well I could see they had already backed up the process. Boats waiting everywhere. So when I asked “are you ready”. I got this answer, “Can’t put you on timbers today, we’re too busy. It takes too long. We’ll put you on stands”. I objected. I got the “we don’t want to do timbers” and responded that there’s no way to tie a tarp to stands and I was’t going to shrink wrap.

Net result, I got bumped three weeks and not a bit of remorse by the yard manager. They’re not interested in old vintage boats, just production. I at least get an appology from an Airline when I get bumped. And, the airlines offer some sort of compensation. They over book and they know it. Marinas over book and they know it and arrogantly tell you to come back later.

Time for some Customer Service Training in the marina management at least at JBM.
Jim Evans

Peter M Jardine
Posts: 697
Joined: Sun Mar 18, 2012 10:27 am
Contact:

Re: Customer Service – Bumped At The Hoist

Post by Peter M Jardine » Sun Oct 27, 2013 8:53 pm

Worse, there are some marinas that do not want to rent slips to wooden boats at all. The liability issues are just too great in their opinion, and the condition of your boat is irrelevant to the conversation.

I am very very fortunate to be slipped and stored in a private marina, where the owner has not only given me great service, he let me put a covered slip over my boat!! I know that is not the norm. Sorry for your troubles Jim.

Do the stands just not provide enough tie down points?

charlesquimby
Posts: 203
Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:22 am
Location: St Leonard, Maryland
Contact:

Re: Customer Service – Bumped At The Hoist

Post by charlesquimby » Mon Oct 28, 2013 7:50 am

This disease has spread far and wide among a lot of different "service" industries. The customer takes it in the shorts. You didn't ask for advice, you asked for what you know is best for your boat, so there should be no argument. I guess if these guys can't reasonably schedule a pull-out, they probably would do a slap-dash job of cribbing your Sea Skiff. Time to get a beefy trailer and tell those bozos to pack sand. Just the opinion of an old-school geezer who encounters new levels of mediocrity almost daily. CQ

User avatar
drrot
Posts: 2052
Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2005 12:28 pm
Location: Three Lakes, WI
Contact:

Re: Customer Service – Bumped At The Hoist

Post by drrot » Mon Oct 28, 2013 8:24 am

Jim,
Had a similar occurrence at Tashmoo on Harsens Island. I was hauling a 24' Sea-Skiff from the Island to Chicago. Called and made a reservation to have it hoisted on to a trailer. Arrived a few minutes early only to find about a 50 footer in the slings. The response I got was "Find some place else, this job pays more" Fortunately there was a place near the ferry that was not busy and NICE :D
Jim Staib
www.finewoodboats.com


1947 Penn Yan 12' Cartopper WXH474611
1950 Chris-Craft 22' Sportsman U-22-1532
1957 Chris-Craft 26' Sea Skiff SK-26-515
1968 Century 17' Resorter FG-68-174

User avatar
Ken Miller
Posts: 301
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:05 pm
Location: Northwest Georgia
Contact:

Re: Customer Service – Bumped At The Hoist

Post by Ken Miller » Mon Oct 28, 2013 7:10 pm

When I first brought our U-22 home in January of '02, she hadn't been winterized so I immediately took her to the marina in Chattanooga, Tennessee where I'd done business for over thirty years (multiple MasterCraft ski boats, service, etc., six figures two times over and probably then some).

The guy on duty at the time took one look at my Sportsman, pointed to the gate, and told me to get the Hell off the yard. "We don't need the liability!", he said.

Now, this marina has been hit by two tornados, had at least a couple of fires, etc., and I am sure has a real fun time with insurance. This is also the place where they told me (in regard to my MBL) that, "If it doesn't hook up to a computer these young guys here don't know what to do with it."

It's a different world. Unfortunately.
1951 Chris Craft U-22-1705 "Miss Cynthia"

User avatar
evansjw44
Posts: 1865
Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2006 8:46 am
Location: Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
Contact:

Re: Customer Service – Bumped At The Hoist

Post by evansjw44 » Tue Nov 26, 2013 4:03 pm

Well she's hauled and winterized and covered. I winterized the engines in the hoist well waiting for the yard crew to get to pull her out of the water. The yard left her shored on a yard trailer to spend the winter. That might be better than the shoring being on blocks. 70 MPH wing ripped the last 4 ft off my trap so I had to improvise a bit. Hope that holds all winter. It will probably leave my swim deck a mess but so it goes.
Jim Evans

61seaskiff42
Posts: 91
Joined: Sat Nov 02, 2013 8:07 pm
Contact:

Re: Customer Service – Bumped At The Hoist

Post by 61seaskiff42 » Thu Jan 16, 2014 6:50 pm

I feel blessed here in Syracuse Ny most marinas take care of you no matter if you are wood steel or glass. We have 1 or 2 aholes but most on the canal are more than willing to accomodate us classic boaters a couple even specialize in it to some extent . The place where my sea skiff is in Ohio made me fill out an demolistion contract before he would accept my winter storage contract. Now the yard where my roamer is here in Syracuse gave me free winter storage w/ the purchase of the boat . I guess It is just the areas and different opinions . :D :D :D :D

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 15 guests