Service Times

[Adam Murray]

This is by no means a slam on anyone and is not specific to Nitro/Tracker or any other boat dealer/manufacturer, merely a simple inquiry...



Why does ANY type of service on a boat take so long? Dropped off my 901 this morning for some very simple warranty repairs and was told I'd be lucky to get it back in two weeks. Looked to me like they had 7-8 fully staffed bays and not many tagged boats in the lot waiting for repairs. Was told it was their "busy season" because of all the rigging they have to do now that the boat shows are over. No ding on them, but I seem to hear that same answer year round. Seems like any repairs I've ever needed (regardless of make/model/dealer) seem to fall into that 2-3 week wait category.



As some of you may know, my current profession and background stems from automotive dealership sales, marketing and customer service consulting. I don't think boats are that much different than cars. The average car dealership in the U.S. sells 100 cars/month and services approx. 1000 in that same time period. These "average" dealerships don't have more than 6-8 bays, always have staffing issues and still seem to turn over their repair orders MUCH faster than 2-3 weeks (and charge less than $70/hour for non-warranty work!)



Maybe I'm way off base here...pretty sure the status quo will reign supreme. Just wondering if I'm the only one baffled by these LONG wait times (especially when the big girls are starting to move up to their beds!)



Any marine mechanics out there (or their managers) please educate me if I'm missing something here. I'm always open to a good schooling!

 

[Craig Roberts]

I'll second what Bob said. The marine industry as a whole is at least 15 years behind the automotive sector in terms of supply issues. Also,most boat dealers, contrary to popular belief, are operating on a shoestring budget, therefore can't carry big inventory on parts. My cousin works for a car dealer in the parts department, and they carry 1 million + $$ in parts inventory. I can tell you , I carry one tenth of that, and I'm under constant pressure to reduce that amount. It makes for a frustrating existance sometimes, but I love the challenge. Call me crazy (might as well. My wife does all the time).



Craig

 

[Adam Murray]

Makes sense to me, can see how this would really affect the smaller dealers (don't know if I'd buy it from a BPS store, though). Would love to have heard the tech this morning tell me that he was going to look over my prob's in the next 24 hours, order the parts and then call me. At least I'd have something to fish out of this weekend. In his defense, though, I did whine a bit about having company next week that would love to fish out of my rig and he said he would try to bump me up the list as much as possible. Great people over there, just wish these things didn't take so long.



Thanks for replying, gentleman...

 

[TrepMan]

Adam -I too was surprized when I bought my first boat (and still have it) from BPS 2 years ago and as you've read have had better service from BPS then most of the car dealers i've used (thought they did turn around the vehicles quicker with the exception of one really stinky Ford dealer). I did find a few things that helped my turn around times here at the Atlanta BPS:



1st call ahead of time and ask the Service Manager when in the near future the schedule looks best.



2nd Feb-April seems to be (as the guys said above) real tough due to the boat show sales and folks getting boats ready for spring. I bought my boat the 2nd week of January and had a 4 week wait to get it, as they had to order it from the factory and then get all my extra's and rig it.



3rd ask when I drop off the boat when to call to check on status and estimated return date.



It surprized me the small inventory of parts that the marine dealers stock. I ordered a Anchor System from the catalog when I ordered the boat, and it was back ordered for 3 weeks.



Be interested to see what others think and thier experience.

 

[Adam Murray]

Trep...all of those things would definitely help the process, however (and I'm not trying to sound defensive here, just want to improve the processes), those are things the dealer should be doing for you. For the most part, these are recreational vehicles, not MUST HAVE forms of transportation like automobiles. We spend a lot of money on these "toys" and probably should be treated as such.



All of the dealerships I've trained in (well into the hundreds) have felt my wrath when I find out THEY aren't picking up the phone to keep their customers informed. My company provides a service that makes follow-up calls for all service customers, sold customers and unsold prospects. This still does not take the place of a call from the dealer. No way should a customer have to call and find out the status of his boat. After the boat is picked up another call should be placed as well...was everything fixed correctly? Were your charges close to the estimate? Was it fixed in a timely manner? Was your service writer/tech courteous, professional, etc?



I have owned many boats and had all of them serviced multiple times...not once have I received a phone call asking me if everything was cool.



Please don't think I'm ranting...I love boats even more than cars and just want the industry to thrive and grow (especially my favorite brand - Nitro!) As we've all discussed before, we always hear tons of negativity about boat dealers and, unfortunately, those complaints stand out far more than the praises. The automotive industry was in that boat for years (pardon the pun). They're still trying to get past the conjured images of sleazy, bad-suited salesmen throwing your keys on the roof and taking razor blades and erasers to your purchase contracts.



Millions of dollars and thousands of hours have been spent to get dealers focused on customer service, not just gross profits. Would love to see this same initiative taken in the marine world and, take my word for it, flip the attitude regarding customer service and sell MANY more boats.

 

[Adam Murray]

Also, if you can't tell...I've got a little too much time on my hands right now!



No boat, it's 30 degrees out (arctic for TX) and it's the end of a short month (all my clients just trying to roll last-minute deals).



Bear with me as I attempt to be productive!!

 

[Bill McElroy]

I know what you mean Adam,...sometimes 2-3 weeks seems like a "typo",......more like 12-13 sometimes...BEEN THERE!!!

Be glad you took it in now and didn't wait until April!!

Mac

 

[TrepMan]

I hear you Adam and agree fully. I had to "adjust" my expectations from what I typically got from GOOD car dealers. Now i've had my share of bad luck with Car dealers - Had to wait 6 weeks for a Ford Dealer to get my car back to me (8 weeks after I bought it used from them) to fix the engine (needed a ring job). It took me 2 weeks of going in every day and asking if it was fixed (they would not take or return my calls) and then to find out they said nothing was wrong. I had an independant dealer do a compression check and sure enough it needed a ring job, had to actualy SHOW the Ford dealer the printout to get them to get a THIRD oppinion before they agree'd to fix it and THEN 4 more weeks of me comming in every day to ask when they would have it. Once the Used Car Manager had the balls to tell me to my face "your lucky we're fixing it at all, most of the dealers would not provide a 30 day warranty on a used car, so you'll get your car back when we're ready to give it to you". Well you can guess my reaction, and I politely said "and that's why companies like Car Max are turning a profit and your NOT. I have a written contract for warranty work on this car and you will fix it AND provide a rental car till it's done or I will be out in front of this show room every day till it's done with a nice big sign explaining my objective problems to your customers" (wife was 8 months pregnant so I could not be with out my wheels). Needless to say in 10 minutes a BRAND NEW mustang was waiting for me to drive until they fixed my car.



So yes I agree that boat dealers have a long way to go (compared to typical car dealers) but you are right, no one would expect or live with 2 or more weeks repair/work time on a $30-40K luxury car!

 

[Chris Leiting]

2-3 weeks.... Not here.... looks like i need to move south... just got laid off because of no work.

 

[SCOTT GARDNER]

How about how long it takes to buya boat.It tke me 2 weaks to get mine.I can buy a car in less than a hour .

 

[Staci Matheis]

Gentlemen -



I agree with all that everyone has said. And I don't like waiting any more than the rest of you.....



It all boils down to the economics of numbers.....



Millions of cars are sold every year as opposed to thousands of boats. Inorder to keep it's doors open, any individual automotive plant out there MUST produce as many cars in one day as any bass boat manufacturer produces in an entire year. Parts arrive daily from the OEM's and thousands of Aftermarket Manufacturers to multiple warehouses in every major city; these warehouses deliver orders daily to the parts distributors; they in turn deliver the exact part needed by the dealer or end user within minutes of the request.



Even in the service area there are multiple levels of responsibility at an auto dealership - all made possible thanks to the staggering amount we Americans spend on automobiles every year. At many marine dealerships, the same guy who checks you in likely does the inspection, orders the parts, installs them and then parks your rig out on the lot and brings in his next patient..... An awful lot for one person.....



For us to have the same "time" expectations of our boat dealers as we do our car dealers is just plain unrealistic.



Courtesy in Communication is another matter.....



me!

 

[Sam Elkins]

My $.02 worth. Most customers are accommodating and understanding if the dealer only makes the telephone call and explains truthfully. Sure your going to get the occasional aho but by far the greater number of customers would appreciate it. The best customer service is honest timely communication, from both parties.



If you need something that doesn't keep you from using the boat, get with the service department an scope out a plan to get the parts and bring it in then.



Chris, Sorry to hear about your layoff. Hopefully things will pick up soon and you'll be back at work.

 

[Rich Stern]

I just went through the "2-3 week" thing, but it was customer service communication that was the frustrating part.



In the process of selling my Carver, I discovered the circulating pumps on both of the Crusader V-8s were leaking. Called my dealer (who I've purchased two boats from in five years), explained I had a signed contract in hand, a survey/sea trial coming up, needed to get those puppies swapped out fast. "No problem" was the response, "We'll order the parts, they'll be be here in 3 to 4 days, we'll do the repair within a week. We're not super busy right now."



So I had the buyer put the survey off, and we waited. And waited. Had to amend/extend the contract twice because of the slippage. And in the three weeks that this went on, I never received a call from them to get an update. I had to keep calling them each time the next promised date passed. They blamed the delay on the parts. I blame them for simply being lousy at knowing how to handle a customer who is obviously anxious.



In the end, it got done, but it boggles the mind that something as simple and failure prone as a water pump for a line of popular marine engines is three weeks away from your boat when you need it.

 

[Adam Murray]

I feel your pain Rich! My training usually lasts one week in each dealership and I typically spend one day of that with the service manager. When I ask him what he does to contact customers in your situation the general response is, "I don't call them until the part comes in...don't have the dang time to keep track of every part I ordered and when it's SUPPOSED to come in!"



Simple planning, organization and communication are all it takes to alleviate these situations. My program includes an appointment/planning module to remind them that you should be receiving a part today and a call should be placed to either schedule the repair or update the customer on the status of their ordered part. Chrysler (Five Star) and Ford (Blue Oval) REQUIRE these calls to be made to keep your "elite" status. This is VERY important to a Ford dealer, as Blue Oval certification rewards them another 1.5% of their annual holdback, which equates to just over a million bucks in an average dealership.



Make people accountable, force them to communicate and reward those that do...implement simple procedures and we'll be much happier, informed customers.



BTW...can you sell the boat with a contingency (like a house) that you'll have the pumps fixed before he takes delivery? Just wondering...

 

[Sam Elkins]

Mark, Sure go to Mercury's site below, give them the info and your in business. I've used them once and it worked great. If you have a manual it works a lot better if you have the part numbers. You'll also need the motor serial number.
http://partsexpress.mercurymarine.com/PartsExpress/HomePage/homePage.asp