I don't have a dog in this fight, have never met Roger in person, and have no information as to the details of the negotiations between Roger and the factory. Having said that, as a former business person, when a customer had a legitimate complaint, we would bend over backwards to make the situation right... if that meant I had to work all night, weekends, or holidays to meet a deadline, then that's what we did. I don't understand how anyone in business could do otherwise and be able to live with themselves.
There is a pervasive attitude in business today of trying to shift or deflect blame... no one is willing to step up to the plate and accept responsibility for getting the job done. And when did "DEADLINES" become mere suggestions??? :amgry
In our business, we had the reputation as the "go to guys" - clients knew that we would do what we said we would. Imagine that - we quickly rose to the top of our industry by NOT lying to clients. We knew what it took to produce our product... and in the unlikely event of an equipment breakdown or a vendor failing to deliver when promised (and we always figured these potentials into our deadlines), we would call the client to let them know BEFORE the deadline... and let them know what we were doing to complete the project in a timely manner.
The major problem I have had in my dealings with C-Dory is the fact that they will say what they think you want to hear and then NOT LIVE UP TO THOSE PROMISES... and then make NO EFFORT to keep you informed of why and how the situation is being handled. It is that complete lack of communication and seeming indifference that absolutely infuriates me (and obviously, others).
They don't respond to inquiries. They don't return phone calls. They don't respond to e-mail. I fully understand that their dealers are their "customers", but this indifferent attitude to THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BUYING THEIR PRODUCT is unthinkable to me. Long before the downturn in the economy (and this industry in particular), C-Dory had already established this attitude and it was company-wide.
When we bought our boat, the company WAS our dealer, making me their direct customer. Over the years, we have bought a lot of boats, cars, homes, RVs, motorcycles, airplanes - my dealings with the factory were the least satisfactory buying experience of any of the above big-ticket items. Please don't misunderstand this - they make a great boat, but they suck at customer service. Had I known this at the time, I would have absolutely INSISTED on a dealer (like Les or Wefings) who understands that the customer is the reason for their business, not an inconvenient part of the process.
As the boating industry has taken a hit in our current economic trials, C-Dory has tried a lot of things to stay afloat: streamlining production, new products, laying off workers. I am amazed that they never considered TAKING GOOD CARE OF CUSTOMERS AND POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS??? They need every possible buyer they can find, yet they ignore e-mails and phone calls??? :amgry They could be creating enormous goodwill by simply responding, yet they CHOOSE not to. (Yes, not responding IS a choice.) If this company tanks, it won't be because they they don't build a good product - it will be because of the top-down attitude of indifference. That indifference that has led to so many minor production problems (like rub rail leaks, the drain tube in the anchor locker not properly installed, no sealant used when drilling into the hull)... these things went on FOR YEARS! How costly is this attitude??? :amgry
To bring this back to Roger's situation... there had to have been a serious problem with the original boat for the factory to make him another boat. The factory has compounded the problem by NOT LIVING UP TO THEIR PROMISES. They could have turned a problem into a customer satisfaction success story - for some reason, they CHOOSE not to. VERY BAD BUSINESS DECISION.
It doesn't matter if the problem is replacing a boat, getting a name decal out, or reimbursing warranty payment (the last problem I had with the factory... that ran on and on and on). The correct way to handle any of these problems is: RESPOND AND FOLLOW UP. Yet, they choose to ignore and put off. You can build another boat... you can replace a broken part... there is no "fixing" a broken promise or a missed deadline. Once you have stepped on a customer's trust, you have created bad feelings that will take even more time and effort (and at what cost???) to repair.
C-Dory seems to think they are building boats. That's only partially true... they are building dreams, hopes, and expectations. Every business transaction requires a PERSON to make that buying decision. No one here buys these boats because they have been built - they have dreams of how they will use the boat; they have expectations that the manufacturer will take care of them so they can spend their time using the boat, not dealing with frustrations that the factory has created. We all know that any manufactured product has the potential for problems. How a manufacturer CARES FOR THEIR CUSTOMER is just as important as the product... because in the long run, if you have run off buyers, it doesn't matter how you build the boat or how many you build... no customer care = no customers. It seems so easy (to me, at least) to understand that you HAVE to take care of every customer to continue to build a customer base... how can any person within a business make a promise to a customer and then feel good about themselves and their business if they don't live up to that promise? This seems so fundamental, yet so many failed businesses don't get it.
Roger, I hope C-Dory comes to their senses and understands the frustrations caused you and the huge ILL WILL they have created - and does whatever necessary to satisfy you.
I know how to fix a broken boat... how do you fix a broken dream?
Sincerely,
Jim Bathurst
