WELCOME TOM LATHAM

Good thread, lots of opinions. But I agree with John,
I do know what it was like being the new kid on the block, at the ranch, and in the school. It's a bit normal to analyze, examine, be skeptical, and "attack" the newcomer - be it a boat modification, new model, or new executive.
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let's give Tom a chance. He is not Jeff and we'll never have the relationship with Tom that we had with Jeff, simply by the fact that we didn't purchase our boat from Tom and he wasn't there to cultivate a relationship as Jeff did. So why can't we all just take a deep breath, step back and take a wait 'n see attitude.

Peter
 
Hi C-Dancer, I agree with you, I just wonder though how many new buyers or prospective buyers will also develop the wait and see attitude. I know when I get ready to buy something, I want it now or in the very near future, after that as time goes on my interest starts to wane.
We will never have the same company relationship with C-Dory, because it has moved from a small business to big business, this is partly our own fault for showing and bragging about our boats to everyone and as a result developing more buyers for the company, without even getting paid a commission or a thank you! I know of at least 3 people that have bought a C-Dory after long discussions about the various boats and dealers with me.
------Rich
 
A quick dealer perspective. I have been conversing alot with Tom about things like the seating changes on the 22 cruisers and the new center console 22 and the 29 footer. He solicits my ideas and others as well and I have seen some of them appear in the boats we are recieving already. As an active brat/dealer I know the value of this great group . I think he is quickly seeing the passion here . I second the notion of giving them [C Dory post Jeff] a chance to find their place in the mix . I also know that they know who their customer is , and if they lose sight of it , they will certainly be reminded of that by myself and some of the other dealers . A little patience and communication goes a long way .
Marc
 
Marc,

Your points are well taken. Change is inevitable, particularily in today's ever changing market place. Just because C-Dory has expanded operations and increased production does not necessarily mean that their product will be of poorer quality Their boats may in fact be of higher quality if the factory uses this opportunity to put in place better in-process controls. Over the years, I have owned several Sea-Rays and other mass produced boats that were equal if not of better quality than my 2004, C-Dory. I am sure that the C-Brats fortunate enough to live close to the factory will miss the personal attention they received on a factory direct basis. For them I am sorry. However, for those of us not so fortunate to be able to drop in on the factory, perhaps the new C-Dory management will also use this opportunity to set higher service standards and shore up for their dealer network across the nation so all of can be assured of the same quality of service for which for many of us has been sorely lacking. I have enjoyed dealing with Jeff Messmer and wish him well in his new position. Jeff is a top notch guy, a tough act to follow, and will do well at C-Ranger. I have confidence though that C-Dory knows what they are doing and have selected an equalliy qualififed individual in Tom Lanham to take over where Jeff left off. Most of of us are well aware of what has happened to American industry. Who is to say that if C-Dory did not change and remain competitive that our next boat would not come from China? This is already happening; just look where some of the new model trawlers are made. I for one feel that some of us have been too quick judge Tom's capabilities and his intententions. He has only been of the job a short time and there is a lot to learn. How many of us have not been in similar situations? I for one welcome Tom and wish him and C-Dory much success.

Best regards,
Rollie C-Batical
 
I have to agree with the need to give Tom a chance to prove himself.

A lot of what we're hearing is generalized disappointment and apprehension regarding changes in our C-Dory homeland.

Then too, we have a tendency every year at this time to vent the frustrations of having been locked up for the long, cold, winter on someone, something, or the other.

Maybe we need to bring back a convenient, easy target/outlet we all could enjoy unloading on!

Stuberg, where are you?

Joe.
 
Lori Ann":u0gscr9m said:
Also note that Latham is the new COO. Jeff was sales and marketing. I would expect the C-Brats to interface more with the new Jeff than with Tom. Who is the new Jeff, anyway?

Warren
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Great drama free question. Anyone know the answer?
 
Sea Wolf":2bynn5nm said:
Then too, we have a tendency every year at this time to vent the frustrations of having been locked up for the long, cold, winter on someone or something or the other.
Joe.
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Just think, if these changes had occurred during the summer, when more folks were on their C-Dorys, this site would not have received as much attention and participation.... :lol:

At this time we are surrounded by 4" of fresh snow.... :roll: Not much for some of you folks, but a fair amount for this time of year where I'm sitting.
 
Sea Wolf":1yf5exan said:
I have to agree with the need to give Tom a chance to prove himself.
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What, a chance for Tom to prove he spoke honestly when he said due to the size of the organization, he won't have time to participate with C-Brats? A chance to figure out his initial posting here was a bit off-putting? A chance to prove he understands that killing our enthusiasm for his product is the dumbest thing C-Dory could do?

Honestly, I really don't care. And when a lot of us start feeling we don't care, C-Dory is in trouble. I can't get my service done there any more and can't get repairs done there any more (yes, I do resent this). I couldn't buy a third boat (yes, Tom, I have bought two) from the factory if I wanted to. No, I'm sorry, with due respect to all my friends, I stand by my view that everything C-Dory has done recently (except the factory SBS party, which was probably Jeff's farewell bash) has been completely wrong.

I really don't expect the Brunswick guy to understand, to come around and say "Gosh, I see the light, we are so wrong, we are going to put things back the way they used to be, Pat bring Daydream in for service or repairs any time." Sure don't. In fact, I don't know where I am going to get service and repairs now. I am still smarting over being orphaned.

Without the factory relationship to back things up, the way they did for so many of us (just ask Caty Mae), I would not buy a new C-Dory on a dare. I'm sure there are good dealers like EQ and Wefing of course. I guess my next boat will have to be a Ranger Tug anyhow...

 
I HAVE FOLLOWED THIS THREAD FOR SEVERAL DAYS NOW AND I AM GLAD TO SEE THAT THE ISSUES INVOLED IN THE CHANGES AT C-DORY HAVE BEEN PRETTY WELL HASHED OVER. I EXPECT THAT FROM THE C-BRATS.

ADOPTING THE ATTITUDE THAT WE NEED TO ALLOW TIME FOR CHANGE IS WISE.

TOM LATHAM HAS AN AWFULLY FULL PLATE AND YET HE HAS POSTED SEVERAL TIMES TO THIS THREAD THIS WEEK.

I WOULD SUGGEST THAT TOM ESTABLISH AN E-MAIL ADDRESS THAT C-BRAT MEMBERS COULD USE TO CONTACT HIM IF A SITUATION ARISES WHERE THAT CONTACT IS NECESSARY AND APPROPIATE.

TOM, WE WISH YOU AND ALL THE EMPLOYEES AT C-DORY ALL THE BEST.

"REMBER C-DORYS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN BUILT BY SPECIAL PEOPLE BUILDING SPECIAL BOATS WITH SKILL AND DEDICATION." I HOPE THAT THIS CORE VALUE WILL BE MAINTAINED.

IF YOU CAN DO THAT CONSISTENTLY THE BUSINESS END OF THE TASK WILL BE THE CHORES OF DIVERSIFICATION AND STEADY CONTROLED GROWTH.


REGARDS TO ALL,
 
Enough of you people know me and I like to have my say when it comes to controversial issues. Well, I managed to stay out of this for four days and feel it is my turn now.

I understand how those members feel that purchased directly from the factory and those that have had their service done by the factory. Things change and you are unhappy. You can sometimes get them back through negotiations or threats and sometimes you can’t.

I tend to agree with Pat that the changes made by C-Dory are irreversible however, I don’t know if it is a bad thing at this time. I think the jury is still out on this.

I do know if C-Dory forgets it’s roots and these members, I can almost guarantee there will be another boat builder that will fill the niche with a boat that will compete directly with the C-Dory and for this group of C-Dory supporters.

At this time I say give them a little slack and see what happens.
________
Dave dlt.gif
 
Stimpy's Dad":2yha4414 said:
"REMEMBER C-DORYS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN BUILT BY SPECIAL PEOPLE BUILDING SPECIAL BOATS WITH SKILL AND DEDICATION." I HOPE THAT THIS CORE VALUE WILL BE MAINTAINED.



,
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That about sums it up.
 
Pat... Brother I am sorry you feel orphaned, and I can only do my part for my NW indigent C-Brat Gathering Father (& Mom...can't leave out Miss Patty)... ... You always have a place at our house down here in the SE.... and if ya drive down....be sure to fill up the trunk good!!

Who knows... possibly one day there was a couple of guys sitting around with a passion for beer...good beer, and the arts of it, and simply got fed up with what the big industry folks are doing.....and started their own micro-brewery. Now...I know it is a very small percentage of the brew market today in America, but, I also know it is as a percentage, has to be growing fast....the numbers of micro breweries and amounts produced and sold. May happen again with boats. How to be big but remain small and personal.
 
Deja Vu - I just bought a Hobie Mirage Adventure Island sailing kayak, so went to their owners' site. Guess what?????

Many Hobie owners are upset about the number and amount of plastic molded hull parts replacing the old '82 and up fiberglass hulls. The phrasing of their complaints is almost parallel to the C-Brats happenings.

Also, guess what???? The Hobie owners are upset about Hobie trying to get them to go to their local dealers for help, fixes and advice. To Hobie's credit, Matt Miller, the factor sales guy, is online everyday, listening and commenting. However, Matt needs a digital "rubber stamp" for the echoing advice to "see your dealer", "we are limited in our discussions on this panel", "we cannot answer all your concerns in this forum", "see your dealer...".

Parallel universes??? Or is it life in the 21st century?

John
 
I’ll jump back into this discussion with a few comments. The factory>dealer>customer - customer>dealer>factory business model is here to stay. To stay competitive, that’s a necessity for C-Dory Marine Group. It’s also the relationship customers who live outside the vicinity of the factory already have. That does not in any way mean that the quality of the boats produced has to suffer. To the contrary, with a more regimented quality control process, there’s no reason that the quality of the final product shouldn’t improve.

Moving forward, I would like to suggest the following. Create a forum on this site called something like, “Factory Feedback” specifically for issues that a boat owner wants the factory to be aware of. This is where you would start that thread on, “my table was made too big to convert into a berth” or whatever. I would then like to see the factory commit to having someone check that forum on a regular basis to see if there was anything the factory should respond to. This person would not have to wade through trip planning threads, or tips-and-tricks threads, all factory feedback would be right there, in one spot. If they really wanted to be generous with their time, once a quarter they could report on what had been done to resolve issues that had previously come up, and possibly even give us a heads up on new factory products. This arrangement would do two things, 1) it would give the factory one point of contact with the C-Brats and, 2) the C-Brats would have a direct channel for feedback to the factory. BTW, I wouldn’t expect that the person reading and commenting on the forum would be Tom Latham.

The bottom line is that we, as the customer, want high quality boats at affordable prices, and the factory wants to sell boats at a profit and have satisfied customers. These are not mutually exclusive goals.


Steve
 
To those of you that feel orphaned I have a short experience to relate. Hundreds of people over the last 3 or 4 years bought a truck camper manufactured in LaGrande Oregon. They were innovative, had more features, were lighter, and were very competitive in price with the better known brands. They went bankrupt last year due to trying a new method of construction. Just got drug down financially and folded. I myself is included in that group. Talk about orphaned. Warranties went out the window. Factory support had been similar to C-Dory, it was gone as well. This winter the assets were purchased out of the court system by a large canadian manufacturer and they are listening to the camper owners and quality campers are again coming off the assembly line, again at home in oregon. It can happen. They too have an active forum that has made itself heard and it is paying off. This can work. Just have to wait and see if it does.
 
Well put, Mr. Steve...

Maybe the factory could even put a "contact us" email/phone line so a person could talk to them that way. I like your take on this...

The Hobie comparison seemed so similar to me. Hanging around the sailboat shops, I have been amazed at how many ppl knew the top brass of Hobie and had visited/partied/sailed with them. But growth makes that impossible for everyone.

John
 
I will have to say, though, that there will always be room for the small, mom and pop operations in any field. The bigger the Wally Worlds and Targets get, the more valuable that precious, personal spark!

John
 
If you checked out the newest member earlier today you would find that the FacCdoryguy is signed up with a web address

Merv
 
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