Boat is delayed from Dealer... I complained !!

[Stoty]

But hey keep pushing them and ask for more. You might get what you deserve.

 

Give your head a shake.... when you pay thousands upon thousands of dollars for a boat, then you best be happy with the purchase and DESERVE great customer service.

 

If the shoe was on the other foot, I bet you wouldn't just "suck it up" and be fine with it either.

 

You're right the delivery of the boat is out of their control, but providing customer service to ensure your customer is happy is very much IN THEIR control.

 

 

BTW - I'd snap up that Opti for sure! I have one, and love it!

[jonboy]

you're looking at this the wrong way if you're going to "see" what options they'll throw in. you need to demand other options, not ask them. have you spoke to the manager yet? if not, when you call tomorrow insist that you'll speak to nobody but him to get things worked out and if he's "not available at this time" you'll be there shortly to see him.

 

if you dropped that much money on a kitchen reno and the contractor was a month late, would you "see" what he could do for you? no, you'd be calling him and demanding answers as to why he's so late.

 

 

or, you could take the laid back approach and allow them to screw you around even more before finally getting your boat in august

Why not demand a 115 4stroke for not delivering the agreed contract

[hirk]

Read your sales agreement I bet there is an approximate delivery date but its not firm, dealers word them this way intentionally to prevent being sued. It happens all the time (delays) and its out of their control so dont expect a ton of freebees its the nature of the business. If you push too much or are to demanding and unreasonable you will just sour your relationship with them and you wouldnt like the way things might go if you needed warranty work etc in the future. Relax alittle on this its in your best interest to be civil with them.

[doubleheader]

The dealer is trying to keep you happy. As was mentioned, in boat time it's, only a microsecond late, and, it's likely not even the dealer's fault. So take a deep breath and consider your 2 vs 4 stroke option.

 

IMHO don't do the 2 stroke deal just so you can get your boat now.If that's your reason you may never be happy with it, so here are some other pro Opti reasons to consider: 1. My guess is it will be 3-5 mph faster and better hole shot. 2. The Opti's are proven to be highly reliable. 3. the Opti is probably lighter. 4. The Opti is probably slightly more fuel efficient. 5. Cost of ownership is probably slightly less 6. Also, probably better resale with the 115 Opti (just a guess).

 

I'm a 4 stroke guy, have been since 1997, but in this case I'd strongly consider the Opti and try to get the dealer to throw in a case of oil.

[Oryx]

Have you contacted Princecraft directly? This issue happens all the time with almost every product you can imagine, from bathtubs, to weedeaters! The dealer is the middle man in this situation, and would like nothing more than a satisfied customer. A happy customer will tell maybe 5-10% of the people who ask how great of a dealer they were. An unhappy customer will tell EVERYONE how bad they were. They are trying to make it right by offering an alternative to get you going. The dealer will have very little wiggle room to help out with the freebies and add-ons. Where as the manufacturer can eat a lot more and cost them less. IMHO, contact customer care and retention at Princecraft and hammer something out.

[Lunkerhunter]

i purchased a princecraft xpedition at the boat show in January... delivery date was set for first week of may. first week of may came around nothing had been delivered to the marina i purchased it from. apparently there was a delay in production. i am promised it should be in next week. next week comes around and boat has been delivered. only one problem. my main motor didnt arrive with it. delay from mercury on the 115 4 stroke. promised it the next week.... next week comes and motor has arrived. one problem once again.... none of my extras were installed (HDS 7, HDS 8, Terrova, VHF Radio, Downriggers, pro kicker) promised the following week..... last weekend i picked up the boat... everything was installed perfectly and the boat looked amazing.

 

i did get some freebies thrown in for the delay and did have to stay on top of the dealer in regards to schedule etc.... in the end i got what i wanted and it was all done very well. Im sure if i rushed him some things wouldnt have been installed as well as they were. yes i had to wait but in the end the dealer who i thought was dicking me around in fact got me everything i needed for an awesome price. and now i am on the water with my new boat and heading on a fishing trip tomorrow for a week with my new toy.

 

it sounds like everyone i talk to has had to wait for there boat to arrive. for one reason or another it seems everyone has to wait a bit for there new boat.

 

hopefully everything works out for you

[cityfisher]

i purchased a princecraft xpedition at the boat show in January... delivery date was set for first week of may. first week of may came around nothing had been delivered to the marina i purchased it from. apparently there was a delay in production. i am promised it should be in next week. next week comes around and boat has been delivered. only one problem. my main motor didnt arrive with it. delay from mercury on the 115 4 stroke. promised it the next week.... next week comes and motor has arrived. one problem once again.... none of my extras were installed (HDS 7, HDS 8, Terrova, VHF Radio, Downriggers, pro kicker) promised the following week..... last weekend i picked up the boat... everything was installed perfectly and the boat looked amazing.

 

i did get some freebies thrown in for the delay and did have to stay on top of the dealer in regards to schedule etc.... in the end i got what i wanted and it was all done very well. Im sure if i rushed him some things wouldnt have been installed as well as they were. yes i had to wait but in the end the dealer who i thought was dicking me around in fact got me everything i needed for an awesome price. and now i am on the water with my new boat and heading on a fishing trip tomorrow for a week with my new toy.

 

it sounds like everyone i talk to has had to wait for there boat to arrive. for one reason or another it seems everyone has to wait a bit for there new boat.

 

hopefully everything works out for you

 

sweet ride!

 

I just rejected there 115 optimax offer, lets see what else they can do...

[woodenboater]

Not in the market for a new boat yet but if my boat encountered delays in delivery, I would appreciate, tremendously, updates from the dealer as to delays etc.. This act alone will save a ton of aggro and leave everyone happy (for the most part). Customers shouldn't have to be the ones requesting timelines imo. I know shops can be busy but someone should be in charge of customer satisfaction from start of order to delivery of product.

 

and Oryx is right. We don't often hear the good stories re:buyer experiences, as much as the unhappy ones and this is understandable if not fair.

 

Hope you get your boat soon and get the deck coated in slimy goodness.

 

(I woulda stayed with the 90 4 stroke as well)

[RangerGuy]

Well here is my take, since I just dealt with the same thing.. Turns out my rig was only 2 weeks late. The only thing

I wasn't happy with was the lack of commitment to give a solid answer. I'd be ok with the delay if you said it will be

at the boarder on June 30th...

 

1) Boat time frame is out of thier control but they should make a good effort to keep you up to date on it's progress.

I called both boat & motor manufactures myself because I wasn't happy with the vague answers... This was the answers I got.

 

Lund: We don't give dates anymore because customers hold us to them.

My Reply: Well no kidding 20,000+ boat you better be able to tell a customer when the boat will be done by.

You know if you have material, how long a build takes, where in the list the boat is...So give me

a date.

Lund: (on hold) comes back with May 24th it will be in the yard and could be a week or 2 until we have a full trailer to ship.

 

I couldn't believe the first answer! And the boat turn up a 2 weeks early than they said ..talk about CYA!!! LOL!

 

 

I call yamaha middle of May then again last friday.

 

Yamaha: Let me look into it for and call you back.

 

When yamaha called me back they couldn't give me a actual date but said middle of June motors were still in Japan (may not even be built yet)

 

When I went yesterday to inspect the boat the build date on my motor was 04/12.

[Millhouse2020]

I learned my lesson posting a couple dealer service related questions on the board a while back, its a very polarizing issue. That being said, if it were me, I would say be patient and wait for what you wanted if you have your heart set on something specific (4 stroke), I'm sure you will be happier in the end despite the delays knowing you didn't compromise. I can see from the dealers end that deliveries can be delayed for all sorts of reasons they have no control over but I think its also OK for customers to push a bit for some additional options or incentives for the wait. As mentioned, we are paying significant money for their product and as a customer you have other options. Customer service is difficult to execute well, you can never keep everyone happy but conducting business with fairness and integrity should be expected all the time. If you promise or commit to something you need to follow through.

[smally21]

Your dealer should prostrate himself before you, begging your forgiveness. Be paraded thru the streets with rotten vegetables hurled at him.

 

If the offer for the motor upgrade is unacceptable, demand he commit ritual suicide...its the right thing for him to do.

 

Its not like he is the only dealer, nor Princecraft the only manufacturer, having troubles with motor suppliers right now. Neither the dealer nor Princecraft builds motors..

[ohhenrygsr]

This thread is awesome... reading all these post from a Manufacture/Dealer stand point. I'm gonna grab more popcorn and keep reading

Edited June 1, 2012 by Henry Nguyen

[Oryx]

This thread is awesome... reading all these post from a Manufacture/Dealer stand point. I'm gonna grab more popcorn and keep reading

 

Being from the dealer/manu standpoint, what are your .02c? It is always nice to have a balanced opinion.

[RangerGuy]

I wouldn't think this is a dealer issue but more of a Manufacture issue. They want the dealers to be front facing

but refuse to actually be held to a shipping date..which is crazy!

 

A manufacture knows the following and should be able to say atleast when the boat will be built and in the yard.

 

1) Materials/parts required to build the boat. If they don't they should say it's on back order.

 

2) How long (man hours) each model takes to build.

 

3) Where in the schedule (build queue) your boat is.

 

These 3 facts should allow the manufacture to be held to a fairly firm date of completion with good planning.

 

For the record I did not feel my dealer was responsible for the delay, my only frustration was it took them a month to find out about my motor delay. After speaking to Lund & yamaha personally, I'm not even sure they are responsible for the delay in notifing of the delay either.

[hutch4113]

Hi all,

 

I ordered a new princecraft 174ws with a 90 4 stroke way back in early April. Boat was supposed to be delivered early may. That day has come and gone and after multiple calls asking whats taking so long they have heard back from Princecraft and have offered the following:

 

instead of the 90 4 stroke they will throw on a 115 Optimax(2 stroke) free of charge and my boat will be delivered Monday.

 

If not i can wait 2 more weeks for a 90 4 stroke to be ready and then ill get my boat...

 

Is it really an upgrade? I assume the hole shot would be better and maybe 1-2 mphs more on the top end but the motor will defiantly be louder than the 4 stroke. Will need to buy 2 stroke oil to run it.( i assume the cost of running 2 stroke will be the same as the cost to change the oil in the 4 stroke every year) Maybe even suffer a loss in resale value down the road vs a 4 stroke motor. ( not really worried since i dont intend on selling this boat for a LONG time)

 

Thoughts?

 

IMO would go with the 115 in a heartbeat. These 2 strokes are not the 2 strokes of old. I just purchased a 2008 Smokercraft with a 115 Optimax. Talk about quiet...I was very surprised when I started it for the first time. Next surprise....no smoke...and I mean none. The only time I smell it, is when it comes off full throttle, back to idle. It hardly uses any oil either. It is true that the 4 stroke will be quieter...but I bet it is closer than a lot think.

 

I trolled all day with it, through cooksbay. Here the 4 stroke will probably be better, as my gas usage was high (I believe anyway...don't have a 4 stroke to compare it to...hahahahahahaha). Even at trolling speed it was pretty quiet.

 

The last item is weight. Not sure on the dry weight of the 4 stoke, but the 2 stroke comes in at 375 pounds. I am thinking that 90 might be heavier....but maybe not.

 

When I talked to the Marina guy that I bought the boat from, he recommends the 2 strokes over the 4. He said he really doesn't see any advantage anymore. The separation between the 2 is not what it once was.

 

Anyway..just my opinion..take it for what it is worth. (Which in many cases is not much...lol.).

[doubleheader]

I totally agree with the fact that the manufacturers should provide daily updates on committed deliveries, and, the dealers should pass these along to their customers. In today's world this is entirely possible at minimal cost, but I doubt any manufacturers or dealers provide this service. Too bad because that's the little stuff that builds customer loyalty. Most reasonable people understand delays if the information with explanation is brought to them rather than having the customer have to chase it down.

This is a little off subject, but demonstrates what great service is all about. My wife recently purchased a fairly expensive bicycle, a road bike. Going back to the time she ordered it, they assembled the same bike but different color for her to test ride after they used a computer with laser to fit her, when she picked it up they spent a bunch of time going over all kinds of details, and last nite she took it in for a free tune-up and again, the well trained bike mechanic spent time showing her all the little maintenance things she can do to keep her bike in tip top condition and answering all her questions about riding position and so on. These are the kinds of things that keep people coming back. It's not that hard if the seller really cares about the customer.

[Millhouse2020]

I totally agree with the fact that the manufacturers should provide daily updates on committed deliveries, and, the dealers should pass these along to their customers. In today's world this is entirely possible at minimal cost, but I doubt any manufacturers or dealers provide this service. Too bad because that's the little stuff that builds customer loyalty. Most reasonable people understand delays if the information with explanation is brought to them rather than having the customer have to chase it down.

This is a little off subject, but demonstrates what great service is all about. My wife recently purchased a fairly expensive bicycle, a road bike. Going back to the time she ordered it, they assembled the same bike but different color for her to test ride after they used a computer with laser to fit her, when she picked it up they spent a bunch of time going over all kinds of details, and last nite she took it in for a free tune-up and again, the well trained bike mechanic spent time showing her all the little maintenance things she can do to keep her bike in tip top condition and answering all her questions about riding position and so on. These are the kinds of things that keep people coming back. It's not that hard if the seller really cares about the customer.

 

 

Well said. I honestly believe it doesn't take all that much more effort to outshine most of the competition. That goes for many different endeavours.

[ohhenrygsr]

Being from the dealer/manu standpoint, what are your .02c? It is always nice to have a balanced opinion.

 

Well here is my 2 cents on this. This year every supplier, dealer and manufacture has experience a huge increase in sales. Every dealer always does a booking order in the fall and usually expects an increase of 10% growth for next year. No one in the industry expected an increase of 20% or more, THAT'S HUGE when you think about it. I was recently talking to our neighbour and is currently in the same situation as us. We just can't build them fast enough. No dealer in their right mind would give a hokey pokey excuse on why the customer will have to wait an extra couple of weeks to receive their package. We would love to get the boat off our property and the customer on the water. I'm sure the manufactures are working overtime to deliver product to the dealers as soon as possible but sometimes the manufactures are held up by other manufactures. That little ripple effect just keeps going till it reaches the dealership and finally the customer, which will turn into a title wave. The dealers are at the mercy of the manufactures and the manufactures are at the mercy of the suppliers. That's just the boat building part of it.

 

You also have the shipping side of things This department is kind of like playing russian roulette, Manufacture calls the dealer he has a full load and the boats will arrive n 2 days, PERFECT!. Manufacture calls back the load will be delayed by 2 days, the air bags went and parts won't be in to replace till tomorrow. The ripple effect begins. In the perfect world customers should expect their boat on time but sometimes that's just not the case. The boating season is very short especially in Canada, when a customer purchases a boat in June. They are most likely getting it in July or August, most dealers will go the extra mile and buy product off another dealer to satisfy the consumer. In the end dealers will take the majority of complaints but there hands are just as tied as the customers. MOST dealers and sales consultants will and should stay on top of the status on delivery. It's also nice to inform the customer on status of their boat. But sometimes there will be a last minute call that always sucks for both parties.

 

I really wish the marine industry is like the automotive industry. The boat goes down the line get's rigged and shipped but that's just not the case. Dealers will order the boat and trailer from the manufacture, order the outboard and everything will be rigged at the dealership plus all the options that the customer has ordered. Heck sometimes the automotive side has 2-3 month delays on pick ups too. Well that's just my 2 cents on all this. In the end the customer will have a boat that they will own a lifetime and it really makes it all worth your while. I really hope you enjoy your brand new boat Cityfisher, sounds like a sweet package on the water for many years to come

Edited June 22, 2012 by Henry Nguyen

[cityfisher]

Great post:)

 

A little update:

 

Boat will be ready Sat am.. As per my dealer. Lets see if it all comes together.

 

This great weather has got me itching for the past while!

 

Well here is my 2 cents on this. This year every supplier, dealer and manufacture has experience a huge increase in sales. Every dealer always does a booking order in the fall and usually expects an increase of 10% growth for next year. No one in the industry expected an increase of 20% or more, THAT'S HUGE when you think about it. I was recently talking to our neighbour and is currently in the same situation as us. We just can't build them fast enough. No dealer in their right mind would give a hokey pokey excuse on why the customer will have to wait an extra couple of weeks to receive their package. We would love to get the boat off our property and the customer on the water. I'm sure the manufactures are working overtime to deliver product to the dealers as soon as possible but sometimes the manufactures are held up by other manufactures. That little ripple effect just keeps going till it reaches the dealership and finally the customer, which will turn into a title wave. The dealers are at the mercy of the manufactures and the manufactures are at the mercy of the suppliers. That's just the boat building part of it.

 

You also have the shipping side of things This department is kind of like playing russian roulette, Manufacture calls the dealer he has a full load and the boats will arrive n 2 days, PERFECT!. Manufacture calls back the load will be delayed by 2 days, the air bags went and parts won't be in to replace till tomorrow. The ripple effect begins. In the perfect world customers should expect their boat on time but sometimes that's just not the case. The boating season is very short especially in Canada, when a customer purchases a boat in June. They are most likely getting it in July or August, most dealers will go the extra mile and buy product off another dealer to satisfy the consumer. In the end dealers will take the majority of complaints but there hands are just as tied as the customers. MOST dealers and sales consultants will and should stay on top of the status on delivery. It's also nice to inform the customer on status of their boat. But sometimes there will be a last minute call that always sucks for both parties.

 

I really wish the marine industry is like the automotive industry. The boat goes down the line get's rigged and shipped but that's just not the case. Dealers will order the boat and trailer from the manufacture, order the outboard and everything will be rigged at the dealership plus all the options that the customer has ordered. Heck sometimes the automotive side has 2-3 month delays on pick ups too. Well that's just my 2 cents on all this. In the end the customer will have a boat that they will own a lifetime and it really makes it all worth your while. I really hope you enjoy your brand new boat Cityfisher, sounds like a sweet package on the water for many years to come

[ohhenrygsr]

Hey Cityfisher,

 

How are you enjoying your brand new boat?