Customer Service, and Why It Matters: You Have One Job...

"... now, I stand here waiting..."
                   -New Order


  A new boat means new gear.

   No matter how perfect the vessel, every new old boat needs something.

   NextBoat is  not quite a blank canvas, but she does need more than Bob Ross painting birds  to complete the picture.


   NextBoat (Karma?  Ereni?  Shambala?  NewName TBD), needs/wants a grip of gear to get to greatness.

   After she sailed into our slip, and after the delivery dust settled, SWMBO and I, and the mutts, stepped aboard figured out what we wanted, what we needed, what worked, what didn't work, and what didn't work...for us.

   We made a list, checked it twice, and then tiptoed through  the online mercantile tulips.

     Or, more accurately, I did.
      SWMBO and I have sorta organized our  family Accounts Receivable/Accounts Payable/Purchasing  into two divisions divided by initials: "L" for Louise for "Land Based Stuff"  and "B"  for Brian for "Boat Based Stuff"

   or "Baffling Bullshit Buys"-  SWMBO.

      .... er, be that as it may, we agreed that NextBoat needed some stuff.

     Like a chartplotter, depthfinder, stove, cockpit table...

      Some we can build, but some we have to buy.

     ... and this is where things get both interesting and frustrating.

     Let us move forward, and then I will back up.

     First things first-  we like to know where we are and what is ahead of us, so a chartplotter is a strong "want", bordering on "need".

    So, we, (I),  point and click to Radioworld  to peruse their chartplotter selection.  We pull the trigger on purchasing a Lowrance Elite 4M for under $260...  including the Navionics chart card.  Seriously good deal.
    Within seconds of placing the order online, I had an email confirming the order.  Three hours later, |I had an email confirming the order had been shipped. The next morning, 14 hours later, there was an email in my inbox  providing a tracking number and an ETA.

Radioworld.ca, you had one job-  and you exceeded the specs.

   Okay, 'plotter is in the system, now I need some place to mount it.   The steering pedestal doesn't even have a compass, so this is the ideal location, even if the teak cover plate is weather beaten ad raggedy....

    So, while I am at it, SWMBO suggests, why don't I build a new mounting plate, and tie a cockpit table into the mix?

  Okay, sure, why don't I?.  Tables, however, need hinges, and specialized hinges at that...  so, I point and click to Lee Valley Tools and order a buncha hinges and stuff.
 
  Again, I quickly get an order confirmation email, followed by a shipping deets email, with a tracking number, which I can use to track the shipment through the shipper's system, right up until it is left on my front porch.
   Which it was, three days later,

   (Off on a tangerine here, but let me tell you about Lee Valley's customer service.  Five years ago I was at a woodworking show. Lee Valley had a booth, and were offering discounts, and free shipping, on orders placed at the show.  I needed a couple of small knobs and a couple of miscellaneous bits of hardware, so I  talked to the show rep.
 "Free shipping?"  I ask.
"Yep."  He replies.
"Okay!"   I exclaim.
 The show rep took my order,  I paid for my $4.87 worth of stuff and wandered off.  Four days later, there was a parcel on our front porch.  I paid $4.87 for my order of hardware....   and it cost $6.78 to ship.

    Yep, they lost money on that transaction, and Lee Valley Tools did it without quibble.  That counts-  it's one reason why I keep handing them a sizable chunk of my income.)

Lee Valley Tools, you had one job- and you exceeded the specs.

   NextBoat came with  an alcohol stove in the galley, the original Kenyon Homestrand two-burner range.
    A  pressurized alcohol stove.  That italicized word matters.

     The beloved non-pressurized two burner range on our beloved Whiskeyjack is a great stove, dead simple to operate.  fill the burner canisters with alcohol once every couple of days, make sure the burner chimneys are capped when not in use, and when needed, uncap, turn the heat control knob to high, and light.  Easy, and safe.

     The Kenyon pressurized stove is, on the other hand, the Stove From Hell.  To light it, according to the instructions printed on the stove you need to pump a small plunger 15-20 times to pressurize the fuel tank, and once the flammable fuel is pressurized you need to release some into a "cup" surrounding the burner to be used, turn the burner off again, and light the fuel in the cup, which will warm the burner sufficiently so that you can turn the burner back on and light it again, once the fuel in the cup has burned off, and with a steady low roar the burner will produce an impressive amount of heat to cook your food, as required....
....  in theory.

    Yeah, pressurizing the fuel tank is a requirement every time you want to use the stove.  Ask  NASA about pressurizing the fuel in the tank before use.
 
     Then you have to light it twice.  Every time.

      Each burner has 6 threaded joints between the tank and the burner...and this stove is 35 years old.

     Six thirty-five year old joints carrying pressurized fuel to a thirty-five year old burner...

     After almost losing my eyebrows several times, and SWMBO refusing to use that infernal beast, we bit the bullet on buying a new stove.

      We found the replacement, a Cookmate 4200 drop-in range, at  binnacle.com ,  a Halifax based chandler.  I called to find out if they had the stove in stock.  They did.  I ordered it online on Friday afternoon, and got an email telling me it would arrive at my home 5 days later.  I got an email an hour later informing that it had shipped, and it showed up three days later, 2 days ahead of schedule.

     Binnacle.com you had one job- and you exceeded the specs.

     Phenomenal.

      Even more phenomenal, in that all of the companies mentioned are small to midsized businesses,  with sales in the low-to-mid millions range.

      Surely  large national corporations which rely on retail consumers for the majority of their business will be just as good as these small companies when it comes to the online customer experience, right?

     Three weeks before any of the previously mentioned purchases, SWMBO and I ordered new cell phones through our large, national, sports-stadium- naming telecom.

     Three days ago SWMBO and I were forced to make an hour and a half round-trip drive to pick up the phones at a retail kiosk that this telecom, employing thousands, and earning billions, could not successfully deliver to us, for over four weeks.  Our order was lost twice, and cancelled once, and not one email.
  Almost five weeks,  not one email.  Except for the original "Thank you, the items you ordered are  in stock and will be fulfilled soon!"  email.  Turns out, the phones weren't in stock, and the order went unfilled.
  But no one let us know.  SWMBO spent a total of 5 hours over the ensuing period either on hold, or talking to customer service representatives  who were apparently entirely incapable of  providing service to a customer.



   The billing department though, promptly billed us for phones which we had not received.

   After two more phone calls to the 'customer service" department, where it required me doing my best irate, batshit crazy, foaming at the mouth, angry as hell and not going to take it anymore, displeased customer routine, we got credited for all the time and effort and frustration we had invested in ordering two "in-stock" phones.

    My wife had been pleasant and understanding for almost five weeks, and got nowhere.  It took batshit crazy to be treated well and to get the problem solved.  That is sad.

   Unnamed national telecom, you had one job.

    Guess who is shopping for a new cell phone provider now?

    Worst part is,  I get the feeling that unnamed telecom doesn't really care.

    I hope you do.  Do business with those who do business well.


     And remember to

     "Talk the Dock!"

   

New Boat, New Gear, New Reviews, Part One.

     "You got me coming up with answers...."
                                            -Duran Duran

A new (to us) boat means new projects and new, or new (to us), gear.

Refitting is a sailor’s excuse to go shopping…

….So, a-shopping we went.  

We needed to replace our no-longer-generating generator.  We had put off this purchase since halfway through Bottom Paint Season 2013, but the idea of sanding bottom paint by hand, on a deadline this year, thrilled neither SWMBO nor I. 

It was time.

Our old 3.5 kW Hyundai generator was  more than adequate, powerwise, but big, heavy and loud.   This time, we wanted a generator small enough, and portable enough, to make the occasional trip down the Dock to  put the power in power tools, and hang out on NextBoat’s* aft deck if we ever needed 110 power aboard when away from the Dock. The  Honda EU2000i was on our shortlist, and the Yamaha EF2000is was on our shorterlist, because it was slightly lighter and had all of the controls on the same face as the starting cord.

   The candidate tapped for a longterm test was neither of the above.  We opted to purchase a Champion 73531i 2kW generator.

Honda.

Yamaha.

Champion?

Here’s why:

     Both the Honda and Yamaha generators were $1200 and change. The nearest dealers are at least 25 minutes from the Dock, if we need parts or service.  If we decide to cruise with a generator, the nearby-parts-service-availability drops precipitously-most of the ports on the north shore of Lake Erie do not have either Yamaha or Honda dealers.  So,  if parts are needed, we’re gonna be pointing and clicking through the interweb and waiting for a delivery…

…  just like we would with an off-brand genny sourced from a department store…

… which we bought for under $600.

Additionally, I liked the stackable cube design- on the aft deck of Nextboat,  that flat surface could come in handy as a support for a cutting board, beside the bbq.

Upon opening the box, I was pleased with the fit and finish, and the feel of the plastic panels.

Nothing felt inordinately “cheap.”

The bib around the gas tank cap is a nice detail...

       As is the  well-marked "on-off " cap vent.    A closable vent is a nice benefit if (like me) you drive a station wagon that (like me) you do not want to smell like gasoline on a hot day with a generator in the wayback.

      It came with a well written manual in both official languages (okay, it was well written in English, at least;  mon ne pas parlez francais well enough to know how bon it was in French, eh?) and an easy-to-follow "quick start" chart, along with the ubiquitous stamped steel/crimped tube spark plug wrench and a funnel.  A funnel?

   Before starting, as the manual made clear in 118 point boldface, YOU MUST FILL THE ENGINE WITH OIL...  or void the warranty.  So I filled it, with oil, (not included) with the help of the (included) funnel, a requirement due to the location of the crankcase filler:
Behind a cover...

and, appropriately enough, at the crankcase:

    Preliminary prep out of the way, I opened the vent on the gas cap, turned the fuel valve to "on", flipped the ignition switch to "on", set the choke to "start" and pulled the starting cord.

    It started.
 
    Good.
 
     I pushed the choke in  and the generator continued to run.

     Also good.

     As promised, it was much quieter than our old generator.

     How quiet?

   
      That quiet.
     Carry-on-a-conversation quiet.
      SWMBO was impressed.

      That quiet.

      The next weekend we put our new box o' power to the test, and sanded Whiskeyjack's  bottom prior to rolling on a coat of antifouling paint.  SWMBO and I ran two palm sanders continuously for over 4 hours and used less than 3/4 of a gallon of fuel.  Further, our ears didn't ring, and we never had to yell at each other.
     Not yelling at each other is a real bonus, one not to be overlooked.

      I have no unrealistic expectations of longevity that rivals Champion's more expensive motorcycle manufacturer rivals, but...
 
       If it lasts more than 50% as long as the expected lifespan of the others, we will be money ahead.

      I will revisit this review next spring, and see how the Champion 73531i  has held up.


      Thanks for stopping by, and remember to

     "Talk the Dock!"


*NextBoat is currently named Take Time.  It is a nice name, but the experience of her acquisition begs for a name change.  More on that later.

28 Days... Plus

“She sees my good deeds and she kisses me windy….”

                                                     - Red Hot Chili Peppers

 Many years ago, I picked up an info-nugget that has stuck with me.   Here’s the backstory:  A speaker at a sales conference actually got my attention by NOT sounding like every other speaker at a sales conference I had ever heard.    He woke up the room by asking us all if we realized that we all really needed to go into rehab.

  Er…what do you know?…and first of all, “allegedly.”  Nobody can prove anything.

Rick went on to explain that any habit takes 28 days to develop, and 28 days to break….  Which is why most rehab programs are  no less than 28 days long.

Huh.  That makes sense.

 Looking back at my blogging habit over the past few months, I see a pattern-  I fell out of the pattern.

 So, I gotta spend the next 28 days getting back INTO it.

Brace yourselves- the blogstorm is coming.

In the meantime, here's a teaser:

Thanks for sticking around.

“Talk the Dock!”

....And Now, Something Completely Different

    "Time for a cool change..."
             -Little River Band

   It's kinda embarrassing to look back and see that I didn't post one post to the D6C, not one, during the month of May.

   I've got a really good excuse, though.

   There is a new old boat occupying our slip.

More details to come shortly.

I promise.

No, really, I mean it.
Stay tuned.

In the meantime, Whiskeyjack, our doughty Georgian 23 pocket cruiser/summer home is for sale.

  That's right, Whiskeyjack is for sale.  She has always brought us home, and now we'd like her to find a good home.  Try your offer- you might be surprised.
       
     


"Talk the Dock."

Ruh Roh.

     "I've been looking too hard, I've been waiting too long..."
                                                                         -Foreigner



     The Dock closes for the season on October 31.

     November 1, the waiting starts.

 

    November 1, We start to count down the days until we can get back in the water, back on the Dock.

    When the winter is long, deep, dark and cold, that count is important- it reminds us that winter is not never-ending, no matter how permanent  the ice and snow feel.  

  

    November 1,  we start to focus on April 15- Opening Day.

   This was one seriously long-ass winter, but by the end of March there was some hope.

   The Marina parking lot was (mostly) free of snow...

... even if the Dock was still (mostly) iced in, what with the temperatures remaining stubbornly sub-freezing, sub-seasonal and just generally submarining my mood.

By the end of last week things were looking up.  The air temp had increased rapidly, causing mist to rise from the thawing Lake on a rare (at least, this season)  string of two warm sunny days,  making Lake Erie look decidedly, er, eerie:

   Turns out, the Marina did not escape winter unscathed. With a relatively shallow depth,  limited room for ice to move, and a harbour mouth open to the prevailing winds, the ice froze thick, froze hard, and fought everything it came up against.  Like the docks:

The repairs were under way, but...

According to a note taped to the cash register at Bridge Yachts ...

Okay, so for all intents and purposes, it looks like Opening Day will not be Opening Day, but that is okay because it is getting warmer and finally starting to feel like spring, and it's all good, I tell myself...

... and then I wake up this morning  to this:

SNOW.

ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDIN' ME?!!?

    Sooner or later, we're gonna get in the water.

    Right?





   While we all wait for spring to damn well finally get here all permanent-like, please continue to "Talk the Dock!"






        

Offerings from Off-site, Vol. 1

     " 'Til there was nothing left to burn and nothing left to prove "
                                                                             -Bob Seger

    

       A few months back, I was asked to contribute a regular column to Ontario Sailor Magazine .  As regional sailing magazines go, in my unabashedly biased opinion, I think it is a pretty good one, covering all aspects of the local sailing scene. You can pick up a current issue at any local reputable book store in Ontario, some marinas, a few chandleries, or you can subscribe at the link above.  I recommend you do so.  Then maybe I could get a raise.
 
       I'll occasionally re-publish a back-issue column here from time to time.  This is one of those times.


      An Ode to Orphans

The good news:  Sailboat manufacturers are still building new sailboats, and they are, generally, faster and better handling and more comfortable and better equipped than ever before.

The bad news:  There are a lot fewer of them than a generation ago.

My wife likes to point out that I was born at least 20 years too late.  I think “Gimme Shelter” may be the best song ever written or performed, I appreciate the occasionally troubled soul of triple Weber carburetors lying in wait under a Ferrari Daytona’s hood, and  I feel that mankind’s greatest technological achievement was traveling to the moon.

And back.

Repeatedly.

So, it stands to reason that I have a soft spot for boats from the “Golden Age” of boatbuilding in the 60s and 70s.

    As wonderful as new boats are, as shapely and sleek and polished and equipped and better than back in the day boats, they have become….safe.

    Today we have so much more design knowledge, so much more computing power, and so much more real-world experience than four decades ago, that fewer chances are taken because there are fewer chances to take.

 If you know what works, you do it.
 And you don’t do anything else.

Flash back a few decades:  There may not be bliss in ignorance, but there sure is enthusiasm. See, if you don’t know everything, if you don’t really know what won’t work or what won’t sell, you’re free to try damn near anything.

  There were lots of boatbuilding hits, and a lot more misses, and a lot of enthusiasm as entrepreneurs discovered that it was possible.   If you had a space big enough to hold a mould and enough cash to buy enough wood, resin, cloth, hardware and sails to build a boat that you could display at a boat show, then you could become a boatbuilder!  No courses to take, no mandatory building codes to worry about, if it floated and moved under it’s own power and you could sell it, you were in business.

   Looking back from our well-regulated and thoroughly thought out 21st century, it’s pretty amazing.

   Some great designs came out of that era, boats that are still built today, in one iteration or another, like the Laser and the Hobie Cat and the Catalina 30.

    Others, the vast majority, were far less successful.

    In some cases, marques died an untimely death due to bad management, cashflow issues, or the vagaries of the economy.  In other cases, the boats just weren’t very good- poorly designed or poorly built or poor performers.  In many cases, it was simply a matter of a boat that was just too … weird.

    And I love them all.  From North Sea -inspired Nordica and Halman double enders built in the farmland of southern Ontario to comfortable and clumsy Grampians to the Tardis-like accommodations of the fish-tug shaped Tanzer 28,  these boats represented a freedom of design that has been paved over by the superhighway of  knowledge.  Hell, no one in their right mind would ever even consider building a Willard Vega or Fales Navigator again:  a center cockpit, pilothouse, sloop-rigged sail trawler?  That idea, on paper is insane.
    Yet dozens were sold.

                                                                                                       -image courtesy of yachtworld.com

   The Golden Age saw some weird stuff, but also some better than fine boats that…
  Just.  Won’t.  Die.
 Look at the racing fleets throughout North America- for every close pointing late model J Boat on a course,  there’s a dozen elderly C&Cs and Mirages nipping at her transom, waiting for the skipper to slip, still competitive (enough) three decades on.

   And maybe that is one of the other reasons why there are far, far fewer manufacturers building far, far fewer boats today:  They Just.  Won’t.  Die.

     How many 30 year old cars do you see on the road today?   Maybe boatbuilders could have, or should have, learned something from automakers back in the day- you don’t have to build it to last forever.
You just have to build it to last long enough.

     I’m glad they didn’t.

     I enjoy walking down the Dock and passing Sirens and Sirius 21s and Tanzer 22s and  DS20s and Bluenoses and C&C 24s, seeing the optimism in the designs, the belief that if we could put a man on the moon, then, dadgummit! we can certainly build and sell a full keel, bowspritted and trailboarded, full headroom, 25 foot cruiser.

     Alas, the newest Bayfield 25 is now more than a quarter century old.  Bayfield  Boats closed up in 1988.  Tanzer boats died a year earlier.  So Did Vandestadt and McGruer, Sirius builders. Nordica packed it in even earlier, while Halman managed to hang on until the mid 90s.  Whitby, Ouyang, Mirage, Grampian, Aloha, Ontario, Hughes, CS, Paceship, McVay?  Gone, gone, gone, gone, nada, done, closed, history, no more, goodbye.

     We don’t go to the moon anymore, either.

      I’m not sure we’re better off.     BDJ.






     Let me know what you think.



   Thanks for checking in, and don't forget to "Talk the Dock!"

A Great Way to Kill Time Waiting for Spring to Come

     "The 'inferior' sex got a new exterior..."
                                          -the eurythmics


   
   Spring  is coming.
   But it doesn't look like it is coming anytime soon:

    In the meantime, need a sailing fix?

  Check out "Untie the Lines" on youtube:

    One woman.
    One boat.
    A whole bunch of  adventure.

    Warning:  The story is addictive.  Get done done what you have to get done for the day before you start clicking links.


Thanks for checking us out, and remember to
"Talk the Dock!"