Helping customers enjoy boating

Marina Dock Age, March 2007

Helping customers enjoy boating
by Dennis P. Kissman

I was reading an article recently about the opening of a new marina in the Caribbean. After building a multi-million dollar breakwater, the marina basin was still an uncomfortable place for boaters due to the swells that continually came through the entrance.

Marina Dock Age readers may recall the column I wrote last month, where I discussed the importance of hiring the right consultant. Well, that’s not what I want to focus on in this Caribbean example. In this case, the story I read quoted one of the sailing customers staying at the marina as saying “that rocking is just part of the boating experience.” Well that may be part of the boating experience, but it is not what the majority of boaters want in a marina.

We often think of boaters as this hearty group of seafaring folks that can cope with all kinds of problems and just chalk it up to another “boating experience.” Well guess what? That is not the case. Today’s recreational boater wants pleasure, and not “another experience.” These people are not making their living from the sea, and they are not venturing offshore to distant lands. No, these boaters want a trouble-free experience for a few hours of enjoyment on a weekend.

Part of a boater’s pleasure comes from using one’s boat — whether sitting on it at one’s marina or enjoying a favorite water activity. Remember, your customer’s boating enjoyment starts and ends at your marina. Whatever you can do to improve that time will be rewarded with increased business. Marina operators have an obligation — yes, an obligation — to see that their customers enjoy their time while at the marina. Too many “bad boating experiences” are going to lead to one of two things. The customer will use the boat less, which will eventually lead to selling the boat, or they will get out of boating all together. Neither option is good for business.

Customer service

So, what steps should marinas take to make sure their customers are enjoying themselves? To answer this question, marina owners and operators must first of all realize that there is no list of bullet points to follow, although there are a few guidelines that can help. Just as we know that no two marinas are alike, the same principle applies to one’s customers. As such, marinas need to be observant without being obtrusive. The more they know about their customers’ habits, likes, and dislikes, the better they will be able to satisfy their needs.

Make sure you know the difference between a customer and a friend. The easiest way to tell the difference is that you socialize with friends, while you ask customers to pay for services rendered.

Your ego should be less important than your customers. The quickest way to drive someone away from a marina is to make them feel inferior, and one of the quickest ways to do that is by destroying their egos. If they want to puff their chests out and tell you how good they are or what they have is better than anyone else’s, listen to them and agree with them — you’re not going home with them. Let them have their moment of glory for tomorrow is a new day.

Take actions

Having learned some things to better understand your customers, what should managers do about that swell that rolls through the marina and results in half the cocktails being poured on the deck? Maybe there isn’t much you can do about that today, but what you want to do is make sure that this is the only problem that customers complain about at your marina. Often times, there is not one problem that is the culprit to customer dissatisfaction, but rather it’s a culmination of problems.

As we noted earlier, boaters are, for the most part, a forgiving group. They recognize that some things are out of the control of management, but if management is not doing the best with the things that they can control, then criticisms will surely follow.

One of the best ways that I have found to minimize criticism of the physical aspects of a marina — no matter how good or how bad it is — is to show customers that things have changed for the better since the last time they were at the marina. What you want to achieve is to have that customer who comes to your marina, whether it was yesterday, a week ago, or last season, say, “Gee, there is something different about this place. I don’t really know what it is, but it feels good and I like it.”

Marinas that adopt this philosophy will be amazed at what a friendly greeting, a few well-placed nails, and a coat of paint will do for a customer’s disposition. It will literally turn that “boating experience” into a pleasurable day on the water.