On May 30, 5:40�am, Gene Kearns
wrote:
On Wed, 30 May 2007 12:17:06 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing





wrote:
This has been a real interesting experience.

I've been in the market for a new boat - Mrs. Wave wants something a
little bigger so she can go on day trips when she has time. *We
settled on a 23 foot CC with step down console or if necessary, a 23
WA with cuddy.

I have a brandy new 200 HO ETEC, so I figured the best way to do this
was to reinstall the FIC?HT on the Ranger, sell it and use the new
ETEC as power for the new boat.

Thus, I want to purchase a boat w/trailer without an engine or engine
controls. *Pretty simple concept right?

I started with the boats that I have been impressed with in the past.
I'm not going to name the specific manufacturers - you all know which
ones I've mentioned as favorites. *I called around to dealers in my
area and presented the proposition to them - boat and trailer only.

You would think I was pulling teeth with pliers. *

The first question invariable was "are you installing an I/O?". *No, I
have a new ETEC 200 that I will install or have installed.

"Oh, you don't want an ETEC - those are junk engines. *They've had all
kinds of problems with those engines. What you want is (Insert Yamaha,
Mercury, Suzuki - engine of their choice here)."

I replied to this with "Well, that's not your problem - that's what
will be going on the boat - so can you deliver it that way?"

Invariably, the answer to that was "We don't service ETECS". *Again, I
replied with "Not your problem - that's my problem".

Next up was "Well, we could, but installing that engine will void the
warranty on the boat". *Which begged the question from me "So if I buy
a boat with a T-top and vacuum head, installing the ETEC will void the
warranty on those items?" *The reply was invariably yes.

Uh huh...

At this point, I resorted to contacting the manufacturers directly by
telephone. *In every case they referred me back to the dealer and
didn't want to deal direct.

To be fair, I still haven't heard from one manufacturer (starts with C
and ends with R), but I've had good relations in the past with them
and expect some measure of cooperation.

It would seem to me that this would be a fairly easy thing to do -
apparently not.

As I learn more, I will post the results.

This seems to be an outgrowth of what started as sweetheart deals
between hull manufacturer "A" and engine manufacturer "B," which
assured the sale of a particular brand engine with every new hull
sold.

This has, now, turned into such a mindless, stoopid, and restrictive
covenant that it serves nobody well.
--

Grady-White Gulfstream, out of Oak Island, NC.

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It may not be that sinister- walk the length of the dock in the other
fellow's shoes and see what you think......

(Wave Hairy Godfather's wand....)

You're suddenly Kearns Marine, and you sell new Flotsam boats.
In fact, you're the exclusive dealer for Flotsam in your half of the
state
and as a responsible dealer you have a vested interest in maintaining
a cadre of satisified customers who will either say positive things
about their ownership experience with a Flotsam or will at least avoid
bad-mouthing the brand and your dealership. Naturally you are going to
need to rig you boats with outboards, and you aren't in a position to
stock parts or train service staff to deal with every line of
outboards currently on the market.

The Flotsam Boat Company has a working relationship with Jetsam
outboards. All of the product literature shows Flotsam Boats rigged
with Jetsam motors, and Jetsam provides some financial incentives to
the Flotsam manufacturing company as well as to Kearns Marine.

If a buyer approached you with the proposition that he wanted to buy a
boat without a motor so that he could rig it with a motor normally
associated with competing brands, there are a few reasons that it
might not make any business sense for you to accept the deal.

1. It isn't unusual for people to confuse problems they are having
with the engine with problems native to the boat itself. A guy's
outboard lets him down and he's as likely to say, "That goddam Flotsam
boat is sure a hunk of crap! I had to be towed back in from two miles
out last weekend! They don't build 'em like they used to" as he would
be to say
"My Brand X outboard is sure a disappointment." (Especially if people
are aware that he used the Brand X outboard despite specific advice
not to do so).

2. If your customer has rigged the boat with an outboard that you
don't service, he's less likely to use your service department for
much of anything after the sale. You rely on parts and service for a
major portion of your gross profits, so a deal where you make a little
bit on a bare hull and trailer is less attractive to you than a deal
where you create a customer that will patronize your service
department during the winter. If a buyer takes his new Flotsam boat
into a competitor's service department because the competitor is set
up to service that brand of outboard motor, the competing service
department won't have any incentive to render particularly stellar
service to a guy who bought his boat somewhere else. There's a risk
that the competing service department might point out a lot of
(possibly bogus) "warranty issues"
to sow the seeds of dissatisfaction and perhaps persuade the buyer to
trade in his Flotsam.

3. Dissatisfaction with the oddball outboard may quite likely be
reflected in a negative CSI score, which in turn can reduce your
allocation of the hot selling models for the upcoming model year.

4. A buyer with a Brand X outboard on one of your Flotsam boats is not
good news for your business. His buddies see him on the water or at
the launch ramp and ask, "Hey, I thought Flotsam boats always used
Jetsam engines. Why do you have a Brand X engine?" If your buyer
answers, "I think the Jetsam engines are a piece of crap so I had my
boat especially rigged with a Brand X" the buddies might conclude,
"We'll stay away from Kearns Marine, he sells engines that are so
lousy people are going out and getting outboards somewhere else to
mount on the boats he sells. Maybe we should consider XYZ Marine for
our next boat, they normally feature the outboards that people prefer
over the Jetsam outboards they rig at Kearns"

5. When engine related issues come up during the period of ownership,
and they obviously will, you will want to be in a position to render
full service to your buyer. Imagine selling a new Chevy truck with a
Ford engine installed.....service and warranty would be a nightmare
and you would have a very frustrated customer.

6. Your attorney has cautioned you about potential liabilities
associated with selling an "incomplete" product and allowing John Q.
Public to rig it himself. When the 18 foot runabout with the 400 HP
outboard disintegrates 300 yards from the dock and people get injured
or killed as a result, some of the deep pockets the civil attorneys
will be trying to pick are stitched into *your* pants.


If dealers are turning down Tom's business it is probably because some
or all of the problems mentioned above have occured in the past and
the resulting nightmares have proven to be more costly than the
profits earned on the sale of a hull and trailer.