Dealer Refuses Warranty Work

[CedarLakeSkier]

Exactly. I'm the 3rd owner of mine. This is absolutely ridiculous. Glad The Edge (Kalamazoo, MI dealer) is a great place to work with, no problem servicing the Echelon.

[Hack]

I did the same thing you did when I bought my first 'bu. Bought a left over from a dealer out-of-territory because my dealer didn't have what I was looking for. Despite that my dealer was fantastic to work with and, because of that, I made every attempt to buy my next boat from them. And that's exactly what I ended up doing.

So my take on this would be the following:

1 - Even if Malibu were able to strong arm the dealer into working on the boat I would NEVER go back to that dealer again. Done.

2 - Malibu is shooting themselves in the foot by letting dealers get away with this crap. If I were you my next boat would NOT be a Malibu if there is a decent CC, MC or Supra dealer in your area (and how could another dealer be worse).

Yep...

[CRASH]

I think there are plenty of dealers who help everyone out. Some dealers feel they need service only their customers due to short seasons etc. I know at our shop we work on any bu regardless of where it was purchased. Our customer do have priority over everyone though.

[WakeGirl]

This isn't every dealer's policy, just a few. Most will give their own customers preferential treatment & send the others that either bought used or out of territory to the back of the line. I'm not sure what Malibu's take on that is, but my guess is that the next few years will make the cream rise to the top so to speak.

It would help if Malibu would adjust their warranty reimbursements. Too often dealers get absolutely hosed on warranty work.

I'm sure that's true Tracy and I'm not without sympathy for that. Put those people to the back of the line but don't just blow them off. Unless of course you're willing to pay the consequences. Both the dealer and Malibu-corporate. Any body up there listening??

Also agreed, the best will survive because they get it. Some dealers just want to sell stuff and make a quick profit (the Malibu dealer in the KC area is an absolute jerk), some are really actually Boat People in it because they love it and they understand the customer they market to. Which is why they survive and even thrive in a down economy - they set themselves apart and attract then build a loyal customer base. Real Boat People don't treat other Boat People that way. The ones just selling stuff will shake out and go away in this economy, and good riddance AFAIC. I guess there actually IS an upside to a down economy...

Ed

I only brought up the issue of reimbursement to point out that there is more to the issue than a dealer simply locking out non-customers. I'm not saying it's right, don't get me wrong on that. I definitely fall into the camp that thinks that there has to be a reasonable balance to the equation. Malibu would help dealers do better at that by changing its reimbursement policies.

And yes, the cream is going to rise to the top. We are very much in a Survival of the Fittest scenario when it comes to this type of industry/product. The dealers that recognize that & are proactive in their business approach by taking the long view will have a better shot at making it through, & set themselves up for long term success with a loyal customer base. Shortsightedness will be the fastest road to failure IMO.

[rustie]

That treatment really stinks....and should not be tolerated by Malibu for any reason. I'm shocked they would even consider acting like that in THIS business climate. I would simply vote with your wallet and expose this company for who and what they are....."customer UNFRIENDLY" at the very least!!!

Oddly, I've had exactly the opposite experience here in Ventura CA. My local dealer has already helped me transfer my warranty on my used 247 LSV that I bought in TN! He has been so helpful that I've purchased $4000+ of accessories...ropes, anchors, boards, cleaners, floats, FOUR Wetsounds Pro80's, and many OEM Malibu parts (all at a reasonable discount too!) I can't tell you how happy I am with this dealer. Considering what I've read above, my Ventura dealer has got to be one of the best....and he's definitely worth naming for any of you who are close by and need service of any kind. It's Tilly's in Ventura (right off the 101 Frwy). Bruce and Valerie are THE BEST people in any type of dealership I've had the opportunity to buy from....ranging from new cars, to motorcycles, and now to boats!

Just go where the flow is the easiest....and reward those that are the most helpful by supporting that dealership (I certainly have!)

Edited June 26, 2009 by rustie

[tj_in_kc]

rustie, did you know Tilly's has been selling Malibu's longer than any other dealership ??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malibu_Boats

[rustie]

rustie, did you know Tilly's has been selling Malibu's longer than any other dealership ??

HA! Nope....didn't know that. But there's an obvious reason why, ya think? They're a very friendly dealer, and even though I didn't buy my boat from them, they never made me feel anything other than part of the "Malibu family" (and one of their good customers). With attitudes like those at Tilly's....they are bound to weather this financial climate quite nicely (and I'm helping all I can too!)

I've also noticed that even in this era, they've sold several new boats in just the past coupla weeks. There must be a reason...they're very competitive AND friendly! It's not often you find both in one shop....

[dihrdskir]

Gotta chime in here,

I live half way around the world. Bought my last boat from Tillys who could not have been more couteous or helpful. Kudos to Brett, Bruce,Valerie and the team who have done, and contiue to do a great job reperesenting Malibu.

[MalibuTime]

If every dealer had this policy then you have no warranty and Malibu is ok with that? I would love to see a copy of Malibu's dealership agreement.

No doubt. The fact that Malibu does not require dealers to honor the Malibu warranty, period, is a huge tactical error. Typically, manufacturers have set labor hours for various repairs and that is what the dealer is reimbursed at. There is no excuse for this lame dealer, and there is no excuse for Malibu to not contractually require that to be part of their dealer network you must honor all approved warranty claims.

edit- I say tactical error in that is does not appear to be in their dealer agreement, but strategic error in failing to ensure the highest level of factory supported customer service is available anywhere in their dealer network.

Edited June 26, 2009 by TheBlackPearl

[Sandaholic]

"We called the local dealer where the boat is used at"

Your profile says Northridge,(assuming CA) the dealer local to Northridge is Tilly's, but where is the boat used at? I've got a hunch there's more to this story than we're being told. And just curious, what dealer's service department would be closed for a month during the busiest part of the year?

The boat is utilized and garaged at Lake Naciemento (Paso Robles, CA). The Malibu Customer Service rep. refereed us to Tilly's. Tilly's was very helpful over the phone and said they would be glad to do our warranty work. The only catch is they would not be able to service the boat for a month due to their service shop being closed (maybe to just new appointments) because vacation/illness of staff. Even though it is over a 3 hours tow to Tilly's, we hope to develop a relationship with the dealership and plan to take the boat in for service as soon as we can. I understand warranty work is not the most profitable, but I believe in the long it will pay off with the potential for repeat business.

I don't have a problem with dealers giving special treatment to customers that purchased their boat from them. Car dealers do that all the time. Some car dealers offer free car loaners or other perks if you bring your car in for service and you purchased it there. At the same time, you never hear of a car dealer refusing to do warranty work on a car that is under a valid warranty. Buying a boat from a local dealer is not always an option due to availability of certain models. Even if you do buy local, with the current economy it is possible that your local dealer could close which would leave you at the mercy of the next closest dealer willing to honor your warranty. Malibu could easily have a policy that states all Malibu dealers must honor a valid Malibu warranty

[FIC]

When you found the boat that you purchased did you give the local dealer the opurtunity to negotiate the sale through his facility so he could get the factory incentives. This is one possiblity , I dont however agree with him doing any per pay items if he was upset with your purchase.

We will not work on boats purchased out of are territory unless customers give us common courtesy in making any deal.

Really, business must be good at Fortes Inboard Connection there in the Tampa area to be able to sustain that kind of policy.

You do realize that is a 2 way street you are on. Lost revenue on accessories, parts, labor, the next boat the guy buys, lost references to friends of the guy whose boat you won't work on, lost sales from the guys friends.... Wow, good thing car dealerships don't operate that way.

I guess you didnt read what I wrote , I said if a customer allows us the common courtsey of negogiating the deal and putting them in what they want even if it is a boat from another dealer which we can pull from there inventory , we would be more then happy to accomadate them and handle all of there problems, thats the proper way to do bussiness .

To many times the consumer trys to play one dealer againsnt another and then expects that dealer to take care of all there issues, if thats the way bussiness is done than we as dealers will be out of bussiness anyway.

[FIC]

When you found the boat that you purchased did you give the local dealer the opurtunity to negotiate the sale through his facility so he could get the factory incentives. This is one possiblity , I dont however agree with him doing any per pay items if he was upset with your purchase.

We will not work on boats purchased out of are territory unless customers give us common courtesy in making any deal.

Really, business must be good at Fortes Inboard Connection there in the Tampa area to be able to sustain that kind of policy.

You do realize that is a 2 way street you are on. Lost revenue on accessories, parts, labor, the next boat the guy buys, lost references to friends of the guy whose boat you won't work on, lost sales from the guys friends.... Wow, good thing car dealerships don't operate that way.

P.S. THANKS FOR GIVING US A PLUG ON THE SITE I DIDNT KNOW WE WERE ALLOWED TO ADVERTISE.

[wakeup]

This isn't every dealer's policy, just a few. Most will give their own customers preferential treatment & send the others that either bought used or out of territory to the back of the line. I'm not sure what Malibu's take on that is, but my guess is that the next few years will make the cream rise to the top so to speak.

It would help if Malibu would adjust their warranty reimbursements. Too often dealers get absolutely hosed on warranty work.

I'm sure that's true Tracy and I'm not without sympathy for that. Put those people to the back of the line but don't just blow them off. Unless of course you're willing to pay the consequences. Both the dealer and Malibu-corporate. Any body up there listening??

Also agreed, the best will survive because they get it. Some dealers just want to sell stuff and make a quick profit (the Malibu dealer in the KC area is an absolute jerk), some are really actually Boat People in it because they love it and they understand the customer they market to. Which is why they survive and even thrive in a down economy - they set themselves apart and attract then build a loyal customer base. Real Boat People don't treat other Boat People that way. The ones just selling stuff will shake out and go away in this economy, and good riddance AFAIC. I guess there actually IS an upside to a down economy...

Ed

I only brought up the issue of reimbursement to point out that there is more to the issue than a dealer simply locking out non-customers. I'm not saying it's right, don't get me wrong on that. I definitely fall into the camp that thinks that there has to be a reasonable balance to the equation. Malibu would help dealers do better at that by changing its reimbursement policies.

And yes, the cream is going to rise to the top. We are very much in a Survival of the Fittest scenario when it comes to this type of industry/product. The dealers that recognize that & are proactive in their business approach by taking the long view will have a better shot at making it through, & set themselves up for long term success with a loyal customer base. Shortsightedness will be the fastest road to failure IMO.

I think BU should step up on warranty work funding if that is true. I know car dealerships can make good money on warranty work since most are a set time/money thing. Most mechanics can beat that allotted time allowing them to proceed to other money making maintenance.

And yes, those dealerships that have vision and management prowess will be the ones who survive. Some owners have it, some just do not. You can immediately feel it when you call a dealership with how your call is handled.

Our new BU gets non warranty service at the local Nautique dealer because they are on our lake vs. BU dealer 2.5 hours away and our boat stays in the boathouse year round.

They are great with great customer service even to someone who didn't buy from them and actually they lost the sell of a 06 SV211 to us because we went with a BU instead.

But he told me just last week that they hope everytime I'm in that showroom I might, just might look again at a Nautique. And guess what, we bought a pontoon boat from them back in January and my wife has purchased my son's life jackets from there, we got a huge trampoline tube (1200 bucks), some fenders, 303, etc, etc. If they had that "no service policy" they would never get my business, not even a key ring.

[XTI04]

When you found the boat that you purchased did you give the local dealer the opurtunity to negotiate the sale through his facility so he could get the factory incentives. This is one possiblity , I dont however agree with him doing any per pay items if he was upset with your purchase.

We will not work on boats purchased out of are territory unless customers give us common courtesy in making any deal.

Really, business must be good at Fortes Inboard Connection there in the Tampa area to be able to sustain that kind of policy.

You do realize that is a 2 way street you are on. Lost revenue on accessories, parts, labor, the next boat the guy buys, lost references to friends of the guy whose boat you won't work on, lost sales from the guys friends.... Wow, good thing car dealerships don't operate that way.

P.S. THANKS FOR GIVING US A PLUG ON THE SITE I DIDNT KNOW WE WERE ALLOWED TO ADVERTISE.

I have NEVER had a dealer offer to get a boat from another dealer. They just try and sell you what they have on their lot and if that is not what you want too bad. No one should be penalized for finding the right boat for their needs where ever it may be.

P.S. That is not the kind of plug I would want associated with my busniess. If you don't buy it from me go away!

[rustie]

Tilly's was very helpful over the phone and said they would be glad to do our warranty work. The only catch is they would not be able to service the boat for a month due to their service shop being closed (maybe to just new appointments) because vacation/illness of staff.

Actually, their service dept isn't closed...far from it (I have an appointment for some work after the holiday), but I'm pretty sure they are completely booked up...or over booked. I do know they lost their top mechanic to a severe back injury just over a month ago (Brady). Couldn't have happened at a worse time either (beginning of the season). I happened to walk in and purchased several items the very day he injured himself. Seems he slipped while testing a boat. I know only too well how painful back injuries can be (been there done that)....so I can only hope that Brady's injury heals soon and he can come back to work (as does everybody at Tilly's). Unfortunately, backs can require a lot of time....and with Brady's extensive BU knowledge, he will be a difficult person to replace if he can't make it back.

Difficult times indeed....

[skyskier]

When you found the boat that you purchased did you give the local dealer the opurtunity to negotiate the sale through his facility so he could get the factory incentives. This is one possiblity , I dont however agree with him doing any per pay items if he was upset with your purchase.

We will not work on boats purchased out of are territory unless customers give us common courtesy in making any deal.

Really, business must be good at Fortes Inboard Connection there in the Tampa area to be able to sustain that kind of policy.

You do realize that is a 2 way street you are on. Lost revenue on accessories, parts, labor, the next boat the guy buys, lost references to friends of the guy whose boat you won't work on, lost sales from the guys friends.... Wow, good thing car dealerships don't operate that way.

I guess you didnt read what I wrote , I said if a customer allows us the common courtsey of negogiating the deal and putting them in what they want even if it is a boat from another dealer which we can pull from there inventory , we would be more then happy to accomadate them and handle all of there problems, thats the proper way to do bussiness .

To many times the consumer trys to play one dealer againsnt another and then expects that dealer to take care of all there issues, if thats the way bussiness is done than we as dealers will be out of bussiness anyway.

Common courtesy? Sorry man, protected dealer territories is not about common courtesy. Far from it. If you had EARNED my business with superior customer service on my current boat, and I passed you by when shopping for a new boat, then you can talk about common courtesy. If you refuse to perform warranty work on my current boat, I owe you nothing.......nada.......zip.........squat. How about extending a little common courtesy yourself by not forcing Malibu owners to drive hundreds of miles to a dealer who will do warranty work on an out of territory boat? That is how you EARN customer loyalty and repeat business. Lucky for me the dealer in my territory has EARNED my business more times than I can count. This whole protected territory thing just chaps my butt.

Edited June 26, 2009 by skyskier

[Jimmypooh]

Common courtesy? Sorry man, protected dealer territories is not about common courtesy. Far from it. If you had EARNED my business with superior customer service on my current boat, and I passed you by when shopping for a new boat, then you can talk about common courtesy. If you refuse to perform warranty work on my current boat, I owe you nothing.......nada.......zip.........squat. This whole territory thing just chaps my butt.

I'll have to agree. As I was shopping for a boat last year, I was very close to buying a boat from the dealer closest to me. He proceeded to tell me that if I decided not to buy from him, that I would have a tough time getting serviced by him. As my talks continued with him, I disliked the way he treated his customers or potential customers. I ended up buying my Bu (used) from a CC dealer.

I refuse to be bullied into buying from a dealer just to get serviced. Since then I have gone out of my way to buy accessories from dealers that would like my business. My next boat, new or use may not be a Bu, specifically because this is allowed to happen. I don't expect preferential treatment, but I do expect to be treated fairly if you want any business from me. As a result I have told many people my story and I know this dealer now gets less business because of it.

Malibu Corporate - Please get control of your dealers before I move to a different brand.

[Bill_AirJunky]

When you found the boat that you purchased did you give the local dealer the opurtunity to negotiate the sale through his facility so he could get the factory incentives. This is one possiblity , I dont however agree with him doing any per pay items if he was upset with your purchase.

We will not work on boats purchased out of are territory unless customers give us common courtesy in making any deal.

Really, business must be good at Fortes Inboard Connection there in the Tampa area to be able to sustain that kind of policy.

You do realize that is a 2 way street you are on. Lost revenue on accessories, parts, labor, the next boat the guy buys, lost references to friends of the guy whose boat you won't work on, lost sales from the guys friends.... Wow, good thing car dealerships don't operate that way.

P.S. THANKS FOR GIVING US A PLUG ON THE SITE I DIDNT KNOW WE WERE ALLOWED TO ADVERTISE.

Keep talkin. Your advertising alright. But your not making many customers.

I'd avoid that policy like the plague if it were at dealerships around here. Thankfully our dealerships don't have such biased policies. And frankly I wonder why Malibu would keep any dealerships around who DO support a policy like this.

[JeffS]

I'm a big believer in two-sides-to-every-story.

It's interesting the two camps that develop over this topic - both on this board, and every other boating board I visit. This is not a Malibu issue - it's a boat issue across many if not most brands.

Camp 1 - dealers have limited capacity to service boats and work at 120% of that capacity during the busy times of year. If they are to be most fair and superserve customers that purchased boats from them, they will have to restrict access to their repair facility to existing clientele only. At that moment, they are not in the business of earning new customers. They are in the business of superserving those they already have. It's a TODAY model of doing business. And this camp believes this is reasonable and fair.

Camp 2 - customers have limited dollars to spend on egregiously luxurious disposable income toys like Malibu boats...and dealers have to EARN access to those dollars before they receive even one of those dollars. It's a FUTURE model of doing business. What you do for me today with this toy that I purchased elsewhere will determine how I view you when the time comes to buy my next egregiously luxurious toy. And this camp believes this is reasonable and fair.

One thing to add to the topic - this is not a Malibu issue. It's not Malibu corporate failing anyone. And I personally don't think it's Malibu Dealers behaving outside the ordinary...or violating any customer service conduct codes. The dealer does what he has to do...based on what he believes the future holds...to be in business and profitable. These are not dumb people. They are smart, risk taking, strategy driven folks. The people at Malibu corporate don't swing by the local Dairy Queen and go table to table hoping to find someone interested in a Malibu franchise. There are a lot of stress tests on a dealer principal before that dealership is granted.

If the dealer believes, after weighing pros and cons, that he's better off in the long run servicing existing clientele only during the busy months of May, June and July - then that's his decision. And when the economy is in the tank - these guys are in survival mode. Profit is not something most are even considering - many are just living month to month on the Line of Credit, while interest and floor plan charges mount, per boat profitability drops, carry-overs mount, accessory inventory ages, property taxes or leases go up, and banks get more an more itchy about renewing their lines or lending any additional operating capital. The last thing they probably give a crap about is a bunch of people on a discussion board telling them they're doing it wrong. If it were me, I'd have to consider the whole thing crazy unless the person leveling the complaint has their signature on the bottom of a piece of paper holding their feet to a couple million in inventory and debt.

But that's just me. These guys aren't making this decision because they think it's fun and entertaining. They make the decision because they believe it's best for their business in the long run. And these owners are on the hook for millions - these are not decisions they make without thinking about it first.

Just wanted you all to know that I think these dealers are just doing the best they can. And to tell you this is not an issue exclusive to Malibu. Dealer to dealer, different decisions are made every day. So locally, your CC dealer may be different. But on the whole - I bet this discussion has been had on the Supra board, the Moomba board, the Mastercraft board, the Cruisers board, the Sea Ray board, theHullTruth, iBoats, BoatingABC...all of them.

[pennery]

When you found the boat that you purchased did you give the local dealer the opurtunity to negotiate the sale through his facility so he could get the factory incentives. This is one possiblity , I dont however agree with him doing any per pay items if he was upset with your purchase.

We will not work on boats purchased out of are territory unless customers give us common courtesy in making any deal.

Really, business must be good at Fortes Inboard Connection there in the Tampa area to be able to sustain that kind of policy.

You do realize that is a 2 way street you are on. Lost revenue on accessories, parts, labor, the next boat the guy buys, lost references to friends of the guy whose boat you won't work on, lost sales from the guys friends.... Wow, good thing car dealerships don't operate that way.

I guess you didnt read what I wrote , I said if a customer allows us the common courtsey of negogiating the deal and putting them in what they want even if it is a boat from another dealer which we can pull from there inventory , we would be more then happy to accomadate them and handle all of there problems, thats the proper way to do bussiness .

To many times the consumer trys to play one dealer againsnt another and then expects that dealer to take care of all there issues, if thats the way bussiness is done than we as dealers will be out of bussiness anyway.

It's great that you are saying this now that you have been called out but you obviously seemed to have neglected informing the Buyer of this type of policy before he purchased his boat... The way the posts read is that he checked and the local dealer didn't have any XTi's (nor could they order one) which is the model he wanted.. Rather than trying to sell him a VLX tell the buyer that maybe you can pull one from another dealer... It sounds to me as if the original poster would have been very open to that type of idea as long as he got the right model...

Maybe the Dealer in question should learn how to handle this in the future rather than handling it the way they are which I would say the majority of Malibu owners disagree with...

[geogilbert]

One thing to add to the topic - this is not a Malibu issue. It's not Malibu corporate failing anyone.

I completely disagree. Malibu Corporate is failing on this front. I could not care less what the rest of the industry is doing. Malibu has in place policies that do not incentivise their dealer network to want to do warranty work. They don't even want to do it on boats they sold, but they do it cause they feel they have to. This is bad. From a dealer dollar standpoint there should be no difference between work done in or out of warranty. I dont see any issue with dealers servicing "their" boats first and others next but to so to bad so sad is unacceptable. Malibu need to lead the market and forget what others do. If they did the market would react favorably.

They make the decision because they believe it's best for their business in the long run.

I think if you look at it it is mostly an ego thing not a business decision.

I am talking from experience here and my situation did get worked out and all parties are happy. I am pleased with my dealer and plan to do business with him in the future. But, as one of the previous posters mentioned. This is the kind of thing that made me start looking very closely at an x-Star. And that is bad for Malibu corporate.

[mlange]

I'd like to know what the agreement looks like between Malibu and its dealers. I'm assuming they're not all identical if nothing more than that the agreement that was inked up fifteen years ago has probably been revised many times over since then. But is there any kind of SLA defined? Etc...

There are certainly more than enough annoying customers/boat owners with unreasonable expectations so I feel for the dealers from that standpoint. But the dealers are also representatives of Malibu (if not literally, from the perspective of their customers) and should be held to some kind of standard that Malibu defines (possibly with the help of some dealers).

Just my $.02.

[SmoothWaterMan]

I'm a big believer in two-sides-to-every-story.

It's interesting the two camps that develop over this topic - both on this board, and every other boating board I visit. This is not a Malibu issue - it's a boat issue across many if not most brands.

Camp 1 - dealers have limited capacity to service boats and work at 120% of that capacity during the busy times of year. If they are to be most fair and superserve customers that purchased boats from them, they will have to restrict access to their repair facility to existing clientele only. At that moment, they are not in the business of earning new customers. They are in the business of superserving those they already have. It's a TODAY model of doing business. And this camp believes this is reasonable and fair.

Camp 2 - customers have limited dollars to spend on egregiously luxurious disposable income toys like Malibu boats...and dealers have to EARN access to those dollars before they receive even one of those dollars. It's a FUTURE model of doing business. What you do for me today with this toy that I purchased elsewhere will determine how I view you when the time comes to buy my next egregiously luxurious toy. And this camp believes this is reasonable and fair.

One thing to add to the topic - this is not a Malibu issue. It's not Malibu corporate failing anyone. And I personally don't think it's Malibu Dealers behaving outside the ordinary...or violating any customer service conduct codes. The dealer does what he has to do...based on what he believes the future holds...to be in business and profitable. These are not dumb people. They are smart, risk taking, strategy driven folks. The people at Malibu corporate don't swing by the local Dairy Queen and go table to table hoping to find someone interested in a Malibu franchise. There are a lot of stress tests on a dealer principal before that dealership is granted.

If the dealer believes, after weighing pros and cons, that he's better off in the long run servicing existing clientele only during the busy months of May, June and July - then that's his decision. And when the economy is in the tank - these guys are in survival mode. Profit is not something most are even considering - many are just living month to month on the Line of Credit, while interest and floor plan charges mount, per boat profitability drops, carry-overs mount, accessory inventory ages, property taxes or leases go up, and banks get more an more itchy about renewing their lines or lending any additional operating capital. The last thing they probably give a crap about is a bunch of people on a discussion board telling them they're doing it wrong. If it were me, I'd have to consider the whole thing crazy unless the person leveling the complaint has their signature on the bottom of a piece of paper holding their feet to a couple million in inventory and debt.

But that's just me. These guys aren't making this decision because they think it's fun and entertaining. They make the decision because they believe it's best for their business in the long run. And these owners are on the hook for millions - these are not decisions they make without thinking about it first.

Just wanted you all to know that I think these dealers are just doing the best they can. And to tell you this is not an issue exclusive to Malibu. Dealer to dealer, different decisions are made every day. So locally, your CC dealer may be different. But on the whole - I bet this discussion has been had on the Supra board, the Moomba board, the Mastercraft board, the Cruisers board, the Sea Ray board, theHullTruth, iBoats, BoatingABC...all of them.

[ed obermeier]

Spin it however you want to. Telling a non-customer (who is actually a potential future customer) you won't service their boat simply and ONLY because they didn't buy it there is dumb & shortsighted business, plain and simple. Rather, telling them "I can't get to it because my preferred customers have to be taken care of first, but I'll be happy to get to it just as soon as I possibly can" would be considered smart business IMO. That's just being honest without being confrontational and negative. If the potential customer THEN takes that as a negative then they're the jerk, not the dealer. In which case I wouldn't service the jerk either. Who is it better to allow to be the jerk in the deal, the dealer who stands to lose a bunch of business over being a jerk, or one individual who has his head up his a**? Use your heads dealers. Intimidation tactics will lose you the good will of the public FAST.

If you blow me off because you don't like the fact you didn't make a bunch of money off me earlier, you can be damn sure I'm gonna blow you off too AND you're NEVER gonna make any money off me or anyone I have any sort of communication with. Cause then YOU"RE the jerk, and reasonable folks won't be bullied into spending their money with a jerk.

Ed

[JeffS]

Spin it however you want to. Telling a non-customer (who is actually a potential future customer) you won't service their boat simply and ONLY because they didn't buy it there is dumb & shortsighted business, plain and simple.

Ed

At least preface something like this with the words "in my opinion...". Please?