Marina International, January 2001

Whose Marina Is It?
by Patience Welton

Marina Operators daily walk the fine line between satisfying their customer and maintaining control of their operation. Patience Welton of Marina Management Services Inc. offers some tips on how to satisfy both objectives.

Long-term live a board, yacht club members, regular berth holders and marina visitors expect and deserve courteous attentive service, and one of the keys to superior customer service is to make each and every client feel important and special. But it is very easy for what was originally a special privilege surreptitiously to become a right.

The long-term live a board quickly comes to think of your marina as home because it is. They are nice folks so you over-look the small potted plant on the dock. Before you know it, the dock is an over grown jungle and your friendly local fire inspector suggesting that the top of the fire hose cabinet may not be the best place for that window box full of petunias.  

This customer knows all the rules and regulations. Daily ways are invented to circumvent these rules. He knows that outside contractors are required to show the office proof of liability insurance but that guy driving the "Midnight Marine Repairs" panel truck who just stepped on his boat with a tool box is just stopping by for an all day cup of coffee. How did this happen? We bent the rules trying to be the nice guy.

Club members offer unique challenges because their dues "pay your salary". A very nice committee hired you. They neglected to mention that there were 500 members who see themselves as your immediate supervisor and no job description could possibly cover all your responsibilities. Recently at a private club, there was a panic call to the harbormaster from a boat owner about a water problem. The marina’s maintenance man was immediately dispatched; it wasn’t until his return 3 hours later that the source of the water problem was revealed as ruptured water heater in the member’s home!

There are 499 members that do not want to pay that employee to repair a water heater but if it is them that needs you to walk the dog or drive them to the airport of course that would be a different story.

Regular customers become territorial. Heaven forbid that you should try to alter something that was once offered as a courtesy. A marina once offered dingy dockage to accommodate vessels that were anchoring out in attempt to be a good boating neighbor. When it became apparent that this was the cause of the overcrowded parking lot and the dingy dock would need to be removed it became a right not a privilege. The solution to this problem became a public relations nightmare, ultimately it required finding another location for the dingy dock on public property and providing the funds to install it.

Ownership of parking spaces whether assigned or not is something that defies explanation. I’ve had a yacht owner tell me he had 9 crew so he would require 10 prime parking spaces. I’ve seen a car, whose owner was sailing a race, end up on a sidewalk because it was left in someone else's regular space. My personal favorite was the club member who left his Mercedes parked outside the busy Marine Store subjecting it to the elements and truck deliveries while he went cruising for four months. Did I forget to mention that his empty garage at his home was three blocks away? The only wisdom I can offer on this subject is to make a policy, stick to it, hope for the best.

Customers with a feeling of ownership in your marina is not necessarily all bad, with ownership comes pride, care, and concern. In many marinas the live a boards have a neighborhood watch program that will surpass any security system or night watchman you could employ. In several California marinas they have even incorporated live a boards into their emergency plans, offering classes and training. Can you think of a better solution? We all know what the odds are of an emergency happening in your marina when you aren’t there. Murphy’s law always prevails, so having your first responders trained and organized is an excellent option. Continue »