Boat & Motor Dealer / Marina Dock Age, December 2006

Avoiding negative publicity in 2007 is as simple as
minding one’s business
by Dennis P. Kissman

For the mainstream media, a story just isn’t a story without conflict. So it was no surprise when, earlier this year, newspapers in southern California reported on a county supervisor who was complaining to a private marina owner about raising his dockage rates by as much as 35%. The story hit the papers because some of the live-aboard boaters at the marina complained loud enough, leveraging public opinion in a clever public relations effort to gain sympathy for their cause and, ultimately, stop the steep price hike.

It was a troubling story no matter how one viewed it. The trouble was, no one was blameless. It was easy to be upset with the county supervisor for meddling in private business, the live-aboard boaters for complaining in such a public way, and the marina operator. One could argue there was plenty of blame to go around.

Avoiding the mess

Now it seems that the vast majority of newspaper consumers would likely agree that the “bad guy” in this conflict was the marina operator for appearing to gouge his customers for the sake of profit. It’s the story of the greedy businessman again. But this time, it was probably well-deserved.

It’s my informed opinion that the marina operator let a totally avoidable situation get out of hand. There is no reason why a marina should ever have to raise its rates 35% at one time if it is on top of the business. Taking such a draconian measure is just asking for trouble and, frankly, it makes the industry look bad.

So here’s a good piece of public relations advice for 2007: Marinas that want positive press coverage, or at the very least want to avoid negative publicity, should do themselves a favor by offering the best product and service possible.

Although this criticism may sound heavy-handed, it is really a question of best management practices. Marinas do not deteriorate, become obsolete, or have their operating costs dramatically increase overnight. All of these things occur over time, so my question is: Where was the management of this particular marina when all these changes were occurring?   Continue »