Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

Spelchek :rolleyes:

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

I to have been to a lot of shows and even have boarded boats I have no finical ability to purchase. the boarding with salesman seems like a good option. The one 60 something Berterm I boarded I talked to the sales guy and didn't board it to window shop when there was a crowd and certainly would not get in the way of a real potential buyer. The no food, shoes and drinks are a given, anyone breaking that should be slapped. I treat every boat I board like I am the owner, because one day someone will own this one and I hope they would do the same for a boat I am about to purchase. I totally disagree with the credit check, I would never purchase a boat from a dealer that required that before I could board. I know what I can afford and it is my choice whom I give that info out. Imagine a car dealer that required a credit check to test drive....no way. An info sheet with : name, address etc. is a good idea to slow the onset of goof balls.

The no kids rule will weed out some good buyers too, and although I I am not a dealer it would seem eliminating any buyers is bad idea. What the intent is to eliminate the poor behavior for all age groups, tough thing to do with the large population of people behaving badly.

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

i dont mean to be out of line. i understand what you guys are saying about caring for the boat but when i go to a show im going to board every boat i want and i feel i shouold be ale to. even if i am not buying and i think the saleman should let me do what i want on the boat with in reason. that is the salemans job,make me feel like i can do what i want. i like knowing what the cabins look like in every boat so i can get an idea of what is out there. i think we should be able to board boats but be careful and respect the boats. thats how i feel.

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

kids shoudl be able to board, even teh ones that dont type good amreican :drink:

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

i hvea dream,....that one day i wil ebable to board any boat i wnat and to feel liek i too, can be treatted like erbody else lookin at daboats :evilb:

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

We handlle the Fastechs by leaving the engine hatches up,makes boarding very difficult plus everyone likes to see shiny blue motors and polished headers,kinda takes their mind off boarding :p And you can't do much harm to the smaller boats,plus the small size limits the # of boarders.Main problem is with the bigger,expensive cruisers with swim platforms and walk thru transom doors,draws folks like moths to flame.Last year I had this great idea to have steps going to the back of the 370SS and 330SS. What a disaster! Had to rope them off with signs to see salesperson,people kept coming up asking could I go on board with them,how can you say no? Finally had greeters standing behind the rope to tell people they were not boarding at this time,please come back by. But that was a dumb solution also.Thinking this year of having steps along the side where you can look in but impossible to board,then have some lightweight steps that we can slide to the transom to board the serious folks,but it's not a real solution.Going to Atlanta Show Sat,I'll play spectator and see how they do it over there :D Bottom line is I am in the show to sell boats,have to walk a fine line between making a potential buyer mad or having the boats trashed. If I have to err,I will err on the side of a little trashing :cool:

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

hire some real fine women that are about 30 stand there and tell everyone else what to do and let them answer questions the best that they can. then if the customer wants more; let that person (fine girl) go get a salesman. all the while have ropes or stairs with a rope across the front of the stairs. signs that say, "no boarding without salesman," have worked in the past....

of course, no shoes at anytime, ever!

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

an have all them fine woemn,,,tellin teh guys how sexy boats aer, and how "useful" a big cabin is :D

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

i like whomever saidhaving the hospital type slippers to cover shoes, or make them remove their shoes, if they dont want to board with no shoes then they arent allowed plain and simple, if someone objects, just say you "are trying to keep the demo models as nice as possible for the potential buyer, if they were going to buy it, wouldnt they want that?" Set the rules, if they want to comply they are welcome if not so be it...walking in a model home doesnt give someone the right to destroy it.

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

If this a huge concern, then place a sign that states "Must board with a sales assistant. Have the potential buyer or looker remove shoes (this should be common sense with most boaters).
As far as kids are concerned, my daughter boards any boat that my wife and I do. However, she is also on our laps, being help or hand held. Never would I allow my child to run freely through anyones boat.

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

Yeah, - I boned my wife in a Carver once...
:D

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

That was so out of line I should delete it.


But it's still funny - it might even be true :evilb: :evilb: :evilb:

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

We have always had a Trout tank at the show where the kids could catch some nice size rainbow trout,money went to charity. In the old days the fish would be placed in a plastic bag with a little water and you went on your way. One year a kid got tired of carrying his fish around so he left it under a cushion in the cabin of one of our cruisers,a compartment you don't normally check. You can imagine what happened after 2 or 3 days :rolleyes: After that incident the fish are kept at the tank,you can pick them up on your way out.Lots of funny show stories,and some not so funny :p

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

it caught on fire when he hit the button.....

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

And asprin. :drink:

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

Ditto!
The boats are there for people to look at. In and out. Whether buying or not.

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

Long cat walks with stairs on each end with a line coming up one side and down the other. Set the cat walk along side the boat towards the rear. But a railing on BOTH sided of the cat walk so people can't enter the boat. For the big cruiser to the same but along the rear of the boat boat. Its a boat "show" not a boat "touch"!!! I've boarded a ton of boats that I have no intentions on buying. But I'm honest up front. I tell them that I'm a fan, I've traveled a long way, I will be very respectful and won't interfere with potential customers. Plus I usually know more about the boat that the guys selling them

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

ABSOLUTELY.......It's your last sentence that people and ill mannered children do not do. Everyone is welcome to see touch, feel and move around in and out of the boats.........TRASHING, CLIMBING, YANKING ON THROTTLES, JUMPING ON SEATS or PULLING OFF RADIO KNOBS of a 300K boat is NOT acceptable. I have had several instances that I needed to address the children and or adults myself ( politely of course) and was ignored. There is a fine line to all this and unfortunatly no easy answer. PEOPLE and not all of them......just are disrespectful and have poor manners. As I mentioned in an earlier post..........can you sit and play or jump around in a 250K car at a car show? ANSWER ...... NO

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

Have a guy that just RIPS FARTS sitting there. That will keep the lines moving :evilb: :evilb: :evilb:

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

LMAO...Allways full of class aren't you Jon?

Hey you gonna join us at the Chill this year? :drink:

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

LMAO .....you forgot one........Where are the ROD HOLDERS :rolleyes:

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

Robert,
Do I need to bring the dog to control traffic on the 370SS??
.....Ricky

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

I understand your frustration but as a boat buyer, I pay to get in and see the boats. I would not be there if I wasn't looking for a boat. There should be enough profit made from the sales at the boat show to cover the details after the show. If I can't see it, I for sure won't buy it.

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

Ricky,keep that dog away from my boats. All he will do is pee on the carpet :drink:

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

Robert, tell'm GRAZZ, AZZ, or they have to Pazz on boarding! :evilb:

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

I'm not disagreeing with anyone but I'd rather check the boat out by myself without any sales person "bothering" me. If I'm interested then I'd ask for help.

Some of these shows are like going to buy a car and all the sales guys come running up to you, ask you what state you live in, where do you do your boating. :mad:

If I was serious and went to the show I wouldn't have to be sold. Rest assured I would already know what boat I want to before I get there and already know what I'm going to buy, it's just a matter of $$ negotiation and who gives the best deal at that point. From there on out it's up to me to "LET" the sales guy close me.

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

Good point, but a good saleman shouldnt bother you. Unfortuantly many do. It's good to have a saleman there to answer questions, or if they see you eying a particualr feature explain it it more detail, or possibly point out some unique features of the boat, which is usualyl why i check out so many boats of different varieties to see what each one is doing differently even though i have little interest in buying most of the boats i see. The nagging saleman just makes me want to look at other boats. Even if im not in the market now, ill remember good experiences with boat representatives and go back to them when im ready.

on a side note, an annoying grady white saleman was telling me about the awesome performance of the 32 (cruises in low 30's) when i was at the NY show which i thought was hilarious. WHen he asked, I told him i have a 36 nor-tech but i dont think he had any idea what that is.

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

I always felt sorry for the dealer with the biggest boat at the show, heck it don't matter what kind it is, the "non-boating" public always want to see it!!

Heck get together with some of the other dealers and bring a "Big ole Houseboat" I saw that once!! They had people lined up 100 people deep waiting to see it!! :eek: They had steps in the front and back so people could just walk thru!!! Sounds crazy, but it might take some of the "non-boating-cowboy boot wearing-crowd" off your hands!! :evilb:

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

LMAO.......WELL it sounds good in principal but the HIGH PERF boats have the "COOLNESS FACTOR" that attract kids and the guys who want to show to the girlfriends their next toy SHE can ride around in...its pretty pathetic.....and when you run their credit report they should be looking at an RC boat not something over 100K. :rolleyes:

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

I like it when they have a walk way beside the boat so that you can walk by and look at most of it from the outside and a sign that says "please see a salesperson for assistance". (I realize that you don't have that much room in every booth or at every show.)

I always wear shoes that are easy to get on and off, if I plan on really looking at a certain boat at a show. I cant believe some people when they get upset about having to remove their shoes.

We went to the local Sports Show this past weekend, and my 3 year old really wanted to get into a boat, so as I was talking with the saleman I made her remove her shoes and she stepped onto the boat, she took about 3 steps and turned around and came back and put back on her shoes. While all this was going on a "Boat jumping family" came up and wanted to get into the boat beside the one I was looking at. The saleman had to kinda give them the look like, hey take your shoes off and the Dad even asked "Do I really have to take my shoes off??" We both just looked at my daughter that was slipping on her croc's and smiled as to say "even this 3 year old had the common courtsey to take her's off" It was great the Dad just stayed at the back of the boat while his unruley kids ran throughout the boat. :drink:

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

The "Big Ol Houseboat" is at the Atlanta show every year.Families and kids are lined up for a block to pass thru the front and exit out the back.Carpet is well protected and no one stops,crowds just flow on thru :p But it begs the question,if a serious prospect wanted to buy the boat,how do you deal with him?

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

If a person is a serious prospect, and you are a serious sellsperson, it'll work out. It's the sightsee'rs you are really asking about in this topic, right?

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

go to a car show and try and get in a 100k+ car... now you should be thankful they let us anywhere near 500k+ boats.... :D

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

Thank You ! :drink:

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

anytime.... :drink:

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

Are we talking about the Carrie Craft?

Re: Boarding boats at shows
 

Comparing a boat show to an Auto Show isn't really a fair compairison. It would be more like a high end RV show with high $$$$ motorhomes. At the Auto Shows they usually rope off the high $$$ Cars (500K and up) or lock the doors. At the RV shows, they to have all kinds of people looking and walking through their RV's and I have never seen anyone take off their shoes to look at one.

I guess the best thing to do is put up whatever sign or signs you want, and if your showing it to a buying customer, then have someone "Run Blocker" for you and not let anyone in while you are showing it! The real customers will understand and if they are upset, ask them if they would like to set up a "showing"