Shady Folks!
 

Is it just me or is the boating industry filled with shady people? Involved in the industry now and it just seems like you can never take people for their word... I live in an industry (owner of a civil engineering company) where your reputation is your only currency and it just seems like there are so many BS'rs and shady dealings it just makes me sick!

I think a lot of boating industry people got their start working as carnival hucksters.

so many sad/bad stories of peeps get'n screwed over, lied 2 & on & on!!!:cartman:

Uhhhh.... Yep! Autobody industry is the same way. Just not as bad as marine...

Boats = $$$
 

Good business people go where the oportunity is great. Unfortunatly so do crooks.

You nailed it. For what ever reason it seems to attract con artist that have convincing knowledge of performance boating.

My ex father in law was this guy -
http://www.myspace.com/video/nitro-*...nagle/16232157

This guy could lie straight to your face knowing full well you knew he was full of ****. Look up his name along with TORCO lawsuit.

Major POS.

All good over here! :) No shade, all sunlight...if that makes sense.

I feel were at the point now where its all getting cleaned up and discovered look at all of the crooked people in government (not just Obama) the American people finally figured out there money was being wasted and all of the sudden there's tons of judges and other officials being tried for theft i think its happening in The marine industry too people are finally realizing there getting ripped off and there doing something about it and the crappy company's are getting called out

I agree. There are a ton of crooks being figured out. However, there will always be more to take their place. Hopefully the number of crooks will dwindle over time. As a customer, you have to be vigilant. You must ask questions, go for a visit, ask for update pics, etc. If they are honest, they should have no problem with any of it. The only good thing that comes as a result of money getting tight is that people are a lot more careful and do more homework before they spend it.
Eddie

I had an employee who decided to use my shops customers as a midnight marine supply to afford his habit. I went to get some stuff out of one of my boats one day & found that he had hit my boats. Stole 4-5000.00 of stereo equipment from them (3 boats ) and a few customers boats as well. I figured out who it was from the boot prints left in my boats. At least he took stuff apart instead of destroying it! When the cops got there they told me "this aint CSI" I told them who & how I knew and that was where it was dropped. A little while later (couple of months) I found out that this ex employee was a narc! Nice!!! The cops would let him do whatever he wanted to anyone he wanted so they could bust a junkie or two. This guy would rip off his dealers then narc them off before they could get back at him!!!Unbelievable, Needless to say myself & my customers lost their stuff, he got high, they got some users & a couple of low end dealers even trying to make things right I lost business & the cops spiked their overtime to add to their pensions. I guess it all worked out depending on who you were but I sure do feel like I got screwed. Some times people wouldask why I had such a bad attitude towards thieves & cops, YA THINK??

If that happened in Jersey, the guy would "disappear".......

This is one of the more depressing stories I've heard in a long time. I know sometimes Cops can be bad, but this makes me sick.

Unfortunately it happens in Jersey. So do the con artist boat builders and dealers. So many bad people get into the marine business because everyone outside the business think we make so much money.

Eddie's post really sums it up.

I got burned by one of the shady posers that this thread refers but unlike many that are too embarrassed to mention that they got F**k'd I opted to let others know about my experience so that they could hopefully avoid the disappointment that I experienced.

As Eddie said the crooks are being figured out. With respect to my ordeal, that particular company's list of former customers is growing daily, the roster of those on their cheerleading squad is dwindling,
employees that are good honest people are choosing to move on to new opportunities, and people are realizing that the guy at the helm is nothing more than a red headed step child that hasn't gotten the memo yet.

It takes time but eventially karma prevails. Good things happen to good people and bad things eventually catch up with the rest.

One of the things that has driven the crookedness in the business is the type of person that typically buys a boat, and especially a performance boat. A self made guy with a respectable business that gets conned or sold a true piece of crap is not going to spout off about it. It could hurt him in other parts of his life. So he either takes things into his own hands (unlikely because he's not a criminal too) or simply takes it as a life lesson and moves on. And for most of the crooks, it is a gradual thing, little lies that grow, and when there are no repercussions, it just gets worse and worse.

Especially at loto some real worthless pos down there.
Brett

It's pretty sad when you can get screwed right from the start by the boat builder, Pantera as an example. How they managed to deceive suppliers and customers repeatedly is a template for fraud and yet to this day they have supporters within our community.
ed

nothing new
 

Threads like this pop up all the time. Ive been a boat owner for 5 years now and Ive had enough. The boat is for sale and Ill focus on my primary hobby (hunting birds over pointing dogs)

Anyway, in those 5 years Ive never had 1 good experience with anyone in the industry. Never a fair price, never a timely execution of work. I tried every shop in town - Everything was a struggle.

The intelligent thing most of us can do is cut our losses and get out, its a fools game anyway.

Funny thing is, the nail in the coffin for me was the Pegged movie. I realized it was a white trash documentary - and I dont want to be associated with it anymore.

What's the pegged movie?

There are quite a few dishonest people in the business, but there's good ones as well...... I think you are better off if you can focus on the good instead of the bad. Like looking at a lawn with several dandelions, hard not to just see the dandelions over the rest of the beautiful grass. I've gotten the shaft before, but there's nothing like being in the water on a performance boat. I choose to think about this and all the good people I've met in boating.

Its a a fact at least in Mi, The shop who works on your automobile is held to a MUCH hugher standard LEGALLY than the shop that works on your boat, PERIOD, the laws are VERY flawed, Smitty

Skidoc is right IMO I was fed up with the boat "business" after I shut the door on my shop. I bought a "new to me" boat, thought screw the azzholes mine runs!! After a little time I started missing the fun of boating & the honest humor of someone forgetting the bilge plug as everyone waits to go & other ramp follies. "I've never forgotten anything you can ask my wife as soon as I remember where she is" LOL Having kids pointing at my boat asking is it fast? is it loud? can I go for a ride? Things like that & a million more. I look at things differently today & enjoy hanging upside down in the engine compartment, helping someone out just because they need it. I do all of the work on my boats because I'm sick of getting shafted, would I help someone rebuild their toy if asked? yes .Will I ever try to do it for a living? NO. Expensive lesson learned but I am feeling much more like who I really am these days so if you guys are out on the water & see some goofy looking fool waving at you for no reason that might be me enjoying myself once again. Randy

SE Michigan is a major boating area with boaters of all types using their boats less each year. This has caused the shops that had gotten by because of the previous high volumes of work to shut the doors while the shops that do right by their customers still continue to grow. I have always and still continue to invest in my business to make it better for my customers so that when they are out enjoying their boats they can have fun and not think about whats going to go wrong next. This is not as easy to do in the go-fast world but it can be done with proper rigging and build techniques. Don't forget that its cheaper to fix it right the first time no matter the cost than have a shady repair cost you more with the damage it causes.

Does the boat industry still have bad business's out there?

YES....... We correct their BS all the time with improper rigging practices being the most common problems we see.

There are definitely honest and dishonest service providers and sales folks in any business which is unfortunate. However, people need to keep in mind there are also dishonest and super unreasonable, irrationally childish customers who maintain unreasonable expectations. As a result these unreasonable customers can and do paint false overall negative pictures of individual business men and women to the general public. This is normally due to the customers absolute ignorance and personality being completely unreasonable. It is always easy to point the finger at another in a public forum.

I'm not saying people don't get screwed by service/sales companies because it does happen. However, if there are 100's of exceptionally satisfied customers with a specific business or individual and not even a very small handful of customers that are disgruntled...I think that statistic supports the assumption that the specific customer/consumer is the problem and not the sales/service business/individual(s) involved.

Whatever happened to pride in one's work regardless of the industry? I just had the experience with a salesmen who advertises on this forum who for a better word acted like a moron. It's not important who he is because i'm sure he won't be in business long, just another guy who doesn't deserve to be in the industry.

Let's see, searching the archives ................... We have crooked/convicted boat haulers, crooked parts sellers, crooked engine builders, mold thieves, crooked thieving boat builders, convicted drug runner/murderer fans, trailer thieves, boat thieves, bold faced liar website starter, suspect authors and a few con men ............ miss anything ?

Now that's rich!

Skull $ Crossbones
 

We got culture . :lolhit: :lolhit: :lolhit:

X2! Very well said!!

I was going to stay outa this one and keep my big mouth shut as a very close friend who has been through all of what is being said here with me for years keeps telling me,( just stay out of it, its not worth it.)
But, if you look back through the history of performance boating it has for the most part been run by and started by criminals, liers and thieves. The chit that happens today is really no different than it ever has been its just that now you have the internet and we hear about it sooner and more often.
There are some real heros and great people out and about still but very very few.
Take a look at the bisness practice's of some of the biggest legands/hero's through the years, sure they built some great boats won races held and hold titles and even lasted in bis for a long time but the truth always comes out in the end that for the most part nothing is new, nothing is learned the only change is the people envolved and the scams they dream up. The song remains the same.
I will sit back and take my beating now.

This says it best. Do your homework folks and don't be in a hurry. Ask, ask, ask.

We had a 21' Formula and got interested in bigger and faster. I joined the local club here and made friends, bought gas and beer, bought lunch, and served as deck hand to learn the different boats and shops. I settled on the 42 Fountain with 525s because I didn't want to hassle with blowers. I heard about the 10-12 shops in existence at any one time but only 2 had their founding owners still working there, and most of the performance boat owners used them. One advertises, one is mainly WOM. Both are honest and will get you back ahead of the list to recheck a repair. Neither is cheap. Neither is a rip off.

I dont agree with this. I think most boat owners have had AT LEAST some negative experiences with the "industry professionals" - Many Boat owners have multiple and consistant negative experiences.

The point here is this - You are more likely to have issues working with people in the marine industry than other industries whos services/goods you use.
It is the culture of the industry.
If there WAS data on it (there isn't) Im positive my above statment would be statistically supported.