Steve Stepp banned from the velocity factory!
 

I was told by a reliable source that Steve Stepp was banned from the velocity factory. They owe him a few dollars $$$$ left on there contract and don't want to pay him. I was also told that they have a lot of warranty issues.
The man who started velocity is no longer involved in the brand we all love.

Steve is one of the nicest people I have ever met. This does not bode well for the new owners.

Individual Velocity boat owners have always been like a family. If Steve Stepp is treated like this.....I can't see any Velocity people supporting the "new" Velocity.

Padraig

If they screwed him which seems common this day&age boycott Velocity boats!AKA don't buy one:whistle:

Not like we are friends but Mr. Stepp was always nice to me when ever I ran into him. Even in Miami I sat down with him and Kenny for hours just talking about boats. He really is a nice guy with NO ego hang ups plus always friendly.

I do know he reported restoring / building a 1981 30 Velocity currently.

Man that's too bad the new owners would do that to him and really they are not thinking about the long term effect that the public will perceive about this current news. A big mistake on their part.

New owners are very rude and not business minded at all, I love Velocity eat sleep and breath them and proud to represent them, I called for shirts on 3 or 4 different occasions and they said they would get back to me on the performance shirts, still nooo response, I just might be done with Velocity overall, Steve and his Staff was always a great pleasure to do business with, maybe he might need to start up a new generation Velocity!

There ya go Stepps boats!:daz:

I'm sorry, but I think this might be my fault. Every time I buy a boat, the brand goes to $hit. First it was Baja, then Sonic, and now this. I'm buying a Bayliner next. At least I'll do some good.

"Our Velocity Brand" really went away two years ago with the sale to the new owners. This is because I always felt that the "Velocity brand" was every bit as much Steve, Kim, Kenny and key folks in the shop as the boats themselves. It's really a shame that Steve couldn't part ways with the new owners in the same gracious and respectful manner that he always showed his customers.

Maybe the new owners talked with the owners of fountain and decided that is what you do. NOT

Too bad, but I doubt Steve will do another company. He is getting up there as well. End of a era, seems we hear that to often lately.

Don't know if it is connected but the Velocity web site has been down also.

Padraig

Some of you will remember that Steve sold the Velocity Brand to Regal Boats in the late 80's....he was disappointed in the quality of build Regal was putting the Velocity name on & left Regal to start Thoroughbred Boats...eventually...mid to late 90's Steve re-acquired the Velocity name & built them "his way" until this most recent sale... Steve is a "Performance Boat Guy" .... if you own one of his boats rest assured it was built right.... these new owners are fisherman... not performance boaters....

Things don't look good on their FB page either. Here is a little conversation I copied from their page:





Polly Shaffer Podgorski
June 22 at 8:29pm.

So so interesting. You can not rate the company anymore since I posted this comment below and gave them a one star rating. Imagine that! I wonder how long it will take them to take this honest post down again. Now they want to fix boats. I guess they have plenty of experience. Patched stringers on new boats with added piece of stringer on top, screwed down and fiber glassed over. UNACCEPTABLE. My wife and I witness this in front of the former Velocity owner. Cancelled our order. They still owe me one thousand dollars after 6 months. If you are getting a boat built go to the factory and check that things have been corrected. However, would you still want to buy from someone who would keep a portion of your deposit money?
1Like · Comment..

Velocity Powerboats Mr. & Mrs. Podgorski – While comments are always welcome we are unable to share the details of your agreement. We are committed to our customers and apologize if we missed a chance to be of better service to you.
Like · Reply · June 22 at 9:46pm
..

Polly Shaffer Podgorski Simple. If this truly were the case then return my 1000.00 dollars and all will be square. We will not bill you for our wasted time nor should you bill us for yours particularly since you were not being truly honest with us or utimately some of your customers. My agreement was with Scott and he knows what it was, it was not with Brad but that is another story. Nice business.

I guess they ran Kenny off to. They have some new guy there that's a real unique individual.

I'm visiting Florida in two weeks and Velocity WAS one of several builders I'm looking at. I visited them back in March when me, Kenny, Steve and Scott talked about building an outboard powered VR1 but after hearing this bad news I can say without Steve supervising the build his way..., No deal. Period.

The 1981 30' Velocity that BUP mentioned that Steve told him about is mine. Had it moved from the factory a few months ago as Steve wasn't around the factory as often and with the work going on they wanted to start charging me storage fee in an effort I guess to get me to move it anyway. Still have missing parts which they removed from it to start the restoration process. By the sound of things, customer service then versus now is like night and day.

Joel, Steve actually has an '81 also that he bought recently and is in the process of restoring. It came out of LI, NY and he molded up a new hull to go under it. Steve posted a pic about a week ago on his Facebook. Hope yours is coming along now also.

Just sad to hear about the issues at the factory. Mine was going to be there for my rebuild too, but after hearing the stories, it went direct with Kenny.

Anyone know why the website is down????? Maybe Steve still owns it?

Looks like Kenny at LTB is going to be busy. People are losing trust in the factory.

Padraig

It's back up.

In 1997 I was traveling around the nation talking to a number of boat builders about building a Factory 1 race boat. I don't remember the name of the gentleman at Velocity I'd had conversations with, but we went to the race in Biloxi to meet him and Steve Stepp in person and discuss details. This guy walks me over to Mr Stepp, introduces me and tells him I am going racing and looking at building a new Velocity. Steve says "Hi" and walks away with zero interest.
The rest is history;

BTW We've never been beat by a Velocity

(at least, not by one that passed inspection )

I would not want steve around either , not if I was driving the company that he built into the ground. Steve is a very strong individual with strong opinions with no fear of expressing such. He takes the lead with his desigtions . Right wrong or what ever . He may have been correct more often than not. as we saw Velocity prosper in it formative years . The Economic crash sort of put the brake on that for everyone. But now that the economy has stabilized some companies are on a strong rebound with smart management and leadership . Steve may have been a bit old fashion with a sell one build one and work hard attitude , but it worked .
When you sat in steves office there was no wishy washy conversation going on just strait forward ' THIS IS THE WAY I SEE IT" ideals and actions. Let us hope that velocity can take a stepp back and recharge the velocity ideal .

Sorry that steve was not so polite , but I also heard the Gerneral Patton was not always , polite either

Steve didn't know me from Adam when we bought our now 25 year old Velocity a few years ago and couldn't have been nicer when i was at the factory. He personally looked over the boat when we bought it and gave me several pointers on setup and things to check. We've since had several conversations, some of which were just BS sessions on boat racing days, his relationship with the Allison family and even the time he broke the 100 mph mark a couple weeks ahead of Reggie. Both he and Kenny have always treated me like a "new boat buying" owner and I couldn't be more appreciative.

Kenny has my boat now and I've been extremely pleased to date. I get daily updates with pics and would recommend him to anyone needing a facelift on an older boat.

I wish Steve and his wife Kim the best. ;)

I first talked to Steve Stepp sometime back in the ninety's. I was in the process of buying a used 1989 23ft Regal (Velocity) It was my first go fast type boat and I had some questions. By that time Steve had left Regal and was back making boats on his own. I called the Velocity factory and told them what I was looking at and they said hold on," Steve can best answer your questions, he on the factory floor but we will get him". I was very surprised that just like that I was going to be talking to the designer and builder! This was not what I expected. Even though the boat I was looking at was built by Regal, Steve answered all my questions and we had a great conversation about fast boats. He did not bash Regal but during my questioning, he did mentioned they had let the 23 get heavy and the wiring good have been better. Sure enough the only problem I had with the boat was with the wiring to the trim switch. He also said if I bought the boat I would have a great time and I did.

I finally met Steve in 1999. The previous year I had purchased a new Velocity 280 from Eyerock Marine in Binghamton and was attending the Battle Ship run on Seneca Lake. I joined the Eyerock crew for breakfast and there was this gentleman that was talking about Velocity boats. I asked him if he was with the factory and he got a shy grin on his face and said, "I'm Steve". We had many conversations that weekend I remember him surrounded by boaters and freely and happily giving out tips about improving performance and speed. Most of them were not Velocity owners and it didn't seem to matter to him.

I will miss being able to call the factory and talk to Steve, to ask questions, to ask advise or maybe just talk about boats. I don't know the details but IMO the new owners made a mistake in not working things out and keeping Steve available. I think that Velocity may very likely be gone.

Padraig

I guess the old saying applies here.... you can't please everybody....

In response to the recent comments on Velocity, yes Steve Stepp founded a great company and as with many other great companies there comes a time when the company must move beyond its founder and creator. That time is now for Velocity. Steve’s innovative performance designs of the 80’s will live on and was indeed a business decision to put the right personnel in place to leverage the latest technology and fabrication standards and techniques of the 21st century. We encourage you to call and/or visit us to meet our new personnel and find out for yourself. Also stay tuned for our Anniversary Edition models for 2016/2017 in celebration of 40 years of Velocity Powerboats. 407-322-7770.

Where is Kenny now? I am heading to Debary in a few and wouldn't mind stopping by.

:Whatever:

Just sent you a PM with Kenny's cell number. Not sure if h wants it posted on line.

Padraig

Pm box cleared now try again please.

Thanks

That's the best you can do?

Agree. However, you would think any good businessman would treat every potential customer with some professional manners. or at least have the courtesy of giving him the time of day. especially a customer wanting to race your product under your banner.
I had a lot of fun in my old 23 Velocity and I've had the great opportunity to drive for the Super V Velocity CGS Ferocious a couple of seasons. Make no mistake, I have a world of respect for Mr Stepp's racing accomplishments, history and experience.

Kenny is around however he's traveling thru next week. Touch base if you're still interested in stopping by the factory (407) 322-7770.

Hi to All, Happy 4TH be safe and Have Fun. I am going on a long waited vacation. As you know i can always be reached 24/7 but have to turn off my phone i will be out of the country the bill would kill me. Steve and i will always be available for all questions and boating needs. Please feel free to call me any time i will be back on the 12th late. follow the thread on Jeff Ziemers boat as you know i will go above and beyond. My phone # is 407-402-0300 and email is [email protected] Thanks Kenny

Obviously the encounter with Steve offended you.... Steve's record speaks for itself.... even a "good businessman" has a bad day from time to time....

Kenny, i have never talked with you on my 1992- 260 but Steve has answered my questions when i called a few years ago and was never in a rush to get off the phone. Hate to see this happen to the Velocity name. It is great that you are making yourself available for owners that may have questions on their boats. I may be wrong but, it seems that the Technical personnel have left the factory, I don't think you can learn years of building, racing experience and technology in 2 years. thanks for offering this support

80 designed you are still using the same bottom ! So wy did you through Steve off the property? Right people in place, who did you higher ? Velocityboats1 this is on 3 site already that I know of.

Just got back, 260 if you need any thing please call.If I don't know Steve will

Kenny, I think 260 Velocity meant the new management folks.

Hope you had a good vacation!!!

Padraig

It was Great Thanks Pat

Kenny , i heard you will be on airplane repo this week , do you know what channel and when it will air . Look fwrd to seeing you in ACTION.