Finding a Boat Dealer

It has become clear to us that some boat dealers are just not interested in setting up any decent technical capability to support the boats they sell. While there is nothing sinful about making a profit, these dealers are putting the industry in a bad light. New boaters are discouraged by the lack of support and perceived high cost of up-keeping their boats. They may have bought a "wrong" boat and regret their decision to rush into buying one. They may have bought a nightmare instead of a dream boat, not realising the cost of maintenance involve. These problems are compounded by the unrealistic expectation and sometimes misleading perception created by dealers eager to clinch that deal. However, not all dealers are bad. There are one or two good ones we come across in Singapore. Drop us a note if you are interested to find out who they are.

Manage Your Cost

A trip to visit customer could be less costly than you think, if you take some time to plan your route and visiting time. Here are some tips before your next visit:

If you travel eastbound along AYE, there is an ERP gantry between Portsdown Road and Alexandra Road. Go before 0800 or after 0930. Otherwise, expect to pay as much as $1.50.

If you travel westbound using KPE to connect to ECP, go before 0730 or after 0930. Otherwise, expect to pay as much as $3.

If you travel westbound along ECP, there is an ERP gantry after Tanjong Rhu Flyover. Go before 0730 or after 0930. Otherwise, expect to pay as much as $3.

If you travel southbound along CTE, there is an ERP gantry between AMK Ave 1 and Braddell Road. Go after 1100. Otherwise, expect to pay as much as $2.50.

Except for One15 Marina which charge on per entry basis, time your length of stay carefully to avoid extra parking fees. The average expenditure per visit (AEPV) for each marina is as follows:

One15 Marina: $9
RSYC: $5
MKB: $6.08

note: AEPV is defined as one trip, one vehicle with 4 hr stay.

It pays to plan before your buckle up!

Improving Volvo Penta Service in the Marine Leisure Market

Critical mass is absolutely essential in improving Volvo Penta's customer service in the marine leisure market.

Since we began our dealership towards the end of 2006, we have done a total of 30 PDC. However, only about 10 of these boats are still actively being used. 10 boats are just not enough to sustain the business. A good market size should be 25 - 30 boats, based on our current manpower set-up. A bigger overall pool of boats carrying Volvo Penta engines is therefore needed.

How do we increase the pool of Volvo Penta engines when we do not sell boats? In-directly, we could help the dealers through sales, technical and operational support. Starting this year, we will embark on a campaign to engage boat dealers to highlight to them the technology, operating features and benefits of boats fitted with Volvo Penta engines. These dealers may not be aware of Volvo Penta's green commitment; they may not be very familiar with new features available such as Dynamic Positioning, Low-speed & Sportfish mode; they may not know that Volvo Penta engines are more fuel efficient, have lower CO2 emissions, and are quieter.

Our current modus operandi is very reactive i.e. we react only to customer complaint. We are often one step behind, responding to a no-win situation because boat dealers have wrongly committed through ignorance, or over committed in the eagerness to close the sale. By engaging boat dealers out front, we could reduce if not eliminate this problem. After all, keeping good relationship with boat dealers should be helpful when we have to solve teething problem subsequently.

Apart from boat dealers, we will engage boat owners and set ourselves as KPI, owners' willingness to use Volvo Penta engines in his next boat. We have come up with customer loyalty programme to reward customers that stay with us. This could be extended to customers who owned boats with Volvo Penta engine before.

With sufficient market size, we could invest in more manpower (quantity and more importantly quality); increase our inventory for shorter turn-around time; and be more proficient in our work. All these will lead to improved service and greater customer satisfaction.

Buying a Boat

Buying a boat in Singapore has never been easier. There's plenty to choose from. Most of the top European and US brands are represented here. Before you buy, you could also rent or charter to have a taste of what it's like and find out what suites you.

A few important questions you have to ask yourselves before signing that cheque: will I be using the boat just around the waters nearby or cruising grounds overseas? how many people will I carry? can I handle and maintain the boat myself or I need to hire help?

Choosing a good boat dealer that provides objective opinion is therefore very important. A good dealer will also provide after sale support, which is critical during and after the warranty period.

If you have been thinking of a boating lifestyle, the coming boat show from 15 - 18 Apr should be a good place to start.