Richardsons - Fabulous Customer Service

[BryanW]

We were due for two holidays this year on Swan Roamer, April and June.  The April one was cancelled (Covid-19 lockdown) so we moved all payments to the June (6th) one and paid the little remaining money on the invoice.

On Wednesday we received the email from Richardsons about our options for June, initially we decided to 'sit on it' in the vague hope that it might be able to go ahead but yesterday changed our minds and thought about the possibility of September.  Looked at their web site to see what boat options there were, no Swan Roamer or similar available but Swan Ranger and Moon Enterprise were with Moon Enterprise being a week earlier so telephoned Richardsons, phone answered very promptly which I was not expecting, and requested the transfer which was done with no hassle at all, I didn't even query the price but just went for it.  Received the email confirmation a few minutes later and was most surprised to see that everything including all discounts (2nd holiday in the year etc) had been transferred and the net invoice was zero (having previously paid for June).

I regard this as excellent service that goes way beyond what I expected, very well done.  Hopefully now we will get our Broads fix this year after all.

[Cal]

We have never had anything but excellent service from Richardsons.

 

I'm sure you will love the boat as well. We hired Swan Ranger last year and it was our favourite hire boat we have had by far.  Moon Enterprise looks very similar.

[marshman]

Good stuff - pleased to here it!

I read somewhere that their marinas for private berth holders will open on 20th - shame they cannot extend their good service record, if thats the case, to their private berth holders. I apologise if that info is incorrect. A lot of the closed marinas opened up virtually immediately so not much of an excuse if they didn't, and I was a little surprised to hear they hadn't?

[Hylander]

Not long to wait though only until next Wednesday.     

[Hylander]

1 hour ago, BryanW said:

We were due for two holidays this year on Swan Roamer, April and June.  The April one was cancelled (Covid-19 lockdown) so we moved all payments to the June (6th) one and paid the little remaining money on the invoice.

On Wednesday we received the email from Richardsons about our options for June, initially we decided to 'sit on it' in the vague hope that it might be able to go ahead but yesterday changed our minds and thought about the possibility of September.  Looked at their web site to see what boat options there were, no Swan Roamer or similar available but Swan Ranger and Moon Enterprise were with Moon Enterprise being a week earlier so telephoned Richardsons, phone answered very promptly which I was not expecting, and requested the transfer which was done with no hassle at all, I didn't even query the price but just went for it.  Received the email confirmation a few minutes later and was most surprised to see that everything including all discounts (2nd holiday in the year etc) had been transferred and the net invoice was zero (having previously paid for June).

I regard this as excellent service that goes way beyond what I expected, very well done.  Hopefully now we will get our Broads fix this year after all.

This is the reason that Richardsons are so successful.   We have shifted our booking until 2021 , it will be my 4th attempt to get on to Reflection,  first cancelled by the Beast from the East,  second hubby was very ill, thirdly its Covid19, so roll on September 2021.      Enjoy your holiday.  I think all of us will appreciate our holidays even more now.  

[CambridgeCabby]

36 minutes ago, marshman said:

Good stuff - pleased to here it!

I read somewhere that their marinas for private berth holders will open on 20th - shame they cannot extend their good service record, if thats the case, to their private berth holders. I apologise if that info is incorrect. A lot of the closed marinas opened up virtually immediately so not much of an excuse if they didn't, and I was a little surprised to hear they hadn't?

I can confirm that their marinas are indeed opening on the 20th as is announced on their webpage , the reason they couldn’t just open up as other marinas have is that they are erecting covid-19 signage time to conform with current legislation bearing in mind that some of their marinas are also hire yards .

When I contacted them earlier this week to enquire online  I was answered  almost immediately and told that their website would give the updated information within a few days , in fact it was the next day , personally I find that good service .

[Meantime]

It's not just Richardsons who are taking the time to ensure their marina is safe for their clients return. Differing marinas with different layouts and facilities will I guess adapt or put in different signage and precautions and therefore some will take longer than others. St Olaves marina is reopening on Saturday.

I will give a few days for the rush to subside before paying a visit to check on my boat.

[2000pi]

I've had no problem with Richardsons, was due out 30th May for 14 nights on Silver Gem, an email to change to 29th May 2021 sent,agreed to, invoice issued, & covering email back within 15 minutes.

[JawsOrca]

Good stuff from Team Richardsons, hardly surprising though in my book. Many companies will be remembered by how they've handled the last couple of weeks. 

Personally I would prefer a company who hasn't rushed into reopening, it gives time to do things properly and learn lessons from others. 

[finny]

If I was to be hiring this year good customer treatment would play a vital part .

I would also be looking for a massive improvement in hygiene standards under the current situation. We all know handover is a tight area anyway but I will not hire unless the boat is sterile and a great way to boost customer confidence would be to disinfectant fog the whole boat I have just purchased a couple of small mobile machines for the waggon cabs relatively cheaply - its quick easy and very efficient and effective it also restores confidence interms of getting a bums on seats . Confidence is at a all time low my feeling is that the yard that does the most will gain the most 

Finny

 

 

[BryanW]

On 15/05/2020 at 09:38, Cal said:

I'm sure you will love the boat as well. We hired Swan Ranger last year and it was our favourite hire boat we have had by far.  Moon Enterprise looks very similar.

Yes, they are both of the same design (hull & superstructure) but differ internally.  Although we prefer a walk round bed I was a bit concerned with Swan Ranger about the lack of headroom (6ft but long body) when sitting up in bed as we do like a coffee in bed in the morning and the fact that the escape hatch will drip condensation during the night also it doesn't look as if the after cabin is particularly usable as a double.  With Moon Enterprise we could split up at night if necessary which we have done in the past on some boats.

If we had had a bit more time to make a decision I would have asked questions on here but was concerned that with the situation as it is more people would be looking to book for September.