Wacked and wacked again and again

[senator]

Not really Dan for the reasons I posted before

"As hirers gain in Knowledge and experience they become fiercely proud of their boat handling skills and I have seen many that would wipe the floor with most private owners but they do have to get through the early stages first. I know boat hire has a fairly good return customer rate but I would still wager that the majority of hire boats out on the water at any one time, especially during school holidays, are under the control of first or second time hirers."

I can only speak based on the circle of boaters I have most to do with, which are predominantly private owners but I would say that the vast majority of private owners would share the view, and every one of them would say that you do get some exceptionally good helms in a hire boat. It is just a matter of numbers.

[Dan]

...I can only speak based on the circle of boaters I have most to do with, which are predominantly private owners but I would say that the vast majority of private owners would share the view, and every one of them would say that you do get some exceptionally good helms in a hire boat. It is just a matter of numbers.

A tricky one that Ian, we all tend to gravitate towards people who are of a similar mind to ourselves, so the people I know in the boating world and spend my time would probably concur with my thoughts also.

Dan

[C.Ricko]

The Yards know the chances are that their customer did hit the boat if someone is phoning up to complain about it.

you may be suprised at what calls sometimes come into yards,

in a genuine case if there is a positive Id on a boat then there is not normally an issue.

[senator]

I think Richardsons enjoy a reputation as one of the more honourable yards where things like this are concerned Clive.

[C.Ricko]

we do get some funny claims which are always checked out , we have a massive paper trail which we need for all sorts of situations, we sometime get collaborated claims

normally hirers are happy to help with incidents even after they return home

But sometime things go wrong, sometimes communication goes wrong and the outcome is not ideal but we do try.

[pks1702]

Yes some recent very complimentary comments Clive.

[senator]

A question for Clive,

As a director of the biggest hire fleet on the Broads you are well placed to answer the question as to what percentage of boats are under the control of novice hirers at any one time.

I guess it varies by season but what percentage of Richardsons hire are to first or second time hirers compared to those under the command of people that have hired say 3 times or more?

I would imagine that given the size of your fleet that it should be representative of hire boats in general and maybe even leaning towards a more positive number of repeat and experienced hirers, given your reputation and repeat rates, indicative of the good work you put in to ensure a positive hire experience.

[senator]

But at the same time Richardsons have probably a better repeat customer base than most, so I would say it would be a fair representation. Maybe not a 100% factual one but close enough to give an idea.

[C.Ricko]

recent data suggests that about 50% of our customers have been with us in the last 5 years, lots of hirers do not come every year but I would guess that compared to other boatyards a fair percentage of our new customers are new to boating as we advertise to attract new business wheras other yards rely on the agents or touting existing broads business.

So basically, at a guess i would say that 75%-85% of hirers have been before but I could be wrong!