Boating; Never Hurts to Ask?
A couple of weeks ago I got an angry call from a new customer, "Your website claims`that you have one of the easiest paints to apply but the yard where I took my boat is charging $90 per hour to put your paint on."
"They don't have separate rates for mechanical and painting?" He told me all of their work is billed out at the $90 rate. "Have them put your boat back in the water and shop around." He still wasn't happy so I told him to ship the paint back for a refund. He hasn't.
I called the yard and spoke to the ship store manager/secretary/work order writer who confirmed the fact of the one and only labor rate. "Do you pay your bottom painters the same as your factory trained mechanics?" No! "I didn't think so. How can you charge the same rate for a seasoned, trained mechanic with his own specialty tools and a low tech bottom painter?"
"Our bottom painters are highly trained and they receive a good wage. It's a dirty job, you know! No one else in the yard wants to do it," she said. That is the main point, 'no one else wants to do it' but they pay the mechanic $35+ and pay the bottom painter $20+.
A little bit of history; in the late 80's the engine manufacturers cut their warranty labor rate reimbursement to 75% of the repair facilities labor rate. At that time it was between $50 and $65 depending on the area. The yard owners weren't stupid so they jacked up their mechanical labor rate to $80 or $90 which meant they received the same from the warranty claim.
Later these same yards had to raise all of their mechanical rates to equal the warranty rate which royally screwed Joe Boater. Some yards raised the entire rate board to $90. It ain't fair, said the unhappy boater.
"When you go into see the ship store manager/secretary/work order writer to inform them that you are leaving, tell her what I said and ask her to adjust the rate downward to a realistic number like $60 per hour. I'm pretty sure they won't but it's worth a try," I said.
The other day I got a call from the yard owner. "We don't appreciate...... etc." I was sure he didn't but to my surprise he had negotiated a new rate and the job was done. You never knows, does you!
Boatguy Ed (boatguiEd@aol.com)is the manufacturer of the worlds BEST anti-fouling bottom paint,www.supershipbottom.com. TWEET me @boatguyed and a corresponding web site is http://www.boatingbyboatguyed.com/........ NEVER, EVER TRY TO BUY HIM A DRINK!
I called the yard and spoke to the ship store manager/secretary/work order writer who confirmed the fact of the one and only labor rate. "Do you pay your bottom painters the same as your factory trained mechanics?" No! "I didn't think so. How can you charge the same rate for a seasoned, trained mechanic with his own specialty tools and a low tech bottom painter?"
"Our bottom painters are highly trained and they receive a good wage. It's a dirty job, you know! No one else in the yard wants to do it," she said. That is the main point, 'no one else wants to do it' but they pay the mechanic $35+ and pay the bottom painter $20+.
A little bit of history; in the late 80's the engine manufacturers cut their warranty labor rate reimbursement to 75% of the repair facilities labor rate. At that time it was between $50 and $65 depending on the area. The yard owners weren't stupid so they jacked up their mechanical labor rate to $80 or $90 which meant they received the same from the warranty claim.
Later these same yards had to raise all of their mechanical rates to equal the warranty rate which royally screwed Joe Boater. Some yards raised the entire rate board to $90. It ain't fair, said the unhappy boater.
"When you go into see the ship store manager/secretary/work order writer to inform them that you are leaving, tell her what I said and ask her to adjust the rate downward to a realistic number like $60 per hour. I'm pretty sure they won't but it's worth a try," I said.
The other day I got a call from the yard owner. "We don't appreciate...... etc." I was sure he didn't but to my surprise he had negotiated a new rate and the job was done. You never knows, does you!
Boatguy Ed (boatguiEd@aol.com)is the manufacturer of the worlds BEST anti-fouling bottom paint,www.supershipbottom.com. TWEET me @boatguyed and a corresponding web site is http://www.boatingbyboatguyed.com/........ NEVER, EVER TRY TO BUY HIM A DRINK!
This blog/column is meant for educational purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Void where prohibited. Some assembly required. Do not read while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment.
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