2006 J.D. Power Release

[bkhallpass]

Jon,

Just guessing, but I would think that folks are buying boats with a certain expectation, and then learning their expectations are not met. For instance, Rhode bought a 25 foot Malibu for Wakeboarding. He ended up selling it within a year because it did not steer to his liking, and even though it was a big boat, he still ended up weighting it heavily. Some of the companies are advertising that their wake boats are also good ski boats, when in fact they are not. Others are advertising that their ski boats are good wake boats, when in fact they are not. I also think
some of the companies represent that if it is bigger, it must be a better wakeboard boat. Those
of us who own 210s know that bigger is not necessarily better.

For the most part I've found Nautique sales folks to be truthful. They'll tell you that the 211 is a pretty good ski boat, but admit it is nowhere near as good as the 196, 206, or 216. They'll tell you that the 206 is a very good ski boat, not as good as the 196, but very good. They'll admit that at best it's a recreational wakeboard boat. They'll tell you the 216 is good for skiing, good for wakeboarding, but not world class at either.

Again, just guessing, but the point is: did the boat provide the on water performance for
which the owners expectations had been set.

BKH

[jon4pres]

I guess I buy that explanation. It makes sense to me.

[redelf75]

BKH: I agree that long term sales satisfaction is very much based on setting up the expectation. But I find it a stretch to catagorize that CC salespeople are more truthful than the others.

Adwin: Good post, but are the numbers between CC and BU/MC really comprable to Acura and the other car makes you listed? I think there are the boating industry is in general is in a very different world than the automotive.

[bkhallpass]

Sure Redelf, fair enough, I'm a sales guy myself. Let's give the benefit of the doubt to the guys on the front line and assume they are only delivering the message and marketing handed them from the manufacturer. I'd stand by my my analysis that some purport that their boats perform and/or
have capabilities which, in fact, they do not. Once the customer's expectation is set, there can only be disappointment if not met. Better to set an accurate expectation out of the gate, even if not an optimum expectation, that can be met. If the customer gets what expected he/she will generally be satisfied. BKH

[redelf75]

BKH: I'm in full agreement on the analysis, just didn't think the generalization was justified. In the big picture I think there must be other factors being played out, of which I cannot begin to phathom.

I'm inclined to believe the theory that satisfaction is directly proportional to the amount of money spent. That said, since CC is the most expensive, their buyers will be the most satisfied. Bizarre, isn't it?

Or maybe, CC really does builds a better boat. :grin:

[bkhallpass]

I'm sure the possiblities are infinite. Another theory I was thinking about: I don't know many who buy a new Nautique as their first boat. If you've owned a boat before, you know that boats are boats, and things go wrong. On the other hand, I know many who buy other less expensive brands as a first boat. Maybe they expect more than is the reality.

Of course, then there's the matter of how well does your manufacturer and dealer take care of you when things do go wrong . . . . BKH

[redelf75]

Of course, then there's the matter of how well does your manufacturer and dealer take care of you when things do go wrong . . . . BKH

Which gets back to the Acura experience.

Anyway, they look good on the office desk! :grin:

[Rhode]

So far on this thread, the only thing I agree with is when BKH said that people who own 210s know that a bigger wakeboard boat is not necessarily better. To continue that thought, a bigger boat (e.g., '05 VLX like the one I bought and got rid of quickly, not 25 feet) can have a very inferior wake by virtue of the fact that it does not sit deep enough in the water because of a big fat pig beam.

Regarding J.D. Powers, I will simply repeat in abreviated form something I wrote here last fall:

J.D. Power's business model is not so disimilar to that of corporate America's so-called credit rating agencies, Standard and Poor's, Moody's and Fitch. Does anyone remember how these self-acclaimed independent analysts were pumping companies like Enron and Worldcom right up until the day they imploded? Be aware that it is publicly-traded companies themselves that actually pay for their so-called Wall Street "coverage" and subsequent ratings; it's not the investing public directly or indirectly through fund managers and the like.

Perhaps, a better comparison of J.D. Powers' buisness model (and one which is easier to appreciate) is that of the big accounting firms like the now defunct Arthur Anderson that helped bring us the above-mentioned corporate failures. (In their defense, the credit rating agencies were mostly relying on the accounting firms' bogus financial reporting when saying that everything was okey dokey with those energy trading and telecommunications companies.) As some of you will no doubt recall, the government finally made those accounting firms spin-off their consulting businesses because of the obvious conflict that exists when you are being paid big money by a publicly-traded copmany to serve as both its business partner in the pursuit of higher revenues/profits while at the same working as its mandated-by-law independent auditor whose work private investors will look to for guideance.

In the situation at hand, I will bet anyone on this board dollars to donuts that the Meloon and Warner families stroke big fat checks year in and years out to J.D. Powers for all sorts of marine industry research, surverys and other such stuff that should be correctly viewed as both useful information to a boat company and as "payola" for the various awards that are handed out. I got a really good laugh one morning last fall while checking out the marine industry section of J.D. Powers corporate website. While pitching consulting work and syndicated and propriety research to boat companies, there is a direct quote by the Director of J.D. Powers Marine Practice that reads, "Together We Can Grow Boating." Read: Stroke us with big checks for our "help" and we will "help" you out with a big trophy.

Sorry for the four cents this morning, but I doubt many of you knew that there are "two sides" to J.D. Powers business model. Regarding a question a few of you have raised, I will posit that there is a chance that BU stopped "hiring" J.D. Powers this year for its research and the like while at the same time MC opened up its check book (maybe for advice about breaking into the saltwater market).

Rhode

[bkhallpass]

You could be right Rhode - certainly true in the computer business. Gartner
says, what you pay Gartner to say, unless you refuse to pay them, and then
you have a problem. BKH

[ScarletArrow]

You could be right Rhode - certainly true in the computer business. Gartner
says, what you pay Gartner to say, unless you refuse to pay them, and then
you have a problem. BKH

True also in the world of corporate retirement plans...there is an undeniable correlation with advertising dollars in Plan Sponsor magazine and the "awards" that are won.

[avizer]

# of boats sold

I met with Malibu dealer in a boat show last week. one of his sales points was that Malibu is the best selling boat in the past year (3 times more than Nautiqe). does anyone know if that is true?

[AbunDiga909]

RE: # of boats sold

This is true. My response is Ford sells more cars than BMW/Mercedes/Audi, this means nothing... After that, he just goes onto his next point... 8-)

[Rhode]

avizer,

What Diga says in clear and concise terms is pretty much settled dogma on this site. However, we all are curious as to what the future holds for CC as it eventually moves into a much larger factory and, presumably, kicks out more boats...perhaps, rivalling BU. Some of the rub on this site in recent months has focussed on the extent to which CC is inadvertantly readying itself to be be a fast food joint by slacking on build quality. Just search the threads for "build quality" and it's all there for you to consider. Keep in mind as you read the bickering of our knitting club, though, that we are a bunch of old ladies who demand perfection. Welcome, if you are new to the site; I see that you have only posted four times. I, too, am a Noob, relatively speaking, after about a half a year.

Rhode