Boating Industry Intelligence You Can Profit From
MacCallum’s Boathouse (Ranked 94 in 2006) does small very well. The one-location dealer in Epsom, N.H., has made its second appearance on the list of Boating Industry Top 100 Dealers and has done so not with overwhelming unit sales or dollar volume, but rather by establishing consistency.
The dealership says it consistently achieves Top 10 rankings with each of its product partners, all the while keeping a keen eye on its customer focus, continuing to offer the “human touches” that were offered by owner Peter MacCallum’s father and grandfather before him.
“Let’s face a few facts,” Peter says. “MacCallum’s Boathouse is located in a town with more cows than people. Yes, we are fortunate that we have been in business for a long tenure … however, it’s the consistency of performance year in and out [that makes us successful] and that makes me the proudest.”
It’s that consistency, coupled with the attention to customer satisfaction, that keeps those customers coming back.
To ensure a successful strategy in the world of customer service, MacCallum’s (Ranked 94) established a document that includes eight tips on improving CSI. Among the ideas are tips such as “create a culture that will empower all staff members to make decisions on their own to create a happy customer,”; “visit the best CSI provider in your market – make an appointment with the principal, ask for a tour … to help you understand what makes them so successful,”; and “being responsive, polite and knowledgeable are the things that don’t cost your dealership money but pay big dividends and have a huge impact on your customer’s perception of your store.”
Peter says that his dealership has long used the templates created by manufacturers, but he created this document after adopting ideas from those and realizing a need to tailor the principles to MacCallum’s market. “Each of our employees has a copy attached to their work station/area, and knows that our future success as a business is driven by this document,” he says.