Editors Pick: MasterCraft Boats of Arizona, Inc. #64

An average Customer Satisfaction Index score of 100 is a pretty rare thing. Perfect CSI scores are not uncommon for individual boat sales. However, maintaining that 100 is much more difficult when the satisfaction data for each sale and service experience is accumulated and totaled. Very few dealerships in the Top 100, much less the rest of the industry, have a CSI of 100. But MasterCraft Boats of Arizona, Inc., does.

Of course, there is much more to being a great dealership – and a Top 100 Dealer – than having a good CSI score, but what makes MasterCraft Boats of Arizona’s achievement all the more noteworthy is that even two years after buying a boat from the dealership, with all the subsequent interactions and transactions, customers still give the business a perfect CSI score.

That’s an impressive accomplishment, and it’s indicative of a dealership that has a solid foundation under it and a culture of customer service in place.

It’s not the dealership’s only accomplishment, however. In addition to jumping from No. 83 on the 2006 Top 100 list to No. 64 this year, MasterCraft Boats of Arizona has been in the top five for CSI among MasterCraft dealers for the last 18 years.

“We really do go beyond what most dealers do and that is why we have been able to flourish with a small ‘niche’ product like MasterCraft,” say owners Debbie and Jim Hayes. “We love the product, we believe in the product, and we know that when we help families purchase their boats, they are going to experience family fun and enjoyment like no other form of recreation can give them.”

MasterCraft Boats of Arizona has a director of customer service who works to ensure that all its customer’s needs and expectations are met and surpassed. Detailed process maps, created with the assistance of Six Sigma Black Belts from GE’s At the Customer, For the Customer program, help employees provide customers a consistently exceptional experience.

For example, 27 steps have been outlined to make the customer’s boat delivery day a memorable, hassle-free experience. Everything is covered, from boat preparation to greeting customers, teaching operational skills and even taking a photo of them with the boat, which is immediately sent in an e-mail so it’s waiting when they arrive home.

During that delivery, buyers are also given a DVD called “Owning the Dream,” which highlights the most important lessons they were to have learned, just in case something is later forgotten.

The dealership was also poised to move into a brand new 60,000-square-foot building by the end of 2007, taking nearly half that space for itself and leasing the rest out – a move that should help continue the annual revenue growth, which increased nearly 20 percent in 2006.

The Phoenix-based dealership also redesigned its Web site recently, which doubled the number of hits it received. The company’s entire inventory can be found there, which it believes creates a sense of urgency in shoppers, and there are also three videos that portray the lifestyle of owning a MasterCraft, which helps do the same thing.
The dealership says it has also benefited greatly by being part of David Parker’s MasterCraft 20 Group. A member of the group since its inception, the company calls participation in it, “The best thing we’ve ever done for our business.”

The dealership meets three times each year with the other group members and uses many of the ideas shared during those gatherings to improve its operations. For example, boat delivery times have been greatly improved by pre-rigging all new boats that come in, including a lake test and gas, then putting the shrinkwrap back on. This helps keep the service department busy during the slow months as well.

Parker also visits the dealership once a year to help create the annual budget, then issues a report every month helping the dealership track how it’s doing vs. the budgeted numbers.

“The final key for us was meeting David Parker, getting in his 20 Group and learning how to be smart business people and run a real business,” the owners say. “Now we know we have the staying power that it takes and will be here when our customers need us. Dealers have to deliver the lifestyle, take care of the customer’s needs and make it easy for them. If you are not profitable in your business, you can’t do any of these things.”

MasterCraft Boats of Arizona’s strong financial performance, its commitment to ongoing improvement and the history of customer service at its core have served it well and should continue to do so for years to come.