Offshore marina issues

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I have seen ups and downs over the years at Offshore -- some years good and some less so. I try to cut them some slack. My selfish motivation is to keep some competition at the north end of the lake so we don't have a monopoly situation with Aramark. I enjoy my association with Aramark, but they don't always hit it out of the park, either. More important, I believe in a free marketplace with real competition.

This reminds me of a scene in It's a Wonderful Life in which George Bailey explains why Bedford Falls needs to keep the Bailey Building and Loan: "This town needs this measly one-horse institution if only to have some place where people can come without crawling to Potter."
 
Three years ago I had the same problems with the attitude, service, incompetence, etc with Offshore. They would rather climb a tree and lie to you than stay on the ground and tell you the truth. I have been storing my fishing boat at Bullfrog ever since and having any work we need done to our houseboat done by the Bullfrog boat shop, I have been more than happy with the service there and the storage yard. The people at the storage yard provide excellent service. Dan, at Ticaboo Service has been our go to guy for anything we need on the lake. He has also been honest and very responsive to deal with. We have a houseboat in the covered slips. The people at Offshore reflect the attitude of the owners which is poor at best. I will never use them again for anything, I even drive all the way to Hanksville to get a burger. Hopefully they will sell out, there are a few good people there but they are very few.
 
TR. said:
Those of you that know me know that I am not one to be negative, bitch, whine or jump on posts that do that. That being said I have been meaning to write this up for quite some time and it seems time to finally get it done. I have stored my boat at offshore for many years. I like the folks that work there and they have always treated me well. Unfortunately that came to an end last year when I had and issue and failed to get any kind of resolution. It started when I asked for my boat to be pulled so I could winterize it. When I showed up it was not pulled so I went in and asked. They told me they would get right on it. I was standing by the pumps waiting for it when I saw it being towed and the outdrive was 3/4 way down. The guy was moving pretty fast and before I could truly freak out he ha backed it onto the work pad. I didn’t see it hit ground although it was close so I didn’t say anything and just shook my head. After the guy drove off I walked around and saw that the motor was resting on the ground. I quickly ran over and raised the engine, went around and looked at it. I have a stainless prop and the bottom two fins were bent forward and inch. It took a while to piece it together but eventually I figured out that when the guy was backing the boat and the outdrive was in the lowered position he hit a piece of boat cribbing. I Lind it all up, took pictures and went and got the manager. He reviewed and then told me I had to file with the owner as he only does the report. I called and emailed the owner repeatedly over the next three months and never received a response. I called the manager back and he told me he was sorry it only the owner could make it right. In my emails I showed him the pics of the prop, boat and cribbing all lined up. I also said that I understand accidents happen and that I would be happy if he covered the cost of the prop in future storage fees. I don’t think I could have been any more fair about it. The bottom line is that the owner of offshore never once returned my emails, calls or certified mail. He never acknowledged me whatsoever despite his manager agreeing that the incident did happen and that he was there. My opinion is that if offshore wouldn't cover $350 bartered in future storage fees what would they do when they really screwed up. In my letters I clearly pointed out that I bought thousands of dollars in fuel every year from them, that I spent hundreds in food and supplies, and that I had stored my boat there for ten years without an issue. I did everything I could to be reasonable and make this work out and I never received a single response, ever. So...I pulled my boat and have since had many friends move boats and houseboats out of there over the course of the last year. That $350 has cost them many thousands of dollars in one year. It still gets me mad thinking of how I was treated but it does make me happier to drive by and buy my gas elsewhere, store my boat elsewhere and help to support other boatyards in the area. Look around as you go down this year and you will see a dwindling number of boats in offshore because they have abominable customer service. And...there was a witness to this, someone I didn't know at was working on his boat next to mines. gave me his phone number for my report. That part was ignored as well. Undoubtedly some are happy with offshore, good for them. I like the folks there too but if you know any of them they will tell you what a terrible person the owner is as well. Me, I will never give them a penny again and I bought a new $350 prop and continue to enjoy the lake. And I would love a response from the owner here because that would really drive me to show the numerous letters, emails and pics I sent...but he won’t because he knows that. So, back to being my happy self, a few more months and I get to fish, looking forward to getting back. Wow, never wrote anything like that before, a complete rant.



TR
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Don't blame you at all. We also have stored our boat there for 20 plus years but after several incidents last year including boat not set out as agreed, $75.00 fuel fee, being LIED to by Kerry, hung up on by Lisa, having them attempt to cancel one of our trips which we did not request, muddy footprints on our carpet from them fueling us and the last straw was watching Lat run into another customers boat while doing donuts in the parking lot on the tractor, we made the move to Bullfrog last August. We hope that the current owners(3) sell out and that someone who understands customer service takes over.
 
Called "Chris" last summer & paid 3 monthes up front. He took my card but never charged me. I've been with them off & on for over 10 years. I've had phone calls prompting me for payment previously but this time was way different, said they did not have my phone but then magically called me. Then was charged extreme late fees due to poor employee performance (Chris). Questionable Ethics
 
As more and more people are screwed by Offshore their business will decline. I warned boaters about them when they first opened under the new owners. The manager and whatever the guy under him is called are total jerks, their word doesn't mean a thing. Since I terminated over 30 years of dealing with Offshore I have been much happier dealing with Bullfrog. I really hope they get rid of the jerks there and change hands as the owners are just as bad. And yes there will be someone else buy them out as it is to good a business to just let go. Just look at how the boats at J & B have multiplied in the short time they have been there. People just get tired of being screwed.
 
Skip said:
As more and more people are screwed by Offshore their business will decline. I warned boaters about them when they first opened under the new owners. The manager and whatever the guy under him is called are total jerks, their word doesn't mean a thing. Since I terminated over 30 years of dealing with Offshore I have been much happier dealing with Bullfrog. I really hope they get rid of the jerks there and change hands as the owners are just as bad. And yes there will be someone else buy them out as it is to good a business to just let go. Just look at how the boats at J & B have multiplied in the short time they have been there. People just get tired of being screwed.
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I entertained the idea of ownership, but that little thing called "a fortune" is missing from my budget. haha
 
Concerned Soldier said:
Maybe you can get some of that small business money the government is handing out to keep your business growing!
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Government money? What is that? Oh yeah, the stuff I send to them to hand out to others such as Wall Street, Chevrolet, Chrysler and any other business they consider "essential". My one man shop doesn't even quality for the federal "forgiveness" loans because I don't have any employees.
Small shops like mine just have to ride out the storm, pick up any life preserver we can get and wait for calmer waters to come in.
The waters are getting better now. We are starting to see the sunrises again. :)
 
T R All Metals welding in Grand Junction has a prop service that can repair bent and broken props. They have a man in Fruita that does the work. I have always been very pleased with the work and price. Jon R - Their is a place in Ticaboo that has inside covered boat storage. Don't know much about the price or availability. As far as the service at the north lake, the remoteness of the lake that makes the Lake so enjoyable for those of us that love it also makes it a hard place to get good people to stay and work. I have seen a lot of good people come and go due to various reasons. We have always just stayed with the service at Bullfrog. We store our fishing boat at the dry boat service during the fishing months, and have a houseboat in the slips at Bullfrog. About the time you get to learn and trust a person, you find out that they made to much money and budget cuts made them expendable? The biggest problem you have at the Lake is that it is in a national park and the government hates competition. They like to deal with one concessionaire. This means that only one company is allowed to own/operate the services on the lake at a time. This means that they have no competition and they can charge what ever their conscious will allow. Any one doing in business on the lake must pay a portion of their fee to Aramark - kinda like the Mafia. When we bought our Houseboat, it was in a slip at Lake Pleasant just north of Phoenix. It cost the previous owners just a little more than half of what we pay at Bull frog to keep their boat in a slip there. You had a reserved parking spot in the parking lot for your car and golf cart. You had an extra wide walkway everywhere that you could drive your golf cart all the way out to your boat, and even had a place to park your cart at your boat. The Security patrolled the dock constantly and would pick up your trash and haul it off for you every night. Their was also another marina about 5 miles away across the lake that was owned and operated by another owner who also wanted and would work to hard to obtain your business. It takes a long time to build and earn a good reputation and a very short time to loose one. Do every thing right and a few people will tell their friends about a good place to do business with. Piss off some one and they will go out of their way to tell every one they see.
 
I am generally in favor of competition to help consumers. I wonder if this is a rare case where competition has just spread out the business so much at the North Lake that no one does it well. When you slice a pie into too many slices, no one gets full. Seems like Aramark was building up some nice facilities until the late 80's/early 90's. Then a lot of competition came a long. For a little while, it was better. But now all the facilities at the North End are degraded, services aren't good, no improvements are being made. You wonder if some consolidation/build up of one player might make it worth someone's while to invest a little money in the north end.
 
Kevin G said:
I am generally in favor of competition to help consumers. I wonder if this is a rare case where competition has just spread out the business so much at the North Lake that no one does it well. When you slice a pie into too many slices, no one gets full. Seems like Aramark was building up some nice facilities until the late 80's/early 90's. Then a lot of competition came a long. For a little while, it was better. But now all the facilities at the North End are degraded, services aren't good, no improvements are being made. You wonder if some consolidation/build up of one player might make it worth someone's while to invest a little money in the north end.
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With all due respect, 3 business's (houseboat services) in an isolated area of the northern end of the lake doesn't really justify too many services for a multi-million dollar industry. The big problems with the services at the northern end of the lake is getting quality personel on the staff that really gives a crap.

One problem is the "seasoned" employees feel they are indispensable and can get away with pretty much murder without being let go. Therefore, customer service suffers. There are still a few shining stars, but they are very few at the northern lake.

Another problem is isolation. There are not many people that are welcoming to living 1 hour from the nearest grocery store,, 2 hours from the nearest hardware or auto parts store, or 3 hours from the nearest hospital. Quality employees are very hard to come by in this neck of the woods. Lets be happy they even find people that love this type of living.

Competition is good. Period. It gives the consumer a choice and price comparison. From what I have heard, My competition has complained they will have to wait to retire because of having competition and having to lower their prices to be competitive. But that is just a rumor I have heard.....Many times.

Truthfully, the big 3 at the lake probably have the best intentions for awesome service for everyone. The sad truth is the man power may not be there or available. Me, being a one man shop, feels that crunch. I would love to hire someone, but options for quality help in this field are very scarce in the area.

Happy boating everyone
 
Dave I. said:
With all due respect, 3 business's (houseboat services) in an isolated area of the northern end of the lake doesn't really justify too many services for a multi-million dollar industry. The big problems with the services at the northern end of the lake is getting quality personel on the staff that really gives a crap.

One problem is the "seasoned" employees feel they are indispensable and can get away with pretty much murder without being let go. Therefore, customer service suffers. There are still a few shining stars, but they are very few at the northern lake.

Another problem is isolation. There are not many people that are welcoming to living 1 hour from the nearest grocery store,, 2 hours from the nearest hardware or auto parts store, or 3 hours from the nearest hospital. Quality employees are very hard to come by in this neck of the woods. Lets be happy they even find people that love this type of living.

Competition is good. Period. It gives the consumer a choice and price comparison. From what I have heard, My competition has complained they will have to wait to retire because of having competition and having to lower their prices to be competitive. But that is just a rumor I have heard.....Many times.

Truthfully, the big 3 at the lake probably have the best intentions for awesome service for everyone. The sad truth is the man power may not be there or available. Me, being a one man shop, feels that crunch. I would love to hire someone, but options for quality help in this field are very scarce in the area.

Happy boating everyone
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Dave,

I have enormous respect for you but we are going to disagree on this one. Having slipshod workers I can understand due to all of the above. Actively ignoring discussion and complaints and not even giving the courtesy of a reply is just plain arrogance. The owner of Offshore sucks. Period. You know he has seen all of these complaints and if he was the guy we all hope he would at least respond here with a “oh gee sorry guys”. He is laughing his way to the bank however I hope every time he passes JNB and your place he realizes they/you are taking the deposits because you all do indeed care and have good customer service. This just shows me how much money offshore actually makes that they don’t care about losing business. I tried for a full year just to get a single reply. Just a “hey, sorry man”. NADA. They lost more in fuel profits from me last year than if they had just bought me a new prop, never mind the storage fees. Bad businessman, bad person. Karma comes around. That’s my take.

TR
 
TR, I agree with you 100%, thank goodness someone else has cost Offshore money besides me. I won't even stop for a burger anymore. The employees relate just how shoddy these owners are, they promise but no follow through. It is just plain disrespect for customers from the owners and the managers at Offshore that will hopefully eliminate them and get them replaced with someone who cares. Offshore with its present ownership/management like Hermine said should not even exist. Thanks you guys for confirming my thoughts and actions.
 
I haven’t been there since they held my boat hostage. Even with the covid, they have lost over $2500 in sales that have gone to other stores, for my boat only. This fall I will be using dave for storage. Really, dislike those folks.
 
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TR. said:
Dave,

I have enormous respect for you but we are going to disagree on this one. Having slipshod workers I can understand due to all of the above. Actively ignoring discussion and complaints and not even giving the courtesy of a reply is just plain arrogance. The owner of Offshore sucks. Period. You know he has seen all of these complaints and if he was the guy we all hope he would at least respond here with a “oh gee sorry guys”. He is laughing his way to the bank however I hope every time he passes JNB and your place he realizes they/you are taking the deposits because you all do indeed care and have good customer service. This just shows me how much money offshore actually makes that they don’t care about losing business. I tried for a full year just to get a single reply. Just a “hey, sorry man”. NADA. They lost more in fuel profits from me last year than if they had just bought me a new prop, never mind the storage fees. Bad businessman, bad person. Karma comes around. That’s my take.

TR
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That is totally respectable TR and you have some great points. Yes, complaints SHOULD be handled better. I hear complaints about all 3 down at the lake and I try to analyze them all. I also try to look at the why these complaints happen. Kinda like I wonder how a houseboat gets dropped on the Hwy.

And yes, management should take more pride in the businesses that what is shown. I have heard some of the "employee talk" and it makes me just walk out because they do throw me some bones from time to time which is always welcome. But some of the things that are laughed about are infuriating to customers. I do understand that. I wish it didn't happen at all

Am I defending Offshore's customer service, absolutely not because I can't. Reason I can't is because I don't use their services or rely on their customer service. I hear the complaints and they make me cringe, but they have almost done good by me as a small business 100%, Almost.

As far as them making a change? Hmmm

But don't get me wrong, Offshore does have some quality employees. But morale is a serious issue there.
 
I moved my 19' from Off Shore to Bullfrog a year ago - Its 20% cheaper and I don't need to go through mussel inspection - When I have had engine problems the Mechanics at Bullfrog were generally accommodating --

The launch and retrieve of the houseboat with Off Shore has gone smoothly for the last 3-4 years -- Being able to work on the HB during the off season is a major draw to keep the HB at Off Shore -- My understanding is that it is difficult to work on your HB due to NPS regulations etc.. in the park -

So I use Aramark for my small boat and Off Shore for the HB --
 
Dave I. said:
With all due respect, 3 business's (houseboat services) in an isolated area of the northern end of the lake doesn't really justify too many services for a multi-million dollar industry. The big problems with the services at the northern end of the lake is getting quality personel on the staff that really gives a crap.

One problem is the "seasoned" employees feel they are indispensable and can get away with pretty much murder without being let go. Therefore, customer service suffers. There are still a few shining stars, but they are very few at the northern lake.

Another problem is isolation. There are not many people that are welcoming to living 1 hour from the nearest grocery store,, 2 hours from the nearest hardware or auto parts store, or 3 hours from the nearest hospital. Quality employees are very hard to come by in this neck of the woods. Lets be happy they even find people that love this type of living.

Competition is good. Period. It gives the consumer a choice and price comparison. From what I have heard, My competition has complained they will have to wait to retire because of having competition and having to lower their prices to be competitive. But that is just a rumor I have heard.....Many times.

Truthfully, the big 3 at the lake probably have the best intentions for awesome service for everyone. The sad truth is the man power may not be there or available. Me, being a one man shop, feels that crunch. I would love to hire someone, but options for quality help in this field are very scarce in the area.

Happy boating everyone
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Dave you make some good points, but I am just not sure how big an industry still exists at North End. When I was young, the line to launch your boat on holiday weekends would be well past the gas station at Bullfrog and going up the hill. The parking lots would be almost totally full. Offshore had so many boats in the lot you could hardly get around. The buoy fields at Bullfrog and Halls were completely full. The wait list for getting a slip was years long. Today, none of that is true. It's a faint shadow of what it used to be in terms of volume. Part of that is because of the bad experience that so many people have had trying to get ANY sort of service at the North End. This is not an inexpensive hobby, it has to be a passion. But when you spend an entire vacation day trying to buy a bottle of gear lube, going from Halls (where there used to be a great on-lake boat shop - no longer), to Bullfrog, to the Bullfrog Gas Station, to Offshore...and only able to acquire one from a fellow boater...something is wrong up there. I think it could be better if there was someone there who had the incentive to do it well.
 
Whats interesting is that the owners at Off Shore must have some deep pockets as they did upgrade their HB launch / retrieve trailer rig - Brand New rig this year -

Also I was told and saw up on the east hillside - a lot of dirt/gravel being moved that will be used in the parking lots or the lower storage HB lot.

So money is being spent on hard assets - but service-- service --service and most important communication is where hopefully an investment will ALSO be made
 
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