Albin Sales Manager

Post by **Denis** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 5:47 am

The other night I met the National Sales Manager for Albin boats at our marina. He was there visiting a friend and he saw my boat and came over to introduce himself. He was very interested when I told him about this web site. He gave me his card and would like me to e-mail him the address. He is fairly new on the job but he seems energetic and very interested in building a relationship with present Albin owners in order to improve the customer service, get feedback for repairs or improvements and to set up meetings or even a rendezvous.

Post by **johnmurray** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 7:01 pm

Could you provide his name and contact details?

Post by **chiefrcd** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 7:54 pm

What a novel idea.......I'd welcome him with open arms....

Post by **Denis** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 10:04 pm

I e-mailed him and gave him the address for this albin site.
His name is:
Andrew Page
apage@albinmarine.com
He seemed very interested in logging on and getting involved.

Post by **Veebyes2** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:28 am

If Andrew joins us here, welcome. Anything he does will be an improvement on aftersales attention which has been severly lacking.

I have been an Albin owner for 20 years. The first was a 27AC, bought new in 1986.

I have attended the Annapolis show many times. The only Albin rep who ever showed any interest in me as an Albin customer was Terry Compton, who designed many of our boats.

I used my 27 commercially as a tourboat for 6 years. Imagine that. People, some of them potential Albin customers, actually paying to get on their product. Free advertising. Could I get prompt service from Albin for boat, not engine or non Albin, parts when I needed them after lightning damage? No Way! It took months to get teak trim parts for a boat that was still in production.

Sorry for the rant. The lack of after sale customer care seems common with many boat builders. They need to attend an RV show or lurk on some RV forums to see a world of difference in attitude shown to customers shown by many RV builders, especially the higher end builders. I'd like to consider Albin better than average.

Post by **Denis** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:37 am

I understand that there are some problems with customer service, I have had my own problems but I hope this doesn't turn into a bitch problem for him if he decides to join us.
There are much better ways to get what you need.

DBM · Post by **DBM** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:43 am

Having a manufacturer's rep on the site can prove very helpful and informative. On the Shamrocks boat owners site Fishtheclassic.net, Bo Palmer the new owner of shamrock is on frequently asking owners opinions on new disigns and giving feedback to owners. He unvieled a new model on the site before anyone else saw it, took comments and made changes based on those comments before it went into production.

David
Liberty

apage · Post by **apage** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:22 am

Hi Everyone:

Thanks to Denis I am here. I am proud to represent the company and even more so that you all have set up this site and use it as a fun place to talk about your Albin experiences (all good I hope) and as a resource to troubleshoot.

My interaction will really be based on what I find out from you guys. If, as Denis said, this turns into a forum of digruntled boat owners, you can imagine that I am not going to spend a whole lot of time here.

My primary goal at Albin is to sell boats and set up dealerships with the best possible people. That will translate into a better purchasing, customer service and boating experience for everyone.

Having said that, if there are issues that you simply cannot get resolved from your dealer, I will look into it with no guarantees.

Thanks for your hard work and dedication to the brand. It is only with end users that a brand can thrive. I intend to lean on each and every one of you to promote the brand. In return, I will act as a sounding board for the company so that we can hear from you how to make the product better.

I will be looking for all of you on the water, at the dock, at anchor in various ports of call and so forth. Don't be alarmed if a goofy-looking kid comes up to you and starts asking you questions about your boat, it's just me.

Cheers,

Andrew @ Albin

jcollins · Post by **jcollins** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:36 am

WELCOME ANDREW!

I sent you a personal note. I would be prepared for the above mentioned bitch-fest for a few days. Months or years of frustration will be unleashed on you! You are the first that has come forward and had the nerve to join the board. <smile> You sir, are a trend-setter, that will hopefully turn the tide and raise Albin's customer service approval rating.

I ask the members here to start gently. We don't want to scare Andrew away.

As mentioned before it is my goal to have a forum that is moderated by a few folks at Albin. Hopefully this is the beginning.

Thanks again for joining!

Post by **Mariner** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:43 am

Andrew,

We are absololutely delighted to have you here. While most of us feel that the after-purchase support form Albin Marine has been lacking in the past, we are quite willing to open our arms to you. I promise that the members here won't go overboard on you with their frustrations, if they have any. If they do, I will take care of it.

However, for the most part, everyone here seems to love their boats, so I wouldn't worry about it. You guys build great boats, with thoughtful and funcitonal designs. That has never been a complaint.

I'm looking forward to whatever input you may have for us owners, as well as providing a sort of "feedback loop" where you can draw off us to improve your product in the future.

Thank you for joining us!

DBM · Post by **DBM** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 11:12 am

While I'm not an Albin owner yet, I may be in the near future (albin's on the short list). I'm sure you'll get you fair share of abuse, but I'd like to start of the abuse citeing something you yourself said.

Exactly how goofy looking are you?

I'm just kidding and I hope you can be an added benefit to this board.

Tight Lines and Fair Seas
DBM
Liberty

Post by **Elizabeth Ann** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 11:34 am

Welcome Andrew! I have nothing to bitch about. I'm just happy your around.

Cheers!

E.A.

Post by **chiefrcd** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 5:16 pm

Andrew,
Let me add my welcome. I also looked for over a year and at many boat shows and for me it was Albin hands down. I love my boat and you will see that most here do feel the same way, if not all of us. My dealer was CYS, who was voted the best Albin Dealer in the world in 2005....and I can vouch for them...they are top drawer in every aspect. However, occassionally I wanted to contact the builder, and since there is a name and e mail posted on your website, I would have thought I would get some kind of anwser....and that's my only complaint. I'd just like to get an acknowledgement when I write in. Heck, Albin could hire a summer intern to answer E mails....90% of customer service is communications, a fact that I know, because I'm Chief of Guest Services for one of the most popular NASCAR Race Tracks in the United States....and I answer EVERY e-mail that is a guest services issue.
Again welcome and we appreciate you being here.

R.C. Dawson
aka ChiefRCD

Tuxedo · Post by **Tuxedo** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 7:21 am

Another welcome Andrew.

I don't think the group wants to load up on anyone, just have someone from Albin that seems to care. In turn, we seem to be great representatives of our boats and "sell them" to others whenever we can.

Good luck in your new position. We'd all love to see the dealer network grow.

Albin Owners Group

Albin Owners Group