C-Dory Factory Survey - Take Two

Jeff M has been with C Ranger for at least 4 months. I have found that I got better action if I needed something by calling on the phone. I made my self available after my return from Cleveland--and no response after a "thank you" from the person who I addressed the E mail to.

I agree that the Factory's presence on the web site in the past was a real plus. Haven't seen much of them recently.
 
Our 22' Cruiser was ordered in March but not delivered to us until July 7, apparently because of factory delays that weren't communicated to the dealer.

I shopped around and had high hopes that this C-Dory would be a great boat, produced by a factory that cared about quality control and customer service, but I have been disappointed. Granted, I'm on the east coast and the factory on the west, but to me "the factory" might be a figment of someone's imagination for all the contact we've had.

This brand new 2008 boat spent most of today at a local marina being repaired, because the factory installed the hoses to the gas tank dial backwards. We discovered we had a problem the hard way, coming home in the dark ... when the dial was turned to "starboard" no gas reached either engine and they both stalled. Also, there's a leak in the bilge pump hose behind the port gas tank, and the tank will need to be drained and removed in order to replace it.

I know, this is why warranties exist, but this stuff is frustrating, not to mention potentially dangerous. Our confidence in our boat is shaken and we won't be going too far for too long, because we wonder what's going to happen next.

It seems like a proud manufacturer who cares would have been in contact, wanting to know how the boat they built is doing (as someone else said, car makers do it, why can't C-Dory?). Makes us wonder if they're phoning in production of the older models while their hearts and minds are focused on the new 29 footer. Whatever the cause, based on our own experience we'd be hard pressed at this point to recommend a C-Dory to anyone else.

This isn't the way it was supposed to be.

Sorry to be a downer, but it's been a bit too interesting a day. Maybe after the bilge hose is repaired, everything will be fine, but this seems like a lot of problems for a boat that's not yet a month old.
 
This was where I meant to post this reply:

>>Thanks for the correction. Jeff M has since pm'ed me to explain he was with C-Ranger.

I wonder if there is a new factory rep to be the "face for the fans" of the regular C-dory line?

Very sorry and disappointed to read about the 2008 C-22 with problems...<<
 
matt_unique":11ynx3j7 said:
I wonder if there is a new factory rep to be the "face for the fans" of the regular C-dory line?
Click to expand...

As mentioned in the other thread, that role has been assumed by Rich Reynolds, Vice President and co-owner of C-Dory. More info:

Thread with more details

PM Rich Reynolds

Rich's email: richreynolds@c-dory.com

Rich's phone numbers: 253-839-0222 (Office), 253-205-9925 (Cell)

I'll be the first to admit factory participation on this site is not what it used to be when Jeff worked for C-Dory, but Rich is quite easy to get hold of via more traditional means.
 
Roscoe,

'Sorry to hear about your disappointments in your new CD 22. I think there have been 3-9 month waits on new boats for quite awhile now. Maybe there was some 'mis-communication' about the finish date somewhere along the line.

I'm thinking the valves to switch fuel tanks are a fairly new addition to the CD 25's. Maybe the production jigs are not locked in.

A leaking bilge hose that is in a remote location is really a scary thing.

I had some problems on my TomCat, but had it at the factory for FOUR months AFTER delivery to get them fixed.

My advice to C-Dory was and IS to hire some ordinary, boater "Joe" type guy, like most of their customers, to come into the factory and fill the tanks with water, spray the outside with hoses, put the boats into the water and basically try all the components from shower sump, thru battery charger, fuel switches, guages, hatches, fittings, etc., to see if they actually work, are waterproof, and properly installed. I had a Wallas and wiper that any ordinary person could have told had a problem, but the factory acted like it was some kind of secret, hard to find problem.

On top of that, each step of production should have jigs, tools, and diagrams to ABSOLUTELY ENSURE proper hook-up of wires, controls, plumbing, etc..

I do think they make a very good product, but the factory's continued reliance upon the customers to do the final system checks is very frustrating and causes much unnecessary anger at the one time that things should be reliable.

Maybe the dealers should step in and perform all these checks, or step in and demand that C-Dory ship to them a truly completed, fully functional craft.

Hang in there... it gets better,

John
 
I met the "Joe" type of guy at the factory get together a couple years ago, and "she" was actually pretty attractive. That was her job, to review those boats and systems as they came out of the shop. But it doesn't seem like she followed much of a complete punchlist as my 2005 boat was missing a few components.
 
The dealership owner (Y-Landing) has sent a reimbursement check to cover the entire cost of the repair to the gas lines. He also sent a nice apology, so right now I'm feeling better about the boat and the dealer's support.

I must add that we are enjoying the heck out of this boat. Once I figure out how to add covers for the windows, we'll spend nights aboard. For now, day trips and meet-ups with friends are working well, we're getting to know the boat and the bay, and everything is very good to excellent.
 
This gets off the thread, but the privacy covers for the windows are usually made of matching Sunbrella. You remove 4 screws holding the window frame and replace them with the screws of the male snaps. There are a number of simple tools from use of a hammer to a pair of vise grips to set the female snaps in the Sunbrella. Some people epoxy curtain tracks over the windows and use sliding curtains--we prefer the sunbrella, since we rarely use the privacy curtains.
 
A copy of my e-mail to Holly

Holly,

I answered a phone call awhile back from Avala and promptly hung up - as a matter of practice we don't do phone surveys of ANY type, certainly not from outfits we've never heard of. I also received something in the mail from Avala - it went to the recycle bin without opening; same reasoning.

If outfits of this type serve a real business need, it's not clear to me what that need may be. You have a splendid source for almost anything you might wish to know about your customers and potential customers by consulting the C-Brats' website, something many small manufacturers could only dream about.

My recommendation is for C-Dory to stop wasting money on Marketing Surveys by third parties and, instead, listen to what your existing and potential customers have to say to each other. Not all "knowledge" worth knowing comes out of marketing consultants nor from institutions of higher learning.

Yours,

Paul Priest
Sequim, WA
 
Yes, it would be a simple matter to configure an "auto-reply" to send a "thank-you" to everyone who sent their contact information.
 
Given the variety of responses to the recent thread about E.Q Marine' dealership status, this thread should probably be linked, or at the very least, be bumped to the top of the forum.
 
I still haven't been contacted for the survey, even though I fit the parameters and sent in my contact info.

How about the rest of you?

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
Saw A couple of postings recently from Scot Reynolds on the site. Would be interesting to hear some "official" discussion on this topic from C-Dory Marine. I tend to agree, their "survey" is all through this site.
Harvey
Sleepy C :moon
 
We had a phone survey about 1 1/2 - 2 months ago -- and we never sent in contact info...maybe they only contacted those who didn't seek to participate?! Who knows?
 
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