Influence of C-Brats

T

tom&shan

New member
I "discovered" the C-Dory before I ever heard of C-Brats. Saw the boat, knew it was what I was looking for and then found the C-Dory Company Site. I was thinking with the new direction the factory is taking, what influence did the C-Brats play on my buying a C-Dory. Well, even without the C-Brats I may of eventually bought one. But this site made a significant difference in my decision, timing, and everything else. I would not be at this point in time already on my second boat, a brand new one, without the guidance, misdirection, confusion and clarity that the folks who dwell here provide. It was a C-Brat (Marty with Lizzie) who gave us (Shan) our first ride on a C-Dory. Not the factory, not a dealer, it was the C-Brats that sold us on these boats. The only reason we are buying a new boat this month, is because of C-Brats. From C-Brats I get information that is valid, timely, and helpful (sometimes more than I want). It is you guys (and gals - dont want to forget Sally), that have made me a C-Dory owner.
Thanks
Tom
 
Tom,
Nicely said!

I had decided to buy a CD 22 before I knew about C Brats or C Dogs. I pruchased the 22 sight unseen from a C Dog member and sold the C D22 thru C Brats. I got a ride on a TC 24 from a C brat and saw the first photos of the TC 255 in construction on C Brat. The first TC 255 ride was arranged 2100 miles from my home by a C Brat member!

I don't think that the current factory realizes the power and effect of the C Brat group--Thanks!
 
The C Dogs (C Dory owners group) was on Yahoo, and was a parallel group--I had the feeling that C Brats was mostly PNW and C Dogs was elsewhere--but both had some features. The "owner" of C Dogs retired from C Dorying and the list was closed about a year ago. I believe that most of the technical material has been preserved on this site.
 
Tom, you hit that nail right on the head! We flew to Seattle to see one of these boats in person... after considering many options, but finding the C-Brats to be the most influential in our decision-making. When I asked about a demo ride at the SBS, C-Brat Tom (of Susan E) tapped me on the shoulder and asked if we'd like to go for a ride on their boat. When I have had questions regarding the boat, the C-Brats have been more helpful (as in: saving the factory the hassel of dealing with a "retail" customer). I am saddened by the factory's new position of being too big or too busy. However, it doesn't change how I feel about our boat and all the truly wonderful people we've met through the C-Brats.

The "words" may be a misunderstanding, but I think we get the intent. I bought a second American Coach (not an inexpensive traveling machine) because the factory took such good care of us on the first... and gave great support to the owners association. I can relate story after story of wonderful factory support with that product. And even though the factory did not sell direct, they made a great effort to stay in direct contact with their owners. Creates loyality and return business. From a marketing standpoint, a good business plan.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
JamesTXSD":18xv1wa2 said:
The "words" may be a misunderstanding, but I think we get the intent.
Click to expand...

I dunno...the following doesn't leave much room for interpretation:

Tom Latham":18xv1wa2 said:
C-Sick is correct in stating that the size of our organization now prohibits frequent communication with this forum.
Click to expand...

Tom has flat out stated, we won't get the same level of participation here we came to appreciate from Jeff. Doesn't seem gray to me at all.

So...my turn to chime in, on what a crying shame that is. For both us, and C-Dory.

Nobody can deny what an integral part of C-Dory's success we have been, and continue to be. As such, it's just plain nuts that C-Dory would not invest MORE time in a resource like this - not less. Even though our purpose and intent here is not to increase C-Dory sales, you can't buy marketing like this site provides, at any price.

But more importantly, we've had a incredible relationship on a more personal level with many in the company. It's not only a dumb business move on their part, it's hurtful to many here who have come to think we had something more.

Were I in charge (now there's a scary thought), I'd have somebody assigned to monitor this site every day; there is no better insight into C-Dorys customer base than here. I'd solicit input, and continue to put a face and personality to the product that so many of us have come to appreciate, as more than just another boat.

Jeff understood this very clearly, and I've no doubt Ranger Tugs is going to benefit greatly from bringing him on board. I discussed the C-Brats and C-Dory with him on a semi-regular basis, and I found him to be very genuine and appreciative of the position he was in. Yes, he was C-Dory's public face, and customer service was his primary role. But it struck me that his heart was in his job, for perhaps the same reason so many of us are customers; he simply enjoyed associating with us. We were friends first, customers second.

On one occasion in particular, I was sharing concerns with him about C-Dory's growth that had been discussed here and elsewhere by our members. I'm paraphrasing, but basically he told me that the day his job was no longer fun, they day he no longer felt the unique kinship we all shared, would be the day he left C-Dory. Perhaps that day came.

Tom and Scot, if you're reading this - here's to hoping you reconsider the level of participation you wish to have with us. So many of us have supported you guys at every turn, but C-Dory taking a more hands-off approach with us is just a bone-headed move.
 
Well, I don't know how C-Dory is structured, but I owned a bunch of Catalina sailboats, which claimed to be the biggest sailboat manufacturer in the world. If you had a problem, you talked to Frank Butler, the owner, or Sharon the VP of sales. Frank wasn't a smooth person, but he loved sailboats and appreciated that you'd bought one and was always at various Catalina get-to-gethers. Catalina also sponsored the various owner groups, from the 15' day sailer to the 42' cruiser. Taking care of existing owners was a priority for Catalina. They also had a factory parts store where you could go buy parts, when the dealer slow rolled you.

The C-Brats site is the owners group for C-Dory, de-facto, and it behooves C-Dory, Ink to support that. Either that or they will lose their biggest selling point: C-Dory character.

By the way, The Catalina factory really knew how to build GOOD boats, and a tour of their factory (which they run every Thursday,) was impressive. C-dory could take that tour and learn a lot (more, they're not dumb.) If one is in Van Nuys, Ca, on Thursday stop by and take the tour.

The Southern Boris
 
Bill, well said. I am sure that you echo the thoughts of many on this site.
We had some spirted threads on this site. One of those threads was about the Cape Cruiser. Many things were said but most of it was negative. They were well thought out and understandable.
I guess what I am asking is, as soon as Cape Cruiser is taken out of the picture CDory takes a new direction. Changes in production and design, distancing themselves from the customer by getting out of direct sales, personnel changes at the top and the new COO basically saying he is too busy to even monitor what is said about his product.
I for one bought my CDory before I knew about the CDogs, the CBrats did not exist at the time. I love the boat for its looks and function. Robbin and I were at the first ever CDory gathering in Langley in 01 and have made some great friends over the years.
I think we were better off when Cape Cruiser was still in business. I still love my boats but I do not see the changes at CDory to be a good thing for the consumer and that means us.

Fred
 
Living in Mississippi I would never have been exposed to C-Dory except thru this website. C-Brats made the boat become a real option for us. Y'all were so enthusiastic that we just had to see one, so we travelled several hundred miles just so that we could test drive it. Turns out that we were so impressed that we bought the boat!
I don't care how much advertising hype you put out, the real truth comes thru what said by owners of the product.
 
Echo... Right on!, Bill and Fred. I started reading this thread with thoughts of posting that the influence of the C-Dogs and C-Bats can be seen clearly in C-Dory's need to move to a much larger maufacturing facility.

Jeff understood the the power here,hopefully Tom, and the rest of the "new" crew can figure it out, and not ruin the relationship with the one big thing ,the C-Brats, that got C-Dory and him(Tom) where they are now. That may sound a little high-hat ,but I firmly feel that if it wasn't for the C-Brat enthusiasm,that they would still be building a few boats a month on Highway 99.

Now saying that, maybe we Brats and Dogs were too much of a good thing for C-Dory.

Jim
 
hi tom and congratulations!
since no one has step up to the plate, i guess i will,
on behalf on the c-brat family, please make the commission check out to:
pat, you can further electronically send this amount to my account at:
513-752-7722.
thank you and by all means enjoy both this site and your new vessel.
best regards
pat
 
Figure this one out.I bought my c-dory25 new in 2004 in crystal river Fla.
THE dealer has gone out of business,There is now a dealer in Charleston,
S.C .I needed warrenty work done DECK ROTTING . Talked to dealer said he would talk to factory.He never called me back . I call bret at factory,
HE said for me to get quote to fix boat. I asked why could'nt the dealer find someone. He told me that sense I did'nt buy the boat from the dealer in Charleston that it was'nt the dealers responsible.I hope your dealers on the west coast treat YOU ALL better.
 
This is just a collection of random observations.

C-Dory in fact knows that over 90% of the people who have purchased a C-Dory in the last several years visited this site first and that it was an important factor in their purchase decision. Tom Latham's words just show an almost incredible ignorance of that fact.

Gene and Buck (sorry for those of you who don't know them, they were true craftsmen - and later part of the Cape Cruiser fiasco) left C-Dory because of the work environment at the current Auburn plant and management's decision to build 25 boats a month rather than 6 as they had been doing in Kent. When our 25 was being built, there was a sign on the wall reading "Saturday is a mandatory work day for all production personnel." I don't know how many boats a month C-Dory is up to now.

The Ranger factory, for which Jeff has chosen to work, looks, smells and feels a LOT like the old C-Dory factory in Kent. John and Dave Livingston seem genuinely pleased when you come by for a visit. I don't know how many boats Ranger builds a month, would love to hear from anyone who knows. I don't know, but I will wager the old "open factory" days are over, or soon will be over, at C-Dory.

Over the years, owner feedback has made C-Dory a significantly better boat - prime example is perhaps the Barber Chair, but other examples abound.

It was obvious for last two years that C-Dory either needed to establish a dedicated repair / service division or get out of the repair / service business entirely. Don't know which was first, the decision not to service what they sell, or abandoning direct factory sales - but they certainly go hand in hand.

C-Dory used to provide logo wear gratis - now they feel they need to sell it. Obviously the value of a lot of happy people wearing C-Dory logo wear saying nice things about their products at the SBS has escaped management.

Although he recognizes my face, and knows the name "Pat Anderson," I am never sure when we meet if Scot R actually knows who I am.

Tom Latham looked very uncomfortable at the factory party during the SBS to me. I don't know him and I doubt I ever will now (although he MAY have a 16" x 20" Neil Rabinowitz aerial photo of my boat, and David's, hanging in his office!). I wonder if we may have had had the last SBS factory party.

The best I can say about the cost-cutting manufacturing measures such as the molded interior is that they are not as awful as feared - but they are no improvement.

Bottom line to me - just about all the recent C-Dory decisions are wrong, wrong, wrong. They act like they don't understand the value of the incredibly loyal and pro-active customer base that has been built up. A loyal customer base is hard to build up and easy to lose. C-Dory's actions and words clearly are intended to distance themselves from their customers. I have to wonder if this debate has not already been had inside a closed conference room in Auburn...











 
hi laurie ann,
sorry to hear of your misfortune.
all dealerships are not created equal. however, the factory has never failed me.
in your situation, perhaps your first call, from this point forward, or until a local dealer is established, should be direct to c-dory. they, then, can and will determine the best course of action and advise you accordingly.
my experience with them tells me they are truly interested in a successful conclusion.
hope this tibet helps.
best regards
pat
 
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