Reduce admin work by over 60% this season with Boatyard

Two service teams tried using Boatyard to run their spring recommissioning program.  Read on to find out if they sank or sprung. 💐

Challenge

MarineMax Danvers and MarineMax Boston faced a challenge every February when they began the process of booking spring recommissioning appointments for over 300 boats winterized on site. The traditional methods of communication through phone calls, email, and paper forms were not only time-consuming but also led to delays, extra administrative work and poor customer experiences:

  • Customers became frustrated by delays in communication or lost paper contracts.
  • Some customers forgot to book recommissioning entirely, taking up valuable spots in dry storage.
  • A large increase in accounts receivable from March-April held up cash flow and required additional administrative work for follow up.

Each of these orders were estimated to take an average of 15 minutes of administrative work, not including the work order write up.

Untitled design (1)-3

Previous process: 15 minutes of admin work per order, or 87 hours per season, not including writing work orders.

Goals

While this process had seemingly worked for the teams every year, there were a few elements they wanted to improve for both their customers and their service teams:

  • Reduce administrative work to spend more time working with customers on service recommendations and maintenance plans.
  • Improve response time for customer communications by spreading out recommissioning requests over several weeks
  • Reduce accounts receivable by collecting credit cards at the time of booking.
Untitled design (2)

Solution

Rather than using their traditional process, the team relied on Boatyard to process recommissioning orders.   They utilized 3 key tools:

  • Automated Reminders. Customers received an automated reminder via text message and email informing them that it was time to book their spring recommissioning.
  • Customer Portal.  After clicking the reminder, boaters were driven to their store's Customer Portal where they could place their request with their personal and boat details conveniently prefilled.
  • Digital Forms. After submitting a request, customers were automatically provided a digital form where they could select a launch date, choose add-on services, and submit with a digital signature.
By the time a recommissioning order reached the service advisor’s desk, they had customer and order details, a signed recommissioning form and a valid credit card on file.  This resulted in an average of 4 minutes of administrative work per order.
Untitled design (3)

New process: 4 minutes of work per order, or just under 33 hours per season.

Results

 

69 percent open rate on service reminders
63 percent reduction in admin time
73 percent projected reduction in admin time

Conclusion

By embracing Boatyard’s digital tools, MarineMax Danvers and MarineMax Boston were able to save time and resources while providing a more convenient and streamlined experience for their customers.

Boatyard's automated service reminders, online service requests, and digital forms proved to be the perfect solution for transforming their spring recommissioning process. 

To learn more about how Boatyard can help your marine service business, please contact us at info@boatyard.com.

Yacht underway

Ready to learn more?

Schedule a Boatyard demo to see how your team can save time, improve transparency, and create an amazing customer experience. 

www.boatyard.com/business