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Old 08-08-2011, 19:47   #16
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Re: Client Fail

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Originally Posted by unbusted67 View Post
The worst part is tomorrow I have to take this women out on charter for 6 hours in my power boat and try so suck up to her all day knowing that she thinks I don't know my bilge from buttocks.
The woman who complained about your sailing abilities today wants to charter you tomorrow?

And you accepted the charter?

That's just too weird to contemplate.
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Old 08-08-2011, 20:36   #17
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Re: Client Fail

Dearest Unbusted,

Look on the bright side perhaps the rich ole' gal has the "hots for you" and she just wants to spend more time with you, out on the water. Pour her a cocktail and she'll likely mellow out!

Life could be worse you could be up in some landlocked state like North Dakota with the worse job you could ever think of.
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Old 09-08-2011, 05:07   #18
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Re: Client Fail

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, ClazyLABCruiser.
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Old 09-08-2011, 05:16   #19
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Re: Client Fail

Wear a Mankini.............
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Old 09-08-2011, 06:11   #20
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Re: Client Fail

Maybe I am confused.
1) A women who never acknowledged any sailing experience hired you (through your boss) to sail her boat around with her son/friends in it.
2) You agreed to do that giving her the impression you could perform the task she was paying for.
3) You failed to do that due to conditions that were the same as when you accepted the job.
4) She complained to your boss since she had hired someone to sail her boat and didn't get what she paid for.
5) She was not vindictive in the complaint as she agreed to hire you again for another job for which you have claimed to be more competent.

It seems the only thing you can complain about this women is that she has the wealth to hire people to do jobs she cannot perform herself and expects those she hires to actually perform the tasks she pays for. She is a repeat customer to a local boatyard and has an appreciation for fine wooden boats which most would consider a good thing.

You claim to be competent and I am sure you are but even you acknowledge you didn't have the skills to handle the boat by yourself. This might be one of the expectations of a client hiring a sailing instructor for a young boy. Don't you think you might have handled this a little better since you were the person holding out your services for hire? Was this really about a "privileged snob" (something your tale did not reveal) or just a customer interaction that didn't go as well as you would like, for which you do share a little of the blame?

You really think she doesn't have the right to complain that her expectations were not met just because she doesn't know how to do the task herself? Can those of us who don't know how to fly not complain when the pilot we hire to fly us claims he doesn't have the skills we requested. Without people who don't know how to do things and have the money to hire out the entire boating industry would be in serious trouble. Maybe looking at this interaction from her point of view will help with future interactions of this type.

I am not saying you should have sailed the boat and put it at risk. I am just saying you should have been honest with her about your skills and maybe the phone call to your boss could have been avoided. Even you have to admit she did not get the services she requested even though conditions were not at all extreme by your description.

Jim
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Old 09-08-2011, 07:59   #21
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Re: Client Fail

I hear you and I think I could have communicated my limitations to her better. There is always room for improvement

There is a big difference though between what I agreed to do and what I refused to do.

She asked me to take just her son out for a sail. He had limited experience but he did have some experience. Enough to pick up a mooring or sheet in a line.

What she then asked me to do was to single hand the boat with four geriatrics with no sailing experience and no ability to retrieve a mooring or identify a line.

Big difference and not at all what I offered to do nor is it something I would really ever offer to do.

It sounds like I hit a nerve with the classicism thing and that is not at all what I intended by commenting on their attire I was more referencing the fact that they weren't prepared to get their cloths dirty.



Quote:
Originally Posted by jkleins View Post
Maybe I am confused.
1) A women who never acknowledged any sailing experience hired you (through your boss) to sail her boat around with her son/friends in it.
2) You agreed to do that giving her the impression you could perform the task she was paying for.
3) You failed to do that due to conditions that were the same as when you accepted the job.
4) She complained to your boss since she had hired someone to sail her boat and didn't get what she paid for.
5) She was not vindictive in the complaint as she agreed to hire you again for another job for which you have claimed to be more competent.

It seems the only thing you can complain about this women is that she has the wealth to hire people to do jobs she cannot perform herself and expects those she hires to actually perform the tasks she pays for. She is a repeat customer to a local boatyard and has an appreciation for fine wooden boats which most would consider a good thing.

You claim to be competent and I am sure you are but even you acknowledge you didn't have the skills to handle the boat by yourself. This might be one of the expectations of a client hiring a sailing instructor for a young boy. Don't you think you might have handled this a little better since you were the person holding out your services for hire? Was this really about a "privileged snob" (something your tale did not reveal) or just a customer interaction that didn't go as well as you would like, for which you do share a little of the blame?

You really think she doesn't have the right to complain that her expectations were not met just because she doesn't know how to do the task herself? Can those of us who don't know how to fly not complain when the pilot we hire to fly us claims he doesn't have the skills we requested. Without people who don't know how to do things and have the money to hire out the entire boating industry would be in serious trouble. Maybe looking at this interaction from her point of view will help with future interactions of this type.

I am not saying you should have sailed the boat and put it at risk. I am just saying you should have been honest with her about your skills and maybe the phone call to your boss could have been avoided. Even you have to admit she did not get the services she requested even though conditions were not at all extreme by your description.

Jim
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Old 09-08-2011, 09:03   #22
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Re: Client Fail

FWIW, as Captain, you need to know when to say no. Never let a client talk you into going along with an unwise request (order).

I was delivering a 70 year old 39' powerboat from Florida to NYC. It was a full keel displacement hull with a top speed of 8kts. The owner and his wife would fly in from time to time in the "fun" areas. We were in a restricted waterway and came upon a pushboat (tug) with a head barge pushed against the bank loading a crane aboard. The screws were all that held the barge in place, and he was throwing quite a wash astern. The owner asked why I was holding up, waiting on them to finish loading the crane. I explained that we would get washed up on the rocks of the other bank, and destroy his boat. He called BS and "ordered" me to proceed.

I turned about and headed for a nearby dock.... Told him I was getting off right there and he could drive his boat where he pleased after my departure. Just then a planing boat of about 20' going 25kts tried to pass through the wash..... And wound up on the rocks! The owner apologized and we waited.... Even got a nice tip that night.

The point being, if you KNOW it's wrong, don't do it. Better to quit or get fired than to lose your license!
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Old 09-08-2011, 09:16   #23
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Re: Client Fail

Good call, capngeo... that's why folks should hire professionals. I had a similar experience on a delivery once where the owner assured me that he had just had the tanks cleaned and fuel polished prior to leaving on an offshore passage of 1000 miles. Two days out and 100 miles offshore engines and gen set quit due to dirty fuel. Turns out the owner had lied... I should have demanded to see the receipts for the tank cleaning before leaving! Live and learn... Capt Phil
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Old 13-08-2011, 21:30   #24
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Re: Client Fail

What, can't you handle the boat? How did you ever get a license?

I work Air craft but... Been there, Done That, got the "T" shirt.
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Old 13-08-2011, 21:40   #25
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Re: Client Fail

Every delivery, every fishing charter, every sailing charter: something has gone wrong. Just varying degrees of how wrong.

Last weekend I had a passenger puke *all over* the head, as in the entire compartment. Didn't tell anyone, just waited for someone else to notice it. Two days later on a 24 hour fishing trip, both deckhands get seasick.
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Old 13-08-2011, 21:44   #26
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Re: Client Fail

Quote:
Originally Posted by capngeo View Post
FWIW, as Captain, you need to know when to say no. Never let a client talk you into going along with an unwise request (order).

I was delivering a 70 year old 39' powerboat from Florida to NYC. It was a full keel displacement hull with a top speed of 8kts. The owner and his wife would fly in from time to time in the "fun" areas. We were in a restricted waterway and came upon a pushboat (tug) with a head barge pushed against the bank loading a crane aboard. The screws were all that held the barge in place, and he was throwing quite a wash astern. The owner asked why I was holding up, waiting on them to finish loading the crane. I explained that we would get washed up on the rocks of the other bank, and destroy his boat. He called BS and "ordered" me to proceed.

I turned about and headed for a nearby dock.... Told him I was getting off right there and he could drive his boat where he pleased after my departure. Just then a planing boat of about 20' going 25kts tried to pass through the wash..... And wound up on the rocks! The owner apologized and we waited.... Even got a nice tip that night.

The point being, if you KNOW it's wrong, don't do it. Better to quit or get fired than to lose your license!

I work as a captain on a sport fisher here in San Diego. Two weeks ago I'm approaching an island I've never gone near before in pitch black. Everyone is bitching at me to get in tighter towards the island (for anchoring). I ask the deckhand how much rode we have and he says "oh plenty, don't worry".

I park us about 1/2 mile from the radar signature of the island in ~100 feet of water, and the deck hand lets out ~150 of rode. His lazy ass doesn't want to have to deal with hauling up the full deal in the morning, even if he knows how much should be paid out (which he didn't). Once he got off the bow and went down to make himself a burger I paid out a few hundred extra feet. The look on his face in the morning hauling it back in was priceless.

The owner is bitching at me to get closer and I tell him politely "hey, if you want to run this thing be my guest but if I'm calling the shots than we're parking this thing right here." He starts asking about why other boats are closer in and I tell him "I have no idea what they're doing and why they're doing it. I know there's lots of rocks over there, I don't want to hit them, I can't see ****, so we're staying here tonight."
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Old 13-08-2011, 23:12   #27
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Re: Client Fail

Pilots call it "Get-there-itis" and it can be fatal. The desire to push on against what that little voice in your head is telling you is a "Bad Idea(tm)" - congratulations for not surrendering to temptation...

AOPA Online: ePilot ASF Accident Reports - Get-There-Itis
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Old 13-08-2011, 23:33   #28
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Re: Client Fail

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Originally Posted by rebel heart View Post
I work as a captain on a sport fisher here in San Diego. Two weeks ago I'm approaching an island I've never gone near before in pitch black. Everyone is bitching at me to get in tighter towards the island (for anchoring). I ask the deckhand how much rode we have and he says "oh plenty, don't worry".

I park us about 1/2 mile from the radar signature of the island in ~100 feet of water, and the deck hand lets out ~150 of rode. His lazy ass doesn't want to have to deal with hauling up the full deal in the morning, even if he knows how much should be paid out (which he didn't). Once he got off the bow and went down to make himself a burger I paid out a few hundred extra feet. The look on his face in the morning hauling it back in was priceless.

The owner is bitching at me to get closer and I tell him politely "hey, if you want to run this thing be my guest but if I'm calling the shots than we're parking this thing right here." He starts asking about why other boats are closer in and I tell him "I have no idea what they're doing and why they're doing it. I know there's lots of rocks over there, I don't want to hit them, I can't see ****, so we're staying here tonight."
My Father got fired from his last job for punching out an owner much like that.

He then opened a restaurant, another restaurant, and another restaurant, and an 18 acre housing tract so he could retire.
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Old 14-08-2011, 17:38   #29
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Re: Client Fail

It's most unfortunate that stupid isn't more painful for those who have it.
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Old 14-08-2011, 17:45   #30
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Re: Client Fail

Your first mistake was saying "yes".
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