FOUNTAINE PAJOT after-sales service : success stories??

[alexxx]

hey all
i've been on this forum for more than a year, and since in about two years time i'd like to live on my own cat, i've started to attend multiple boat shows, i read everything i can about cats, and i read a lot of your comments here on this forum with a lot of attention.
I love Fountaine Pajot cats for their design, more than the other cats, but of course i stumbled upon a lot of bad stories here on this forum on how allegedly bad FP can be with their after sales service.
i don't want to make a mistake buying my cat, and i want after sales issues to be stress free
What is the secret to getting effective after sales service on these cats? is it all about finding the right and consciencious FP broker? (apparently FP themselves do not deal with after sales problems, it's their brokers, right?)
- are there any good stories out there about good and effective after sales service on an FP cat?
cheers guys !! i'd appreciate any info

[cwjohm]

You want effective after sales service on something designed to go in salt water with 10-15 through holes, a thousand moving parts and over a hundred different options.

My advice is to forget about buying a boat and get a BMW X5 and go four wheel driving.

FP and Lagoon outsell others 10-1 so you will get ten times as many unhappy campers which for the number of boats in question is pretty small. However, in my experience no brand will guarantee you a trouble free run. If you buy a boat it will be your responsibility to drive the builder to provide the support you need. No one will give it to you on a plate.

You can help yourself by not buying any boat in the first 20 or so as all builders use their customers to do their field testing, and using a broker you trust and are comfortable with.

Having said all that FP are just another builder who by and large IF PUSHED will provide the support you require. If you like FP then there should be nothing stopping you buying one, but do not expect a pleasant customer focussed experience. There is no such thing as this in the marine industry. The business is simply too competitive and tough.

[alexxx]

well, i'm still under the impression that when i'm asked tofork out half a million euros or more for a builder, i'm in the right no expect NO TO HAVE TO FIGHT for proper customer service........
what is disturbing is how many clients complain of FP not answering phone call or emails for months on end, which is totally unacceptable....
thank you for your contribution

[cwjohm]

well, i'm still under the impression that when i'm asked tofork out half a million euros or more for a builder, i'm in the right no expect NO TO HAVE TO FIGHT for proper customer service........

I have never had a problem with a response from FP but like every other production builder you have to work with the dealer. I have emailed Outremer - no response. Talk to the dealer and they are right back to you.

No production boat builder is any different - expect for maybe Gunboat where for a few million dollars you can work with the owner personally.

[Dod42]

We have dealt with the Australian Agent and always found them very attentive, knowledgeable and quick to respond. I bought the boat through them so any issues are technically theirs not FP's. Having said that they know the factory, they know the people to talk to and they carry a lot more weight with the factory to get things resolved than a single boat owner. When you look at getting work done on your Ford car you go to a dealer not Ford direct in the US. The system is the same.

When we looked at second hand boats from overseas we contacted the local agent and got them involved as we knew that if we brought it in we would want to deal with the local agent for service.

[alexxx]

Dod42, thanks so much for your reply
would yoube able to send me a private message with the name of your australian dealer? it's always a good to know
cheers !!

[Gordon]

Hi Alexxx,
I agree with all said by cwjohm. Our experience when needing help(warranty) our Australian agent has been there to work through all issues with FP, and yes this may take time on some items but we have been satisfied with the outcomes. The broker you deal with is your link to the boat yard and in our case,FP. The Ausi agent Multihull Solutions has a very close working relationship with FP, are also agents for other brands, Neil (tri), Sunreef and Catana as well as secondhand cats of any brand.
Cheers Gordon.

[FLLCatsailor]

The warranty is only as good as your dealer and broker. This holds true for mono's and multis, sail or power.

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by FLLCatsailor

The warranty is only as good as your dealer and broker. This holds true for mono's and multis, sail or power.

Although I agree with this, I'm second owner of my boat, it was 11 months old when I bought it. I never had any problems dealing with FP directly, I made them aware of the purchase and they even included me in a small parts defect distribution.

I recently purchased replacement parts from FP for my 10 year old boat.

I never had any major warranty claims, hence YMMV.

[alexxx]

thanks dotdun, that helps to put things into perspective

[rabbi]

I guess FP runs a similar scheme as Lagoon.

The dealer handbook of Lagoon is available online, just google for "lagoon litigation distributor book". Very informative reading.

The short version is:
That is the factory is hiding behind the local dealer. In fact the factory is not dealing directly with you in any normal case, they are selling boats to the dealer and the dealer is selling it to you.
Any issue you will have to take to your dealer. He will then talk to Lagoon and get approval for the work (or not). The dealer is then compensated by the factory for the works, possibly not to a full extend.


If you have followed the older Mahe and I think Lavezzi as well, many if not most of them have developed Osmosis in a very short time. FP has according to several internet threads covered all of them under warranty, making them better as new (stripping, drying, complete rebuilding with Epoxy). Even provided extended hull warranty after the repair.
So they can't be all just bad.

However I would not overestimate customer service for a boat that has left the warranty period.
Afterall FP and any other builder is just building the fibreglass hull, the furniture and then adds a thousand pieces of off-the-shelf hardware.
If you can identify the manufacturer and part number you are better off dealing with the original manufacturer anyway (cheaper, faster, easier).
Sometime to a point where a waterpump ball bearing costs 35 Euro if bought via Lagoon, 15 Euro via Yanmar dealer and 0,20 Euro via ebay from the original manufacturer SKF.


With regards to FP:
I have contacted FP for parts. If you get the right email address, you can get answers in a few days. Not fast by modern standards but still OK.
I ordered a few parts, and it took them ages to get the part because of holiday season (obviously French like their holiday so much tat they close factories and shops for several weeks).
The only important part (cylinder for the lock of the sliding door) is completely wrong, I guess they don't have records of what they used back then...
Prices are still OK for marine stuff, but shipping & handling fee and "small order" surcharges are not.

[Factor]

Originally Posted by cwjohm

I have never had a problem with a response from FP but like every other production builder you have to work with the dealer. I have emailed Outremer - no response. Talk to the dealer and they are right back to you.

No production boat builder is any different - expect for maybe Gunboat where for a few million dollars you can work with the owner personally.

Chris, I will let Xavier know that you were not responded to. I am sure he will hunt the offender down and deal with them. On a serious note, with a number of builders, including the two cat builders I represent you can go to the factories, look at the build schedules, inspect the underlying documentation, quality control systems and the like, and in both cases you can talk with the owners of and senior people in the company.

[YesIsail]

Hello! I am currently trying to deal with Muriel from Fp, he hasnt been answering my mails and when he does he just says stuff like " i think its this but I am not very sure..."
I need some info on my fp salina rig.
Can you please pm the contact on Fp and I will try to reach him.
So far for me, fp is not worth dealing with directly.
Thnx!

Originally Posted by DotDun

Although I agree with this, I'm second owner of my boat, it was 11 months old when I bought it. I never had any problems dealing with FP directly, I made them aware of the purchase and they even included me in a small parts defect distribution.

I recently purchased replacement parts from FP for my 10 year old boat.

I never had any major warranty claims, hence YMMV.

[captainjay]

Originally Posted by YesIsail

Hello! I am currently trying to deal with Muriel from Fp, he hasnt been answering my mails and when he does he just says stuff like " i think its this but I am not very sure..."
I need some info on my fp salina rig.
Can you please pm the contact on Fp and I will try to reach him.
So far for me, fp is not worth dealing with directly.
Thnx!

Not to hijack the thread but if you contact the mast manufacturer. With the serial number off of your mast you will get a lot further. FP didn't make the mast Z Spar likely did, and they will have better information on the rig than FP.

As for the OP your dealer is the difference, just like in the car business.

Jay

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by cwjohm

I have never had a problem with a response from FP but like every other production builder you have to work with the dealer. I have emailed Outremer - no response. Talk to the dealer and they are right back to you.

No production boat builder is any different - expect for maybe Gunboat where for a few million dollars you can work with the owner personally.

Gunboat & Catalina Yachts both have excellent customer service when you buy, during commissioning and even years later. The key to their success is that the company owners are very tightly involved with the customers.

The boating industry could learn a lot from these two companies.