Boat U.S. - March 2008 - (Page 36)

All in the Family Grady Gets It Right It makes perfect sense that a family-owned boatbuilder would be among the first to see the value in putting “the family” into a coastal fishing boat. Years ago, Grady-White Boats made its mark by fitting amenities such as a cabin with head and bunks into what previously were open fishing boats, enabling families to take long day trips without having to go back to the dock. Today, Grady-White is scooping up prestigious J.D. Power and Associates awards year after year even though it’s competing against the likes of much larger manufacturers. In fact, the Greenville, NC-based company has ranked the highest in customer satisfaction in the Coastal Fishing Boat division for the past seven years in a row. It only makes sense when you know the back story, especially the history behind the brand. When CEO Eddie Smith, Jr. saw the first hint of a resin problem that was potentially detrimental to his boats in 1985, he closed the plant and sent his staff on the road to knock on the doors of potentially affected customers to alert them to this possible problem. “He absolutely understood that if you don’t make the customer king, you won’t be successful,” says Grady-White President Kris Carroll, who joined the company as a production control clerk in 1975 and rose through the ranks at Grady-White to become president in 1993. Grady-White’s resin near-disaster sharpened the company’s customer focus, which today involves numerous points of post-purchase customer contact, including surveys, phone calls and holding owners’ forums. “It’s all about the customer” is a catch36 BoatU.S. Magazine March 2008 Fishing from a 1960 16.5-ft Grady-White Pamlico, Eddie Smith waves to his son, Chris, onboard a 1988 Grady-White Marlin 28. phrase many companies like to use, but few succeed to the point that they win public recognition. That’s because behind-the-scenes company executives are busy gathering information and compiling lists, sifting through material to consider how to keep improving each model. Carroll calls it offering “delight” — the unexpected, well-thought-out features — to its customers. “I don’t want my competitors to know this but, if you make the boats the customers ask for, then they will buy them,” Carroll says. She and other company executives are often seen, notepad in hand, at boat shows scribbling down every word a customer says about their experience. When they’re not doing that, they are flying around the country attending owner and dealer forums. Carroll says customers are a key element in design development at Grady-White Boats. “Sometimes we come up with new ideas by ourselves, but most come from the customers,” she says. Most of the fine-tuning ideas are incorporated in the next model year, but there have been times when continuous improvements are made as a year model moves along the floor at the company’s 380,000-sq.-ft. plant, she says. A few innovations include: a center console model that has an enclosed bunk and head, separate drink and fish coolers that have chilling plates, and a high windshield that includes good ventilation. But how do you keep from going too far in offering such bonus pleasures? “We could do all kinds of extra things, but our customers would end up paying for it in the product. So I feel like I’m managing the value to them for what they’re willing to pay,” says Carroll.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Boat U.S. - March 2008

Boat U.S. - March 2008 Contents Behind the Buoy BoatU.S. Reports Member Forum Cap'n Drew Sailing the Sidewalk Aviators Ahoy Docking and Duffing Waterfront Living: Charleston Waterfront Marketplace Grady Right 2nd Time Around DIY: Keeping the Water Out Hot Tips Boat Smart Ask Chuck Foundation Findings Tangled Line At Your Service Good Foundations BoatU.S. Exchange Behind the Boat Where Our Flags Fly

Boat U.S. - March 2008

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