Rockvam Boat Yards, Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 12, 2015/12/10) */
Thanks for the opportunity to commentWe've been in business for over yearsWe operate our business with contractsUnfortunately, sometimes people are not happy when contracts are enforcedWe however have a policy where we will not
publicly comment on the specifics of an individual matterIt just seems rudeTherefore, as an open invitation to anyone reading, if you have questions about the specifics in this matter, or about our policy, we are more than willing to share our comments and insights with you at ***If our policy should change to entering into a public written exchange of private matters, we'll comment moreThank you

Thank you for the opportunity to respond.As a part of our pontoon rental process the captain/renter participates in a pre-departure procedure.  They are shown the boat's condition and inventory of items such as life jackets is completed.  The customer then signs a contract and is given a...

copy prior to departure.In this situation, the customer did complete the entire pre-departure process.  The contract pre-departure says "good" for prop condition.  The contact is signed by the captain/renter.When the customer returned to the dock after their cruise, the prop was in damaged condition.  As was the case, approximately 4-7 people from this party were crowded around our employee complaining that they did not see the prop prior to departure.  This is correct.  The pre-departure procedure is completed only with the captain/renter.  The rest of the guests do not participate.  The captain/renter then claimed that she did not see the prop because it was in the water.To make sure our standard pre-departure process was completed properly, our security cameras were checked.  And it is clear the appropriate process was followed because the captain/renter is on video waking to the back of the boat and the propeller is out of the water in full view.   Again, in addition to the prop being marked "good" prior to departure and the captain/renter signing in approval of this condition.NOTE: The reason we are very careful with the condition of the propeller is because if a prop is damaged the prop will not spin in pitch.  Instead it will wobble.  This is similar to when a car's tires are out of balance.  The wear/tear from a propeller being out of balance (pitch) is harmful to the shaft and gears in the motor.  Therefore, we are extremely careful and do not allow props to leave our dock in a condition other than good.In addition to the captain/renter being untruthful about seeing the prop at the pre-departure procedure, the two conversations with our staff, after the date of the cruise, resulted in being sworn at and hung up on by the captain/renter.  It is our policy that NO staff member shall be treated in this disrespectful and harassing manner.  It is unproductive and unreasonable to expect any business to continue to be bullied by a customer that clearly can not accept that they damaged property, especially when we provided the captain/renter security camera footage that proper procedure was followed and we provided the captain/renter's own signature in agreement to terms on the contract of the pre-departure condition which shows they agree the prop was good prior to departure.  We want people to enjoy their time and return season after season. We host over 600 rentals a summer and the pre-departure and check-in process works well.  In this situation the customer/renter is more than welcome to join us again in the future.  But we do consider this matter closed.   We have refunded by check, the $5.00 owed to the customer which is the difference between the $200 deposit and the $195 damage.   Thank you.