No pictures to start off today! As we finish up the first week of August just a few thoughts on what is going on. As many of you know I was scheduled for shoulder surgery on August 5th for a problem I have had for some 10 years. Living in Huntsville as I have for the last 24 years and getting older...I now can get seniors discounts...you start to feel the
wear and tear of a busy life on the body. I spend alot of time coaching and managing rep level baseball here in town in the 90's. One million ground balls or hit flies not to mention the 2 million batting practice fastballs...I have some shoulder issues. The
Huntsville Hospital is a great place with some great staff. It is however not equipped with many specialists. I tried rehab a number of years ago under the direction of one of our customer doctors after having xrays done for him. Turns out at some point I separated my left shoulder and it did not heal especially well. Had about 80% success with that for awhile. I managed to further destroy my shoulder at
Santa's Village battling cages last August and fell real hard on it this winter. Anyway through my family doctor I managed to get an ultra sound done which if you ever look at one is inconclusive....surprise! I managed to a referral to a specialist in Collingwood who is apparently one of the at this. Examination to follow which is inconclusive. We could send you for a
MRI but the wait time is....one year on a non priority scale! I was decided to scope the shoulder and see what could be seen. I also have
tennis elbow on the left side really bad so I had the pleasure of a cortisone shot in the joint. A great time was had by all except me. Anyway my surgery is non priority and I was bumped now to September 2nd.
Off the me stuff and on to the business stuff, I am missing the Manitou and Monterey dealer meetings early this week as I could not book in due to the scheduled surgery. I also missed two other boat lines that have been chasing us to carry their product. The race continues among the dealer body and the manufacturers to have the best dealers carry or represent their product. The trick always lies in the manufacturer caring more about how much product you move for them versus how satisfied the customers are after they buy it. Today's Internet savy consumer has lots of options on where to buy with pricing differentiating on the same product sometimes. Consumer on the boat side are not asking the right questions. A low price on the Internet or an ad like the auto dealers due does not mean you can actually buy the boat for that price. I know a Four Winns dealer who attempts to sell for less who does not do the vessel license for the trailer licence for you but still charges an admin fee. Does not due service or warranty to speak of and charges extra for all kinds of stuff...but the buyer is getting a deal. Boat buyers would be wise to consider service as part of the purchase. To the family who spent $600 locally getting a boat summarized and starter changed which did not run due to plugged fuel filters and fouled fouled spark plugs...oops dry land marinas can't test anything. The fact that they had service tech forget to install the starter bracket...oops. The list goes on this one. We got them fixed up....You get what you pay for...You get exactly less for less!
I see that there is a ray of sunshine in the US for the boat builders as Brunswick made a profit in quarter two. Brunswick is Mercury Marine! Our sales have been increasing at a slow but steady pace getting back to where things were a couple of years ago. New normal in this industry is 2012. 2012 was an action packed movie out a year or so. Were the Mayans right?
Just out...Spotted a red pontoon going down Fairy Lake at over 50MPH. Nice roaster tail too! Yes it is the first of the performance Manitou Pontoons that are game changers. New owner of the boat is on Penn Lake...wave as he passes you!
For those of you who insist on making u turns in front of the marina and at the stop lights on Hwy 60...the Huntsville Hospital is not equipped to handle the crash injuries! I watched a guy this week make a left hand turn cutting a family off in front of Wendy's from the right hand lane, make a right hand turn onto Hwy 60 on a red light without stopping or really even slowing down, speed up the hill on 60 making two lane changes without signaling. Or how about the lady travelling south on Hwy 11 with her feet up on the dash and talking on a cell phone. I was told there was four major accidents on Hwy 60 in the last week. Yes the OPP are still happy to take your money buzzing by the marina at plus 100 in a 70 zone. They always get their quota. We locals are shaking our heads at you!
articles by Zemanta
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