We did move to Indian Pointe Marina and it's been great. We've sent out our fall newsletters and hope that all know where we are. Unfortunately, our phone number transfer ceased to work, but hopefully all know we are here, and the word is spreading. The marina is a great place and we are FINALLY ON THE WATER. Every customer has come into 2031 Morewood Road in Hardy, VA 24101 to wish us well and look at the line. The love the new location.
We have new boats, pre-owned boats, a new shop garage, a convenience store, wet and dry slips, and gas on site. It's been exciting and wonderful getting to the marina, and we finally feel at home. After 5 months, we are almost completely settled and doing major organizing and reshuffling. My husband and I spend every weekend at the marina just organizing, billing, rebilling, and getting things in order. It's full winterization time and we've priced our basic and full service to be competitive with all the marina's on the lake. Our techs have worked extremely hard on getting boats winterized and we are proud of their efforts. With the first real jaunt of cold weather, people are really calling in to get their boats winterized. We have been blessed in so many ways!!! The weekend is here, but there is no rest for us...Friday night until9:00PM and bright and early for Saturday and Sunday--our dedication is boundless: after all, it's our business and we take that obligation seriously.
The Crappie USA Kids tournament was this past weekend, and my husband and I drove to the marina at 5:00 AM because we promised the tournament fisherman we would be there with piping hot coffee and bait for them to use. The fog was thick like grey cotton and it was uncharacteristically warm. A giant buck ran in front of us and like The Lone Ranger, I yelled out the window, "Run, big buck, run"...you see it was also the opening day of rifle season. A drizzle drenched the area and buoyed our favorite low lying lady, the lake. As the tide inched up, the rain came down, sprinkles to downpours to sudden spots of blinding sun...it was a wet, summer day in the midst of November.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Moving: we are moving
While our customers poured in for the boat show, we didn't have the official word that we were moving. We'd been listening to our customers and how they wanted us to proceed, and we kept hearing that we needed to be on the water. We believe in our customers, and want to annouce that we are in the process of buying Indian Point Marina. Details to be posted very soon.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Sunday; the FINAL DAY
Can you believe it? Sunday's here and I'm worn out. I vacuumed this morning for the 40th time it feels like, and customers are blasting through the booth. I can't believe that 10:00 AM is here already and the wave has begun.
Guess who came back today? The fine lady with the great questions. She decided to become a member of our boating family, and we welcome her. What a blessing that some of our current customers were by and were able to share their experiences with us and they kept saying how much they love their Chaparral. I understood their comments. I, too, love the Chaparral boats, and the more customers I met first hand, the more I understood that these customers had all done their homework. They knew the boats as well as I did, and they were here at the show to shop smartly. I admire that. I, too, am a big researcher, so I understand the Internet searches and comparison charts in excel. GOOD FOR THEM. GREAT for us...when you do all the research, I know it becomes clear...there are no boats like the boats we sell. Our lines are the best.
It's like what the guys always tell me...we have the best lines and we welcome a comparison. I found myself telling people to go look at the other boats...for I felt certain, that most people do the research there is no way they won't come back to our booth and show room.
And that's what happened. FABULOUS day and wonderful new customers. It's REALLY late, and the hub and I are at Ihop having some whole harvest pancakes with sugar free syrup that melt in your mouth...and the show is over. Trucks packed to the brim, the wave pool drained...it all will be a distant memory soon. Lots of work for three wonderful days, but it was MORE than worth it. Hope you enjoyed the blog, and I hope to see you again at the dealership.
Guess who came back today? The fine lady with the great questions. She decided to become a member of our boating family, and we welcome her. What a blessing that some of our current customers were by and were able to share their experiences with us and they kept saying how much they love their Chaparral. I understood their comments. I, too, love the Chaparral boats, and the more customers I met first hand, the more I understood that these customers had all done their homework. They knew the boats as well as I did, and they were here at the show to shop smartly. I admire that. I, too, am a big researcher, so I understand the Internet searches and comparison charts in excel. GOOD FOR THEM. GREAT for us...when you do all the research, I know it becomes clear...there are no boats like the boats we sell. Our lines are the best.
It's like what the guys always tell me...we have the best lines and we welcome a comparison. I found myself telling people to go look at the other boats...for I felt certain, that most people do the research there is no way they won't come back to our booth and show room.
And that's what happened. FABULOUS day and wonderful new customers. It's REALLY late, and the hub and I are at Ihop having some whole harvest pancakes with sugar free syrup that melt in your mouth...and the show is over. Trucks packed to the brim, the wave pool drained...it all will be a distant memory soon. Lots of work for three wonderful days, but it was MORE than worth it. Hope you enjoyed the blog, and I hope to see you again at the dealership.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
S-A-TUR-DAY: Saturday
Busy as bees. Wild: the gates opened and we haven't stopped yet....floods of people coming in with the sunshine..finally sunshine. WINDY, but at least it's warm, and we haven't had a fire drill so far!!! We have so many potential customers that our excitement is growing as we move towards closing some deals. It's just so wonderful to interact with our current and potential customers.
Something I'm seeing this year more so than any other year is the families that are attending. I'm glad I made the coloring book page for the kids to color our logos.
The whole day was a blur as we had over 100 people visit our booth and want to know about our Chaparrals, our JCs, or our Moomba and Supra boats. We were overwhelmed with people wanting to see what we had to offer. The bird with the attitude light was a big hit with all our customers.
I have to say that I met yet another nice person with whom I spoke about our boats. By her savvy questions and her forthright nature, you immediately know that this is a customer that knows what she wants. She was super nice, and I immediately knew she and I would be friends. We had a lot in common and she was learning about the boats and as I talked, she and I learned together. I then introduced her to my husband so he could really give the best information on what the boats had to offer. I stuck around to hear about all the things I didn't know, especially the engine preferences. I also wanted to know what the stern rail was and I just wanted to make sure I didn't tell anyone anything incorrect. Again, a fabulously strong lady with an eye for detail, and she asked the BEST questions. What a tremendous experience.
Can't tell you how great today was. I felt like all the studying I'd done wasn't good enough, but everyone was so nice, and I was grateful that my learning curve was hopefully shortening. I have to tell you that everyone I spoke with was great. I just tried to help and we are so against pushy that we believe our boats and quality will sell themselves. I hoped that my knowledge would help someone else do a good comparison, so they too would feel good when they purchased a boat from us. I've still got so much to learn, but I am willing, and I can guarantee you that by next boat show, I'll be fully educated. :)
It's midnight, no eating yet, and we've got to get home. Sunday will dawn early, and the prospect of breaking this all down is daunting. So much interest and sales...what a great day and show.
Something I'm seeing this year more so than any other year is the families that are attending. I'm glad I made the coloring book page for the kids to color our logos.
The whole day was a blur as we had over 100 people visit our booth and want to know about our Chaparrals, our JCs, or our Moomba and Supra boats. We were overwhelmed with people wanting to see what we had to offer. The bird with the attitude light was a big hit with all our customers.
I have to say that I met yet another nice person with whom I spoke about our boats. By her savvy questions and her forthright nature, you immediately know that this is a customer that knows what she wants. She was super nice, and I immediately knew she and I would be friends. We had a lot in common and she was learning about the boats and as I talked, she and I learned together. I then introduced her to my husband so he could really give the best information on what the boats had to offer. I stuck around to hear about all the things I didn't know, especially the engine preferences. I also wanted to know what the stern rail was and I just wanted to make sure I didn't tell anyone anything incorrect. Again, a fabulously strong lady with an eye for detail, and she asked the BEST questions. What a tremendous experience.
Can't tell you how great today was. I felt like all the studying I'd done wasn't good enough, but everyone was so nice, and I was grateful that my learning curve was hopefully shortening. I have to tell you that everyone I spoke with was great. I just tried to help and we are so against pushy that we believe our boats and quality will sell themselves. I hoped that my knowledge would help someone else do a good comparison, so they too would feel good when they purchased a boat from us. I've still got so much to learn, but I am willing, and I can guarantee you that by next boat show, I'll be fully educated. :)
It's midnight, no eating yet, and we've got to get home. Sunday will dawn early, and the prospect of breaking this all down is daunting. So much interest and sales...what a great day and show.
Roanoke Boat Show Friday, February 29, 2008
Our booth was ready and we were winding down and getting out the door. Crunch, crunch, crunch, 
went the stapler as I stapled the last few business cards to our Xtreme brochures. Everything was finally ready. The culmination of weeks of work! From window sticker lamination, to vacuuming the carpet, all the touches must be perfect so that our booth would welcome our long time customers and invite new customers everywhere. Our boats were to shine so you could see your own image in the chrome, the vinyl was dressed and every technician was scampering about looking for any smudge to remove, any shine that needed polishing, or a flick on the carpet. I was vacuuming, but who am I? I am the ultimate Chaparral fan, a JC Pontoon lover, and a Moomba Supra Wakeboarding wannabe…and most of all I’m a wife to a dealership owner. After weeks of planning the layout, sales review meetings, and running from the shop to the civic center, we were ready to launch the new 08 models like a cannonball across the bow of a pirate ship…we were jazzed and excited.
GOBO light flashing the bird with the attitude and our can lights flashing red, blue, yellow and green spots dance across our sparkling boats. Our copper boats were metallic lightning in the well lit coliseum and the Chaparral DVD 2008 overview
First person I met was a lovely woman that loved turtles. She was a first time boat owner, and it was one of the first people I’ve really spoken to about my love for Chaparral. The hub had gone over all the boats with me from bow to stern and I started talking about the award winning hull, the dry in floor ski lockers, the duramax vinyl and how it just wouldn’t stain. She was interested and we talked about long boat rides on the lake, looking at the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, and “sneaking up on nature with our digital cameras.” I talked about the how she could go near the dam and see giant turtles, and she was fascinated. She said she was looking more than she was thinking about buying, and I told her to look and find out what she wanted, but I told her that if she really did the research, I felt certain she’d come back to Chaparral. As we slid out of the back of the boat and down the telescoping ladder, I hoped she’d become a customer because I know, like me, she is fellow lover of nature and the water.
New this year at the show is the wakeboard demonstration
downstairs in the lower deck. Our beautiful blue Supra Launch witnessed the entire event and was sprayed by water from the wakeboarder. I haven't seen it yet, but my nieces thought it was super cool and they took the wake pictures.
As Friday blurs, we go home, crash, and get psyched for S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
went the stapler as I stapled the last few business cards to our Xtreme brochures. Everything was finally ready. The culmination of weeks of work! From window sticker lamination, to vacuuming the carpet, all the touches must be perfect so that our booth would welcome our long time customers and invite new customers everywhere. Our boats were to shine so you could see your own image in the chrome, the vinyl was dressed and every technician was scampering about looking for any smudge to remove, any shine that needed polishing, or a flick on the carpet. I was vacuuming, but who am I? I am the ultimate Chaparral fan, a JC Pontoon lover, and a Moomba Supra Wakeboarding wannabe…and most of all I’m a wife to a dealership owner. After weeks of planning the layout, sales review meetings, and running from the shop to the civic center, we were ready to launch the new 08 models like a cannonball across the bow of a pirate ship…we were jazzed and excited.GOBO light flashing the bird with the attitude and our can lights flashing red, blue, yellow and green spots dance across our sparkling boats. Our copper boats were metallic lightning in the well lit coliseum and the Chaparral DVD 2008 overview
First person I met was a lovely woman that loved turtles. She was a first time boat owner, and it was one of the first people I’ve really spoken to about my love for Chaparral. The hub had gone over all the boats with me from bow to stern and I started talking about the award winning hull, the dry in floor ski lockers, the duramax vinyl and how it just wouldn’t stain. She was interested and we talked about long boat rides on the lake, looking at the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, and “sneaking up on nature with our digital cameras.” I talked about the how she could go near the dam and see giant turtles, and she was fascinated. She said she was looking more than she was thinking about buying, and I told her to look and find out what she wanted, but I told her that if she really did the research, I felt certain she’d come back to Chaparral. As we slid out of the back of the boat and down the telescoping ladder, I hoped she’d become a customer because I know, like me, she is fellow lover of nature and the water.
New this year at the show is the wakeboard demonstration
downstairs in the lower deck. Our beautiful blue Supra Launch witnessed the entire event and was sprayed by water from the wakeboarder. I haven't seen it yet, but my nieces thought it was super cool and they took the wake pictures.
As Friday blurs, we go home, crash, and get psyched for S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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