Earlier in my life, I did a lot of business flying in small planes. The joke about flying being hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror can be alarmingly close to the truth. I lost a good friend and fellow pilot last week to an aircraft accident. He managed to save all his passengers with truly superior airmanship. His two engines quit one following the other shortly after takeoff. He touched down initially on a pond in a subdivision, because that was the best shot he had – maneuvering to miss a house with a family inside in the process. His son and co-pilot said he never uttered another word after the engines began deserting him. He just used his skills and knowledge in his few remaining moments to make a difficult best of a really bad situation. I would like to think I would have done as well, but I wouldn’t want to bet on it.
Pilots are granted by law a tremendous latitude in a flying emergency to try and save their aircraft and all aboard. That used to be the case on the waters, too. I fear that we may be letting that slip away. Continue reading Is the Right to Screw-up in the Bill of Rights?
My father used to say that even selling nails was fun if you sold a lot. Many of us chose the boat business not only for a livelihood but to have fun even when sales weren’t over the top. It was certainly more fun when they were.
What image comes to mind when prospective customers think about your dealership? What feelings does it evoke in them?