Customer Service

[South lake]

My wife Deborah and I just want to share how happy we are with our new Ranger Tug R25 and especially the customer service we have received from Ranger Tugs and from Wefing's Marine.

We are long time boaters and over the past 35 years have owned everything from pontoon boats to a 40 foot Searay Sundancer. As I prepared to retire we decided the 40 footer was too much to care for and we wanted something we could dock on the lake we live on in west central Ohio but could also trailer to the great lakes or the internal rivers to cruise on from time to time. We bought a new C-Dory and kept it for a couple of years but it was a little too difficult for Deborah to board with her MS so we sold it and went back on the market.

This time we looked seriously at Ranger Tugs. I scoured the comments and postings on the Tugnuts web site, read all the articles I could find, watched the videos on YouTube, and even exchanged a few emails with Andrew Custis and several Tugnuts members as we tried to decide which model suited our needs best.

We really liked the R25 and while it was no longer being produced in 2011, I found a new 2010 R25 with the options we wanted at Wefings in Apalachicola. I called Marc Grove, he sent me some more info on the boat and after a few conversations I gave him a deposit to hold the boat. I arranged financing and flew down to see the boat, take it out and learn everything I could about it. I wanted a full cockpit enclosure, rails on the swim platform, and there were a couple of small things to fix on the boat and Marc set about making that happen.

I live about a thousand miles north of Wefings so I asked Marc to make arrangements to have the boat delivered to me. It arrived a couple of weeks ago. There were a few glitches, the most significant being an error code from the Yanmar computer that required a technician to diagnose and repair. Marc got in touch with Andrew, Andrew spoke with me and then got Yanmar to agree to send one of their techs down from Cleveland (a four hour drive from me). The Yanmar tech resolved the problem, the other issues were resolved by either Marc or Andrew arranging for parts to be sent to me and I replaced the bad ones and the boat was brought into good order.

Now I’ve bought lots of new boats and dealt with lots of dealers and boat manufacturers. Some good, some less than good. I’ve dealt with Searay and Doral on large express cruisers and smaller companies like Bennington, Princecraft, and StarCraft. I have never had as good an experience with customer service as I have received from Ranger Tugs and Wefings Marine. Within a day of my commitment to purchase the boat I received emails from Jeff Messmer and Andrew with cell phone numbers and offers to contact either of them if I needed any assistance. Marc has bent over backwards to be accessible and take care of anything that required his attention. These guys all live up to the excellent reputation they have.

And the boat. Wow, all of the little details that make this boat just superb. I’ve never had an easier boat to dock. Bow and stern thrusters on a 25 foot boat. Amazing! The chart lights so night vision isn’t impacted when cruising after dark. Heat from the engine to keep the cabin warm. Light switches at the stern door entrance and the cabin door entrance. Fully integrated state of the art electronics.

I could go on and on but then you all know what great products these boats are.

Keep in mind, we bought this boat never having seen one in person until I flew to Apalachicola. And Deborah didn’t see it until it was delivered to our house. Everything we knew about how it looked and handled was from what we have read. And everything we read that was good about Ranger Tugs and Wefing's, their people, their service, and their products is true.

So, thank you Marc, Jeff, and Andrew for delivering great value for the money.

 

[rt11002003]

Good choice of dealer, vessel and manufacturer! 😀

gene

 

[GulfSailor]

Good choice of dealer, vessel and manufacturer! 😀
gene

I can only add that I agree 100%!

Companies live and die on both their reputation and quality of their product.

I predict a long and healthy life for both Wefings and Ranger/Cutwater!

 

[baz]

I AGREE 150%... 🙂

I just posted a similar `excellent customer service' response to a hull gelcoat discoloration that Ranger is taking care of for me -- and well beyond the hull's warranty period.

We are all in very good hands with Jeff, Andrew and the rest of the Ranger Tug employees. I personally feel very lucky to be so close (within 30 miles) to the Ranger Tug factories which allows me to pop over to them when needed. Your posting shows that even if you're 1000s of miles away from the Ranger factories it makes little difference in getting first rate customer service.

As an aside, I can add another 'customer service' event that people should be aware of. For some reason the fabric material on the bulkhead in the forward berth area of our R-25 was picking up black-like soot that presumably was coming from the engine bay somehow. Not a huge problem, but when I mentioned this to Andrew he simply said for me to remove the panels and bring them to the factory and they would replace the white 'monkey fur' material with the newer white perforated vynal that is easily cleaned with a damp cloth. This I did and the bulkheads are now in pristine condition. This is fantastic 'customer service'.

This kind of customer service adds huge 'value' to the Ranger Tug products that people will obviously take notice of when researching a boat purchase.

 

[tuggertoy]

We bought our 2006 R-21 after seeing it listed on yachtworld. I recognized the tug from this site. Wefing's was the broker and Marc was wonderful. I was also able to talk to the owner thru the Tugnuts site. After we got the tug back to Pennsylvania, we had a few minor issues and Andrew was there to help us too. Our vessel was "second hand" to us and Ranger still stood behind their vessel. One of the happiest days of my life was buying that tug!! Bonus - the Ranger Tug family!!