Highfield inflatable RIB

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boatpoker

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I bought a Highfield, aluminum bottom RIB early this year and have been quite pleased with it however ....... I recently lost an oar in Florida, went on the the Highfield site, got a list of their Florida dealers and sent an email to each one of them asking price/availability of an oar and if they could ship it to Bahamas.

No response, not one !

I then sent an email directly to Highfield asking if they could help or poke one of their Florida dealers.

No response !

Not a bad dink but be prepared for absolutely no customer service.
 
Sounds like Highfield are busy killing their own business. Easy to get a bad rep and really hard to get rid of it.

FWIW: Island Water World are Highfield dealers and ship to the Bahamas.

Please keep us updated on progress.
 
I see a lot of Highfield dinghies in the Eastern Caribbean on European boats. Do they have much of a presence in North America?
 
Bay Pelican said:
I see a lot of Highfield dinghies in the Eastern Caribbean on European boats. Do they have much of a presence in North America?
Click to expand...

They have made significant inroads in the NA markets with a reasonably priced, decent quality product in the last three years but if I can't even buy an oar, what happens if you have a warranty issue ?
 
boatpoker said:
I bought a Highfield, aluminum bottom RIB early this year and have been quite pleased with it however ....... I recently lost an oar in Florida, went on the the Highfield site, got a list of their Florida dealers and sent an email to each one of them asking price/availability of an oar and if they could ship it to Bahamas.

No response, not one !

I then sent an email directly to Highfield asking if they could help or poke one of their Florida dealers.

No response !

Not a bad dink but be prepared for absolutely no customer service.
Click to expand...

Do any of the dealers have a phone number? Try calling directly.

Marty.......................
 
MartySchwartz said:
Do any of the dealers have a phone number? Try calling directly.

Marty.......................
Click to expand...

No phone ! Canadian phone packages are exhorbitant especially when roaming. Do not want to buy phone service in the Bahamas just to try to get a hold of someone with already questionable customer service.

Still no response to my emails.
 
Send the home office a link to this thread.
 
Shoalwaters said:
Sounds like Highfield are busy killing their own business. Easy to get a bad rep and really hard to get rid of it.
Click to expand...


:thumb::thumb:

Sending the home office the link to this thread is a great idea. It'll help them figure out why sales start to drop.
 
My local Highfield dealer here in BC was great when I lost an oar. Didn't have one in stock but had it within a few days. Sorry your getting the silent treatment.
 
Probably a really crazy thought but are you sure your email is working properly.......:banghead:
 
boatpoker
Your email to me just came thru..........:thumb::thumb::thumb:

Your weather is much nice than ours! Have fun.
 
Life is tough in the Bahamas :)
 

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About an hour ago I went to the Highfield website and posted a message about this thread as I am a little concerned as I will be buying a new inflatable in the near future.

I just received this message back from them:

"Dear Sir,

Thank you for your message.
Sorry to hear that both our dealers and US importer failed to service this gentleman.
As the factory, we have offered the customer a free pair of oars shipped to him by DHL. That should solve his problem.
In the mean time, we are in contact with our US team to prevent problems like this one to happen again.

Thank you again for your email.

Best Regards,

Julien CARUSSI
Highfield Boats"

Hope that maybe this will help boatpoker in getting his oars, I know it makes me feel a better with their products........:flowers:
 
Last edited:
rochepoint said:
About an hour ago I went to the Highfield website and posted a message about this thread as I am a little concerned as I will be buying a new inflateable in the near future.

I just received this message back from them:

"Dear Sir,

Thank you for your message.
Sorry to hear that both our dealers and US importer failed to service this gentleman.
As the factory, we have offered the customer a free pair of oars shipped to him by DHL. That should solve his problem.
In the mean time, we are in contact with our US team to prevent problems like this one to happen again.

Thank you again for your email.

Best Regards,

Julien CARUSSI
Highfield Boats"

Hope that maybe this will help boatpoker in getting his oars, I know it makes me feel a little better with their products........:flowers:
Click to expand...

Wow ! I hope I hear from them at some point. I'll let you know.
 
Boatpoker

Side issue, phone service. Are you able to use Skype to call back to Canada and the US? Last I checked it was two US cents per minute from just about anywhere in the world. I have spent many an hour on Skype calling US suppliers from the Bahamas and the Caribbean.
 
I just got this email from Highfield head office. Thanks for your help Mike.

Dear Sir,

I am sorry to hear that you did not get any response from our Florida dealers nor from our US distributor.
This is not how we want our customers to be treated, again please accept my apologies.

Please let us know your address and phone number. We will have a set of oars shipped to you by DHL free of charge either from our US inventory or directly from the factory.

I look forward to hearing from you shortly.

Best Regards,

Julien CARUSSI
Highfield Boats
HIGHFIELD BOATS - Aluminium Rigid Inflatable Boats
julien@highfieldboats.com
 
Wallace
Really glad that it has worked out for you, now you will have a spare oar.....:thumb::dance:
 
New Title For This Thread: How to turn negative publicity into positive in one easy step.

We learn more about businesses in how they respond to and handle problems than in how they are when everything is going perfectly.

Also, lesson number 97.587 of customer service. An apology should do more than just make up for the wrong to really be perceived as one. This is a great example. Just contacting you and quoting you a price and giving you payment instructions would have met your needs but not made up for the negatives completely. The fact they're shipping two oars free and free shipping says they do understand and they are sincerely apologetic. Too easy to just say you're sorry, but your actions show if you really mean it.

The worse "apologies." You go to a restaurant, the food and service are both horrible. You ask for the manager. Twice. They finally come over. They don't offer to remove anything from the bill, but hand you a coupon for a 10% discount for your next visit. I tell them to keep the coupon as there will definitely not be a next time and ask for their name and the number of their corporate office.

My applause goes to Highfield today.
 
BandB said:
New Title For This Thread: How to turn negative publicity into positive in one easy step.

We learn more about businesses in how they respond to and handle problems than in how they are when everything is going perfectly.

Also, lesson number 97.587 of customer service. An apology should do more than just make up for the wrong to really be perceived as one. This is a great example. Just contacting you and quoting you a price and giving you payment instructions would have met your needs but not made up for the negatives completely. The fact they're shipping two oars free and free shipping says they do understand and they are sincerely apologetic. Too easy to just say you're sorry, but your actions show if you really mean it.

The worse "apologies." You go to a restaurant, the food and service are both horrible. You ask for the manager. Twice. They finally come over. They don't offer to remove anything from the bill, but hand you a coupon for a 10% discount for your next visit. I tell them to keep the coupon as there will definitely not be a next time and ask for their name and the number of their corporate office.

My applause goes to Highfield today.
Click to expand...

+1 Agreed

The next step is for them to read the riot act to their Florida dealers and their US distributor.
 
Wow, I now know what dink is number one on my list when replacement time comes around. I will definitely support a company that responds like that.

Marty......................
 
I got no help from any US dealer, One Canadian (CO2 in Midland Ontario) dealer stepped
but then the President of Highfield took over and had oars shipped Instantly with an apology. Highfield stepped up so kudos to them.

Unfortunately there are some things about the Bahamas that are done ...... mmmh shall we say "differently". I have been struggling with DHL and Bahamian Customs to get them released to me. I'll let you know how that turns out.
 
I saw a Highfield dinghy at the St Petersburg Boat Show last week...nice boat. Unfortunately, when I asked the sales person in charge, they had no information about how or where to secure another oar, only saying that I should contact the manufacturer or the selling dealer directly. When I said that it already been tried, they had no more suggestions. Very glad to hear that Highfield eventuall stepped up.
 
healhustler said:
I saw a Highfield dinghy at the St Petersburg Boat Show last week...nice boat. Unfortunately, when I asked the sales person in charge, they had no information about how or where to secure another oar, only saying that I should contact the manufacturer or the selling dealer directly. When I said that it already been tried, they had no more suggestions. Very glad to hear that Highfield eventuall stepped up.
Click to expand...

+1
 
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