The Real MIC-Coy

They say acknowledging one's faults is good for the soul and the first step towards enlightenment and peace of mind. If that's the case, the marine industry is well on the road to nirvana -- and along the way the blessings may spread to boating consumers as well.

Estimates are that Americans spent nearly $23 billion on boats, engines and equipment in 1999. That's a lot of money by anyone's standards, but sales figures have been relatively flat for the past 10 years, a decade of economic prosperity when other forms of recreation grew and attracted new participants. Consumer research by the marine industry shows that boat owners and buyers are dissatisfied with how they are treated and how customer service issues are handled. They say repairs take too long, attitudes towards customer service are poor compared to those of other industries and the quality of products often doesn't match price tags.

Faced with the choice of either improving customer service or watching its customer base leave boating for more "hassle free" forms of recreation, the marine industry has decided to do nothing less than rebuild itself.

The first step in the industry's makeover is a new Marine Industry Certification (MIC) program established by the National Marine Manufacturers Association and the Marine Retailers Association of America, two marine industry trade groups. It establishes a code of conduct for all levels of marine industry personnel at boat building factories and dealerships and sets continuing education requirements for technicians, salesmen, managers and others.

MIC represents the first formal program by manufacturers and dealers to handle customer service issues. If enough companies come on board, boating consumers may finally enjoy the same level of service they've come to expect from most automakers and other manufacturers of high-ticket products.

MIC is an outgrowth of "Uniting The Industry For Growth," an initiative begun three years ago by NMMA and MRAA. The goals of the campaign are to improve the reputation of the marine industry to attract new boaters and to provide "a better ownership experience" on a consistent basis.

A daunting challenge, considering the marine industry's diversity and the "wild West" mentality of some of its smaller boatbuilders and dealers. Nevertheless, the 55 manufacturers already in the program build the majority of the boats sold in the U.S. There are also 481 dealers and 686 marine professionals enrolled in the MIC program. The first "graduates" are expected to earn certification within the next two months.

"Our industry is poised at a pivotal juncture. We can move forward and address the critical issues or we can maintain the status quo," Ed Boncek told BoatU.S. Boncek is director of dealer operations at Sea Ray Boats and chairman of the board that oversees the MIC program and its continuing education courses. The Marine Industry Certification Board also includes representatives from three boat dealerships, engine manufacturer OMC, an equipment manufacturer and the executive director of the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC), an organization that develops voluntary boat manufacturing standards.

"The important thing is for the industry to really look at this thing and to say 'we need to get on board,'" Boncek said.

Both marine industry insiders and observers alike say the MIC program represents a new outlook that would have been unthinkable even five years ago. Boating consumers have long complained that problems arise when neither manufacturer nor dealer takes responsibility for problems. MIC intends to do away with the finger pointing.

"There are still challenges that both manufacturers and dealers will face to make it work harmoniously, but most of the major hurdles have been crossed," said Skip Moyer, MIC board member and president of ABYC. "At first there were a lot of sensitivities on both sides of the table, but there's also been a lot of give and take."

"Having better-educated builders and certified dealers has to mean that products will be built better and repaired better," Moyer said. "Manufacturers need to be smarter and interface more closely with dealers. And dealer technicians, sales forces and managers need to be better educated so they can enhance the boater's experience."

Boat dealer Don Lewis, owner of Aurora Marine in Denver, is enrolled in the MIC program and supports it wholeheartedly.

"The program does a lot of the things dealers and manufacturers already knew they should be doing, but sometimes don't," said Lewis. The Colorado Marine Dealers Association plans to "train a trainer" to bring the MIC gospel to all the state's boat dealers. "Every step we take is an improvement," he said, adding, "A nice feature is that NMMA and MRAA are on the same page."

"MIC is a mind-change," said Tammy Rossow, head of the NMMA boat certification program. "Twenty years ago, the auto industry was in the same position." In developing MIC, she said task forces looked at similar efforts by General Motors, Harley-Davidson and auto dealers. Marine companies have strenuously resisted any comparison with automakers or other forms of recreation in the past.