MBounds wrote:
gmhendo wrote:
It's supposed to be all about the customer, that's the purpose of most businesses.
The authorized dealers
are Hobie Cat Co.'s customers, since they don't sell retail. If they don't support their dealers, then they will lose their distribution network.
That's true enough, but ultimately the dollars come from the boat owners, and they need to get good service too, or neither Hobie nor their dealers will thrive.
Maybe Hobie ought to construct an on-line service with the dealers as joint shareholders. That would give Hobie owners better access to Hobie parts, keep dealers in the loop and sustain Hobie at the same time.