New product at Contemporary Fiberglass

Hey everybody:

You've probably noticed a recent change on the website.   I've added a new product-    All wood SUP's. (stand up paddleboard)

A gentleman from St Maries Idaho approached me to see if I could fiberglass the all hollow wood SUP's that he had made from strips.  Of course, I told him that I would help him.     He was so impressed with the work that he told me that he'd like to partner to sell more of the SUP's.

Since we started making these I've found out that Stand Up Paddleboarding is now the fastest growing sport in Americal.   I made one for myself and used it over the Labor Day weekend.    I love it.  It is very relaxing to get away and just paddle.   It's also a very good core workout.

I'm very excited to be working with Mitch Santos as he is a skilled craftsman and experienced woodworker.   Our boards are high end and very unique.    They are the only strip hollow wood SUP's on the market.    We also offer unique options such as wood burned graphics and PolyUrethane top coating for UV resistance.

Also available are SUP accessories such as paddles, leashes, non-skid options, carrying bags, etc......

They really are pieces of art that float.   They will last a lifetime and are an investment in FUN.    If you are interested in owning one....contact me and we'll build you one custom to your specs, just like my swim platforms.

At contemporary Fiberglass we are getting ready for our busy fall season.    Usually summer is a bit slower, but not this year.   It was just as busy as the spring which was our best Ever.   I am so blessed and grateful.  

Cheers, Scott

Spring has sprung!

It's been a very wet spring in the Pacific Northwest. I write this as I'm watching it rain / snow outside. It's the end of April keep in mind and it's supposed to be 65 degrees and sunny. Doesn't matter to the business however....It's been terrific. The platform business is going to double again. I don't know how big it can get, but I'm anxious to see.

I decided to write today regarding a shipment issue. I had the first freight damage claim that I've ever had in 12 years. Luckily, the end customer rejected the package and took video of the damage before it left. That will make the claim much easier to collect on. That's what I'm being told anyways, we'll see what the freight company says.

Once again I'm so proud of my platforms. The design, the materials and the workmanship. The package arrived just beat to *&%$%^$! It was apparent that the freight company had abused the package. Once I received the package back to the shop and inspected the platform. It was pretty amazing, given how hard the platform must have been hit, the small amount of structural damage. In fact, I was able to repair the platform instead of having to build a whole new one.

I think it's important to keep in mind if you are shopping for a platform, that you may accidently bump the platform into a dock, another boat or some other hard object over the course of it's life. I know that I would want a platform that could take a hit without fracturing, and maybe even breaking.

The last thing I want to talk about is my customers. I've got the Best customers in the world. To me, nice matters. And the great majority of my customers are so nice. They take the time to send kudos and pictures of their platforms once they get them mounted and out on the water. I've gotten more tips this year than any other year in the past. So nice.

And thanks to Mark, who designed a platform with "wings" and awarded me the chance to build it for him. It was great fun and it should look very cool on his Formula.

One more month and I'm off to Alaska for a well deserved on week fishing trip with my buddy Chuck. Until then, it's long hours making you your custom extended swim platforms......building your dreams. Hey, that sounds like my new logo....."Safe Step Swim Platforms; We build your dreams". I like it!

Cheers, Scott

What a Great start to this business year!

Hi again. I had a terrific start to a busy year, even before the end of the boat show. And I had the best boat show that I've ever had. I was not sure how it was going to go given that the weather here is Spokane has been cold, wet and windy. I don't remember when the wind blew more and harder than it has this year.

I currently have so many platforms in the shop, and more in the wings, that I simply can't keep up. For the first time ever, I'm quoting lead times of more than four weeks. And my suppliers are telling me that they are experiencing similar results. So maybe the recession is weakening and we are on the road to recovery.

I had a chance to make a swim platform last month that was a little unusual. I've always wanted to do one...had several inquiries but never a firm order until now. I've made platforms for outboard boats before, but never one for a smaller runabout with a large outboard. I think it turned out great. I had to test the motor in several positions to get the cutout correct. I was able to provide the customer with lots of extra room, safety and funtionality that he did not have prior. he was very pleased.

In fact, he mentioned how much he appreciated the daily updates, photos and progress reports that I e-mailed him. I'd have to say that it is the number one positive feedback that I get. People love to see that their platform is being worked on, how it is built and that it is being built according to Their specs. It simply makes sense to me....but I'm told that it is Above and Beyond a normal customer service. So be it. I vow to continue to do this no matter how large the company gets.

So I will close now with the suggestion that if you are thinking about ordering a Safe Step Swim Platform........let's get to it! Soon, my leadtime quote will put the install out to the beginning of the boat season. You know you want it mounted in time for boating season. Please call or write if you have any questions.

Have a Great rest of your Spring!

Scott

What's up at the Boat Show?

Well. There we were. On the first day, Saturday, I sold four platforms. The best start to the boat show ever. And, it did not let up. I think people are definitely ready to go boating. I'm rested from my vacation and I'm focused on making this the best year for Safe Step Swim Platforms ever.

I want to talk about warranties. I have to tell you about a bad experience that I'm having right now and then expand to how that relates to my business.

My wife bought me a new Dell laptop for Christmas. It has all the bells and whistles, including a Blue Ray DVD player. The Blue Ray has never worked. Not from day one. Dell has sent two techs to the house....no success. My wife has spent, conservatively, 80 hours on the phone with techs trying to figure out why it won't work. We wanted our money back. We were very frustrated. Dell said no. Finally, Dell gave up and said that the best they could do was to to give me another computer.

It arrived and the Blue Ray did not work in it either. Still Dell would not refund our money. And now, the warranty has run out and there is nothing apparently that we can do. I will Never buy a Dell ever again.

So what about Contemporary Fiberglass. If you read my testimonials, I think you'll will see that I work hard to make my customers happy. In particular, there is a testimonial from alan. He mentions that there were hiccups that I addressed. What is not spelled out is that there were cracks show up in the platform that were not a result of my labor or materials. Alan had strapped his boat to his trailer around the platform. This put an abnormal amount of stress on the platform and cracked it.

Alan was very nice about how he approached me...so I fixed it at no charge to him. Now I'm not saying that this is how I would approach every instance, but I just tell the story to let you know how important it is to me to stand behind my product. It's about integrity and how you want people to talk about their experience after the check has been paid.

I'm not saying that I have 100% happy customers either. There are a small number of people that I've figured out I can't make them happy....no matter what I do. Through talking to other small business owners, I know that I'm not alone. I don't take it personally. I try my best and treat people right. I've figured out that when I can't make some people happy, it's not about me at that point....it's about them.

So, if you purchase a platform from me and for whatever reason you have trouble....rest assured that if it's something I've done wrong, I'll do what it takes to make it right.

Have a Great year!

Scott

Here comes 2011

I tried something different this past winter. I was invited to spend some time with my sister and her husband on their 44 foot sailboat in the Abacos, the not-so-well-known part of the Bahamas. It was not an easy decision. I decided that since I might just not ever have this kind of opportunity again, I was going to go. My wife and I spent three weeks with Kathi and John and another week satisfying my wife's Harry Potter fantasy at Universal Studios in Orlando.

I'm very glad that I made this decision. We had a blast. We snorkled, scuba dived, hunted lobster,conch and fish and played in the sun. Harry Potter was Very cool, but Very crowded.

We also had a chance to visit the SeaDek plant near Orlando. We got a nice tour and exchanged some ideas on how to increase our business-to-business relationship. I picked up several of their samples of their new faux teak product. It has been so popular that they limit any new orders until they work out their inventory issues.

So, I'm rested, relaxed and focused. The Spokane Boat Show is coming up and I'm psyched. My gut feeling is that because of the crappy weather / boating season last year, folks around here are going to have a lot of energy to put into their boating experience. I'm getting a ton of inquiries from all over the world about the Safe Step platforms. It's a great product backed by a great support team and customer service. I don't know what else I could offer but I'm very comfortable the way the business is growing. And I'm very proud of the continued nice comments about how the platforms are helping to make my customer's boating experience even better.

So if you are waiting....ask yourself why? If I would have waited or worse, decided not to go to the Bahamas... I would have missed out on the best vacation I've ever had!

Bye for now. Scott

Watch out for Getty Images

I'm not 100% positive that this is the proper forum for posting the following blog, but I'm going to do it because I believe that I have been wronged and I May be able to prevent someone else from also being wronged. And I firmly believe that the people who read this will appreciate the effort from that standpoint. Then I promise that I will get back to focusing on my products and services and what I'm doing for my customers.

I have a website- www.myswimplatform.com, that was designed and is maintained by a friend. She is not a professional web designer but did a great job. She copied a “thumbnail” image from Google when she first created the website because I did not have a whole lot of finished product pictures to send her for use on the website.

I received a letter from a company called Getty Images about a month ago telling me that I had published a copyrighted photo and that I owed them $1,225.00 and that I either paid or they would take me to court where the damages could be much higher and I would be responsible for their attorney’s fees as well.

The web maintainer, Jamie, immediately removed the picture and wrote and apologized and explained that she did not know that the photo was copyrighted. She also explained that the photo was the size of a stamp and posted on a very back page which was visited only a handful of times. Getty’s response was Thanks for removing the picture and sorry about your bad luck, but you still owe the money. They also informed me that even though a second party designed the website, that the law allowed them to go after me, the owner of the website. And apparently the copyright laws have changed so that copyrighted material does not have to be identified as copyrighted like it used to be. It is now up to the person looking to copy the picture, video or text to determine if the material is copyrighted.

So I contacted several attorneys and was told the same thing. They have all dealt with Getty on similar basis’ and informed me that this is Getty’s business model. They do this because there are so many business’ that pay Internet companies to create their website. Often, these companies sub the jobs to other countries. They copy thumbnails off of the Internet which makes it easy for Getty to search (using software) for these copyright infringements and shake down the owners of the websites.

The attorneys all told me to pay the $1,225.00. They all said that if I did not, that getty would sue me and win and that I would be on the hook for a Minimum of $125,000.00! And they told me that they could take my case, but that I would then be on the hook for their $400.00 per hour fee in addition to the $1,225.00!

I have since researched this a bit and found that there are several class action lawsuits to stop Getty Images from being able to do this. All agree that it is legal but also agree that it is unethical, ruthless and despicable! Please check out the following website- http://extortionletterinfo.com/

My hope is that if you do read this, and have a website, that it may get you (web site owners) to investigate their websites and determine if there is any potential for illegal, copyrighted infringement. It may save them the grief and expense that I have incurred. And it may expose Getty Images for what they are- skumbags.

I understand the idea behind copyrighting and respect an artist’s value in his work. This scenario however presents a Very different case. If someone purposefully uses a person’s copyrighted work to gain in any manner from it, then they should pay amends. If it is done unknowingly and without intent to gain from it, then address it Very differently.

Thanks for letting me vent. Please let me know if this helped you. And of course, please let me know if I can build you a custom Safe Step Swim Platform!

Hello all again. What a year! I'm so blessed personally and professionally. Thanks to all of my customers this year for making it the best ever!

So what's new. Well, I've added a couple of very neat options that are getting more and more popular. The LED lights seem to be very popular and the water tight storage is attractive to many people who want to get their "stuff" out of the boat.
The LED lights are nice because the technology is growing so fast. They are making underwater lights now that are easy to install and getting less and less expensive. If I was not making custom extended Safe Step Swim Platforms, I'd be in the LED lighting business.

The water tight storage compartments are fun to make and are working out well according to the customers who take the time to give me feedback. Another indicator to me that it is a good option is that my competition has copied the idea. My webmaster told me to not worry about it....that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"..... OK then.

On a personal note- I took a three week vacation this summer to go on a boat up the Inside passage from Prince Rupert, B.C. to Skagway and back to Juneau. It was an incredible experience as you can imagine. The highlight was when I was hiking and came within 30 feet of a brown bear (Alaskan Grizzley). Luckily, she was apparently full up on Salmon as she could have cared less that I was there.

When I got back from the trip, I was able to enjoy the pool that we had installed. It is just a small pool that I use for excersize. I have found it very enjoyable as I come home from work and it allows me to de-stress and hopefully lose some weight while I'm at it.

I'm looking forward to this winter. That does not mean anything to those of you who don't know me, but for those who do, this is significant. It used to be when I first started this business that because the business was so cyclical and the winter was the most quiet, that I would stress over the financials. Now that the business has a solid foundation, I actually look forward to the slow down. In fact, I am planning on going to the Bahamas in December to spend time with my sister and her husband aboard their 46' sailboat. They made the trip south through the ICW al the way to the Bahamas last year and their story and pictures inspired my trip to Alaska. They've invited me to spend some time with them this year.....how can I pass that up?

So if the business doubles in volume again this year, I will have to hire some help. I anticipate that this will occur as I'm getting more local, national AND international orders. If you are thinking about ordering a platform, Now is the time. I can make it now and get it to you before the spring rush. If you have any questions or concerns, write to me and I'll assist you the best I can.

I'll be back in touch when it slows down this winter. Until then, cheers and remember, it's Five O'Clock somewhere!

Scott