BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE
Clemons Boats is located on 15 acres of waterfront property in Sandusky , Ohio , along the shore of the Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie .
When Bob Clemons started in 1966 , he recognized that it is a recreation and vacation area where people boat , and not where they live . However , to get to where they were going – and boating – they had to drive right by the property .
Clemons Boats began as a simple trailer on the property , with a gravel lot to park boats on . By 1968 , the operation began to grow with a showroom , small service bay and service counter , as well as a marina and ramp .
A decade or so later , Bob had display docks that could hold up to 30 boats , 60 more dock slips to rent , a main showroom , an auxiliary showroom , a fully functional marina , and a full-service bay area . They were on their way to becoming the largest Bayliner dealer in the country by volume .
Unfortunately , in 1985 the main showroom burned to the ground and the Sandusky Bay Bridge was demolished , re-routing traffic around Clemons and not past it . Challenges indeed .
That hardly stopped their growth and expansion though . Fast forward to today and you can find a total of 12 buildings on that original 15-acre property , including three heated showrooms , two 14,000 square foot cold storage buildings , three 12,000 square foot heated storage buildings to store boats , a 2,500 square foot rigging building , a 7,500 square foot service shop , a parts storage room , a tool room , and a fiberglass repair shop .
“ We have spent a lot of time , effort , and money on our place and in the last five years have really added a lot of infrastructure ,” said Jason Clemons , the president of Clemons Boats , and the grandson of founder Bob Clemens . “ And we have done it all with zero financing .”
Jason said “ my grandfather based his entire business philosophy off the things he learned at 20 group meetings .”
The last few years have been volatile ones for the entire recreational boating industry , and Jason said they have been deliberate about getting back to basics , focusing on getting better instead of always thinking about getting bigger .
“ It is important we set goals and achieve them ,” stated Jason in his Top 100 application . “ However , we want to be very careful to not get on the ‘ hamster wheel ’ of business and keep growing for the sake of growing . I have seen too many dealers grow to a point where they now have to grow to survive , and they end up working their lives away and becoming unhappy and wishing things were ‘ the way they used to be .’”
As Clemons Boats has grown , they have had to be more mindful of continuing to give the personal touch to each and every customer .
They offer free pick-up and delivery within 30 minutes of the store for service and storage .
And a couple of years ago they hired someone to do CSI follow up calls . The strategy has been to contact each customer after a sale , delivery , or service experience through their Kenect system . During this contact , they ask how the customers experience was , try to put out any fires immediately , and also encourage customers to fill out the surveys from the manufacturers .
The service team also implemented a text line to help expedite communication and payment processing and it allows for 24-hour access to Clemons Boats in case of emergencies .
Asked to sum up his customer service philosophy , Jason said “ in one word : FAMILY ! We are family owned and operated and in the fourth generation of ownership . We strive to provide a more personal experience and form long lasting relationships with our customers . Every year we grow , we become better , and we become more profitable as a dealer . I would like to think there ’ s not a hungrier dealer out there than Clemons Boats and after nearly six decades we are still just getting started !”
www . boatingindustry . com february 2025
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