Quality Performance Marine

THE 2009 CALICO COASTAL…

Once again the anglers of the SWBA are poised and ready to do battle in the waters of Dana Point! Only this season, the ‘Calico Coastal’, rescheduled, has been camouflaged under a blanket of cold water and Dana Point this time of year will no doubt put up a mighty defense in terms of surrendering it’s booty of Calico Bass. Traditionally this venue has kicked out some trophy Calico Bass in excess of 8lbs. That historical fact, accompanied with the diversity of the fishable waters, and the state of art launch ramp facilities makes this event arguably the premier stop on the SWBA circuit.

Leading us into battle as this year’s sole Title Sponsor for the ‘Calico Coastal’ is none other than Quality Performance Marine!

Quality Performance Marine located in Corona California is your premier service dealer for Mercury Outboards and Mercruiser Marine. Rob Clarke, owner of QPM, the title sponsor for the second leg of 2009, ‘The Quality Performance Marine Calico Coastal’, is very well respected in the industry and has been working in the marine boating industry for over 30 years. Rob carries a Mercury Master Technician status himself and employs factory-trained technicians. To say Rob has seen the boating industry grow to what it is today would be a huge understatement because if it transforms compressed fuel and air into horsepower rob has turned a wrench on it!

SWBA had the opportunity to sit down and speak with Rob at the recent LA Boat Show where Rob was staffing the Mercury booth. When we first spoke with Rob, he was somewhat distracted, it seems his teen-age son who was with him at the show had not been accounted for in a while. Rob was giving him a little verbal ‘tune-up’ as we waited patiently off to the side. Sometime later we happened upon a traffic jam in one of the isles. The ‘bikini girls’ at one of the hi-performance boat booths seemed to have set up a impromptu photo booth complete with signed poster give-a-ways etc.. We looked at each other and laughed ‘This is probably the reason why Rob’s son was receiving some parental guidance.

Anyways, back at the Mercury booth the first thing we noticed about Rob was his mellow and pleasant demeanor. This is not your fast talking stereotypical boat salesman complete with silk shirt and flashy gold medallions, that tends to talk down to you because he knows more than you, nope; Rob is a solid guy who runs his business much the same. With Rob, we get the impression that he has seen it, and worked on it all. So, that experience exudes a calm confidence putting many first time customers at ease. Rob has trained in the Mercury facilities for years and his shop enjoys the highest rating level of Premier Service Dealer as a direct result of his extensive knowledge and training. This is not something the average boat owner would know or understand, unless they have experienced it or are involved in the industry. If you have a re-occurring warranty issue that your local dealer just cannot seem to get a handle on, this is where Rob and the highly trained QPM staff of technicians come in.

The folks at QPM are problem solvers, and the factory recognizes this by sending them jobs they want taken care of the right way, now! QPM does work on a wide range of boats, ranging from 100+ MPH offshore racing boats to small outboard powered fishing boats, and everything between.

Explanation of service levels and…MERCURY ‘PREMIER SERVICE CRITERIA’

Mercury assesses all existing service operations at each dealership. The same process is done for a new dealer sign-on as well. Technical Account Managers use a template called a Dealer Service Development Plan (DSDP) as a checklist when performing assessments. After the assessment, Mercury assigns a “category level” to each dealer. The starting level is “Mercury Service,” with “Mercury Certified Service” as the intermediate level, and “Mercury Premier Service” as the highest tier. Dealerships qualify separately for Mercruiser and Outboard products. Every dealership in the U.S. and Canada is eligible to earn the Mercury Premier Service dealer rating. However, the dealership must first meet all established criteria with no exceptions being made.

Technicians at QPM are factory trained with the latest technologies to properly diagnose today’s high performance outboards.

Each service level has a specific set of criteria that must be achieved in order to earn the rating for that level. Here’s a summary taken from Mercury of the key criteria for the Premier Service level follows:

Possesses all necessary tools, test equipment, service manuals, and parts books as recommended to adequately service all contracted Mercury products.

Achieves an overall 12-month service CSI score of at least 85%

Employs a minimum of one Certified (or Master) technician who is active in the service shop and is current with all technical education including advanced classes.

Fully utilizes MercNET for parts ordering, product registration, warranty claim submissions, and ( U.S. only) Mercury Product Protection contracts.

Provides timely service for all Mercury Marine consumers regardless of sales origin.

Offers extended service shop hours of operation and mobile service as appropriate for the local market.

Use, display, and stock an adequate inventory of Mercury Precision parts to service engines sold in their local market.

Maintains a clean and neat Service facility. Special tools and service literature must be displayed, well organized and easily accessible to the technicians.

FACILITY

SWBA visited Quality Performance Marine recently to take a firsthand look at the inner workings of this premier service dealer. The first thing we noticed was the size of QPM; this is a large facility able to house many boats at one time. Boats can even be stored indoors as this industrial property offers large roll up doors with tall ceilings. However Rob does not overcrowd QPM with boats on the property. He maintains a scheduled calendar of jobs based on the extent of the work, the size and type of boat, and the workload at the time. Well equipped with machine shop and tool room, QPM is clean and ready for business. Since QPM is not a boat dealer, you can rest assured that they are focused on the task at hand. They do most all types or rigging as well as complete sales and service, of new and used motors. Remember the old saying that, “the Sales department earns the first sale to a customer and the Service department earns the future sales.” This rings true at QPM as many of Robs customers have happily been with him for many years!

We asked Rob what he sees in the future of boating as it would apply to our circuit and he gleamed as he said” the Verado! It’s something you have to experience to believe”! The quietness of the supercharged power plant is incredible, but that’s not all. Apparently the ‘fly by wire’ shifting is so effortless that it can be performed with your fingertips. And unlike standard mechanical shifting you can power up and shift without fear of smashing gears into oblivion. This is a huge advantage when docking around windy marinas, etc. Want to hear a testimonial? Ask Mike Gardner how he likes his motor, the only complaint you might get out of ‘Big Mike is that he can’t hear the thing running! Also Perros Viejos’ John Beerling can’t say enough of his Verado and you know that ‘Old Dog’ is putting it through its paces!

Quality Performance Marine and its friendly trained staff of technicians serving Southern California is the place to go for sales, service and installation. If your time on the water is valuable, we highly recommend you schedule your next service appointment with QPM.