RE: [Paddlewise] Nearly Fatal

Hi Ralph and All,

> You are clearly right that I used it.  Looking back at it, I am
> surprised at myself that I used the term.  Gross negligence certainly
> was too strong a term even though Debbie had just gotten two "deficient"
> boats to try out from the dealer (one minus foot pegs, the other the
> neoprene cover for one hatch) and even though the WetOne stated that he
> hadn't been told anything.

Exactly.  That was my point.  The word choice was far too strong given what
we knew of the situation.

Regarding the boats that Debbie rented.  I do think that was an unfortunate
error on the part of the dealer and I too would be ticked off.  My question
is this, did Debbie then paddle the boats after noticing that important
safety equipment was missing?  If so then she obviously knowingly chose to
accept the risk of paddling compromised boats. That decision also means that
she was prepared to accept the perhaps fatal consequences of a flooded
compartment or perhaps a missed roll due to a lack of foot braces. She
certainly had the choice of returning them to the dealer and getting her
money back as well as giving them a piece of her mind.  If those boats had
been returned to me I would have been very apologetic and refunded any
rental fees and sent her back out with the proper equipment at no charge.

I do think that the dealer should be more careful about the equipment they
rent but ultimately it is the customer that must decide if the equipment
rented is fit for the purpose at hand.


> The issue is what can be done about the incident that Debbie experienced
> firsthand.  Again, I ask you what positive suggestions can you offer.

Well, the most positive advice I could offer is that each individual has to
accept more responsibility for his or her actions and take it upon
themselves to make sure they understand what they are getting into.  I can't
believe that any adult living in New England wasn't aware that there is risk
involved in going out in small boats.  Clearly he knew the water was cold,
there was no one frolicking on the beach in their swimsuits.  I just wish
people would exercise better judgment.  By shifting the blame to others we
only encourage the problem.  It's not Disneyland out there.


If you want to reduce the number of fatal accidents I would take a broader
approach and work with the USCG or other agencies that deal with boating
safety.  Drowning isn't kayak specific.

>
> Debbie indicated that the dealer was shocked while also being possibly
> defensive.  Since he was shocked, in there may be an answer.  He did
> mention to Debbie wanting to review procedures with his sales staff,
> etc.  And Debbie offered to do a 1-page flyer for them.  Probably some
> follow up in a positive fashion might help.

I'm not surprised that the dealer was shocked and defensive.  I hope that
with regards to the boats missing equipment he was shocked and apologetic.

>
> Rob, again if you have any first hand experience in handling such a
> situation, please let us know.  The postings from Nick and
> Phil, both with retailing knowledge, underscore the pressures on the
> dealers and the personality patterns of some customers.  So it ain't
> easy.

I believe I addressed some of this in other posts.  It was probably drowned
out by my constant rumblings about personal responsibility.

Customer attitudes as you know vary widely.  Some folks are like a sponge
and absorb every tidbit of info that you hand them.  Others you might as
well be talking to a stump.  There is only so much that a dealer can do.
Someone pointed out earlier that their club offered a free newsletter to
anyone purchasing a boat at a particular dealer and no one took them up on
the offer.  I'm not saying that this particular dealer did all he could do.
I'm saying I don't know what the dealer did or didn't do.  And them I'm
going a step further and saying that regardless of what the dealer did or
didn't do the WetOne used damned poor judgement by launching in a river in
strong winds in March when both the air and water are cold and all of that
topped with no experience.

In my mind this issue is not about gear or dealer warnings.  It is about
using good common sense.  When half of your brain is begging to get a new
boat and go fishing and the other half is telling you that it is cold and
windy you must make a choice.  WetOne made a bad choice and fortunately
lived to tell about it.  There was a guy that had a theory about this, I
think his name was Darwin.

I think the greatest thing we can do to enhance safety in all aspects of
life whether that is in dealing with autos, crime or kayaks is to take
responsibility for ourselves and our actions and to spread this word far and
wide.  Really, it's a great feeling to know that you have that much power in
your own life.


I have a few bad judgement stories and maybe tonight I will have time to
post them.

Cheers,
--
Rob Cookson
 "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety"
Benjamin Franklin


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