The virtues of going local gone awry

the good life

Groom has a sweet gig and lives a good life. This is because he works hard and he really cares about things, but he doesn't care so much that he becomes strident or shrieky.

It's annoying, frankly. I end up getting irritated with him for seemingly innocuous things mostly because, he's such a nice and thoughtful person, that when he shows any signs of selfishness or carelessness, I become...well...strident and shrieky.

I live with the knowledge that I am 100% the bad guy, the crazy one, the mean one, the snobby one, the lazy one, the goofy one, in this relationship, because I get to enjoy the perks of being married to someone who goes sailing for a week in Tortola, who goes boating for a week in the Cape, who decides to rebuild an existing kitchen with an obnoxiously huge deck and screened-in porch. It's a hardship, but I bear it well, I think. (Oh, and obviously I live with the knowledge that I'm the worse of the two in this couple because he's my favorite person ever. I suppose I should include that in the list of all the material benefits of this marriage.)

right now

This week, Groom is fishing Boston Harbor with a client. I am staying in the penthouse of Boston Yacht Haven on Commercial Wharf. It's ridiculous.

I swear I bring this up because it has to do with this blog. That, and I am totally bragging right now. I'll repeat. I am typing this as I sit on one of three balconies (two of which overlook the harbor while the third is all cityscape) in the penthouse of a waterside boutique hotel in downtown Boston.

But, this self-flagellating Irish Catholic from Peabody was consoled by the fact that it seemed to be a locally owned and operated establishment.

Until a little over a year ago, I was a writer for a trade magazine in the marina industry. I wrote two features and a couple small pieces for the magazine every issue--or at least I tried to do that. A couple years ago, I wrote an article covering a conference at which the keynote speaker, the CEO of Island Global Yachting (IGY), a large multi-marina corporation that acquires and/or operates luxury-yacht marinas around the world, predicted the end of so-called mom-and-pop shops. I was surprised by this assertion and couldn't help flirting with getting too biased. Here, I'll just quote the article. (I'll put a dollar in the douche tin for quoting myself in my own blog, too.)

“Intellectual capital is the majority value,” he said. Intellectual capital, stated simply, is a combination of gained knowledge, capital, and applied experience. In his opinion, this leads to organic growth and customer loyalty....Most importantly, in Farkas’ opinion, is the need to create a familiar experience among various locations. “Continuity in experience sells,” he said. “People go to locations where they are familiar with the facility.”

He cited Four Seasons in Costa Rica as the primary reason for people spending more time in that country—based on the familiarity of the experience. “You must compete on quality, service, price.” In his keynote, Farkas claimed this is achievable through an enhanced network, branding, and relationships with vendors and customers.

While Farkas predicted to nobody’s surprise more foreclosures in 2010–11, he also noted that “fun is good business. When times are tough, people spend more time recreating.” 

This is hardly news to many who have been in the marina industry, but it’s hardly the “end of mom and pop marinas,” as Farkas also asserted in his talk. Such “mom and pop” marinas as Brewer Yacht Yards have successfully created multi-site marinas with reciprocal services between marinas and yards, and such larger marina chains as Flagship, Vinings, and Westrec (to name a few) have successfully worked from the same business model.

The idea that corporations offer better service than small mom-and-pop establishments gets my ire up. I prefer the local grocery store to the larger chain. I try to use our local hardware store instead of Home Depot or Lowe's. I'm a Main Street shopper. (I should admit, though, I still won't use the local pharmacy while St. Groom uses that local pharmacy almost exclusively. Again, he will always be the better person.)

As I walked into the marina office at this little boutique hotel, I was promptly greeted and treated well. I felt like a valued guest. No matter where I walk on this property, someone in a Boston Yacht Haven shirt says hello or asks if they can get anything, asks if everything is okay. The fellas working the docks made sure to say hello as I walked by yesterday evening.

It was super friendly, but almost too friendly for me. I like competent service, but not overly effusive behavior. I prefer a surly but competent barista. I want a slightly dismissive but competent bartender. I like a distracted but competent bookseller. I want people to treat me like I'm there and need help, but not like I'm the Queen of freaking England. I want someone who knows how to do his/her job and focuses on doing that job well with the occasional smile but tons of information.

At one point, I was trying to get a parking pass--which I've come to understand is impossible--and a woman in the marina office was trying to help me out. I mentioned I had a car but my husband did not. I explained that he had a boat in one of the slips and we were staying in the hotel. The woman in the marina office said distractedly, "Does he have the...little boat?"

I smiled, not insulted but not feeling unnecessarily revered. Ah. There it was! That tang of humanity, that slightly contemptuous competence I crave, the honesty of someone who wasn't hired from a resume and sent off to a corporate retreat in the woods to learn the virtues of good customer service. Yay. No more Disney Land. I was talking to a human. A real person in a real, local, and admittedly very swanky marina. This is why I choose local and this feels like a local place, I thought to myself smugly. No big branding logos everywhere. No signs with "Boston Yacht Haven, a Large Corporation Property." This is why I avoid Starbucks and Wal-Mart and Applebee's and the now defunct Borders Books.

While bebopping around and looking for more people to make me feel like a person and not like another way for an employee to get a gold star on their record based on some theory some motivational speaker touted at some conference, I overheard some talk about how Boston Yacht Haven would be replacing its existing docks with concrete docks so, out of curiosity, I Googled the marina to see who would be performing the work. (Old habits do die hard.)

Within 30 seconds, I discovered I am staying at an IGY-operated facility. This is "Boston Yacht Haven, an IGY Property." IGY. The very same company I got so hot about just two years ago.

I walked down the block, ordered a triple-shot venti latte at Starbucks where the employees who served me the button-processed espresso said my name with a smile no fewer than three times, and sipped corporate coffee with a side of crow.

P.S. We saw this guy from Maine out our window last night. Maine breeds some interesting folks.