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January 2009

Consumer Advisory from Joe Berta

The following is offered to the general boating public with the hope that it will open more eyes to the unregulated and not always perfect world of our marine industry. We hope that reading these rather timely excerpts from a professional journal will cause the consumer to be more careful carrying out all the necessary research before hiring a marine professional. Much as one should do before making an investment in any commodity...

In the below pasted letters to Boat US Technical Exchange for Marine Professionals we find an alarming situation, where industry members go as far as expressly and in print criticize how business is being conducted. This has been a long time coming and I am one of those doing the criticizing.

It is difficult to remain indifferent when certain occurrences in an industry lose sight of the basic premise of the profession - in marine surveying, it is supposed to be the Protection of The Client!

As in any profession from time to time, it is not unusual to find a saturation of less than qualified persons claiming to be ethical and expert representation of your financial investment. It can not be over stated how important it is that you very thoroughly investigate the past experience and business conduct history of a marine surveyor notwithstanding membership claims to any accrediting or certification bestowing entity.
Never use a surveyor just because the price was cheap. Never use a broker suggested surveyor. Do not simply pick a surveyor from classified ads. Be cautious of claims made on websites. Do not hesitate to ask a lot of questions and always insist on references - remember, word of mouth is still the most trusted referral in the profession of Marine Surveying.

Reproduced with permission as originally appeared in Boat US Technical Exchange for Marine Professionals, January 2009

Our appreciation to Boat US and Captain Haynes