By JON MOHR
Talk is cheap? Not always
When you show up at an airport and see people lined up waiting to get into the terminal, you know you’re in for a long trip.
That was the sight that greeted me as I climbed out of a taxi Dec. 21 at New York’s LaGuardia airport. The large storm that had rolled up the East Coast the previous few days was gone, but the snow left behind – combined with normal pre-Christmas travel rush – meant that catching a plane would be more complicated than usual, even under the best of circumstances.
Unfortunately, circumstances were not the best that morning as the airport also experienced a brief power outage, adding another obstacle to the equation. However, all the negative variables could have been adequately managed had those in charge done one thing: communicate. Read more »
A week before Christmas, I was delighted to receive a $100 clothing store gift certificate as a “thank you” for a favor I’d done for a family member. After a little research, I discovered the items I wanted to purchase with it were only available online. Now, I have to admit, I’ve never purchased clothing online because I like to try it on before I buy. This time, I made an exception. 
Sean H. Griffin, account executive/marine specialist, Commercial Insurance Division, Cook, Hall & Hyde, Inc. — According to Association of Marina Industries (AMI) data, there are approximately 14,500 marinas in the United States, a large percentage of which have inadequate risk management procedures in place. Further, the current distressed economy has added new exposures to marinas in addition to the traditional risks. 
About 10 years ago, I learned a great lesson about finding a service shop you can trust. The anti-lock brake light was illuminated in my old Dodge Dakota, so I did what any naïve car owner would do: I took it to the closest shop, a national chain that promised impeccable brake service. Hours later, the store manager called with the news: I needed my brakes replaced. I was bemoaning the $800 quote over lunch with a buddy, and he recommended I take my car to “his guy,” who he promised would be trustworthy. 
The debate over the value and the use of customer satisfaction index surveys rages on, and in the heat of the economic downturn, perhaps even more fuel has been poured on this fire. Some of the best dealers in North America have, for the most part, abandoned the practice; some boat builders have stopped using the measurement in favor of cutting costs; and with all the cost-cutting (particularly on the personnel side), one would expect industry CSI scores to go up in a plume of smoke. 
By Peter Granata, president, Granata Design and the Marine Design Resource Alliance — December 17 is National Regifting Day. For those of you not familiar with the practice of regifting it is described as the act of taking a gift that has been received and giving it to somebody else, sometimes in the guise of a new gift. 
By Gary W. Druckenmiller, Jr., co-founder, TheOpenSea.com — Like most of us, I’ve been boating for years. I started as a kid sailing daysailers, then got my license and began bombing around the bay in my Dad’s bow-rider. As I got bigger, so did the boats. In the early 90’s, my family moved up to a larger cabin cruiser and that became the centerpiece of family water travel for years to come. Trips to Shelter Island, Montauk, cross-sound to the Connecticut River. Suddenly, nothing was out of bounds, and I was always driving. 