I was a participant in the Yak-Off tournament out of Haleiwa. This was my second time I had participated in this event, and as usual I had a great time. I want to say "Thank You" to Windward Boats for sponsoring this event and all the events you guys do so well. I purchased my Hobie Kayak in 2008 from Windward Boats with the help of Lorraine and I have been so happy with the follow through service of your staff. I'll be sure to make all my future kayak purchases through you. I look forward to taking part in many more kayaking activities, and I can't wait to see how you guy's out do yourselves for the next event. Thank you!" - David Babino
"Thank you Alan. Again, great service from you and Windward Boats!" -Jim Fernie
"They take pride in their work. Jeff and the guys do a great job" -Peter Akuna
"Thank you for selling me one hell of a nice boat. This Glacier Bay sure seems to be a great ride for Hawaiian waters. We've been enjoying it and I can see why you keep buying them for yourself! It's been a real pleasure working with you and Mark.
All the best" - Brad Myers
Dear Mr. Adams,
I am writing this letter to express my gratitude for the excellent customer service I have received at Windward Boats, especially from Lorraine Garnier in the kayaks division. Since 2007, I have been a customer of Windward Boats and have purchased 2 new boats from you fine folks. In 2007, I purchased a Hobie Getaway and in 2010 I purchased the very first Hobie Tandem Island in the Hawaiian Islands from Lorraine.
Lorraine has played a key factor in making the experience of buying a new boat incredibly enjoyable and she has made me feel very comfortable in becoming a repeat customer of Windward Boats. Specifically, within the first 3 months of owning the Tandem Island, I broke the rudder sailing in normal tradewinds. Lorraine immediately put in a warranty claim, replaced the rudder and had me back on the water within 2 weeks. In addition, Lorraine called Hobie on my behalf to see if they could do anything with a spare rudder that I had bought for the kayak, which had been replaced with a new rudder design. Through Lorraine, I was able to get a $26.00 credit from Hobie for the old rudder.
Now, you may be thinking: great, we're losing all this money from our excellent customer service. Not true. Lorraine has a gift for sales as well as service because every time I come down to Windward Boats, I end up walking away spending at least a hundred dollars. For example, when the rudder broke, Lorraine had it fixed and then sold me a new $200 cover for the kayak (btw, that was a great investment for a red colored boat). This happens just about everytime. Get me into the store (even for a warranty claim) and I'll buy something.
Anyway, Lorraine is a true gem to your company and I am thankful to do business with her and with Windward Boats.
In closing, I have attached a picture of my Tandem Island fully rigged on Papohaku Beach (on the West end of Molokai). I sailed the boat inter-island last week from Hawaii Kai to Molokai and had one of the greatest adventures of my life.
Malaho nui, WWB,
Michael Paulding
348-4234