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View Full Version : Skier's Choice, timeline on production?



austinlsv
03-19-2004, 11:06 AM
I ordered my boat from South Austin Marine and was told late March for delivery. When I called yesterday I was told by the salesman that Skier's Choice has not even started making it yet. The salesman doesn't seem to have any idea and I do not get the impression he is really trying to find out where my boat is in line to be produced. Can you help?

This has not been the easiest purchase from day 1. One of my concerns is when I inked the deal he said, "It's a good thing we got you in line or you may have not gotten the boat until June."

austinlsv
03-30-2004, 10:02 AM
Looks like now it will be late May.

Shoemaker Mobius
03-30-2004, 11:05 AM
AustinLSV,
I am new to boat ownership, having purchased a 2004 red Mobius LSV at the Austin Boat Show from South Austin Marine. I have found, so far, that everything involved in boat ownership seems to take a long time - ordering accessories, service, getting the boaters safety certificate from Texas Parks & Wildlife, etc. However, likewise so far it has been well worth the wait. I can also honestly say my experiences with South Austin Marine have been excellent - they seem to have top notch professionals willing to go the extra mile to assist a newbie like me. I have not found a single person working there, from the parts counter, to the skiing/wakeboarding accessories, to the salesmen, to the managers, that does not genuinely seem to care. They also seem to have a very good relationship with Skier's Choice, so I would keep pushing them to see if they can improve on your delivery date. Good luck. BTW, what color, options, etc., did you order?

brentburtrum
03-31-2004, 09:19 PM
I also purchased a new LSV on February 20th, 2004 at the detroit boat show. I was told 6 to 8 weeks for delivery and gauranteed by May 31st, 2004. The dealer still has no idea when the boat will be done. Our season isn't very long in MI, and if i find out that it won't be here till sometime in June i will seriously consider canceling my order.

I think it is great for skiers Choice that they are selling so many boats. THe problem i have, and it seems like a lot of others are having is that they are making promises to have boats done that they can't keep.

Brent Burtrum
Battle Creek, MI

Wake Master
03-31-2004, 10:39 PM
I ordered my new 2004 Mobius LSV in December and asked for delivery in April. My boat got delivered to the dealer 3-29. The dealer told me to get my order in early if I wanted a April delivery. The dealer told me they have production slots assigned to them and they place their orders into these slots. I would guess dealers with more slots could get boats quicker if they have available slots. I would guess that as the slots get filled delivery time is longer.

austinlsv
04-01-2004, 08:44 AM
I was told I got into a slot for late March delivery when I made the deal final. Now I am being told, "If everything goes perfect, it should be late May. How long did it take you to get your LSV from South Austin Marine when you ordered at the boat show?

purplepower
04-01-2004, 11:28 AM
Maybe it will ease your pain to know that the ice is still in our lake. If we are lucky, it will break up over Easter. Docks go in in May if the weather is good. On the water by mid May. In the water by late May if we are keen.

I feel for you guys. Having made the commitment to buy the product, you want to know when they will meet theirs. And Brent, I know exactly how you feel. Our season is too short so every weekend counts.

Try to look at it this way. Demand is more than supply. The company can:

1) jack up the price
2) rush production and risk quality issues
3) get behind on delivery dates during the early season rush for boats

I am disappointed to hear that dealers made sales based on promises of delivery that they evidently cannot keep.

Shoemaker Mobius
04-02-2004, 12:05 PM
AustinLSV,
I didn't order at the Austin Boat Show - I ended up taking the red Mobius LSV that was at the boat show. It had pretty much what I wanted. I did have to wait about 4 weeks for the hydraulic wake plate, Perfect Pass and Bimini top to come in - they were ordered the week after the boat show ended. Then, it took approx. 2 weeks to get it all installed and working - some of the required installation parts had to be ordered. It took 6 weeks for the boating safety certificate to arrive from TPWD, even though that did not hold up any use of the boat. We have approx. 28 hours on the boat so far. When you get yours, are you going to trailer it or keep it at a marina? We are trailering, mostly putting in at Lake Austin, the 360 bridge. Good luck and I hope you get the boat soon.

austinlsv
04-03-2004, 07:30 AM
We will keep the boat in the garage. We have a boat ramp on Lake Austin for our neighborhood and spend all of our time there. What makes it more difficult is that we traded in our other boat, so we didn't have to be boatless. I am sure it will all be worth it. I really liked that red one at the boat show, it was what sold me on the LSV. I will look for you out there. A buddy of mine has an older runabout, hopefully he is willing to go out on Saturday.

austinlsv
04-11-2004, 09:01 PM
Can anyone from Skier's Choice reply here. In a different thread someone in Florida placed an order for an LSV and has a delivery date of 3-15. Mine was put on order on Jan 18 and I am being told :If everything goes PERFECT, you will have your boat May 26." I don't get it.

brentburtrum
04-12-2004, 06:32 PM
I ordered my boat on February 21st, i don't think the actual order was turned in until the begining of March though. Well i talked to the dealer today and he said my "spray date" is May 4th, and i should take delivery about May 12th. I live in Michigan by the way.

Brent

Shoemaker Mobius
04-13-2004, 03:32 PM
AustinLSV,
What color LSV did you order? Garaging sounds great - I wish I could. From your description, are you in the neighborhood down Cuernavaca? That looks like a great neighborhood perk.

Jay Warren
04-13-2004, 04:07 PM
Hi Everyone, I'll see if I can clear up any questions. The dealers are given "slots" or actually spray dates for boats, the slots are model specific. IE. if you originally wanted an LSV, you can't change it with an outback. The whole production schedule is based on apox 16 mold rotation. I'm not at liberty to disclose our mold rotation, but I can give you an example (3 LSV's, 2 outbacks, 3 outback LS's, etc until you get to sixteen models) If you can imagine it is a cycle they go through and then they go through the line again. There are several factors that influence the mold rotation, such as maintanance schedules for the molds, orders for a particular model, and the number of molds we have for a particular model etc. etc. etc. needless to say it is complicated and we can't let the quanity demanded dictate our quality standards. To get on with it the dealers have these slots that are given to them based on projections set forth earlier in the year. (dealers didn't get all the slots they wanted) The slots are then spect out by the dealer based on the customer's desired options. The reason that is possible for a customer to order a boat later and maybe get it sooner than another again depends on the model ordered, mold rotation, slot reserved etc. Or a dealer/ customer can simply drop out and another customer from that same dealership may get the slot. In the case of someone dropping out we will insure that a sold boat, not a stock boat, is moved into that open slot. We appreciate everyone's patience and know that we are doing our very best to get the boats to you guys as soon as we can, at the same time, not compromising quality. Hope this explains a few things. Hit me up with any other questions.

Jay Warren
Marketing Manager

austinlsv
04-13-2004, 10:07 PM
Thanks for the clarification Jay. It is just hard to wait, but it will be worth it.

Shoemaker, as a Tennessee alumni, I ordered the orange LSV. We are actually all the way up stream in Apache Shores. We have the last ramp on the left before the dam. It sure is some cold water up here, but smooth water.

Shoemaker Mobius
04-14-2004, 02:10 PM
Go Rocky Top!!! We usually head up your way to get to the smoother (and less crowded) water. The water near 360 bridge was 68 degrees on Monday. I noticed previously that the water up your way was about 8-10 degrees colder. Monday we only went just past Emma Long Park. But, the previous weekend while we didn't get all the way up by you, we did get up by the Austin Resort & Spa. We turned back because there were huge patches of hydrilla just barely under the water surface, stretching all across the lake. Is hydrilla bad up by Apache Shores?? It doesn't seem to be too bad farther down from the damn. Given this is our first year, what can we expect from the hydrilla? (Where are all those hydrilla-eating carp)?

04-14-2004, 07:43 PM
Originally posted by austinlsv


Thanks for the clarification Jay. It is just hard to wait, but it will be worth it.

Shoemaker, as a Tennessee alumni, I ordered the orange LSV.

Hey, I ordered a orange LSV too!, I'm in Michigan. Can't wait!

brentburtrum
04-14-2004, 07:46 PM
Originally posted by austinlsv


Thanks for the clarification Jay. It is just hard to wait, but it will be worth it.

Shoemaker, as a Tennessee alumni, I ordered the orange LSV.

Hey, i ordered a orange LSV too! Can't wait to pick her up.

Brent

austinlsv
04-15-2004, 07:58 AM
You will earn to not worry about the hydrilla, everyone wants to complain about it and I am actually glad because it may keep people from coming to Lake Austin ans send them to Travis. Those Carp don't work. I think the only way will be to bring in a mulcher each year when they drain it. Our neighborhood did hydrilla control this year around our dock, we will see. Hydrilla is not bad up my way, but around those 2 huge houses near the spa it is bad every year. I have been out 5 or 6 times this year and it seems a little early for hydrilla. You have a filter on your boat so no worries.

So how is the Red LSV riding? Have you completed your break in period?

Shoemaker Mobius
04-15-2004, 12:17 PM
Yep, breakin is done. We have 29 hours on the boat now. This is our first boat so it has been a learning period. We're real glad we got the boat in February so we could get a little seasoning in us before the crowds. We took it out on Lake Travis the first two times from a private marina South Austin Marine uses for demo rides. Since then, we have been going out on Lake Austin at the 360 bridge. Between learning to handle the trailer, my wife driving the boat on and off the trailer, and parking the trailer, we now feel like we can safely do it all and not tie up the boat ramps. It would have been a nightmare trying to learn it now with the crowds on the weekends. We also have had two mishaps that people have told us have indoctrinated us into the boating world. The second time we put in at the 360 bridge I forgot to put in the drain plug. We launched the boat and I parked the trailer. When I went to get picked up, I noticed the bilge pumping water and it seemed the boat was riding low in the water. I realized I hadn't put in the drain plug and frantically signalled my wife to drive the boat in. I ran to the car and did the fastest trailer backing job ever. My wife was about to circle again, but I yelled at her to "bring it in NOW"!! The swim platform was completely under water. She got it in and on the trailer, whereupon she demanded to know why I was yelling at her. After I told her about the drain plug and how I really didn't want our new boat at the bottom of Lake Austin, she understood. I pulled the trailer up and let the boat drain out, put the plug in and we proceeded to have a great day of wakeboarding. That's the first mishap. The second was on a day when only my youngest son, my wife and I went out. Since my youngest son doesn't wakeboard much, we spent some time just cruising around. We headed up toward Austin Marina and the Hula Hut. On the way back we noticed some side inlets with houses and docks and we thought it would go thru to the County Line, so we cruised on in. We got about 100 yards in with more boat docks up ahead (with some relatively large boats), when I looked down and realized we were in extremely shallow water strewen with a bunch of boulders. I hit the reverse and backed up until we could safely turn around. We didn't hit bottom, but we sure stirred up a lot of sand/dirt. As we headed back to the 360 bridge, making a note never to go into those inlets again, I glanced at the temperature gauge and saw it was heading towards 220 degrees. I immediately shutdown and we floated, hoping it would cool down enough to get back to the bridge. After about 10 minutes I started it back up and we were able to go for about 3 minutes before we were back just over 200 degrees. I called South Austin Marine from my cell phone and described the situation to the service guy. He told me that most likely we had sucked up enough sand and dirt to completely clog the strainer. Since it is a V-drive, and I sure didn't even know what a strainer was, he suggested we either get a tow or do a run/shut down-cool off until we could get back. At that point, I knew we couldn't make it back so I flagged down a boater who graciously towed us back to the bridge. By then the engine had cooled down nicely and we were able to start it up to drive it onto the trailer. We took it right over to South Austin Marine where the service guy showed me where the strainer was, removed it, cleaned it out (it was completely clogged), checked a few other hoses and things, then sent us on our way (no charge). Since then, its been running great. My wife is now pretty comfortable with driving the boat and I just started teaching my soon to be 16 year old son how to drive.

BTW, when we got the red LSV, they had a black LSV and an orange LSV they were selling. I know the black one sold, but I thought the orange one was still there. Was it sold when you ordered yours or was it not equipped the way you wanted it???

purplepower
04-15-2004, 03:36 PM
Been there, done that! Try not to let the pressure of launching your boat at a crowded slip ruin your day. You are doing the right thing getting a little practice in while it is quiet. I clip my bilge plug to my ignition key when the boat is on the trailer. If it is still there when I put the key in the ignition, that gets my attention!

A few years ago, I was watching four guys launch a boat. There was not enough incline so the car couldn't get in deep enough to let the boat float off. Plan B was to drive the car back up the ramp, unhook the trailer, and hand launch the boat. As soon as they unhooked, the boat was away. It became obvious that they could not control the weight of the boat. So picture four guys using all their (now rapidly declining) strength just to stop the boat from rolling away. If one of them let go to retrieve the car, the boat would be long gone. In the middle of the panic, my wife and I strolled over with a couple of logs and chocked the wheels. It took some time to convince these guys that they could now release their death grip on the runaway boat. They were so embarassed that they hooked up and left.

So, moral to this story? Not really. Just have a system that takes a minimum of time but gets everthing done safely. Stick to you system even when you feel pressure at a busy ramp. If you foul up, remember it is nothing other boaters have not done before (well this boater anyway). It is not worth ruining a day on the water over.

austinlsv
04-15-2004, 11:39 PM
You now have some good experience. My buddy got his 1st boat 2 years ago and forgot the plug 3 time, IN A ROW! I demoed the orange one and they told me it was sold. I thought it was a little weird because I do not want them using my boat as a demo after I pay for it. It is on the floor, so I think it is jsut a model since they can't get more as a demo. When I talked to skiers choice the other day they said every LSV they make is already sold.

If you ever want to try a ramp that will make you good and not crowded, let me know and I can set you up as a guest at Apache Shores. You have to hit the line on the ramp. A couple times learning it and you can back anywhere. The trick I found best when learning was to keep your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel, look over your right shoulder the whole time. With hand at the bottom, if your hand goes left, so does the trailer. If it goes right, so does the trailer.

Shoemaker Mobius
05-05-2004, 02:24 PM
austinLSV,
Any updates on your orange LSV delivery?? I think your last post said May 26th, but wondered if they were able to bump you forward at all.

austinlsv
05-06-2004, 09:00 AM
My spray date is scheduled for this Monday if all goes well. We will see. All the bad weekend weather this spring has made it easier on me, but I am going crazy waiting.
Are you going out this weekend?

Shoemaker Mobius
05-08-2004, 12:02 PM
austinLSV,
We're planning on spending Mother's Day on Lake Austin. My two sons and I went out on Joby's boat yesterday after school (Joby is the Accessories Sales Manager at South Austin Marine). Joby gave both boys a free wakeboarding lesson for buying their boards and bindings from him. Joby has a 2004 Supra Launch SSV that is loaded with everything. The water was unbelievably calm. Back towards the 360 bridge where we put in, there were a lot of boats, but we started wakeboarding just past Ski Shores and after we got up just shy of Steiner Ranch, there were virtually no boats and the water was pure glass. We ended up just shy of your spot up at Apache Shores. The water temp at the 360 bridge was 66 degrees, up by you it was 57 degrees. My oldest son who is really into boarding looked like a popsickle, but had a ball. Both boys went in without their wetsuits. Joby was able to get my oldest son clearing both wakes easily running a 75 foot rope at 25mph. He was getting about twice as much height in the air than previously. Joby also was able to get my youngest son to be able to get up everytime and he even got some big air and landed it twice, jumping about 2/3rds across the wake. After the boys were finished (about 6:45pm), Joby filled all his ballast bags (900lbs in ski locker - which was filled for the boys boarding and two 800lbers straddling the v-drive) to show the boys what the wake looks like that he boards (although he said he usually adds about 1500lbs more in two fat sacks on the floor). Even without the extra 1500lbs, what a phenomenal wake! He then proceeded to demonstate driving a double-up and triple-up for the boys (and me). We had never seen a live double-up (and I hadn't even heard of a triple-up) - amazing!

Joby gets a new boat each year from Supra on some kind of demo/sponsorship deal. His 2005 is in the works. When it arrives, he then sells this 2004 - I almost wish I could just buy his 2004. At any rate, a great, short day of boarding for the boys. But, the reality of the sport hit home when we were preparing to take out at the 360 bridge. Some guy (looked to be in his 30s) came in minutes before we arrived at the ramp, in a red Tige that had dislocated his left shoulder on a fall on his wakeboard. The ambulance arrived as we hit the ramp area and took the guy off on a stretcher. A little sobering for the boys, but they both are not concerned with themselves - after all, they ARE invincible in their minds. They both can't wait until Sunday to hit it again.

austinlsv
05-09-2004, 09:54 AM
That is great that they have gotten that good so fast. Man what I would give to have started wakeboarding at such a young age.

I found out some good news, they started making my boat last week, a week early. So I should be taking delivery in 8-10 days. We went out on my buddy's boat Friday and Saturday boarding. Nice weather and not too crowded. Austin got a bit crowded around 2 PM Saturday. My buddy has an old boat not made for boarding, but we make it work. As we were coming off the water something started slipping, so no more boating until mine comes in.

I saw several Moomba's out yesterday. What time of day do you put on?

Shoemaker Mobius
05-10-2004, 10:06 AM
We usually put in before 11am and take out around 4pm - trying to avoid the crowds. Yesterday we put in at the 360 bridge at 10am and took out at 1:15pm. We got up by Apache Shores just before noon - the first time we went up that far. I think I saw your boat ramp - long and narrow, I can see where it would be a trailer backing test.

The water was great up until around 12:30, then it got windy and boat crowded back towards Ski Shores. We had the lake to ourselves, though from Steiner Ranch up to Apache Shores.

That's great news on your boat - hope you get it soon. I posted a couple pictures of our red Mobius - take a look at this link and look in the Wakeboarding album. The wakeboarding pictures are of my oldest son taken several months ago. He is much improved now and gets almost 5 times higher air now.

http://community.webshots.com/user/garyshoe

austinlsv
05-18-2004, 09:18 AM
Finally getting my boat today. I will be spending all day on Travis working on the break in period and the 2nd half of tomorrow.

Shoemaker Mobius
05-18-2004, 12:30 PM
Congratulations. I may have seen your boat at South Austin Marine Saturday around 4pm. There was a new orange LSV waiting to be prepped for delivery. Have fun.

morphious
05-18-2004, 01:42 PM
I saw an Orange LSV yesterday when I was there.

austinlsv
05-18-2004, 11:23 PM
If you saw one on a black trailer, that was it. I was able to get 6.5 hrs on it today. Everything ran perfect. The only minor issue was trying to get the trailor to get on my hitch on the truck, took about 20 minutes. I hope it loosens up over time. That is minor, I am just glad everything ran well today. And the sound system souns great!

I had measured my garage and estimated it would fit by about 2 inches. When I pulled in it fit by about 1/2 inch. Whew!

Had a blast cruising all around. Just a little more breaking in and should be able to board tomorrow.

brentburtrum
05-19-2004, 02:39 PM
Anyone know how long it takes them to make a boat from spray date to finish.

My boat was sprayed on May 4th, and i am just wondering when i can expect delivery.

Brent

austinlsv
05-19-2004, 04:12 PM
Mine was sprayed May 4 and I took delivery yesterday.

brentburtrum
05-19-2004, 04:18 PM
I wonder if you got my boat! I had a orange LSV sprayed on the 4th, i called my dealer last weekend they said "i don't know"

Brent

brentburtrum
05-19-2004, 04:23 PM
I wonder if anyone from skiers Choice is listening and can check on it. I called my dealer, and they "can't do anything"

It's a orange Mobius LSV with 320 motor. It is for Club Royale in Waterford, MI
My name is Brent Burtrum. If anyone wants to contact me my number is 269-274-1076

P.S. Order was placed in late February 2004.

Brent getting unpatient Burtrum

austinlsv
05-20-2004, 08:20 AM
I know what you are going through. My order was placed in late January. Hang in there. I started calling Skier's Choice directly. You may want to try that route. I doubt I got your boat since all my options were on the boat.

brentburtrum
05-20-2004, 10:50 AM
Good idea, call the factory.

Just talked to a VERY nice woman down their and she says the boat is done, but there are no trucks available to put it on. As soon as a truck comes it, it will head out.

Brent

Shoemaker Mobius
05-21-2004, 09:44 AM
AustinLSV,
I need updates - how's the new boat?? Based on your last post, you should be well broken in and boarding like crazy now.

My son participated in the Liquidforce Tour Across America outing on Wednesday this week. It was launched out of the Steiner Ranch Lake Club. What a great deal for $40- he got two hours of ride time instruction on a boat by himself driven by Greg Lawrence and another pro in the boat (from 5pm - 7pm). They had about 8 boats out there doing the clinics. Greg's boat was a sharp looking blue 2004 Gravity Games Supra SSV. I rode along and what a huge difference it is seeing all these boats, driven by guys that know the ropes. In spite of the high boat traffic volume, these guys know how to maximize good water, passing and driving the right way to do so. Pretty unlike most of the yoyos I have encountered on normal Lake Austin days. I must say, though that most of the yoyos aren't the wakeboarders, but the cruiser boats pulling tubes.

austinlsv
05-22-2004, 09:26 AM
I drove right past you guys. That was our last day of break in. I was shocked at the traffic of Wed afternoon. Greg lives in our neighborhood, each year he has a sweet ride. Yesterday was the 1st time wakeboarding behind it. It was so much better than my last boat. I am surprised you didn't see the bright orange boat go by.

We are going out around 10 this morning.

Shoemaker Mobius
05-22-2004, 10:34 AM
Son of a gun - I did see you. I saw the orange boat heading in the direction of Apache Shores and I thought it was an LSV, but Greg commented on the nice orange XLV. I figured he got a better look at it than I did and I also figured you were on Lake Travis again. Did you have two dogs on the boat?

My son might be going to Ft. Worth tomorrow with Joby for the Pro tour event, but if he doesn't we'll probably be out around 10am. Today I have yard work. Your boat looks great!

brentburtrum
05-25-2004, 03:25 PM
Well, i got the best call a man can get before memorial day weekend. My boat is in being prepped at the dealership, gonna pick it up tomorrow at 3pm.

Of course something went wrong somewhere along the line. They forgot about some of the options i ordered. Water strainer, rear remote, 3 bag ballast, pop-up cleats.

Of course the dealership blames skier's choice, and i'm sure skier's choice will blame the dealership. At least it is all fixable. Just more time the boat spends off the water.

I'll post a pic tmorrow.

Brent Burtrum

NLindellDC
06-23-2004, 04:36 PM
Hey guys....
For the last few minutes, I've been reading all your posts and have gotten sick to my stomach....I just ordered an LSV from South Austin Marine on June 12th. They told me it would be ready in early August, "guaranteed" by Aug. 14th.
And now, after reading all this, I'm just sick. I guess I should stay in contact with skier's choice, huh? Anybody have that number?

Nathan

austinlsv
06-23-2004, 10:17 PM
Here is the number. What color did you get? Do you have a ride now?

Toll-Free: 1-800-320-2779

NLindellDC
06-25-2004, 09:21 AM
Thanks for the number Austin LSV.....
I ordered a tri-color that is navy blue with the orange accent.....should be nice.
The timing of the boat is a big deal to me because my entire family has all made arrangements to take off work for a whole week and go skiing the week of Aug. 16th. So if my boats not ready by Aug. 14th as promised, I'm gonna be livid.

Currently my buddy and I wakeboard behind his classic 1979 ski nautique with 500 lb. ballast bag....not a bad wake. This new boat will obviously be a huge improvement in luxury...can hardly wait.

So do you think it will help to call skier's choice and inquire about my "spray date"? Will the "squeaky wheel" get the oil in this case? And, when I do call, how do they reference the boat? Is it by last name and dealer? Thanks a lot for the info. Glad to hear you're enjoying your new ride!

Bigblue
06-25-2004, 11:01 AM
NLindellDC

I hope everything goes well on your boat. I just got a new LSV this year and it is nav with orange accents. If you have not seen one thought you may want to take a look. I love the colors combo on mine.

Hope you get your on time.

NLindellDC
06-25-2004, 11:18 AM
BigBlue--

Man, is that a good looking boat! I knew I picked those colors for a reason! It almost looks black in the pic....I knew the navy was awfully dark, but it's nice. Thanks for the pic....now it really gives me something to look forward to!

NLindellDC
06-25-2004, 04:18 PM
Wow--I called Skier's Choice today--they are super nice. Jackie told me that they did get behind during March-May, but are all caught up now. She said my spray date is still late July. Whew, such a relief. Thanks for the advice, guys!

dmgx
06-28-2004, 04:24 PM
If you don't get Jackie on the 800 number here is her cell number. Just Kidding. All joking aside your dealer should be your point of contact. Jackie has to deal with the 100+ dealers we have, you could see that if the end consumers started calling too how much it would bog her down. Please don't take this the wrong way we, we love hearing from you guys, but on this particular issue and with her particular job (the schedule) it could grind this place to a halt, which isn't good for anybody. Regards,

Jay Warren
Marketing Manager