HERE S YOUR ONE-STOP-SHOP OR MARINE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

The code requires member organisations to:

■ Comply with all relevant legislation;

■ Maintain adequate levels of public liability, employer’s liability, occupier’s liability and professional indemnity liability insurance cover applicable to their business;

■ Strive to maintain the best practicable standard of service to their customers, treating them fairly and courteously;

■ Acknowledge customer’s reasonable enquiries or complaints promptly and respond to them within a reasonable period of time;

■ Where appropriate, encourage their customers to refer disputes which arise between them, and which cannot be resolved amicably, for resolution under the British Marine Mediation Scheme.

Some associations, for example British Marine Boat Retailers & Brokers, have additional sector specific safeguards to which all members of that association must also adhere. This includes members who hire day boats and holidays boats on the inland waterways or Broads, who must hold a current Quality Assured Boatyard scheme certificate at all times.

For many of us, when we start looking for a specific product or service our first stop is most likely an online search, followed by endless scrolling through customer reviews to determine whether or not they are a reputable business offering quality products and services.

The same can be said for sourcing marine products. You may start by searching online or follow up a word-of-mouth recommendation, but one sure fire way to find high-quality marine products and services with guaranteed high standards and great service is via the British Marine ‘Find a member’ tool.

‘Find a member’ is a one stop shop of all British Marine’s 1,500+ members offering a range of marine products and services, including boating holidays and charter companies, chandlery and marine stores, boat builders, riggers and decking suppliers as well as training course providers and many more. ‘Find a member’ has been designed to be easy to use and you can search for members by keyword as well as location. So, whether you are looking for boat rentals in Windermere or safety equipment in Surrey, a simple search will show you all the member organisations within a given radius offering the products and services you are looking for.

You will receive details of all the relevant companies meeting your search criteria with details of the distance from your search postcode, description of the company, relevant contact details, social media information and a link to their website.

It is also great way for British Marine member organisations to find products and services that fellow members can provide.

Take a look at mymembership.britishmarine.co.uk/ membership/find-a-member

British Marine Code of Practice

Although ‘Find a member’ does not list all marine businesses, only those who are members of British Marine, one of the benefits of ‘Find a member’ is you know you are dealing with a company that adheres to a professional code of practice.

British Marine believes it is critical for customers to be able to trust each of its members, so all British Marine member companies are required to abide by British Marine’s Code of Practice.

This Code of Practice outlines the expected conduct and business practices of its members and all members are required to annually declare themselves as compliant with the Code of Practice.

Look out for the logo

Another way to identify a British Marine member organisation is by looking out for the British Marine logo.

Long established as a sign of quality in the marine sector, many member organisations display this logo on their promotional material and websites to let customers know they are dealing with a business that meets British Marine’s high standards, whether they are buying a boat or any marine-related service or product.

So, next time you are looking for a marine business or service, visit ‘Find a member’ or look out for the British Marine logo.

British Marine is the trade association for the UK leisure, superyacht and small commercial marine industry. Our 1,500+ members come from a broad range of businesses including boat builders, chandlers, brokers, marinas, passenger boats and engines. British Marine also own and operate the o thampton nternational Boat ho and ondon ry oat as ell as r nnin the onthewater.co.uk website (www.onthewater.co.uk) to help connect people with their local watersports’ providers, from sailing in Scotland to kayaking in Kent. Find out more about British Marine at www.britishmarine.co.uk.