A Short Season with a Lasting Impact

Customer service is no longer a single administrative job left to the person at a marina who answers the phone. Customer care must extend through every role at a marina to retain boaters looking for marinas that offer not just storage but a resort atmosphere. It’s a challenge to build a customer-centric workforce, but sometimes the challenge is not only met but well-exceeded.

Sun Life Buffalo Harbor Marina, located on Lake Erie in Buffalo, New York, has taken customer service to a higher level, leading to the marina winning the Marina of the Year Customer Service award. “While our approach drives revenue, it’s the guest experience that ultimately drives everything we do,” said Nanette Pease, general manager of Sun Life Buffalo Harbor Marina. “Our work is much more than an investment. It’s a passion.”

Sun Life Marinas took over the property nine years ago, and Pease has been the manager for the past five of those years. The marina has 1,056 in-water slips, 99 jet ski ports and an additional 30 transient and hourly slips. The season is short, but Pease said the marina fills its annual leases quickly. She accepts lease deposits until March 1 and currently has just 50 open slots for this year.

The short season is due to the harsh winter weather in Buffalo that necessitates that the marina move the fuel dock and any docks that would be exposed to surge or current. Both inner and outer breakwaters surround the basin, and the docks are moved next to them, where they’ll be protected. The rest of the docks are permanent floating docks that can remain in place. Pease calls the weather her biggest challenge.

Adding What the Public Wants
Amenities on the property are all contracted, but they work closely together to ensure customer needs are met. Freedom Boat Club, a restaurant, boat brokerage and boat detailing operations all have leases. Adding to the contracts, Pease said she was approached last year by a group, Avalon, that wanted to start a concierge program, and after one season, Pease said she will be welcoming them back. “They bring anything a boater wants to our gate, and the boater lets them in to complete the delivery,” she said. “They run around town picking up all kinds of things and then deliver, so the customers don’t have to leave their boats, and they love it.”

The boaters are not the only customers on site. As a marina that leases land from New York State Parks, the public has access around the marina during nearby summer concerts and other events. The staff treats everyone with respect but also understands the parks police are ready at a moment’s notice to help if needed. “The best thing about being on state property is the great communication we have with the parks police,” Pease said. “They do regular patrols, and their response time is immediate any time of day or night. We can have a lot of people visiting the marina, and you never know what could happen.”

Instead of focusing on the challenges of being open to the public, the marina has embraced its role in the community and steadily grown its events and fundraisers to support those who live around it. The restaurant on site, Charlie’s Boat Yard, along with the slip holders, host a dinghy poker run each year and donates the proceeds to Catching Dreams – an organization that takes young adults with cancer on fishing charters. Last year, they donated $9,000. The marina also started a Christmas in July boat parade last year, accepting canned goods throughout the day to support a local food bank. A slip at the marina is also donated to the boat Excalibur, which takes New York residents with developmental disabilities on boat rides. “We do it because everybody needs help, and that’s what we’re all about,” Pease said. “We have 1,100 boaters here, and if they can donate or help, together we make a big difference. We are a community, so it’s easy to spread the word and have people jump in to help.”

One Big Family
The marina staff also feel part of the greater community. New hires spend an entire day with an experienced staff member to learn their new duties, but the main lesson is that customers are the priority. Whether dockhand or manager, the team is told to always make themselves available, find answers to all questions and be seen.

One of the maintenance techs plants a community garden each year that’s filled with flowers, vegetables and spices that anyone can come and take. Pease said the garden is so impressive people come from all over Buffalo just to see it.

Perhaps the community feel is best emphasized with the marina cat, Sabrina from the Marina. A kitten was found six years ago living under the office porch, and the slip holders started to feed and care for her. The cat never left, and Pease said customers even stop by in the winter when the facility is closed just to say hello to Sabrina and bring her treats.

Pease said Sun Life Buffalo Harbor Marina attended the Docks Expo in 2023 and was encouraged to apply to the Marina of the Year awards. She said winning the Customer Service award means a lot because the company is growing and expanding and trying to do better each year, and the award recognizes those efforts. To sum up the customer service approach at Buffalo Harbor, Pease said, “When we separate in the winter and then return in the spring, it’s like a big family reunion. We all miss each other and spend the next month catching up.”