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when the Disney trainers mentioned that for some reason people driving on I-4 in Florida unzip
their head, remove their brain, and end up at our park. The exact same thing happens with our
rental pontoon boats! The reason is… boating is fun. Therefore, customers don’t think about
the dangers, that’s our job. We need to have clear rules up front.
So how do we create the Best Lake Minnetonka Experience?

We use the four tiers to success: Safety, Courtesy, Experience, and Efficiency

Safety: We start at the top. Without safety there can be no positive experiences. Everything
we do has a “Safety-Centric” focus. From our gas dock, rentals and store to our parking lots,
repair shop and warehouses. Everything is safety first.

Courtesy: Yes, we will use courtesy. We have a staff that is stern, but polite. But here’s the
secret. If safety is in jeopardy, they can use whatever means necessary to enforce safety. That
may sound like a risk, but again, visit safety. Without safety there can be no positive
experience. If someone is smoking at the gas dock, it is unsafe. If a rental boat is coming into
the dock and someone is sitting on the rails, it is a safety risk. If someone has a child that runs
in front of the forklift, this is dangerous. You must never sacrifice safety for courtesy. After
the immediate danger has passed, courtesy is reinstated.

Experience: The Best Lake Minnetonka Experience is our mission. This involves Safety and
Courtesy. It also involves sharing knowledge of Lake Minnetonka. We created a 16 page book,
what to do on a boat on Lake Minnetonka to help potential boat club members understand what
opportunities await on the lake. There are towns to visit, festivals to enjoy, public docks,
historical museums, trolley rides, steam boat tours, in addition to boating. We want our
customers to make the area their second home because we want boating to be the center of their
fun. We have a beautiful 50 mile long trail that runs along side the marina. We have customers
do the “surf and turf” where they boat then bike. Some walk to the drive-in restaurant that’s a
mile away… any of these opportunities enhances their Lake Minnetonka experience.

Efficiency: Efficiency saves money. We bought our new forklift in 2007. The new forklift has
sealed drums for the brakes. The unintended consequence of the new braking system allows us
to drive into the water and get the wheels wet.
(Our launching ramp is a gradual entry, not a
reverse carriage). Prior to this we used to pull in
the lake to the bottom of the wheel well, set the
boat down, back up, pick up the boat, drive in
further, and let the boat float. This one change
with the forklift braking system sped up our time
on the ramp by 1 ½ minutes per launch. That may
not seem huge… but on a 50 launch 50 haul out
day, that’s over 100 runs on the ramp or 3 hours of
work time.

Our efficiency skyrocketed. That encouraged us to
retrofit our second forklift due to the efficiency of the new forklift. In the evenings we never

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