Since the start of 2020, we have been working hard towards improving the facilities & services Liverpool Marina offers its berth holders. The focus on health & safety, upgrading our equipment & facilities and the digitisation of our operation were key focus points which were intensified by COVID-19.
Now, our focus for this year and next is on our sailing for sport, cruising & visitor communities, as well as our carbon footprint & our environmental responsibilities.
There is already a lot going on behind the scenes at Liverpool Marina and with more in the pipeline, it sure is going to be a busy year!
Office Update - 24 Hour Operation
From August 1st 2023, we will be moving to a 24 hour operation. The marina office is now the small office in the foyer which is home to Aaron our Berthing Master and Karen our Office Manager. The front door is shortly to be changed to a new glass door which we hope will make it a little more inviting to come and say hello!
All lock keepers have been retrained as Marina Operatives where they can operate the lock but also provide access cards, raise contracts, onboard new customers, clear grounds, look after the facilities and conduct security walks throughout the night. The top watch office is due to be refurbished for better visibility across both docks.
You will notice our Marina Operatives walking the pontoons through the night wearing high vis jackets, head torches, handheld torches & life jackets. Not only will our marina operatives be able to assist you with any issues you may have at any time of the day, but they will also be there to meet and greet any new arrivals as they enter. We welcome this change in operation but accept that as a new service, there will undoubtedly be adjustments to make as we go along. If you have any feedback on the service you receive during the hours of 5pm - 5am, please email me personally on chloe@liverpoolmarina.com.
TransEurope Marinas
I am delighted to announce that we have partnered with TransEurope Marinas and Pick-a-Pier - digital berth booking platforms designed to make booking a berth far easier along the route. TransEurope Marinas offers 50% off visitor berthing to any of our long term berth holders at any of their partnered marinas for up to 5 nights a year. Likewise, long term berth holders of partnering marinas will receive the same discount at Liverpool Marina. We hope this partnership will open our marina back up to the visitor community and it'll be a great benefit to our existing cruising & sailing for sport berth holders.
New Meet & Greet Service!
You may have noticed that we have reserved and renamed the berths on BB from 01 - 06, VB01 - VB06 which stands for Visitor Berths. BB was selected as it is the easiest leg to navigate to from the lock, are large berths for vessels up to 13m and the closest to the marina facilities. I would like to thank all those who were relocated off BB for their understanding whilst we completed the changes.
In addition to the allocation of dedicated visitor berthing, we have introduced a new 'meet & greet' service whereby a member of our team will meet all new arrivals at their allocated berth with their welcome pack & access cards. They will assist them into the berth and show them around the facilities. To date, we have received excellent feedback on this new service offering and we are delighted to soon be able to offer it 24 hours a day.
New Recruits!
Please give a warm welcome to our new recruits.
In the main marina office we have Karen Cassin, our new Marina Office Manager. Karen joins us from Tattenhall Marina, and as a Marina Berth Holder, is already very familiar with our operation. She has lots of idea to bring to the table, and we look forward to working with Karen on continual improvement initiatives. Welcome Karen!
We also have Aaron Walton, our new Berthing Master. Aaron joins us from Conwy Marina where he was Berthing Master. Aaron is responsible for bringing synergy between the lock & marina operation; retraining the current Lock Keepers to Marina Operatives and introducing best practices and policies. Welcome Aaron!
Robert McKinneley has joined us a Marina Operative from the Isle of Mann where we worked as port security. Rob has settled into the role to date very well and we look forward to a bright future with us. Welcome Rob!
Darren O'Dea rejoins us Marina Operative after a short period away. Darren has an excellent can-do attitude and is a welcome addition to have back with us!
Electricity Update
A detailed update regarding the government electricity discount, overcharges & credits has been posted separately. As a summary, all berth holders who were contracted before April 2023 on Coburg are due £50 credit, and all berth holders contracted before April 2023 on Brunswick are due £13 credit. Our team are working through each bollard and will send you confirmation update once your unit has been credited.
From the 1st August, the bollards will be amended to £1.21ppu as the previously explained government discount ended in April and this will remain until 1st of October at £0.56ppu before VAT, CCL & SC. However, we are working towards reducing this further, hopefully around the 0.30ppu mark. Once I am able to provide further clarity and facts, I will send a separate update.
Read the full electricity post here
Blue Flag & Clean Marina
As one of our focus's this year is to improve our carbon footprint & drill down on our environmental responsibilities, we will be working towards achieving the Blue Flag & Clean Marina accreditations.
The application process has already begun, a process which is both educational and enlightening. Taking the business through this process will naturally lead to process improvements but may mean that some of our processes as they are today are adapted or even removed. There will also be updates on existing policies which we will ensure to inform you of as and when they're updated via email. Your full co-operation will be appreciated whilst we work through this project.
Satisfaction Surveys
Historically we have sent annual satisfaction surveys to berth holders via Survey Monkey. These surveys have always been anonymous and have been essential for us to determine our current net promoter score as a business, gather essential feedback towards improvements and uncover critical issues to address.
In order to work towards our continual improvement programme, we would like to gather feedback more often. We will be issuing feedback surveys every three months which will ask a series of general questions about the facilities and services, but also for feedback on our team. We will use the NPS scores to generate a reward scheme for our team, to ensure they feel well rewarded for going above and beyond.
These surveys will still be anonymous but will be issued from my email address, as is a requirement by the survey provider.
Price increases
Due to inflation and market demands, our prices will be increasing by 5% across the board. If you are on a rolling contract, the increases will take effect from the 29th September 2023. If are on an annual contract, the increases will take effect from the date of your renewal.
Mini Market
Plans to use the old front office as a convenience store are underway. We are awaiting a go live date from the operator which we will update you on as soon as we can.
Liverpool Marina Membership
Plans to introduce a Liverpool Marina Membership card are on the table. This membership scheme would allow customers such as the canoe club, LYC crew members free parking, individual access cards for access to showers & facilities, discounts on bar & restaurant and discounts on RYA courses. Talks about this membership card are at infantile stages but we're open to ideas and suggestions from you all. Please send any thoughts or comments to me directly at chloe@liverpoolmarina.com
Swans
We're delighted to see our gorgeous swans back! This pair love to peck their beaks on windows for a little breakfast, but please do not feed them bread. Bird seed & vegetables are a good diet for swans and won't make them poorly in the long run.
We've yet to name them, so a naming competition will be going live on Instagram & Facebook soon. The winner will be voted for by you, and awarded a choice of a free boat wash / meal for two with a drink at The Yacht Club or £50 electricity card! Keep your eyes peeled!
New photos
We recently had new photographs taken of the marina & the facilities to showcase the recent improvements. You can view the photos via the gallery page on our website!
Thank you
We'd like to say a huge thank you to all of you for your compliance in keeping the pontoons clear & tidy of storage boxes & flower pots. The pontoons are looking much better and our recent H&S evaluator was very pleased indeed!
Post
I have been made aware of an issue regarding Amazon deliveries and issues with post going missing. We try to provide known postal workers with an access cards to ensure they can safely deliver your parcels, without cluttering up our office spaces or leaving them in public spaces. However, we cannot control their staff turnover. Please try to ensure your post is delivered during office hours, or if it is a valuable item, we recommend you have it delivered to a safe locker at the garage over the road. This issue will hopefully evaporate when the 24/7 operation comes into play, but please help us help you in the interim,
CCTV
We have recently upgraded our CCTV cameras to expand to the furthest extremities of the marina in order to better protect you all. Training on this new system is due for myself and all members of staff. In the meantime whilst we await this essential training to take place, our CCTV provider can review CCTV footage if urgent or if a criminal offence has taken place. In order to do this, we will need exact times and locations.
Brunswick Room - Class room
Plans are underway to transform the Brunswick room above the function room back into a berth holder office space / classroom. We require a space for our staff training, and are currently pulling together a calendar of industry related talks and training sessions which will be free for you all to attend. We hope to share more news about the Brunswick room progress shortly.
If you would like to discuss any of the topics mentioned above, please call me on 07711959222 or email chloe@liverpoolmarina.com.
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