Hi Christopher,
Thank you for your feedback! We're sorry - we usually do better. I hope you give us the opportunity to try again
Best wishes,
Team Barnes Brinkcraft
“All to plan. Uncomfortable seat angle.Difficult forward vision through metal frame of windscreen. In 0ver60 years of boat hire never had no possibility of forward mooring rope being used. Very enjoyable day otherwise.
Friendly very helpful boatyard assistant on day.”
“We had an amazing time on the broads. The customer service and boat Sonnet 1 experience was, however quite poor. Sonnet 1 toilet desperately needs an opening window and adequate draft and rain proofing around the sliding roof areas. We bought some pipe lagging to prevent inclement weather penetrating. Our experience of poor customer service was at the start of our holiday when we were advised that Sonnet was not ready, we eagerly awaited a phone call whilst parked adjacent to Sonnet. We watched the preparations which appeared to be compled then sat waiting for a further 2 and a half hours where no activity took place. During this time I went into the reception and was told Sonnet was not ready. We anticipated more activity but none happened. There were many cruisers being prepared and dispatched and reception was busy, I would presume we had been overlooked. At 4.30 (we had arrived at 11.30) Daniel approached us and politely ask why we were there, advising we were waiting for Sonnet and a phone call Daniel made and enquiry and advised us that Sonnet was ready and we could board and he would send someone. I collected life jackets from an empty reception where the staff appeared to be embarrassed. All other boats and guests had already been despatched. An engineer boarded for the trial run and apologised. This has been our 15th time on the broads having hired several boats from Barnes and I am very disappointed with this event. I would like to suggest a much more customer focused experience for customer arrivals and would welcome an opportunity to help you review and improve your current processes. Kindest regards Sandra Stokes”
Dear Sandra,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience — and for your continued loyalty to Barnes Brinkcraft over so many visits to the Broads. We’re truly sorry we got it wrong this time. You were completely overlooked on arrival, and that’s not the service we aim to provide.
We really appreciate your patience and understanding, and we’re looking carefully at how we can prevent this happening again. We’re currently developing a customer app that will help improve communication around boat readiness and check-in — it should make things much clearer for everyone in the future.
That said, we know technology won’t ever replace genuine, attentive service, and we’ll be reinforcing that with the team too. We’re all human, but we should have done better.
Thank you again for your thoughtful feedback and for offering to help us improve — it means a great deal.
Kind regards,
The Barnes Brinkcraft Team
“Very well organised, staff super friendly & efficient & dealt with our late change of booking with sympathy & no fuss. Handover of the boat & transfer of stuff on board was again well planned & made it very easy for us oldies.
Felt reassured that our holiday would be well managed.
Would like to see a little more consideration to environment in terms of eco washing up liquid, etc. Other than that a fabulous experience that we would recommend.”
Hi David
Many thanks for your kind review. We take your point about the eco washing up liquid - and will look into it
Hope to see you again soon
The Barnes Brinkcraft Team
“I had trouble with a form at the end of booking trying to record names. I was not told that I would receive an email with a similar form to complete. Also the opportunity to determine bedding requirements was somehow lost.”
Hi Richard
Thanks for the feedback - this is really useful. We will try and improve on this. I must admit we ask several times as we don't always get the information we need the first time we ask !!
Yours
The Barnes Brinkcraft Team
“This was our 3rd time staying in the lodges and we have had 2 boats as well. We have also booked for next year
The staff are always very helpful and make things easy so we can enjoy our break. Having the day boat out of peak season is an added bonus.
Thank you to the team at barnes brinkcraft.”
“As always the experiance with Barns Brinkcraft can only be discribed as as good as can be. We have in the past used other companys, and to be fair, they have all been good. However since using Barnes Brinkcraft we feel we have found the best. Though we are not getting any younger, while we can we will continue so sail ( cruse ) with you, Yours Keith & Sue Woonton. North Yorks.”
“Really lovely clean accommodation overlooking the river. Plenty of space for us as a family of 6 and the welcome bits (Prosecco, tea & coffee) were really appreciated. Kids loved the day boat, we had a great weekend and will definitely return in the future.”
Thanks Samantha - we aim to please and hope to see you soon. BTW - we are currently running an early booking discount for 2026 !
Yours
The Barnes Brinkcraft Team
