"How to Handle a Complaint Well"

We hired the largest boat for 6 of us and whilst it was generally fine, there were obvious faults but they didn't really affect the weekend which was good fun. We had a steering problem on the second day and phoned them at 6.00pm and within an hour a guy came round and fixed it. When I got back I sent a message with a list of the problems and after a few days, I received an apology and an offer of compensation. It isn't just what a company offers but, if you have problems, how it deals with them. And they did this well.

"Absolutely loved every minute of it"

Absolutely loved every minute of it , hired 2 boats after looking around for months and got the best deal with Herbert's by far! Boats all worked as they should , same can't be said for us as skippers😂. Slight confusion at start as to whether we could leave dock? One boat allowed to leave the other not. Apart from that was a pleasure 👍

"From booking right through the holiday…"

From booking right through the holiday a great company to deal with if any minor thing is car parking but they find space for you

"Friendly yard staff, terrible boat and customer service."

Easy check in, and boat ready early. Second day engine overheated, engineers attended and advised weed filter blocked. This was a reoccurrence wherever we went for the entire 2 weeks, and we constantly had to pull over and clear, despite carrying out the daily engine checks, (I've been boatng on the Broads for over 40 years so understand the importance of these checks).
Day 3 and we've no gas, bottle empty, and only the 3rd time we'd used it, so it was running on memories when we collected the boat.
Minimal cruising due to the weed filter issue, and not run hard due to overheating, and I had the pleasure 3 months after the holiday, to be informed, for the first time, I owe £56 for fuel, and it's OK if its an "oversight", but please pay urgently.
On the plus side the yard staff are friendly. Really couldn't fault them. But I'll be spending my money elsewhere in future.

"Avoid Herbert woods boats are filthy…"

Avoid Herbert woods boats are filthy that’s all I’ve got to say

"Sewage"

Well we have been hanging on to write about our trip with Herbert Woods. But we have been hanging for a refund. Thought we would try and do the decent thing and give them a chance. But it seems like they don't want to take that chance so now I can tell everybody exactly what happened and what to look out for. We were booked in on the Evesham light for a week.. On arrival the whole boat stank of diesel, the boat looked completely dated and not particularly clean. But we decided that because it was my last trip on the Broads. To try and give this boat a go, and make it work. Prior to this I had been on the Broads about 7 or 8 times from a child up to my adult adventures. So not particularly impressed by first sight things got gradually worse. Firstly with the electrics. We were told that we would need to run the boat for four hours to get a decent charge which we did on three of our days or since we had been there. But low and behold when we try to charge our phones and maybe watching telly afterwards we would get a beeping noise which meant that the battery was not coping with the electrics. I am not a technical man about these things but it would cut off the electric literally .., so while trying to get our evenings entertainment we could not watch the TV which was about it apart from maybe reading books. We had brought a number of films with us thought we would, see the evenings through with them. But that seemed like it wasn't going to happen. We still carried on with the trip, managed did what we could just play along with the old boat. We even manage a couple of nights but honestly these boats are so outdated they need a revamp or binning off and a new Fleet. If only that was the only problem we had. low and behold, unknown to us our toilet was filling up and starting to overflow and by the time we got to the third day there was s*** and p.. s everywhere in the shower/toilet room. After my wife had had a shower in the second morning we were starting to be flooded with this horrible liquid. To cut a long story short it was so disgusting we obviously went back to base which now was taking up another day of our holiday. We had contacted Herbert Woods and they suggested we come back to base. For those of you with any experience you know you can't go very quick on the Norfolk Broads. Which is the whole idea of the holiday pretty much. On the phone call they said they would possibly would give us another boat or give us a boat we could use during the day and come back once they had repaired and tidied up the boat we were using. Now that might sound fair but on the Norfolk Broads when you lose a day like this you're losing two days. And we didn't want a day launch because most of the day had gone anyway. We gave it some thought but on arrival back there was another couple that had the same problem with a toilet situation and also an engine situation. where the boat nearly caught fire through engine trouble. And that just about swayed it for us we weren't interested in anything anymore on the Norfolk Broads. We had enough the smell was awful and had made as quite ill. When we got back there was a H Woods employee that tried to accuse my wife of leaving the pedal down in the toilet. which shouldn't be able to happen anyway. I'm glad he was out of my reach. Because he would have been in the drink. After having such a horrible situation like that to be accused and say it was our fault was just bang out of order. And that definitely finished it. we thought well, we will come away and see what happens with a refund. Which we fully deserve a whole refund let alone a part of one. So our holiday was in ruins my last time on the Broads and they have offered us £100 for half of our holiday. Well folks all I can say is. Be careful when dealing with these people. if this is what they are like to us. I know Richardson's boats are lot better I've used them. We are now waiting to hear back from Herbert Woods. if only you could have just dealt with this better and treat us fairly that's all we wanted. So beware when using Herbert Woods.. You're better off trying to hire a skip and see if it floats.

"Rude and obnoxious!"

So, first off, I have to say the ladies on reception were spot on. Unfortunately I can't say the same for the, as he was happy to tell me. 'Fleet coordinator' I love the Norfolk Broads but my little boat is too small to spend any decent amount of time on so on a recent short visit, my wife and I decided to look around a few boat yards for a 2 week rental in 2022. Herbert Woods was high on our list but thanks to this rude and obnoxious employee that will not be happening and would advise anyone reading this goes elsewhere. The whole reason for his behavior was all because, and wait for this... Desperate for the loo we moored and went to use the facilities before paying the 1 hour fee of £4! Yes you did read that right. On returning to our boat we found this obnoxious scruffy looking employee rolling a cigarette in his car waiting to question us on the what how and where we had been and had we payed. Explaining the situation seemed to mean nothing but I bit my lip and went to pay. Unfortunately that still was wasn't enough. I then was beckened over to discuss my payment on paying and displaying my receipt so it could be seen. That fact I wasn't given one didn't sit week at all. 'I will discuss this with reception' is what he said, he then rolled himself another cigarette before walking of to do, I assume what was needed about me not being issued with a recipet! Let's not forget, this was all about £4 and it's also worth mentioning that the keyhearding didn't even have anywhere other than waste pump out pipes to tie ropes.
I think it's worth noting that we were also told several times that everything we did was on CCTV.
If this is the meatality for an hour, I dread to think what would be expected for any lenghy service. Don't bother, take your money elsewhere!

"Excellent service and a relaxing holiday"

Two couples on Tranquil Light 2 with a late booking. Herbert Woods were helpful and efficient in the handover and return. The Northern Broads were busy for the time of year and moorings were no problem but best found by 1500. This was our first time on the Broads and in a boat of this size but it was easily manageable, although others seemed to have some difficulty. We didn't have a bow thruster, if you're nervous book a boat with one. If you like beer, moor in Salhouse Broad and walk to the Fur and Feathers next to its own brewery. If you like a plateful of great food go to the Ferry Inn at Stokesby. Thank you, this won't be our last visit.

"Holiday"

Had a great week on Dancing Light 2 the boat was really nice and spacious for 5 adults and 3 children .The broads are a beautiful place to go.The only complaint I have is that one of the toilets hadn't been pumped out so we were one toilet down so always check they have been pumped out.Herbert Woods is a company I would recommend.

"Reception Manager has a lot to answer for..."

29th year on the broads so we have some experience by which to comment. Comparing Richardsons to Herbert Woods, Herbert Woods gives significantly better service on the quayside, plenty of attentive staff and really nothing more that you could ask for. Parking is a nightmare at HW, really stressful to get a space after a long drive. However, where they badly drop the ball is on reception. A busy Saturday in July and only one member of staff working is wholly unacceptable. When we eventually got the quay we found all the quay staff sat down waiting for customers to arrive, but due to the poor service they were all queuing outside reception. Clearly a management issue.
I'm still searching for a boat holiday company who gives good service in reception and the quayside but I'm thinking it'll never happen.