Commentary

Checking In With Justin Wagner

ByJason Johnson December 6, 2017April 16, 2020

Although we don’t get to catch up as often as we’d like to or used to because of schedules that seem to keep getting busier, Justin Wagner, the founder of Waves and Wheels in Osage Beach, Mo., and I try to stay in touch on a regular basis. Such was the case last Friday morning when Wagner called me just as I pulled up to the park to take my dog Uno for a walk.

The variety of boats currently being worked on at Waves and Wheels is pretty impressive. Photo courtesy of Justin Wagner

So, in my always-ready-to-work mode, I pulled out my computer, jumped over to the passenger seat and started jotting down some notes since I was still on hands-free mode, and he started rattling off project after project of boats sitting in the service bays of the shop addition Waves and Wheels completed earlier this year.

Not only was my conversation with Wagner enlightening as to the variety of projects he has going on in his shop and the growth he’s experiencing with his Bluave Marine Audio equipment line, but it was fun because we connected via Facetime for most of it, which enabled him to walk me through the facility for a look at the projects instead of him just describing them over the phone and texting me images.

I have to admit—although I was just sitting in my car so Justin view’s was nothing special (see screen shot below)—getting carried around the shop and saying hello to his crew from 1,500 miles away was kind of cool. For Wagner, Facetime has become a go-to application in his business. In fact, he estimates he’s saved $10,000 a year in flights not having to go troubleshoot something or guide an install. He also said it helps tremendously with the customer service side since he can show live progress of any project to any customer anywhere in the world.

Checking In With Justin Wagner

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