Meet Neil Johnston and Shayila Bernard of Johnstons Marine Services in Deerfield Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Neil Johnston and Shayila Bernard.

Neil and Shayila, please share your story with us.
The JMS story starts with a BIG step in Faith. With 3 children and one on the way, in addition to just purchasing a New home, 2013 was the year Neil and I decided to take a hold of our passion and start Johnstons Marine Services. Neil has always had a strong passion for Mechanics and I always had a dream of owning and running my own business.

It was not an easy decision especially looking at our current situation, but there was such a strong desire to make this step, we followed our hearts and decided to do it. After being with the same company for 10+ years, Neil submitted his letter of resignation.  With just the tools he purchased over the years and his certifications, we started in a small storage unit the size of a 1 car garage in Pompano Beach, Fl. I began to immediately setup a remote office from the house to take care of the Administrative side of the business.

Neil decided from day one that he wanted to be different by not only having excellent Customer Service, but by showing Pride in all the services we offer and in the facility, we work in. Many would think why would someone care about how a small storage unit looks to a customer, but Neil did. One of our first and Best Customers told us that he and his friend were not only impressed with Neil’s Honesty and Work Ethic, but when visiting this shop, he couldn’t believe how well organized and neat everything was. It made him feel confident in having a newly established business work on his engine. This has been the most common feedback from our customers over the years. They admire our honesty, work Ethic, Pride in the services we deliver and the facility we work in.

My Business Background played a big role in building the foundation of the business. I am responsible for implementing the key requirements to certify and make the business official. Although JMS is a young company I am a stickler when it comes to having specific processes and procedures in place to allow the operation to run efficiently.

When JMS moved to our current facility it was my main responsibility to “Setup Shop”. The facility was just a shell when JMS first moved in, but with the goal to set a different perception I worked hard to get everything in place. I also bring that Professional Corporate Touch to the business. From the invoices and reports we deliver, to the networking and professional relationships we’ve built.

We also have had our two teenagers lend a hand in building the family business. They have learned task from the front office, to working with parts for a boat. JMS has always had friends and family support from the beginning which really helped get us on our feet and set a strong foundation.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Starting JMS was not a smooth road because we did not have any financial backing. Shayila continue to work full time so that we would have a source of income and Health Insurance. As Neil went out looking for jobs for the business.

Because we specialize in specific types of engines, specialty tools are needed to work on many of the jobs. Neil would have to either use funds from a previous job to purchase the specialty tools or borrow funds from a friend.

In the Marine Industry, many Marinas have specific requirements that must be met to perform work at their facility. Meeting these requirements were also a challenge in the beginning for JMS.

We’ve overcome many of these obstacles now as we’ve grown, and thank God, every day for the many blessings sent our way to help us get through. .

Becoming a certified Engine Dealer has been our biggest challenge. We have established great rapport with our customers and in the community, we are certified technicians, we have an awesome facility and meet all the requirements many Engine Dealers specify to be approved, but a response for an approval has delayed over a year. Getting an approval to be an Engine Dealer will open many doors for us.

In the meantime, we continue to network and build great partnerships in the industry which has been the key to our success thus far. We firmly believe that by continuing to work hard, deliver excellent professional service and not letting go of our Faith we will continue to be successful.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Johnstons Marine Services – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Johnstons Marine Services is a full-service marine engine, electrical systems, and drive train repair facility specializing in Volvo products. We service Volvo, MAN, MTU, and Cummins engines.

We are most proud of the Service we Deliver and our Responsiveness: When you call JMS on any given day 99% of time you will get an answer. Our customers absolutely love this! We’ve had customers stuck in the middle of the ocean and I’ve overheard Neil step them thru what to do over the phone to get the engine going again.

We take a lot of pride in our professionalism and the service we deliver, many of our customers will tell you “We do the Job Right the First Time” we have less than 1% call backs on our service. We’ve had boats that had been at Dealers for weeks because they could not resolve a specific issue and JMS was able to resolve the issue in no time.

Neil is very knowledgeable and is very detailed in his explanation to customers on the issues with their vessel and what needs to be done to fix it. Another win with our customers are they appreciate the one on one-time JMS spends with them regarding their Vessel.

We have awesome rates, and Top Notch PROFESSIONAL Service! Our Facility is Clean, Organized and Modern. Not a Typical Mechanic Grease Shop. We take time to educate our customers on issues with their vessels. Our customers love our facility they know if we take care of the environment we work in, then we definitely take care of their boat and the work we do on it.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We plan to continue to expand the business and service areas beyond the Tri-County area.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1809 S. Powerline Rd.,
  Unit #111, Building C
  Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
• Website: www.1jms.com
• Phone: 954-637-4952
• Email: info @1jms.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1j.m.s/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/johnstonsmarineservices/photos/?ref=page_internal

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