Kids first time on a jet ski and he loved it. That part was awesome! Only 3 stars due to: There wasn't any shade as we all stood waiting over half an hour to get started and the walk from the building to the water was down a gravel driveway that involved lots of fumes and dodging boats being put into the water. Still, we'd come back again - so definitely worth it!! read more

Island Watersports - People on jet ski - Boating Near Me - Fenwick Island, Delaware

Scammers. Another boat hit our boat while it was docked & they treated us awful when we came back from our trip. Tried to say there was 4,500 damage & that we wouldn't owe anything " that day" but " might have to pay something out of pocket" . We bought the insurance before we went out.. they were so rude & unprofessional & downright awful people. NEVER AGAIN!!!! We rent pontoon boats at least once a summer & we will take our business elsewhere!!!!! read more

1 Star - Absolutely Awful Experience Island Water Sports gave us one of the worst customer service experiences we've ever had. As we were pulling into the dock -- after being stuck in torrential downpours all day because they refused to offer a rain check unless there was thunder -- a staff member started shouting at us, "I hope you have insurance! You've damaged my ladder!" The swim ladder had accidentally been left down, but it was already damaged when we took the boat out. Even after staff inside the office confirmed the damage had been noted earlier, the dockhand, Mike, continued to accuse us and treated us like we had done something wrong. They made us stay in the boat while they took pictures and called it in to the office, repeatedly telling us we were going to have to pay for it. When we were finally allowed off, some of our group went to use the bathroom and were stopped on their way back by another employee, who told them they "weren't allowed to leave." It felt like we were being detained -- over a broken ladder we didn't even damage. At one point I told Mike how rude and unprofessional he was -- and no, I wasn't calm about it. I had every right to speak up after the way we were being treated. Instead of diffusing the situation, he came back at me, even more defensive and condescending. It wasn't until after they embarrassed us and treated us like criminals in front of other guests that we finally got a weak apology. Then, as if that wasn't enough, they actually complained that there was mud on the floorboard from the anchor -- because it had touched the wet deck. First of all, don't they wash the boats down anyway? And second, it was pouring rain all day -- what exactly did they expect? We didn't even complain about the miserable weather -- we paid in full and left without so much as a "Sorry the weather didn't cooperate" or "Hope you still had a good time." Just attitude and accusations. We've rented from other marinas in the area and always had a great experience. Island Water Sports was by far the worst -- rude, accusatory, and completely lacking in basic customer service. I would never rent from them again and absolutely do not recommend them to anyone! read more

We had a great experience renting a Pontoon with Island Watersports. The rental process online was easy and efficient. Staff was friendly and courteous when we arrived, and the boat was in tip-top shape. The one-star knock is because they did not have a restroom available for us before our trip, which meant we had to leave the premises for a Royal Farms, then return. Granted we didn't lose a lot of time, but a restroom for clients, even if it's a porta potty, I feel is a necessity. read more

Great first time renting a pontoon boat! Our group of 9 (including a 15 month old) rented a pontoon for 4 hours. We were nervous it might be too long for the baby, but we actually loved every minute. We booked it on a Wednesday for a Friday (it was as early as we could get) during a busy, hot week. They have you arrive 30 mins early to fill out a ton of paperwork. The desk girls are super organized and very helpful. We had to get a temporary MD boating listened - easy to get, just lots of signing your life away. The boat was very new and well taken care of. The dock hand gentlemen explained things clearly (we just wish they had us start it ourselves so we knew what to do while we were out in the water). Easy, nice ride around the bay. You can go all the way down to seacrets. We hung our feet off the side for a little. Other groups were anchoring and swimming. We had difficulty restarting after taking a break (totally our fault) but otherwise had a great time. When returning, the guys were super helpful and nice. We will def be back again next year! read more

We bought our boat from Island Watersports and have been a customer of their service for going on 2 years now. I can't say enough good things about them. From the sales department over to the service department, I have received nothing but friendly and professional service. Their staff are incredibly kind and helpful. Shout out to Darren the GM, Liz the service manager and Josh in sales! I highly recommend Island Watersports! read more

Island Watersports - Our 2022 Berkshire Tritoon purchased and serviced from Island Watersports. - Boating Near Me - Fenwick Island, Delaware

DO NOT COME HERE. The people running this place, particularly the "manager" and owner, are low class trash. They are corrupt and will charge you an absurd amount of money if anything happens to your rental, even when it's not your fault. They make you sign multiple documents that I should have used a lawyer to review. By having you sign, you are responsible for literally everything which should have been a red flag for me. I had an incident that was not my fault and ended up having to pay a ton of money based off of the 10 second review of my equipment. They immediately named a price and said they would call the police if I didn't pay. This is not a business, they are not looking out for their clients and ultimately want to suck money out of you with any excuse they can. Island Watersports, you have taken my money once and I will never come back. I will be sure to continue to advertise for you to others in the area and visitors - never to step foot at your so called establishment. read more

Great day out on a pontoon. There were 10 of us ranging from 13-52 and everyone love it. The staff were super helpful No one ever drove a pontoon before and they instructed us thoroughly. We had some fishing gear and rented additional rods and traps. We spent the day fishing, went to seacrets for drinks and lunch. Highly recommend read more

Great experience this season picking up my boat. It was clean and delivered in time. Nice job Jon. Keep it up.

Had a great experience this past week at Island Watersports. We called got a 2 hour pontoon rental the Friday before July 4th. Got quoted a price on the phone, time to come in and fill out paperwork. Show up, fill out paperwork ( yes there's a bunch, you're renting a 20,000$ vehicle you're likely not licensed to drive). Three young ladies helping me, but Ginger was handling most of my paperwork. Price I was told didn't match the phone quote, I mentioned the quote on the phone , Ginger told me it'd be no problem. Explaination of charges, process, sign your name, initial, Ginger was great at helping explain the mounds of paperwork in pretty plain language as well as directing the multiple flows of traffic happening (boats, charges, etc). Once the paperwork was filled out, we were met by a young man and one of the young ladies from the office outside. Kids were fitted for life jackets and we were helped to the boat. The young man going over the explanation of the boat, driving, and boundaries was super helpful and great. Couldn't have asked for anything more. The time on the pontoon was great. Boat worked as expected family enjoyed their time on it. Coming back and docking was a breeze. Large group of young men waiting to take us in. They did a great job of coaching me as ai drove and even taking it easy on me when I came in a little hot on the dock. Post trip inspection was an ease and everyone was really helpful. Couldn't have asked for a better time. With two young kids two hours was our max, but with older kids or group of adults I'd recommend a 4 or 8 hour trip (with food and snacks). We will definitely be returning based on this great experience, even during one of rh busiest times of year for them. read more

We have come here a few times and the front office is never friendly but it's water sports rental, so you don't expect much. Today was different. We arrived at 1:45 for our 2:30 jet ski rental. There were 4 of us who all showed up at the time we were told to be there 30-40 minutes before launch. There are other groups who sign up as they take out in groups of 6-8. Since the third group had not shown, they made us wait. We waited until 2:50 for them to arrive and THEN waited longer for ANOTHER group to arrive! In all we waited an extra 35 minutes because Island Water Sports will just keep letting people show up and delaying the group. When I went inside to ask the young lady inside said she only worked there and there was nothing she could do as the guys outside are the ones who waited. The reason I am writing this, is because there is no recourse. No adult to talk to. I don't want money back. I just want them to understand that it's not fair to make the people who followed all the rules wait for the people who did not. It was well within their power to not allow the second and third groups out as they were the ones at fault. They made a decision to allow them to come late and make the rest of the people wait. So the moral, show up 5 minutes before your launch because it doesn't really matter!! read more

Disappointed service for a yearly retuning customer For the past 4 years we have used Island Watersports for all the service need on our Pontoon, winterization, spring start, toon painting, trailer maintenance ect . We have been more than willing to drive the extra 40 minutes for the great customer service and care, however, during our Spring service we encountered a price increase of $300 on our boat painting on the final invoice. The first explanation by the service manager was due to current marketplace inflation all material increases are being passed on to our customers. This is understandable, except I had received a service quote 3 days before dropping off the boat and during the 10 days they housed the boat for service there was no communication of any price increases. When I followed up with the service manager with the quote and timeline, I was then told it was a clerical error on their part and they misquoted our service. There has been no offer to honor their quote or a discount for this error. I am extremally disappointed and will not be retuning for any further service. read more

avoid this place like the plague...their prices for boats are ridiculous, their ramp is the worst in town and every time i'm forced to go there it's like a tooth extraction and the owner Mike treats his customers like a chicken little punk will never go there again, same place that got one of their jet ski renters killed a few years back...horrendous... read more

Zero stars if I could. This company should be ashamed of how they do business. Our family booked six jet skis for the children to ride on. Unfortunately, an hour before our reservation, the skies opened up and intense thunder rolled in. We called to try to cancel as we felt conditions were reasonably unsafe for the family to go out. Once we tried to cancel, we were told that we would be charged $75 per jet ski as a cancellation fee. Upon initially making the reservation, we asked if there would be a fee to cancel and were told that there would be no fee. While speaking to the manager of the business, we explained the situation and told them that they never disclosed the fee to us. She aggressively responded to us that she would absolutely be charging our credit card immediately for the six jet skis. I find this gang mentality pressure to force us to pay an astronomical fee to be appalling - especially considering the fact that it was never disclosed to us in the first place. Businesses like this should be so ashamed as this is a disgusting way to do business. We will make sure to never provide business to this establishment. *** as a response to the inappropriate response from the facility. Beaches were closed for the afternoon due to inclement weather. We also were not disclosed of any fee and our credit card was actually charged full price of $95 per jet ski, which is not the cancellation fee. Your assessment is incorrect and unprofessional. read more

We went jet skiing today with this company. We spent 45 minutes checking in and signing waivers - more signatures than it takes to buy a house. Then when we finally do get out to jet ski they only allow you to ride around in a small rectangular area. after 15 minutes of driving around in circles you are ready to go outside the area. Was VERY DISAPPOINTED. We have jet skied with other companies in the past and have had great experiences. I'm not sure if this company has been burned but it feels that they are more interested in protecting themselves than giving the customer a good experience. The staff were very pleasant and the professional. It is the business owners that have made decisions that made the experience not what it should have been. If you want to jet ski - GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. read more

I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy. Josh, the salesman's ensured us that the used boat we put a 1,000 deposit on was a "great deal". Went a few days later we went to make sure everything was lined up for my family and I to purchase it. To our dismay we went to find a boat that had a broken transom, hole with black tape over and destroyed console. After complaining to Josh and the manager and sending a refund request to my credit company was when the pics and description changed on the site. THIS PLACE CAN NOT BE TRUSTED. We didn't get a refund and only trouble. read more

We are so very excited to go out on a pontoon boat we're hoping to catch some fish the people here are friendly enough and we're enjoying our vacation in Delaware overall I agree with all of the above that was my wife were using talk to type audio's read more

Island Watersports - We are very excited to go on a pontoon boat! - Boating Near Me - Fenwick Island, Delaware

Rented a pontoon boat with the family for 4 hours. Staff was great, polite, and friendly. Boat was clean and we enjoyed our experience. Would recommend. read more

We were with my boyfriend's parents and his sisters celebrating his parents 60th wedding anniversary so we decided to treat them to a rental of a pontoon boat. The staff was amazing! So accommodating and friendly. We got a brand new boat! It was a treatise! A memory we will always remember. read more

This place was run very unprofessionally by a bunch of kids who were stealing drinks out of a vending machine out front. The Yamaha jet boat that they rented us ran terribly, making it almost impossible to tube on the u-turn tube they gave us. I've been on a lot of boats some rented and some owned and I have never had a more disappointing experience. It was expensive and a complete waste of time. There you go Mike, I'll give you two stars because maybe it is our fault for not knowing how lacking jet boats are compared to standard inboard/outboards, but also maybe you could have mentioned that to us since you knew how many people we had and that we wanted to tube. read more

How do you give zero stars? I've seriously never encountered such terrible customer service in my life. I'm an optimistic guy and even more so being that my family and I were on vacation but Island Watersports seriously came close to ruining an entire trip because of the disrespect and ugly attitude of one employee. While demonstrating how to properly work a pontoon boat (not very difficult), the Island Watersports employee tasked with seeing us off insulted my father for "not taking this seriously" and was nasty to my entire family decrying that he didn't trust my dad to operate the boat. To be clear, my dad is a 62-year old salesman that doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He was intently listening and observing the man like any appreciative customer would have done but for some reason this guy thought it necessary to berate my dad in front of his entire family. Being timid tourists and not wanting to upset my dad anymore than he clearly was, we did our best to ignore the incident and took the boat out anyways. My dad did the driving. He was awesome at it. read more

Had a great time on a pontoon boat with the family! Great boat reasonably priced for the size. Easy to drive and maneuver. First time sailing and it was a great experience with the family! Went crabbing in the bay, loads if fun!! Definitely doing it again!! Great staff very helpful and friendly! Fantastic time! Call the day before to reserve! :-). read more

Island Watersports - OCMD Bay - Boating Near Me - Fenwick Island, Delaware

We love Cole. Super nice guy. Great customer service. We rented a pontoon boat. Great condition and spotless. Will come back next time we're in town. read more

Seas were choppy and white capped this morning but I tamed em up like a ring master laying down my own thunder. Of course the top notch equipment (seadoo) rentals here and expert guide (Jerod) helped lay the foundation. Everyone here at Island Watersports were professional, courteous and fun. I recommend you stop by and give a try. read more

Beware! If anything happens to your jet ski during your rental, you are responsible for paying for it even if you are not reckless and don't hit anything. Guides are with you the entire time watching you so they would know. Told us they were charging us only for the "missing" piece and not labor, then charged the credit card 2.5x that amount after we left without any notice. They claimed they took the ski out of the water and another piece was missing. Can not prove that was our doing but somehow we're responsible. Brand new jet skis should not have parts just falling off while riding. Disappointed for how the situation was handled. Zero stars if I could. read more

Today we rented a pontoon boat from Island Watersports. It was a HORRIBLE experience. The check in process was so chaotic and took 40 minutes. The employees were too busy to even assist us with putting life vests on our children. We finally departed 15 minutes after our rental began. The employee who briefed us on operation of the boat rushed through his presentation. As soon as we pulled away from the dock, we noticed that the gas gauge was on empty. We immediately notified an employee and were told not to worry about it because the gas gauge was broken. I found that discouraging considering Island talks up how wonderful their boats are. We were out for about 3 hrs when we accidentally became stuck on a sandbar. The sandbar was not visible under the murky waters. Employees had not warned us to stay away from that area. After 2 passengers tried unsuccessfully to push the boat off of the sandbar, we called Island for help. They first sent a jet ski to assist us with the 13 passenger pontoon boat. When that (obviously) didn't work, we waited another 40 min for a boat to arrive. Upon their arrival, Mike and his employee instructed me to swim approximately 40 yards to their boat to retrieve a rope. I then had to swim it back to our rental and attach it. They then ordered all passengers off the boat (including 4 young children). They instructed us to leave the children on a sandbar about 35 yards away from our stuck pontoon. Mike then had all of the adults (including a senior citizen) come back to the stuck pontoon and ordered us to push the boat while he tried to tow us off the sandbar. Once the boat was loose, we had to retrieve the children from the sandbar and then swim back to the pontoon. Once we tried to board the boat, we realized that Island had rented us a boat with a broken ladder. We had to take turns hoisting the children and each other up onto the boat. Please keep in mind that at no time did Mike or his employee step foot off of their boat to help us. We returned to the dock sore, bruised and exhausted. My mother-in-law was then informed that she would be charged a tow fee of $350. She was exhausted, had a bloody knee (from trying to get back on the boat with a broken ladder) and just wanted to go home so she reluctantly paid the fee. I completely understand Mike charging a tow fee but $350 seems downright ridiculous. We were less than 10 minutes from their dock and did not cause any damage to the boat. Not to mention the fact that they simply towed us behind them with a rope. Not once did they get off their boat to help push or assist us in any way. To me, that is equivalent to a tow truck driver requiring you to push your own car up the loading ramp. It shouldn't happen. Take our misfortune as a warning. Do NOT rent from Island Watersports. There is a reason that they have such poor online reviews. read more

Island Watersports - This was the extent of their $350 "tow". The rest of the physical labor was left to their customers. - Boating Near Me - Fenwick Island, Delaware

We spent the day on a pontoon boat with 10 people. Folks helping us were nice, helpful and a ton of fun. Would definitely come back again.

Island water sports is great! Every year we visit and rent a boat and jet skis! Price is right and staff is great!

If it were possible to leave a Zero-Star review, I would do so. Avoid this business at ALL COSTS. We reserved several jet skis for a group that included a number of children. After we made our reservation a large thunderstorm formed and all the beaches were closed down. We called Island Watersports to cancel our reservation because we did not feel it would be safe or prudent to go out onto the water amid such conditions. When we called to cancel, we learned for the FIRST TIME that a $75 cancellation fee would be assessed per jet ski. Importantly, this policy WAS NOT disclosed when we called earlier in the day to make the reservation. We explained that we felt unsafe sending children out into the storm and that, because the cancellation fee was not previously disclosed, we asked them to waive the cancellation fee. Island Watersports callously responded that they expected their customers to surmise the existence of the cancellation fee policy. They advised us that they would simply charge us the full cost of the jet skis ($95 per) if we did not wish to pay the cancellation fee. They were unmoved by our safety concerns and charged us for the full cost of the reserved jet skis. In my opinion, this business is completely without scruples. It responded to our legitimate concerns with disproportionate rudeness and aggression. With so many options available, your money would be better spent elsewhere. read more

Arrived at 5:55 PM and was told they were about to close but call in the morning. Was trying to rent a boat and was told there were a few still available. I called at 8am and got a message stating they were not yet open but leave a message and will call back. At 9am no call back so I tried again. The girl on the other end said "sorry, we have no more boats". I explained that I had been instructed to call and that I had left a message. The response" sorry, I cannot help you". Thanks for nothing. Maybe have your closing employee invest a little time in customer service next time I tried to reserve night before. Followed instructions of your rental counter staff. He was too lazy to take the reservation as there were 3 guys sitting there laughing it up. Train your employees in better customer service. We went to your competitor across the street. They had fantastic customer service. We will go there from now on. You guys could learn from them. The fact that you continue to argue about how good your service is just further goes to show that you do not understand the value of customer service. It literally would have taken your employee two minutes to write my name in the book. Your business was not closed obviously because I walked through the front door and it was not yet 6 PM. If you plan to close at 5:55, then change the sign to 555. read more

My 11 year old son and I took a paddleboarding lesson with Clark and we loved it. He was a great teacher and very patient with my son, who can be a handful. He even took pictures for us. Equipment was in great condition. We will return. read more

Stay away from this place! We made a reservation to take the family out jet skiing, but had to cancel due to thunderstorms. When we called to cancel, the beach had just been closed, you could hear thunder, and there was lightning visible. This was 45 minutes before we were due to go out jet skiing. The manager at Island Watersports said that we would be charged a $75 cancellation fee per jet ski if we did not show up. This was the first time a cancellation fee was ever mentioned. We made the reservation via phone, and they never said there would be a fee to cancel. I explained that we were concerned that it was not safe to be out on the water with an electrical storm above, but the manager said that they were still sending people out. Don't get me wrong, we wanted to go jet skiing, but it was not safe. This business seems to care more about taking your money than the safety of its customers. I would strongly recommend not using them. Final update. Credit card company sided with me and reversed the charge. What Mike F. Said is BS and the credit card company knows he's lying. Suck it Mike! read more

Great experience renting a Tritoon. All the staff were extremely friendly and helpful. I highly recommend going and renting a bot!!!

I can not speak for their rental section, so I have nothing negative to say about that part. However their marine mechanical department is poor at best. They have young kid parts replacers as mechanics. I had over $3,000 worth of upholstery done that they sub contracted to another marina. When they returned the boat to us it was filthy dirty. They left the boat outside uncovered they didn't do anything to protect the upholstery while they did mechanical work. The owner Mike said that it was only uncovered for 2 weeks yet the boat was covered in leaves which most likely would have been from the fall. I had to power wash it myself and scrub the interior. In addition they did over $3,000 worth of engine work. When we went to pick the boat up it would not start. They eventually got it started so we could get it back to our dock. The next day when I went out to start it would not start. We had to tow the boat back to their facility. They did a make shift repair by disconnecting power tilt and trim controls at the console so that the ignition would work. They also installed a new ignition without my permission which I paid for anyways. Once I got the boat back to our dock for the second time. I realized that none of my gauges, GPS, depth finder or radio worked. There happened to be a mechanic working on my neighbors boat, I asked him if he could look at my boat. Within 20 minutes he had everything working and said that Island Water Sports messed up my wiring. I would not recommend them, use at your own risk. For all you old OC boat owners you know how they used to be, well they are returning back to their old ways. My mistake, I paid for the upholstery before I ever saw it. I paid for the mechanical bill before we picked up the boat. They added a $107.00 Ignition switch without my permission just before we picked up at the boat and overcharge us $251.00 but later gave us a credit. read more

Outstanding staff and service. Facilities are fantastic! Our boat was brand new (we took the maiden voyage). We rented a pontoon boat for the afternoon however our 2 year old son was frightened by the choppy seas forcing us to return after only 45 mins. The staff gave us a 3 hr voucher without us asking. Everyone was fantastic. Could not be more pleased with my experience here. Shout out to Mac who showed us the ropes in our boat. Thanks! read more

Great group of people and the boat trip added an extra view of the surrounding area. They have weekly rentals so something to keep in mind on the next trip. They offer a variety of water craft rentals, lessons and even fishing gear. read more

See below... This review was based on the previous owner- a real piece of work... Island water sports bought him out. Just did a little business with them- decent folks and I will go back. Don't worry about previous bad reviews-that guy is gone... ********************** This place is horrible... Run , don't walk away..the owner charged me $20 to put in on his ramp. I have him cash... After looking at the ramp, I saw there was no clearance for me... He refused to give me the $20 he had in his pocket.... Just goes to show this guys ethics... Hate to be in a rental from this place ... read more

Always a great experience with them. I trailered my boat here last season and have had two boats serviced with them multiple times. They're always responsive, respectful, and straight with me. They recently renovated and the place looks amazing. Happy to keep bringing my business here. They're the only shop in the area that I trust. Keep up the good work guys. read more

This is no longer action watersports. I was so nervous after booking and then reading the reviews. I told them about what I had seen on Yelp and they assured me they were aware of it and that most people had great experiences with them. Also, that they had separated from the place with the horrible scam reviews. We got our boat, the young folks who worked there were bye nice and professional and then we went to the boat. While we didn't get a ton of instruction, we didn't really ask for any since we'd driven boats before. They were clear with what parts of the bay to stay out of and where to go fish. We found a nice spot to drop anchor and swim around. It was a great day and the 7 year old boys had a blast. read more

NiceWe set out on a 10-13 person Pontoon Boat this afternoon July 13, 2016. We ventured out with 8 adults and 3 children. Around 90th Street, our pontoon boat started tipping forward and taking in water. The speedometer would not register speed and the boat was barely moving, even when we were at full throttle. We called for assistance and an employee on a jet ski followed us into dock. At this point, our three children were terrified and crying just wanting to get off the boat. We requested a partial refund, since we cut our trip short by 2 hours due to the poor condition of our pontoon. The owner offered us a 2 hour trip tomorrow on a different pontoon, which was not a satisfactory option for us since our children were terrified and did not want to go out again. So essentially, we paid $300 for 2 hours of misery. Upon return, we were told that it was our fault that the boat took on water because there were too many people and coolers, if this were truly the case, then the employees should have informed us of this when they watched us loading our lunches onto the pontoon. We were also informed that we had too much weight on the front of our pontoon, which was untrue because all 11 passengers moved to the back of the boat after the pontoon took on water for the third time. I would recommend NEVER renting a boat from this establishment. I'm sorry to say Mike F, I have reviewed every rebuttal to your negative comments, obviously you don't understand good customer service! Your crew never metioned anything about the one cooler and 3 small bags we brought on board. If the bay was choppy yesterday, I'm sure it would be worse today after yesterday's storms! 3 of the 11 passengers weighed under 50 pounds, so we should not have been over the weight limit....you equipment was substandard, just admit it! We were not asking for a full refund, just the refund of the 2 hours (really 3 since we had to turn back early) that we were unable to use. My grandchildren were scared to death, not to mention I was a nervous wreck the remainder of the day! I don't care what we signed in your contract, you broke the terms of that contract when you conveyed substandard equipment to my entire family....we could have been hurt! No working speedometer, very little throttle power....please certainly not the best equipment for a family with small children! To top it off you offer us a larger boat the next day... Please, you should have given us the proper equipment the first time! Just know that your actions will have a consequence! My last thought for now that I will leave you with, that I learned almost 40 years ago: The customer is always right....this could have had a much better ending had you handled this matter with a better tone! read more