During last week’s campfire discussion, I asked our friends what they would say to their RV’s manufacturer if they got the chance. I continued thinking about our conversation, and it reminded me of a suggestion box.
Remember the “Suggestion Box”? It was usually placed in a corner of the office or production factories near the company’s meeting rooms. That way, employees as well as customers could easily drop their feedback or recommendations into the box.
Presumably, the management team reviewed the suggestions from the box and considered the ideas that were presented.
Now this week, I’m thinking about our RV dealerships… Imagine for a moment that you could add suggestions to a box inside your RV dealership. What ideas would you suggest? What changes might you recommend?
RVers respond
These are the questions I directed to friends gathered around a recent campfire. The RVers’ answers proved quite revealing. Read what they had to say and then add your own suggestion(s) to the comments below.
What would you tell your RV dealer if they had a suggestion box?
Joan began the conversation. She said, “I’d tell our RV dealership to keep doing what they’re doing. We’ve been totally satisfied with the buying process, and their techs are top-notch!”
Les disagreed. “I wish I could say nice things, but the communication between us and our RV dealer has been terrible. They had our rig for three months, and every time I called about it, they said they were still working on it. Only I found out that they had ordered the wrong part. That’s really what caused the delay. If they would’ve told me that, at least I’d know they’re somewhat honest.”
“Hey, at least they answered your calls,” Bill chimed in. “Our dealership must have caller ID. They stopped answering my phone calls. I had to go to the dealership to get someone to talk to me. Then the run-around began. The guy who sold us our rig said to talk to the front desk. The front desk said I needed to talk to the repair desk. Repairs guy said I’d need to talk to a technician in person. Customers aren’t allowed to go into the tech garage!”
How about you?
If your RV dealership had a suggestion box, what would you suggest? Better communication? Honest salespeople? Better trained technicians? What suggestions, questions, or ideas would you place inside the suggestion box?
Just like you did last week, use the comments below to tell us.
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RVT1236
We have dealt with a family-owned dealership for years. Bought several campers from them, had our units serviced there and looked to them for repairs. We’ve always felt that we were fairly treated by their friendly staff. I would simply say “Thank you!”
You’re FIRED! LOL! How about Build an RV that you would use for you and your family that would last over 10 years, and actually do it!
We have purchased two trailers new. One was a family owned dealership – absolutely great; and they sold to Camping World a couple years later. One visit and I never again returned. Employees were team members, now just paid employees. The second was a family owned dealership just purchased by Camper’s Inn. I saw the same decline over a few months while I worked through post-purchase issues. A few promises made at the beginning gradually were forgotten. You can’t change these attitude adjustments with a suggestion box that has cobwebs. I’ve seen the same thing with RV park ownership.
To be as nice as I can, I’d tell them to go jump in a lake!
Let’s see… About 6 months after I bought my new Motorhome the law closed up my dealer and two years after that the manufacturer was bought out and the brand dissolved leaving no place for a suggestion box.
The only thing worse than some used car salesman can be a RV salesman, especially from a certain large company.
I’d tell Edmundson RV in Edinburgh, IN “thank you” for doing a really thorough pre-delivery inspection. Between a good build from Rockwood and a good dealer PDI, we didn’t have anything to complain about and never had to go back.
Over 45 years we have purchased from numerous dealers, but ALL have been smaller family/privately owned. As a result, we’ve had pretty good results. We’ve shopped a few times at big corporate dealers, but they just don’t cut it.
In February of this year we traded our 13 year old 43′ Newmar Mountain Aire for a 2021 36′ New Aire at Midway RV in Grand Rapids, MI. A GREAT experience. From negotiation, to unlimited walk-thru time with a highly qualified tech (we spent 5 hrs), personal inspection time (indoors), to a simple one page fair contract, it was wonderful. They also have a top notch service dept.
“Keep up the good work, Midway!”
While shopping for our shorter Newmar, we made a trip to Blue Compass near Des Moines. We have never dealt with a more egotistical, anti-customer driven sales model than what we experienced there. We did not purchase there and I will never bother to set foot in a Blue Compass again.
Even with an appointment, the salesperson was not ready. When he did get to us he was so distracted it was like he had no time for us…it was like we should fall all over him and just be happy he graced our presence. No test driving until after you negotiate and sign agreements for the unit you are interested in.
I have no idea why buyers tolerate these kinds of dealerships!
I wish they would have said Rent before you buy
It would be interesting to read dealers comments as to the percentage of customers they have no problems with and those they never ever want to see again.
There are always two sides to the story. Plus no dealer has a magic wand.
I would love an owners manual that was actually for my specific model #, not just a generic book for all in a series. Better yet,make it digital and supply links to the appliances used in my rig.
Stop assuming that if you built a motorhome right nobody would pay for it. Case in point: manufacturer of our Forester motorhome put vinyl skin over cabinets to simulate wood. Maybe saved them a few bucks, but now we have peeling and bubbles that are a constant maintenance headache. Nonsense.
My 2019 Coachmen Freelander Class C had 2 roof leaks that I didn’t discover until after it was a month out of warranty. The leaks were where the overhead bunk fiberglass nose met the roof, caused by the butyl tape getting dislodged during assembly. I found the leaks by pressurizing the interior with a Tractor Supply turbine fan mounted in the kitchen window and a spray bottle of soapy water. My point is many Class C owners have had leak problems that could have been identified and fixed at the factory if they conducted pressure testing of every RV prior to shipping. Had this been done, I would not have had to tear out and replace the rotten moldy luan plywood on the o’head bunk floor.
I’d say, you have the worst service department I’ve ever seen, and maybe you should try training them and pay enough to get someone with some common sense. In fact, I did tell them that. It was family owned. They sold the business eventually.