Today's RV Buyer Vs Yesteryear's RV Buyer

Yesteryear's RV buyer gets up in the morning, he heads out to the mailbox for the paper and his wife starts breakfast. He retired three years ago. Over their morning coffee he asks her what they are going to do today. She says they have no plans. Maybe we can drive to the RV dealership and look at some more motor homes. He replies, that'll give us something to do. About one o'clock they head to the dealership...... When they arrive they are told that their sales person is with another customer. They ask if there is somewhere they can sit while they wait. Twenty minutes later the sales person shows up. They look at the 29 foot motor home that they saw the last time they were there. They decide it's the one that best suits their needs and they leave a deposit on it.

Today's RV buyer gets up, showers, dresses and leaves for work. He gets in his Lexus. He has his newspaper, cell phone, beeper and lap top computer. No time for breakfast today, he has a meeting at precisely 8:25, a dentist appointment at 10:00 and is meeting his partner for lunch at 12:00 sharp. This afternoon he has to meet his broker, visit two job sites and would like to hit a bucket of balls at the driving range. His wife loads their son in her SUV. She has to drop him at daycare and show a house by 9:00. She has two more appointments this afternoon then she'll pick her son up, stop at the cleaners and meet her husband at the RV dealership by 5:30.

She calls him on her cell phone and asks where he's at, he says he is just around the corner and will be there in a minute. He pulls into the RV dealer's parking lot, looks at his watch, it is exactly 5:25. They go inside and tell the receptionist they have a 5:30 appointment with a sales person. She pages their sales person. Five minutes go by, then ten minutes, no sales person. He asks her to page him again and she does. Nobody shows up and the receptionist explains that he is with another customer and it will be just another minute. After waiting fifteen minutes he looks at his wife and says let's go.

Welcome to 2002.

Today's RV buyers expect more and if they don't get it from you they will simply get it somewhere else. Somewhere that understands what today's buyers do expect, or better yet, what they demand. Their time is valuable and they demand good service. Let me re-phrase that, they demand exceptional service. They don't have the time or the patience for poor service. If you schedule an appointment they expect you to be on time. If they want to buy something they expect somebody to sell it to them. If something is broken they expect you to fix it.

It's called customer service, but not just in the service department. That simply will not work anymore. Today's buyers expect things to be easier, less complicated and hassle free. If they need to send flowers or order office supplies they go on the internet push a button and it's done. No hassles, no waiting it's just done. Customer service starts when they walk in the door. The receptionist has to be a people person and have a good attitude. The sales person has to be prompt, have a good appearance and know how to sell the product. Today's buyers do their research long before they walk into the dealership. The lot person needs to keep the units well maintained inside and out. The service writer needs to be friendly and knowledgeable and the technicians smart and efficient. It doesn't stop here. I f you do sell today's buyer you need to deliver the unit on time and conduct a thorough walk-through of the unit. Customer service after the sale needs to be as good if not better than it was before the sale if you expect to keep them as your customer.

Warranty work needs to be done properly and efficiently the first time. The old saying that the customer is always right has never meant as much as it does today. Listen to what your customer is saying and do everything in your power to resolve any problems that may arise. Base your entire business on customer service and you will come out on top. You are already at a disadvantage because it was a hassle for your customers to get to the dealership on time, and remember today's buyers do not like hassles.

About the Author:

Mark Polk began in
the RV Industry in 1976
as a service technician.

After retiring from the military in 1996, he got back into the industry for which
he had a passion.

He has an extensive background in RV sales, service and management.

In 2001 he left his position as a Sales Manager to start his own company, RV Education 101. www.rveducation101.com


They produce and sell professional educational training videos on RV's.

Mark is available for writing assignments and seminars. He can be reached at 910-484-7615 or www.rveducation101.com