Comments on Camping World

pnichols wrote:
lane hog,
This is off topic ... but I see that you carry a couple of Honda 2000i's for generator backup in your Winnebago Class C.

I'm curious ..... where/how do you carry the extra fuel for these in your Class C?

Jerry cans and the twins get carried in the tow vehicle. I normally don't get fuel until we get to (or near) where we're going, to minimize the fumes in the TV. Everything unused at the end of the trip goes in the gas tank for the drive home. As long as you don't spill fuel on the gennies or the outside of your cans, those newfangled sealed caps really do the trick...

Although not the best, the tucson store (new one) is OK. Took them 3 tries to get my tow base plate and then the install took extra time to finish. Anyhow, they like any place else have people turnover issues. Just the contact with them found they let 2 folks go in last 2 weeks. Dont know the issues but 1 may have contributed to my base plate issue? Anyhow, there are some small mom/pop sales that are great, just dont have the business of a chain store and as a result may charge more.

I have bought stuff from CW and gotten a $10 coupon from the organization for the purchases. Stuff like that will give ya more opportunity to return and spend there so they are trying. But in some stores yes they do need to get some folks either trained or with prior sales/service experience to minimize issues.

lane hog,

This is off topic ... but I see that you carry a couple of Honda 2000i's for generator backup in your Winnebago Class C.

I'm curious ..... where/how do you carry the extra fuel for these in your Class C?

Glad to see an engaged CEO... Hope it trickles down, and quickly.

After years of great service at the South Fort Worth, TX location, the store in Tucson managed to turn us off in just one visit.

Went over to get an estimate for new awning fabric on a Saturday morning when service was open, yet nobody on duty was qualified to give an estimate. Counter girl asked me to come back during the week.... 10 gallons of gas wasted, all because we thought Saturday would be a prime day for people looking to get service work done...

I have had RVs for thirty years and I am retired from a lifetime in business. I see the RV industry in very simple terms: an industry in flux and transition. Formerly, it was an amalgamation of mom and pop dealers that were very inconsistant as to management and customer service.

Now, the demographic of the buyer has changed and is changing very rapidly as younger folks take on the RV lifestyle on a when time available basis and 10,000 or so of us Boomers are hitting 65 every day and have more time available for RV pursuits.

I see the RV manufacturing business very similar to the car business in the 1930s: a lot of brands and a lot of difference in style and quality and markets. I see the dealer network about where the auto industry was twenty-five years ago.

I suspect this industry will look very different in ten years and I smell real opportunity for a customer driven service oriented business model across the industry.

It will be interesting to watch from a nice campground in some national park. Glad I am at that place in my life!!

I'm glad to read this and truly believe Marcus wants to reform the corporation. For me, I sent a "Dear Marcus" about Good Sam membership upgrades and received a Blah-Blah boilerplate kind of response from a corporate shirt that was not at all acceptable. I wanted to upgrade but now I doubt that I'll even renew.

I am amused by this thread and delighted that Marcus took a personal interest. That tells me a lot.

For many years I was the honco at a large technical facility. My suppliers knew that they could count on hearing from me if things didn't go well. This is a result of my own time as a supplier, when I didn't hear that we messed up something, it annoyed me that a client would not call and tell me directly. So, I do that when the situation merits it still.

On balance, I also write no less than a dozen thank you letters a year to suppliers that got a bad situation straightened out as promptly as practical.

Ego, this thread rates a Thank You to Marcus and Camping World.

Matt

Well, if Marcus is still reading, I have a compliment. When I purchased my new Fleetwood 'C' in 2004, I took it to the Bowling Green, KY. CW to have HWH levelers, solid air extensions for the tires, and a rear view camera and monitor installed. I made an appointment for 9AM and showed up about 8:50, Eastern time, not Central. It was 9:50 there. They were waiting for me, and had it up on the lift before I finished the paper work. They directed me to a nearby motel and told me when it would be ready the next day.
I showed up (on central time that morning) and as I was paying, they borrowed my toad keys and had everything hooked up and ready to go before the ink was dry on the check. Then they walked me through how everything worked and sent me on my way. That remains the only time that I've had any motorized vehicle fixed/repaired on time and for the quoted price.

First off, if there is a service issue please email me at my personal email at mlemonis@campingworld.com

Second, any mistakes or problems that have occurred are my responsibility. While the forum is one mechanism, email, phone etc are all vehicles to communicate. At the end of the day my check is signed by the customer. The organization grew over the last ten years and any issues that have been created or arisen are mine to take ownership for. We will learn from our mistakes and get better. If we don't people will find alternatives.

Here is how I see this. Take it for whatever it is worth. I retired as an executive for a fairly large retail company based somewhere near the location posted by my handle.

Many companies utilize social networking to keep track of and take the customer's temperature and pulse. Many issues are resolved this way, as retail outlets are often limited on what they can do to satisfy a customer, or the management at a particular location is not quite solution-centric. It is pretty clear that not too many companies engage their CEO in this activity.

Doing so shows me servant leadership. It is the way to teach, one lesson at a time. Once, years ago when I was looking to buy a used class A, I had mentioned on here that I was heading to Florida to look at rigs as the pricing seemed better that what I was finding in the midwest.

I received a note from Marcus, asking that I stop into one of his facilities while in Florida and give them a shot. He insisted that I mention this to the manager upon my arrival, which I did. Although I didn't buy a rig there, it left an impression that Marcus was about doing what he could to execute a business strategy which meant customer interaction, not customer avoidance.

With all he has going on in his business enterprises, the mere fact that he has time to get on this board and peruse opportunities to correct the errors of his company's ways speaks volumes.....at least to me.

Good luck OP, I hope your issues are resolved. I have had the opportunity to know many Fortune 50 CEO's during my career, and I assure you not many would take this approach.