Camping World and RV Store Parking
OK, I don't want this to become a Camping World bashing thread, but after a couple of recent trips I felt the need to vent. No matter your feelings about CW prices or policies or politics or whatever, there is a convenience and usefulness in the expectation of being able to find a well stocked store with common RV service and camping supplies, a known quantity if you will.
On our way to Asheville we wanted to pick up a membership to Passport America since the campground we selected for the weekend had PA rates available and the savings would pretty much pay for the membership. So we decided to "run in" at Knoxville and purchase the membership with the book to use that evening. We were towing the 35' travel trailer but I didn't give it a second thought. After all, it's camping world, they expect campers of all sizes to be coming to shop and for service, right? So we pull it up on Waze and away we go off the interstate to Alcoa Highway and into the Camping World parking lot. That's when the trouble started. Directly in front of us is a closed gate leading to the new RV sales lot. To our right is a parking lot full of new RVs with no open parking spaces and to our left is the showroom building with parking along the front. There are plenty of signs advertising RV sales and collision centers, but no signs directing parking. So the only logical choice at this point is to turn left in between the fence and the building which we do without any problem. Someone was backing out to leave, so we stopped to wait for them. Fortunate because as he was trying to maneuver around us he stopped to tell us that there was no exit and no turn around at the other end of the lot. OK, now what? Since we hadn't gone too far down the front of the building, we had no problems backing out to the entrance, but there's no way we're backing into the Alcoa Highway. So I sit there while my DW goes in search of someone to open the gate. She managed to find someone and get the gate opened but then there was no clear path through the new RV sales lot. They had some very helpful folks directing me and watching me but they had to go get a forklift and relocate a fifth wheel RV so I could pull through and exit the other side of the lot.
I've been to the CW location in Nashville many times and they used to have dedicated customer RV parking. But they recently moved down the road to a new location and no longer have RV parking. I wasn't towing the trailer this time but there really wasn't even sufficient parking for regular vehicles.
If stores that aren't explicitly RV related can do such a wonderful job of catering to RVs, you would think that a store that exists to sell RV parts and services would bend over backwards to accommodate us. At the very least, if you aren't going to have RV parking don't lead us into nearly impossible situations to get out of like the one lane dead end tunnel at the Knoxville store. Cabela's gets it. Cracker Barrel gets it. Even though Walmart doesn't have dedicated RV parking, even they get it. By making it convenient for RV customers to park, you make it convenient for them to spend their money on your goods and services. Make it difficult and we will pass you by. I promise if I had known it was going to cost me more than an hour of frustration I would have paid the full rate at the campground. Had I been able to park and shop, I likely would have bought much more. I needed other supplies but I waited until I disconnected at the campground and went to Walmart instead. Instead of shopping, I spent the whole time trying to get the truck and trailer through the lot and back out to the highway.
I do want to say again the staff was very helpful and apologetic and went out of they way to move things around to make a path, but they shouldn't have had to be.
On our way to Asheville we wanted to pick up a membership to Passport America since the campground we selected for the weekend had PA rates available and the savings would pretty much pay for the membership. So we decided to "run in" at Knoxville and purchase the membership with the book to use that evening. We were towing the 35' travel trailer but I didn't give it a second thought. After all, it's camping world, they expect campers of all sizes to be coming to shop and for service, right? So we pull it up on Waze and away we go off the interstate to Alcoa Highway and into the Camping World parking lot. That's when the trouble started. Directly in front of us is a closed gate leading to the new RV sales lot. To our right is a parking lot full of new RVs with no open parking spaces and to our left is the showroom building with parking along the front. There are plenty of signs advertising RV sales and collision centers, but no signs directing parking. So the only logical choice at this point is to turn left in between the fence and the building which we do without any problem. Someone was backing out to leave, so we stopped to wait for them. Fortunate because as he was trying to maneuver around us he stopped to tell us that there was no exit and no turn around at the other end of the lot. OK, now what? Since we hadn't gone too far down the front of the building, we had no problems backing out to the entrance, but there's no way we're backing into the Alcoa Highway. So I sit there while my DW goes in search of someone to open the gate. She managed to find someone and get the gate opened but then there was no clear path through the new RV sales lot. They had some very helpful folks directing me and watching me but they had to go get a forklift and relocate a fifth wheel RV so I could pull through and exit the other side of the lot.
I've been to the CW location in Nashville many times and they used to have dedicated customer RV parking. But they recently moved down the road to a new location and no longer have RV parking. I wasn't towing the trailer this time but there really wasn't even sufficient parking for regular vehicles.
If stores that aren't explicitly RV related can do such a wonderful job of catering to RVs, you would think that a store that exists to sell RV parts and services would bend over backwards to accommodate us. At the very least, if you aren't going to have RV parking don't lead us into nearly impossible situations to get out of like the one lane dead end tunnel at the Knoxville store. Cabela's gets it. Cracker Barrel gets it. Even though Walmart doesn't have dedicated RV parking, even they get it. By making it convenient for RV customers to park, you make it convenient for them to spend their money on your goods and services. Make it difficult and we will pass you by. I promise if I had known it was going to cost me more than an hour of frustration I would have paid the full rate at the campground. Had I been able to park and shop, I likely would have bought much more. I needed other supplies but I waited until I disconnected at the campground and went to Walmart instead. Instead of shopping, I spent the whole time trying to get the truck and trailer through the lot and back out to the highway.
I do want to say again the staff was very helpful and apologetic and went out of they way to move things around to make a path, but they shouldn't have had to be.
