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tarnold's avatar
tarnold
Explorer
Jun 05, 2020

Reserveamerica

Rant, if people are looking for jobs, try subject. Yesterday I was on hold for 1:18:40 to get a reservation at a ga. State park.
  • True, but some companies where slow, even now not able, to implement the technology.

    Doubt RA was one.

    My daughter is in customer support. All her phone support was Internet - not using or tying up her home telephone line at all. But she is lucky. She has fiber-optic cable to her home for internet.

    My brother in rural Arkansas still uses dial-up 56K modem for internet.
  • I would imagine having live customer service staff is a huge money loser for ReserveAmerica. You have to remember the only revenue they get is their commission for the reservation, not the actual site fees. Unlike ordering a Pizza, a call for site reservations probably involves many back and forth conversations. The customer wants the agent to check several different parks. The customer will want to get input in deciding which site to choose. They will want the agent to check different dates and different length of stays. the customer will have to relay to the agent all the information regarding their RVs, their tow vehicles, the makeup of their group etc. If it takes the average person 5 minutes to make all those choices using the online system, it will probably take 3 to 4 times as long using a customer service agent since all that information will have to be communicated back and forth rather than just appearing on the computer screen. I doubt it is even possible for a customer service agent to generate enough reservation commissions to even cover their hourly pay. This is why it's extremely likely ReserveAmerica has the absolute minimum number or customer service representatives they have to provide to meet their contractual obligations with the states.
    Finally, I bet the customer will have too high an expectation of those customer service agents. It is likely the agent has never set foot in the state, much less in the actual park. Yet, the customer will probably have numerous questions like: "Is site 72 level?" "Does the site have a good lake view?" "Is the walk to the bathrooms easy for someone with mobility issues?" Obviously, those questions cannot realistically be answered by a near minimum wage employee five states away. All in all, telephone customer service reps for businesses like ReserveAmerica are likely to be a bad investment for both the business and the customer.

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