RV industry death spiral...

thestoloffs wrote:

laknox wrote:
I've said for several years that one of the most basic things that an RV mfr could do would be to stop paying for piece-work and pay straight wages/salaries. Yes, this would cause a drop in production, but it almost certainly would lead to less warranty claims and higher customer satisfaction and increased sales. Profits would increase because supply would be less, therefore there would be less incentive to discount. Some sales would be lost due to higher prices, but these would almost certainly be customers who were marginally able to afford a particular unit to begin with.{snip}

Lyle, I agree with your approach. Here's my "proof":

I have a 2010 Born Free 26' Class C. It was built by a team of 4 people, not an assembly line, who are paid straight wages.

Born Free offers a 3 year bumper-to-bumper warranty on their work. However, the key to their QC is that, during those 3 years, every calendar quarter that no warranty claims are made against my coach -- that team receives a bonus.

So, if they build each coach right the first time, they'll be rewarded for the next 3 years!

OK, I concede that BF is a lower volume manufacturer than the Thor divisions, and that there are far less Class C's built each year than travel trailers.

But, why couldn't they run such a bonus plan for each workgroup on the line?

(BTW, I worked for both Chrysler & GM, so I have some insight on how large volume lines are organized and operated.)