Why do RV dealers take forever to fix things

[tinstartrvlr]

Just read a post about someone needing repairs, and it was going to be several weeks before he could drop it off, and then another couple weeks before work would be done.
I don't understand how dealers can be so swamped and not accommodate the demand.
Seems they need a bigger place, or more employees, or better management. Or do none of the dealers have any desire to grow?
I had a long conversation once with a regional rep for CW, who moaned about never getting the correct parts they ordered and blaming things on the mfg, and also when the RV season is over, they have to lay employees off, so they can't find anyone who only wants to work seasonally. (seems like something retired RV'rs could do!!?? I'd work part time fixing the things I already know how to fix)
Seems that CW maybe could ship those employees to Fl, or Tx, or some other warm place during the down season in the northern states.
I realize it's probably not that simple, but for crying out loud, there has to be a better way!
What do those of you who have been around a while think? Is there a better way?

[ctpres]

At $100 plus an hour - why hurry?

[delwhjr]

Repairs take time. Technicians have different skill levels. Shops have procedures that waste time or effort.
Any or all of these create the backlog.

Customers wait until the last minute. Everyone wants it now.
These complicate the problem.

The bigger the repair facility; the more amplified the situation.

Manufacturers want to limit warranty costs. Repair shops want to reduce overhead. This further complicates the problem.

Take the example of a roof replacement. If the shop does it according to manufacturers procedure (and we hope they do)it will occupy a repair bay for up to 4 days and require 1 to 2 technicians for a majority of that time. This means they lose any other repairs that could have been done during that time. If you have many of these then your backlog is multiplied.

Most (and not all) shops do whatever they can to maximize efficiency. They will lump certain types of jobs together to get a better flow but they can not always predict what is coming in.

I have been associated with the service/repair industry for a long time and understand the needs of both the shop and the customer. Every repair industry has their crunch time and they all have to weather the storm of disappointed customers during that time. There are only so many hours in the day and only so many repairs one can make during that time. As has been stated by others plan your service for the slow time and it will be faster. Unfortunately emergencies happen and we can't always pre-plan but that is not the shops fault.

[cyntdon2010]

Did you buy it here? If your answer is yes, you go to the front of the line.
They purchase parts off the internet to save money just like you do.
after 8 years with the same rv, i can fix most thing my self..

[goducks10]

I seem to read about many repairs taking so long because they have to order parts that sometimes never get ordered or just take a long time to receive.

I always thought that you need to either be rich or handy to own an RV. I'm not rich so I made myself handy. No waiting on poor dealership service.

[Matt_Colie]

Let me tell you this about that.....

BIL owned a motorcycle shop.
A good friend had a small power boat shop.

They both reported that the majority of dealers only have a "Back Room" (repair shop) because that they know that they could not move product out the door without it.

Both these two were smart about it. The kept the repair shop profitable by being timely and effective. Both paid their key people top dollar and made the line wrenches responsible for the work that they did. They also let the line guys approve the quote for larger work. They still could not make money on warranty - nobody can.**

The dealerships that bitched about doing repairs all hired the cheapest people that would take the job and had fast turn-over and were known for the poor quality of shop work. When you are bidding against McDee for help, you can't very well hold them to high standards.

** Some years back BMW motorcycles changed their warranty reimbursement to be top dollar. So, when any came in, it went to the senior line mechanics first. Warranty and related complaints disappeared. I do not know if this is still the case.

Matt

[westernrvparkow]

DanNJanice wrote:

theoldwizard1 wrote:
In my area, it is simple. Not enough work in the off season to justify hiring more mechanics during the busy time. Hard to live off of unemployment 4-6 months a year.

^^^Bingo!

And hiring seasonal employees has it's own problems. Every job has a learning curve. Even someone with dozens of years of experience has to learn the nuances of the new company and that slows everything down. Those new employees have to get a feel for where everything is located, have to learn how that particular employer wants things done and the new employer has to more closely supervise those new employees until they are comfortable that they are actually doing a good job. And if you do hire and lay off seasonally, your unemployment insurance costs are going to be sky high. Having run a seasonal business for a number of years I can tell you the first two months don't run nearly as smooth as the last two months of the season.

[tinstartrvlr]

All good responses.
For the record, as a fulltimer, I haven't used a dealer in 5 years. I do my own maintenance/repairs, or use a mobile service/local shop, just to avoid the aggravation of using a dealer.
I just felt bad for the poster who talked about his plight, and everyone else who gets caught in that headache.
As far as workers, many companies seem to find people who can move around the country and go where the work is; seems the RV industry could do the same.
I don't know, it just seems there must be a better way to manage the industry.
Maybe I should just stay in my box and quit stepping out to think...... 😄

[DanNJanice]

theoldwizard1 wrote:
In my area, it is simple. Not enough work in the off season to justify hiring more mechanics during the busy time. Hard to live off of unemployment 4-6 months a year.

^^^Bingo!

[toedtoes]

tinstartrvlr wrote:
Just read a post about someone needing repairs, and it was going to be several weeks before he could drop it off, and then another couple weeks before work would be done.
I don't understand how dealers can be so swamped and not accommodate the demand.
Seems they need a bigger place, or more employees, or better management. Or do none of the dealers have any desire to grow?

Because the demand is seasonal. Winter is the best time to find seasonal workers because college students are looking for part-time work to support their education, folks aren't off traveling and vacationing. But, the high season for RV repair is during the spring and summer - and that's when college students go home for the summer, and other folks are traveling around in their own RVs.

tinstartrvlr wrote:
I had a long conversation once with a regional rep for CW, who moaned about never getting the correct parts they ordered and blaming things on the mfg, and also when the RV season is over, they have to lay employees off, so they can't find anyone who only wants to work seasonally. (seems like something retired RV'rs could do!!?? I'd work part time fixing the things I already know how to fix)

People ignore their RVs in the off-season. Then, at the beginning of spring, they bring it out and find problems. And of course, they ALL need their work done immediately because they have travel plans in a week. Go in around December and there will be no delay.

As for using retired RVers, again the backlog in service is during the travel season, so many of those RVers are out in their own RVs traveling.

tinstartrvlr wrote:
Seems that CW maybe could ship those employees to Fl, or Tx, or some other warm place during the down season in the northern states.

That's a lot of money to spend relocating employees and their families every 6 months. They'd lose more in the expenses than they'd gain in the faster work. Not to mention that they'd have to deal with employees who don't want to relocate every 6 months (I sure wouldn't).

tinstartrvlr wrote:
I realize it's probably not that simple, but for crying out loud, there has to be a better way!
What do those of you who have been around a while think? Is there a better way?

Inspect your RV in the fall and throughout the winter. Take it in during the off season BEFORE the spring rush hits. Or take it to an independent repair shop. Or use a mobile mechanic. Or repair it yourself. At the very least, check out your RV at least one month BEFORE a big trip so you have time to sit in line for the repair work and not cancel your trip.

[qtla9111]

They know as rvers we tolerate their b.s. Look at some of the excuses above.

[BizmarksMom]

Find yourself an independant shop. I might wait a few weeks to get my rig in, but it's usually done and ready to go the next day. And the mechanic is honest with me. Ask around, especially if anybody around you has big horse trailers with living quarters built in. (Some of those horse trailers are gorgeous!) That's how I found my shop.

[theoldwizard1]

In my area, it is simple. Not enough work in the off season to justify hiring more mechanics during the busy time. Hard to live off of unemployment 4-6 months a year.

[pianotuna]

Sell an rv for 100,000.00 and make $10,000.00

or

do a repair that costs $5000.00 with materials cost so profit is perhaps $500.00

You choose which to spend your time doing.

[rockhillmanor]

Short answer is:

RV Mobile Repair.
STOP using RV Dealerships and those specialty RV repair stores!!! You are not tethered to have your RV repaired only there.

It is the ONLY way I have work done on the MH. Maintenance and Repair.
Done in a day!

They have the majority of what usually breaks down on an RV, ON BOARD their trucks. And if by chance you need a special part? Low and behold the RV mobile repair guy can get it the NEXT day. And he's back in the am to install it.

It just goes to show you that that: ""it will take weeks to get the part"" from an RV dealership/RV Repair Store, is pure and simply plain BS.

Been using RV Mobile Repair for 10 years now. Major or minor repairs either needing parts, have all been taken care of within a couple of hours. While I sit back and have a cold one. :C

[NC_Roamer]

Having owned two boats and still owning a motorcycle, I know that those repair shops are also swamped in the springtime. I make every effort to avoid springtime work on my Honda and Greyhawk.

However, we do get very good turnaround from our dealer when we need something quickly to make a planned trip. When we were weighing buying the Greyhawk from the Jayco dealer 20 minutes from home or the high volume RV One folks 650 miles away, we chose to pay a bit more and buy locally. They said we'd get priority in the service department and they have certainly done so.