RVIA Go RVing Task Force Reports on Improving Consumer Satisfaction

The RV Industry Association's Go RVing Committee on Excellence has released the final reports of its five task forces that studied consumer satisfaction. The 40-page publication is divided into five sections covering the work of each task force: Customer Warranty; Industry Communication and Support; Industry- Wide Training; Product Quality; and Replacement Parts Availability.

Each group developed solutions to common, and in some cases, long-standing barriers to RV customer satisfaction. The reports identify the root causes of problems within each task force’s specific area of responsibility and provide potential solutions to these problems.

Highlights of the RVIA Go RVing reports include:

Replacement Parts Availability

• Parts numbering/manuals/barcoding – recommendations for parts identification.
• Parts inventory – recommends strategies for frequently used parts.
• Plus recommendations on parts obsolescence, parts delivery, and more.

Customer Warranty

• Warranty information – recommendations for online access.
• Warranty authorization – recommendation on turnaround time.
• Recommendations on improving the speed of warranty repairs for customers.

Industry Communications and Support

• Recommends that the industry adopt transaction standards throughout the supply chain to improve overall customer service.

Industry-Wide Training Task Force

• Launched www.rvtrainingcalendar.org in May 2007 to serve as the RV industry’s one-stop resources for all types of employees training.

Product Quality

• Identified sources of three most serious quality problems (roof leaks, plumbing system leaks, and 12-volt electrical system issues) and instituted strategies to address these problems.

“We believe these reports are a very powerful tool that industry members can use to improve customer satisfaction at their respective companies and organizations,” said Committee on Excellence Co-chairmen Chairmen Marty Shea and Jim Sheldon, in a joint statement. “The reports are a tremendous benchmark for measuring individual operations and procedures, as well as a very informative guide detailing how best to improve our customers’ experiences.”

Task force chairmen are: Ellen Kietzmann -- Customer Warranty; Stan Sunshine --Industry Communication and Support; Bruce Cooper --– Industry-Wide Training; John Thompson -- Product Quality; and Debbie Brunoforte -- Replacement Parts Availability.

“We commend the efforts of all the dedicated volunteers who served on these task forces and extend our sincere gratitude to them for the time and effort they invested in examining the complex issues affecting customer satisfaction within the RV industry and developing potential solutions,” said Shea and Sheldon.

Associations with members participating in the Committee on Excellence and its task forces are: Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA); National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds (ARVC), and RV AfterMarket Association (RVAA).

The report, titled “Committee on Excellence: Final Reports of the Task Forces Studying Consumer Satisfaction,” will be distributed to all industry stakeholders by its associations and is available here.