RVBusiness, January/February 2018

RVBusiness Top 50 Dealer Awards Blue Ribbon Winner To understand at least partially why Hartville Ohio based Hartville RV Center is not only a 2017 RVBusiness Top 50 Dealer Award winner but a Blue Ribbon recipient you only have to hear President John Pastore recollect a recent Saturday evening when just 10 minutes from closing the dealership received a phone call from a couple who had lost electricity in their fifth wheel while camping about 100 miles away After the service advisor talked them through several troubleshooting ideas it was determined that we would need to see the fifth wheel Pastore noted The only problem was that the couples truck was in a shop being serviced Hearing that a medical problem would be aggravated in the hot weather with the fifth wheels air conditioning system down two Hartville service team members volunteered to drive to the campground to remedy the situation They didnt return until well after midnight Pastore said but their trip was a success While customer service including its code red system for identifying situations like this one is a hallmark of the family run dealership sons Jeff and Robert work at the dealership as vice president general manager and sales manager respectively theres more to the towable retailer founded by John and his wife Nancy in 1971 Sitting on six acres in the historic district of Hartville the dealership places a premium on staff training for all departments sales service parts management and F I The dealership pays for the cost of coursework and testing fees where applicable increases wages income and works to give recognition for its staff as members pass certification Dealership management also is heavily involved in RV associations John a longtime member of the Great Lakes Recreation Vehicle Association currently serves as its chairman while Jeff has served as chairman of the Mike Molino RV Learning Center since 2012 He also previously served as chairman of the Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association They also have a long history in local and national groups as does the dealership which has been recognized by its manufacturing partners particularly Jayco Inc Hartville RV Center has been a Jayco Gold Circle Dealer for 14 years and is a member of the Jayco Million Dollar Club and Jayco Century Club The impact of these awards is twofold John said First the consumer has a sense that they are dealing with an organization that is dedicated to quality and satisfaction Secondly awards give our team a welldeserved sense of pride that they are part of an organization that is committed to raising the bar Along with being deeply involved in local charities from the Lake Community YMCA Strong Kids Campaign to buying outfitting and maintaining a utility trailer given to a local Catholic church Hartsville RV is aggressive in promotions Were about to launch a new YouTube channel called Kids Love Camping Too said John The idea came to us when Jeffs children made some walk through videos about how much fun camping was RVB 106 RVBusiness J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 Crestview RV Center Buda Texas gives every purchasing customer a VIP membership which includes free roof inspections and system checks Texas requires yearly RV safety inspections so the dealership encourages customers to have it performed there this brings them back into the dealership and occasionally they even trade up while theyre there Curtis Trailers Portland Ore which just transitioned from second to third generation family ownership has a Good Show program that rewards employees for going beyond the call of duty externally with a customer or internally with a gift card ranging from 5 to 100 depending on the good deed Dixie RV SuperStores Hammond La is active in its community with school sports sponsorships Thanksgiving lunches food and toy drives blood drives and an Operation KidSafe event working with local fire and police departments that helps safeguard children by taking their pictures and getting their fingerprints ExploreUSA RV Supercenter Plano Texas invests heavily in never ending hands on training by paying for all coursework travel and testing owners say this has a direct correlation to happy customers The dealers incentive awards including an annual trip to Hawaii given in both sales and service also results in happy employees Fraserway RV Abbotsford B C has grown its RV rental business from 50 units in 1991 to 1300 units today currently the largest rental company in Canada Units rotated from rental to used sales inventory are inspected and then rated as Vacation Certified to offer hassle free ownership of an ex rental recreational vehicle Hartville RV Creates Code Red System For Dealing with Emergency RV Service