RVBusiness, July/August 2020

TOPof theNews Lippert Care Center to Focus On Whole Customer Experience Extended hours emergency service 24 7 support the hiring of a 30 year call center veteran and a rebranding are among the recent moves Lippert Components Inc LCI has announced in an effort to ensure that its customer service is best in class Obviously weve been taking steps around customer care for a long time and the next step was to focus more on the whole customer experience We want to delight the customer We cant just do things the way we used to if we want to delight the customer and make sure they have an amazing experience Jason Lippert LCI President CEO and how customers feel about our products and services LCI President and CEO Jason Lippert told RVBusiness in mid June LCI since 2012 has been focused on assembling a solid team and building out a call center and warehouse to take calls in a timely fashion said Lippert adding that the publicly held Northern Indiana based firm currently fields approximately 70000 calls per month from dealers retail customers and warehouse distributors A key to Lipperts service upgrade is the hiring of Joyce Schofield who will lead the newly named Lippert Care Center Her previous experience in running a customer service operation involved stints at General Motors subsidiary OnStar and Guardian Protection home security services whose call centers according to LCI are known to be highly efficient and innovative One of the first actions Schofield brought about was to change the name of LCI Customer Service to the Lippert Care Center which she said is more in line with the companys general objectives We have updated our internal name to correctly align with what our services provide which is care Schofield said in a press release announcing her hiring We are improving and offering more services to be there for the customer whenever they need us As part of the whole initiative the Lippert Care Center has expanded its hours and can be reached 24 7 via email at customerservice @ LCI1 com Customers can also select emergency service on the phone and connect to an LCI technician round the clock They can check the status of orders through a new 24 7 chat bot through which theyll be able to open a case with a customer service representative for direct follow up Theres a lot more to the customer experience today how we interact details on whos answering the phones how we answer the phones what we say body language all those sorts of things said Lippert We want to delight the customer We cant just do things the way we used to if we want to delight the customer and make sure they have an amazing experience whether its a question or a problem or some type of opportunity RVB Vice President Pence Visits Winnebago Says America Is Getting Back to Work 8 RVBusiness J U L Y A U G U S T 2 0 2 0 IN BRIEF RVIA RVDA Develop Model Franchise Law The Recreational Vehicle Industry Association RVIA and the Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association RVDA have developed a new RV Model Franchise Law to promote cooperation between RV dealers and RV manufacturers and to enact state laws that benefit RV consumers according to a release This new model law is intended to serve as a framework upon which future RV specific franchise laws can be enacted The framework can be used as is or mutually agreed to be modified to meet the needs of the industry in a specific state This effort has been decades in the making and is just another example of our strengthening industry unity said RVIA President Craig Kirby Its been great to witness the manufacturers and dealers working together to move our industry forward The model law is designed to be a resource for states that are interested in pursuing RV franchise legislation said RVDA President Phil Ingrassia The provisions draw years of experience in negotiating mutually agreeable state laws that govern the dealer manufacturer relationship Moving forward this initiative should increase efficiency in negotiations reduce lobbying costs and help dealers and manufacturers achieve a mutually beneficial business environment in the states that elect to use the model law Outdoors Act Passes Senate House Next The U S Senate on June 17 took action to address campground modernization and deferred maintenance on public lands with the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act GAOA by a vote of 73 25 The bill which is expected to be passed in the House of Representatives and signed into law by the White House will provide the largest investment in public lands in over a century GAOA will invest up to 95 billion of non taxpayer funds to address infrastructure in the National Park Service U S Forest Service Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies RVB U S Vice President Mike Pence during a visit to Winnebago Industries Inc s Forest City Iowa headquarters on June 16 called the RV manufacturer a crucial part of the Great American Comeback around which President Donald Trumps 2020 campaign has framed its reelection bid according to The Globe Gazette in Mason City Iowa The comeback today would not have been possible without your work Pence joined by Gov Kim Reynolds and state Sen Randy Feenstra told the crowd that included 200 to 250 socially distanced Winnebago employees Pence a former Indiana governor toured the Winnebago facilities beforehand with Reynolds and Jim Mullen deputy administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration When Winnebago decided to shut its factory in late March due to the COVID 19 crisis affecting the demand for the companys products Winnebago President and CEO Michael Happe told the audience Winnebago CEO Mike Happe left gestures as he speaks with Vice President Mike Pence and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds that one of the first phone calls was to Reynolds I wanted her to know firsthand how serious of a decision this was for us as a major employer in the state to care for the safety of our employees that we would work to take care of those employees from a health care support standpoint and that we would look to reopen safely and return our team to work when the time was right said Happe RVB