How to Navigate a Fall Tsunami of Service Opportunities: RV Dealers

Oct 19
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12
min Read
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[Webinar transcript from discussion with RVTI and Kenect]

McKay Allen:

All right, let's jump right in guys. So first, let's introduce you, Curt. Why don't you take 45 seconds or so. Tell us about you, tell us about our RVTI and how you work with dealers across the country.

Curt Hemmeler:

Sure. Thank you, McKay. Thanks for having me today. A little bit about our RVTI, we've been around for almost a year and a half now. We are a startup propped up by the industry and with the manufacturers, suppliers and dealers all contributing initial dollar grant seed money to create this institute, our purpose. We're headquartered here in Elkhart, Indiana, the heartbeat of the RV world, and we have authorized learning partners across the country. But, our two main objectives was to standardize the curriculum that leads to certification, take the training, standardize it, lead it to the ultimate goal of certification. The other was to recruit folks into the industry. So, that's what we do.

McKay Allen:

Trevor, tell us a little bit about you and tell us a little bit about Kenect, if you would.

Trevor Allred:

You bet. I'm coming live from Utah. Salt Lake City area is where our company is based. Kenect was founded by a former dealer, so a lot of what drives us is dealer based, and understanding a little more close to home some of the challenges that you're facing. That we're a software platform with a text messaging tool that is very easy, very powerful, simply meant to help you communicate more efficiently, generate new leads off of your website, collect payments even via text message technology, and driving online reviews. So, I know today we're focusing on how you can best handle a tsunami of fall service opportunities and it just may be that I squeak in a mention of technology here and there.

Trevor Allred:

But, the big picture is, we help RV dealers to do some of these things using technology, scheduling appointments, sending quick information, sending targeted warranty reminders. Collecting payments is relatively new for us, but it's been really popular. Attaching photos, generating reviews, and capturing leads. So, keep that in your back pocket as we now share some general principles, I think that you'll really be excited about.

McKay Allen:

Awesome. Thanks, Trevor. Thanks, Curt. All right, let's jump right in. Curt's going to talk a little bit about some of our RVTI's offerings at the end, but this is the presentation, and we want to hit these topics, and we want to make sure that we dive into them and give you guys value for taking some time out of your schedule. So first, let's talk about what you can expect this fall on your service department. Curt, let's start with you. What is the fall shaping up to look like in service?

Curt Hemmeler:

Sure. Well, I think it's very safe to say it's going to be the busiest it's ever been. With the amount of units that you all have been selling, that we've been manufacturing here, common sense just tells you that the service departments going to be extremely busy. I think what's going to be a little bit unique about it is the customer might be different than what you're used to dealing with. They may be more diverse. They're probably going to be younger, for the most part. So, I think being prepared with the capabilities of serving that type of demographic is going to be essential. You might also be facing a greater technician shortage because, as we all know, we have been challenged with getting folks into the industry and RVTI's doing their best to help with that. But, obviously, with more service needs, comes a need for more bodies. But, I would sum it up in one word, busy. It's going to be very busy.

McKay Allen:

Great. Trevor, my guess is you would agree with that assessment?

Trevor Allred:

I certainly would though. No, but I hadn't thought, Curt, I love your comment that it's looked for a new customer, more diverse, perhaps younger age. The bottom line is, that we've had folks buying RVs and you will all... I see we've got dealers from all over the country here. You all know that. You're having first-time buyers that haven't come from an RV family and they haven't been buying for generations. But, here's what I think we'll see and some of you may laugh when I say it, you're going to see in your dealership, even, more of your sales folks strutting around like they own the world because they had a killer summer. And, we all know it really doesn't matter much of what they did, it was all industry stuff. In the same dealership, you have service folks, based on what Curt just said, that are shaking in their shoes, because there is going to be a literal tsunami. By the way, McKay, kudos to you for putting the word tsunami in the title of a webinar for RV dealers.

McKay Allen:

You know what, I think that's the best way to describe it though, from what we've heard.

Trevor Allred:

Right. So, what do things look like? A bunch of sales guys strutting around like they own the world and, in the same dealership, service folks that are literally shaking in their boots, because we all know there are two factors. Number one, an increase in sales for RV units, and number two, an increased use of the existing units. So, those two horses will combine for... I like to keep it positive, a huge revenue opportunity for each of you in service because we all know the service department has the highest margin. So, I've got a few ideas and I know Curt does, too, I think that will really help. As we, now, not only talk about what to expect this fall, I think we all get that, but as we talk then about procedures and some of those other questions.

McKay Allen:

Love it. All right. I think what you guys said, too, is not just that there's going to be a lot of service, but it's going to be a new kind. Maybe people who haven't owned RV's before, don't know how to take care of them, are confused at the service they need or don't need. They're confused at the process to get it and how long it'll take, all that stuff. So, I think that's a great point. All right. Let's talk procedures, processes, hiring. I think the thing we're hearing from dealers, Curt, I'm curious if you are too, is that they don't have enough technicians. That's probably not something you can solve overnight. But, what procedures or processes would you recommend that a dealership enact right now to make their service tsunami a little less tsunami-ish?

Curt Hemmeler:

Sure. Well, first and foremost... Someone canned this, I think his name was Mr. Welch, that you win with your people. The one thing I can tell you about RVTI is, our sole focus is that technician. I'll share that in a slide later and explain how that is. It hasn't always been the case, but our focus is around that technician. Both, the one at the dealer, mobile techs, doesn't matter, a technician. Our purpose is to get more folks into the industry. So, I would say, make sure if you haven't talked to your service people, right, in a long time, you might want to walk out and thank them or something of that nature. It's some simple stuff, that, a lot of times will get overlooked because of the craziness and the busyness that is currently occurring in one side of the house, is going to come to the backside, if not already.

Curt Hemmeler:

So, I would say, one, make sure just to go out, and thank those people. Because, as you know, they're hard to find, especially the good ones. The second thing is, is do separate time to do some training. Ideally, I know it's tough, but students or techs will learn better if you get them a little bit out of the environment. If they're in the middle of training and something and then, obviously, there's a need on the floor, I get it. So, probably, planning and strategizing around scheduled trainings that do occur and keep it consistent. Hiring, always be hiring. Always, always, even when you have a full team. Keep looking. We're putting some things in place here to help out with that. I think a good place to look, if you think about it, is in the high schools in your local area. Getting a hold of the photechs and such, in the area if you haven't done so.

Curt Hemmeler:

We have a program now, which I'll share with you. You can learn more about how to become a partner. We can give you materials or we can reach out and help you with recruiting high school students. We've recently also looked into a few of the non-violent, non-felon prison systems. So, these would be folks with a few little marks on their record. We're training them to try to bring them into the fold. So, keep hiring, keep looking. Appreciate those techs. Make sure that, also, you are... Well, I'll leave there. Those are a couple big suggestions, I would say, and hope that everybody is doing. I'll get into the more RVTI support a little bit later.

McKay Allen:

Very cool. Trevor, procedures, processes, hiring, any guidance or help that we can provide talking to dealers, because we talked to hundreds of them, we have over 2000 customers that are dealers? What are we hearing here in terms of processes, procedures that are helpful?

Trevor Allred:

No, you bet. That's a great question. I'm sure it's on top of all of our minds. I smile a bit because it's easy to say, well, hire 15 more certified technicians. Of course, we all wish we were in that boat, but there are two problems. Number one is, Curt can attest, there aren't 15 certified technicians laying around to be hired. Number two, that really doesn't help you at the dealership to say, "Oh, the solution is just to hire a bunch of people in the next two weeks and then I'm going to be fine." So, I love this question. Sure, the hiring is always important, but procedures and processes right now can make a big difference.

Trevor Allred:

So, I have two thoughts. Number one, be proactive and control the service appointments. What I mean by that is, if you start calling now then you can schedule proactively, when you want those to happen. So, you're still meeting the needs of the customer, but you're more so meeting the needs of your dealership, rather than being reactive and waiting for those calls to come in. There are simple technologies you can use, wink-wink, that we may talk about later, that can really maximize the opportunity to not only schedule those appointments, but then schedule, say, appointment reminders to go out beforehand. So, a couple of simple tweaks to your process, making it proactive and using automated technology, can really streamline what you're trying to accomplish.

Trevor Allred:

Then, the second one... and I picked this up from a dealer... McKay, you mentioned, I have the good fortune of working with a lot of RV dealers and I love it. But, one great idea that I love is when you're being proactive scheduling the service, make a concerted effort to separate the timely need of winterization from the less time we need for warranty work. So, for example, as you're being proactive and scheduling your appointments in terms of process, why not dedicate the month of October for your winterization, knowing that, yes, you may, well bring in that same unit in November for the warranty work, or December for the warranty work. So, just a couple of things up front in regard to process that I think can make a big difference, being proactive, and then separating the urgent winterization from the not quite as urgent, but still important warranty work.

Curt Hemmeler:

You guys, you made me think of... I was at a couple dealerships, and you talk about productivity. You're so right. What they do is, the minute they sell a unit, they actually go ahead and schedule the first appointment, which, some people might be scared of that, right. But, they found it to be extremely helpful, so they can start filling their books in the fall and stuff once the warranty work starts showing back up, before the winterization. So, that's a good point.

McKay Allen:

That's a good point. I think one of the things that we've talked about Trevor, and this takes us to our next point is, how they can keep them informed. Part of keeping them informed is not just before the process, but during the process, which speeds things up and increases capacity. So, why don't, Trevor, we start with you on this one? How can dealers keep customers informed during the service process, before the service process with proactive appointments, that kind of thing?

Trevor Allred:

Good, I love it. Well, you may guess from sporting my favorite company shirt and Curt, kudos to you too, because I believe you've got a nice shirt on as well. I know, in the camera, we're backwards. Yeah. But, as you can imagine, I'm going to answer this question with, maybe, a couple of technology points. That, how can dealers best keep customers informed during the service process, I think is a great question to ask. Because, the natural inclination for each of us, as dealers, is going to be, we're so busy doing the service work, we don't really have time to do the normal customer satisfaction and stroking and appreciation and communication that we normally would have.

Trevor Allred:

So, how do you as dealers best keep customers informed? I've got to promote using simple, easy, effective technology. You know what that is? For some, it's phone calls or emails. Not really, it's text messaging. The reason why is, because there's a 98% open rate and there's a 95% read within three minutes rate, which is huge. So, let me flip the tables a bit when it comes to keeping customers informed. Let's say, each of you on this call, as dealers, are actually my customer, and I'm your dealer, and you brought in your RV for service and as I'm, the tech, looking at it, I noticed an engine oil leak. I can take a picture of it, and text it right back to you.

Trevor Allred:

Curt, I'll use you as my guinea pig. You're the owner of the RV. Let's say you're at a very important RVDA board meeting. But, you're hiding your phone under the table like everybody else. So, you're going to get that text message from me as your dealer, even while you're sitting in your meeting. Whereas a phone call or an email, you're not going to get to. So, two things happen. Number one, you're pretty impressed with the way I reached out to you and the way I communicated. But number two, if I'm the service manager, how am I feeling right about now? Well, I'm thrilled because you got the message, you're pleased with my customer service, and you respond back saying, "Yeah, if it's an $80 seal, and it'll still be ready by five o'clock today, go for it." So, as a service manager, I can move that unit right through my service bay, it's done and waiting for Curt to pick up with a small mint on the pillow type thing.

Trevor Allred:

So, technology, simple technology, simple text messaging technology, is a great way that dealers can keep customers informed. You'll notice, I included the use of photos because a picture's worth 1000 words. So, as Curt's looking at his phone under the boardroom table, he'll see my statements, he'll also see the photo with the engine oil leak, and I may even throw in the $70 seal that it's going to take to fix it. So, in a minimal amount of time, I accomplished a maximum amount of communication that made his life easier, and that made my life easier, and I can move right on to the next one knowing that Curt knows exactly what's going on.

McKay Allen:

That's awesome. Curt, anything to add to that?

Curt Hemmeler:

No, just that type of technology, I can say, I just took advantage of that with my car at the Nissan dealership. They were keeping me informed. Trevor, I'd swear that you were behind the scenes doing that because that's what they said. They said, "Hey, your air filter's dirty. Here's how much it is, and we can have it done." It's so much easier just to hit, yes, please proceed. I'll just piggyback off of that, that, if you think about it, with that kind of proactivity, that type of efficiency, allows that tech, obviously, to be able to budget their time. Once again, going back to that service manager, booking appropriately and adequately and giving your folks the ability to manage their time and be better and make money.

McKay Allen:

Love it. Alright, let's talk about speeding up that response time. We hit on that with the process you just described, Trevor. But, are there any other methodologies you would recommend, Curt or Trevor, on speeding up that experience? I think one of the things you guys touched on too, maybe I'll start this with is, I'd say, being proactive with spreading out the service request... If you just sit back and wait for a Saturday, this fall, you're just going to be overwhelmed. But, if you're proactive about scheduling, and spreading these things out, it's going to make it far easier for you and your team. But, are there any other things you would suggest with spreading these things out, which increases service capacity as well, inherently?

Curt Hemmeler:

First of all, that is the secret sauce, which, Trevor, somehow, what you just talked about, in the case of that proactive scheduling and using technology to find those minutes, because you're always going to have the drop-offs and that could be money lost, if you're not ready and prepared to take that when it shows up. A longer term play... Yes, there's a little bit of pitch here is, to keeping those techs trained and getting them certified. It's a longer play, but it's an important play that will pay you back in dividends. A more confident, trained and prepared tech will move faster, and get more business done quicker and make you more money as well as themselves. That's all I would add at this point.

McKay Allen:

Trevor, what would you say?

Trevor Allred:

So, speeding up response time... and I blended that into keeping customers informed. If you can use technology, and our data shows that 89% of your customers and prospects prefer to text you anyway. So, that's why I said it's a win-win, because if nine out of 10 of your customers want to receive a text rather than a phone call or an email, why not hit it right on the head. If, at the same time, unbeknownst to them, you're actually keeping them informed and speeding up the response time, then you're hitting it out of the park in all areas. The response time is just simply that example of Curt sitting in his board meeting, being able to text me right back. Because, we, as dealers, of course, we want a response time, that is a matter of seconds, at the most. We certainly don't want to get into the [inaudible 00:22:58] where it drags into hours and days.

Trevor Allred:

I think, Curt had mentioned his car example. How many of us have had examples where our car dealer tries to call us at what seems to be the wrong time, and we can never actually communicate and get it done. So, in response to speeding up that customer response time, just use simple, effective technology that they want you to use anyway and that will save you a ton of time on your end.

McKay Allen:

Awesome. All right, fantastic. So, increasing service capacity. Trevor, we've talked about this one a fair bit and you have some really creative ideas. Well, I should say dealers have given you some creative ideas, you don't get credit for this, about how they have gone about increasing service capacity. Really simple stuff. I think the communication piece is a big part of it just like getting people through more quickly. But, what were some of the things that you've described lately around carts in the parking lot, and mobile and that kind of stuff?

Trevor Allred:

Oh, great, just give away my one good idea. Thanks a lot. But, let me quickly clarify, I have the wonderful opportunity of working with all of our partners, whether it be on the manufacturer side or the association side or the supplier side, but my position is also given me an opportunity to rub shoulders with a lot of you, as dealers. So, I give a credit to all of these great ideas. To you, as wonderful dealers, and to the wonderful consultants that we have in the industry, and the suppliers like Curt and his team from our RVDA and our RVTI that really take a lot of the guesswork out of it. So, I'm grateful that we have a chance in this webinar to showcase some of those best practices.

Trevor Allred:

So, my answer to this, and Curt you may smile when I say it, the old phrase, keep the surgeons in surgery, which, of course, means, if you have certified technicians don't have them sweeping the floor and cleaning the units before they come into the service bay and laying out parts for the service opportunities. When it comes to increasing capacity, you want to maximize where the real rubber meets the road and where the real money brings in the margin, and that is having your surgeons in surgery. Have your technicians always turning the wrench. So, how do you address that? Well, you've got dozens of qualified responsible adult high schoolers that can come in, and, for much less money, put them in charge of managing your shop. Cleaning the equipment, cleaning the bays. Make them practice, for example, laying parts out the night before.

Trevor Allred:

So, there are a lot of great consultants that have shared that. I know Valerie on the call, she's a wonderful consultant. We work with the Bob Clements International team. Use those consultants, because in a quick half-day of consulting, you can really nail, not only the processes and procedures, especially as you're coming into a tsunami of fall events, but also ways that you can very inexpensively and very easily increase your service capacity. So, I'll throw that out there. Use some of the tried and proven experts in the RV industry, such as Curt at RVTI and some of those others I mentioned. A half a day of consulting with them is worth a ton of future service revenue opportunities because you're able to get your ducks in a row.

Trevor Allred:

We've already talked a bit about spreading it out. If you focus the month of October on winterization, then it makes it very easy for you to increase your winterization capacity. McKay had mentioned... My neighbor is the head of service for one of the large dealerships here in the state of Utah and I asked him, prior to this webinar, I said, "Hey, what's working really well?" They have put together winterization carts, so as those RV units come in to the parking lot at the dealership, they have three technicians that have the winterization carts, and they're able to knock out 50 winterization in one day. At the same time, keep flow going through the service space. So, I thought that was an interesting way to approach it. You know how to best implement it, but consider... Not mobile service, because that's a discussion for another day. That takes a lot of time and effort and energy. I'm talking about a mobile cart that's at your dealership, right there in the parking lot.

McKay Allen:

Love it. What do you think of that idea, Curt? What are your thoughts on stuff Trevor said and also any other ideas, you have to increase capacity?

Curt Hemmeler:

Everything Trevor said is gospel. That's true. Day-to-day, if you set aside and you manage your time, you look at these different things as Trevor's mentioning, they will come back to you in the form of dollars at the end of each day. So, I don't really have a lot to add to that, just don't let it be I'm skipping next to the do's and don'ts. One of the scariest moments I've ever had at one of the dealer folks... I will not say where I was when I did this, it actually happened twice... I was asking, as I do the different cities, I go to different dealers, tell me about your training, your service? He says, "Oh, I put all my new people... The first thing to do is, they fill propane and do propane." I was like, "Oh, boy."

Curt Hemmeler:

Yeah, it's skipping to the do's and don'ts here, but don't do that. There's training and stuff I'll discuss here in a little bit that will help you with that. But no, I don't have much more to add other than what Trevor's already mentioned. He's giving away the secret sauce. A lot of good stuff.

McKay Allen:

All right, biggest do's and don'ts. These are, I think, really where the rubber hits the road stuff. Let's get really specific here. Curt, let's start with you, most important do's and don'ts for a dealer relative to service this fall. Gosh, if there's one thing to take away, I think, it might be some of these do's and don'ts.

Curt Hemmeler:

Well, I think, we've been talking about it, obviously, hiring's important. If you're not, get hired up. With that, train, train, train. I said, I know it's a time consumer, but as I'll share with you, there really is no excuses. I think we've set something in place for everybody. So, no matter if you're a big, little, many, many miles away or right next door to us here in Elkhart, we have an answer for training for you. I would say, maybe, also think about some cross training with your salespeople. Unfortunately, I know getting inventories a little challenging right now, we sold a lot, we're taking orders. The worst thing you can do is have a salesperson standing around not working, when you got your service department going crazy. There's ways of possibly cross training a little bit. To utilize them now, to help you if you're not staffed up the way you should be.

Curt Hemmeler:

The other piece, I'll just say that, I would not... We talked about how you manage the different fixes and what service you have going on. Don't be putting your mastertech PDI in. There's better use of their time and their talent. Yeah, so, I guess, it goes right back, really pay attention to the service side of things, because it can can really make you money, or you can throw it out the window, too.

McKay Allen:

Hey, let me ask you guys a question. How big of an issue... I actually would suggest it's probably better than it used to be, but how big of an issue, still, is, service being an overlooked element for a dealership? Or, do you think that most dealers and most GM's it is a source of revenue and a profit center as opposed to, we sell RVs and we also do service when they come in? What is that viewpoint within the industry today? Where are we at with that?

Curt Hemmeler:

I can take that one, because that, obviously, was a big part of what I was investigating as we created curriculum and stuff for the technicians. Yeah, the current state is still predominantly all about sales. It's still the largest. What I would say I found was, the long-term dealers, the ones that are in this for the long haul, have found to put as much attention and focus and investment into the service side, because it will get you through the tougher times. Or, as, right now, as we all know, the supply chain is extremely challenged. That's coming through, both, on the production of new product as well as the pieces parts on the ones that are already out there in the repairs.

Curt Hemmeler:

So, it's important that you still... If you want to get through the tough times, those that survive, and those that thrive, are the ones that do put time and attention and financial into the service side. Those that don't, I guess, they're probably not on the call, because some of them didn't make it through some of the earlier terms. So, it's important to diversify yourself. Definitely.

McKay Allen:

Love it. Trevor, anything to add there? I love what you said, Curt. Anything to add there, Trevor?

McKay Allen:

Give us some do's and don'ts. But also, do you feel like dealers are starting to see the importance of the service department?

Trevor Allred:

I think so, yes. The reason why is because that's the highest margin and we all know that. But number two, there's always the fabled statement, that service is what sells unit number two. So, many of you, as dealers, have figured that out, that it's not just being able to sell a unit. But, if you can give a customer an excellent overall experience, not only will they come back to you to buy number two, but it's more easy for you to incent them to buy number two, long before they would have anyway. So, absolutely, that's an important part of it.

Trevor Allred:

My biggest don't is... Well, actually, let's start with the do's. My biggest do, especially right now, is to educate the customer. The reason why I say that is because surprises in the service department are death. You all know that and we all get that. So, when I say the big do is to educate your customer... And, Curt is goes back to you mentioning that we have a younger generation that's buying or maybe different categories to consider. A lot of these folks, if they're first-time buyers, they need to understand that there is a winterization that is part of the process and that there is annual warranty work and some of those things. That there is a requirement for storage, for example. Then, quickly flip that around and say we have those solutions for you. Rather than saying, "Oh, yeah, you have to do warranty," and, "Oh, yeah, you didn't get the memo? There is a certain winterization element," and, "Oh, yeah, you've got to consider storage."

Trevor Allred:

So, those are just three examples where surprises are not good in the service department. So, perhaps, that's part of your sales team's efforts, too, is simply, the do is, educate your RV buyers with the wonderful processes involved. Not so that they recognize they have to spend more time and money but so that they have, even, a more pleasurable camping experience with their family.

Trevor Allred:

Then, my biggest don't is this, and you'll all smile and I say this, and Curt, you may appreciate it too, don't forget your service employees when you need them the most. What I mean by that is, a tsunami of service is just going to knock a wave through your department like no one's ever seen and it will be easy for you to scramble on behalf of getting things out the door, and come hell or high water, we're going to get this done and quit complaining, yada, yada, yada. So, don't forget your employees in the moment of need. So, yes, it may take a little more planning, but take time to recognize them. Incent performance with money bonuses. Recognize and celebrate when you hit the per quota for the day on service. Now, is the time to pull out the gift cards for dinner or the surprise pizza party or the ham handling the lunch today, that sort of thing, because they need to know you've got their back and they need to feel invested to give it their all. So, that not only does the work get done, but so that the customer has a non-surprising experience with you.

McKay Allen:

Love that, what you said about surprises, especially given that you probably have a whole new crop of RV buyers this year, who don't know what an average or standard service or maintenance schedule looks like for their RV. That's critical this year, Trevor, good point. I know it's going off script, I'm sorry, I just thought of this question, but do you have any sense, Curt Trevor, on the percentage of new first-time RV buyers this year compared to a regular year? I don't think I've seen that data. Curt, tell me what you know about that?

Curt Hemmeler:

Yeah, I don't have a hard, exact number, but we do know that it is pushing 50% of all the current first-time buyers right now, are new to the industry.

Curt Hemmeler:

It's as high as 50%.

McKay Allen:

What do you think that is compared to a “regular year”?

Curt Hemmeler:

Dramatically, I've seen different statistics pointing to it and I want to say that, typical year is 30%, 25 to 30-33%.

McKay Allen:

You talking, potentially, doubling or increasing by 70, 80% from-

Curt Hemmeler:

Oh, yeah, definitely.

McKay Allen:

Again, I think my point is, though, and I appreciate you letting me put you on the spot there, but normally... I think, because of that, the fall service schedule is going to behave very differently. It's going to look different, right? I just think that's critical to know. All right, let's talk about collecting payments. This is one that I know, we talked to dealers, Trevor, that they say, look, this is actually a big time waster for us because we're having tech come in and have to swipe cards and enter stuff on a computer and capture invoices or email invoices. It takes an extra six minutes or five minutes here, seven minutes there. We are starting to think... and this will be the plug for the day. But, we believe that what we've introduced is a solution to this, to speed the service department up. Talk about the payment collection options that we talked about.

Trevor Allred:

You bet. As you can tell, this is the last entrant on our list that I wanted to bring it up, because if there's a way you, as dealers, can collect payments in the contact list environment very quickly and very easily, then that's a win for everybody involved. So, I'll throw in a plug for Kenect, our wonderful developers have now a remote payment capability via text message. What it means is, when you, as a dealer, want to collect payment, you just simply send a new text message using our payments function, its template. You fill in the amount and the invoice number and you hit send. How easy was that? Then, your customer gets a text message... Curt, I'll leave you alone this time because I know you're up to your neck in board meetings with our RVDA. The customer receives a text message from you, their favorite dealer, with your logo and a link to a secure payments portal where they complete the transaction. Essentially, it's Venmo for dealers. It is really that easy.

Trevor Allred:

We represent about 2300 dealers to our National Credit card processor, so it's 100% secure, it's PCI compliant. But, what that does then, is it opens up more service opportunities for revenue for you, as a dealer and here's how. Especially during COVID, you can now offer more remote drop-offs and remote pickups. You can offer more curbside drop-offs and more curbside pickups. Why? Because, the payment is complete. The transaction is taken care of. We found a lot of dealers that actually can charge a slight premium on that service.

Trevor Allred:

But also, I like this because going back to processes and procedures and efficiency, too many times, and you know this well, dealers, you're stuck waiting around for the 11 o'clock appointment that doesn't show up until 11:50. You know exactly what I'm saying. So, what dealers have realized, is that they can proactively promote that pickup, so that then you're never late. Because your folks say I will be there at 10 o'clock to pick up your unit for your 11 o'clock appointment. So now, you are in control of the timeline. There is never someone that's late, you don't have those gaps in service, and you don't have service bays waiting for a unit to come in. So, if you think about the big picture, remote payments can be huge. On top of all that, how does it affect the customer experience? They love it, because they don't have to touch anything and they know you'll come and take care of it.

Trevor Allred:

We've even had dealerships that have approached the annual subscription method for the full meal deal service package. What I mean by that is, so that there are no surprises, they can take an average cost per year round ownership and divide it into monthly payments. But, that includes remote pickup, remote drop off. It includes the winterization that you, as a dealer, pick a convenient time for. It includes service work. Then, why not throw in storage? With many of you, inventory levels... and Curt knows this, have gone where? So, on average, dealerships have more parking lot space, am I right? Why not turn that into revenue by saying hey, as part of that package, we will store your unit for the winter. We'll even, for a minimal amount, cover it and do what we call the snow shake. A lot of RV dealers are concerned about too much snow building up on their unit or whatever, you can even offer that as part of your service. So, my point is, remote payment collection can open the door to all kinds of things, and that remote payment collection includes an annual monthly charge. It's like Venmo on steroids.

McKay Allen:

Love it. Curt, anything to add to that part on payments there? I'd say that the most quickly growing feature that is being used in the industry. Is that accurate, Trevor? People are just loving this payment via text. So Curt, anything to add to that before we jump into some questions, and then some stuff about RVTI's offerings?

Curt Hemmeler:

No, the only thing I would add is, if you're utilizing that technology, as Trevor's mentioning, it keeps your tech's wrenching, and that's really where you want them. So, less time they're spending on paperwork and worrying about payments, the more money they're making, for themselves and for you. So, that'd be my only add.

McKay Allen:

Cool. All right, let's go through some questions and then we'll go through a couple of slides about RVTI here. But, I want to hit three questions before we do that. First, Christian asked a good question, how great of an impact you think parts procurements will be and what effect will that have with any... So, we talked about inventory with units, but sometimes we forget about parts? Is it going to be six weeks to order a part for an RV right now?

Curt Hemmeler:

I will say it's going to take longer. I don't know different parts, where it's coming from, that kind of thing. There's definitely a challenge in getting parts through the system right now. Though, I have heard that it has improved a little bit in some areas. But, we are going to be dealing with this. Being here in Elkhart I hear it, obviously, from the manufacturing side. Obviously, that filters down to you, the dealers, as well.

Curt Hemmeler:

So, different parts will be taking longer. I think, as an average statement, most things are going to take longer. Going back to Trevor's recommendation on that, when you can get your hands on the things that you need for winterization, order ahead, try to get some things in there so you're not having to worry about it when the person just shows up and you need something. But, it is going to be slower right now.

McKay Allen:

Okay, good point. Valerie brings up a great point, she says, she read that over 40% of the first-time RV buyers, which you're indicating, Curt, could be as high as 50% of the whole, will likely not buy a second one and will leave the industry within five years. So, this goes to the point she's making and I think you guys would agree with this, making this experience seamless. Make this easy. You don't want them to get done with the buying and service experience and be, man, that was hard. Make it simple. Anything to add to Valerie's context there? I think that's a great point. Keep them in the industry.

Curt Hemmeler:

I will tell you, I don't know, I haven't seen that specific statistic. I will say though, the tolerance level of this new breed, or new group, is not as high as what we have been used to. So, you're proactively hitting it with some information, like all the things we've mentioned before, all good points. But, we're actually working on a piece here, that we're going to look to get out to the industry. I can tell you, RVTI is a part of RVIA, which I am the senior vice president on RVIA side, were part of our goals, we were just working on them today, in going forward as an association, is to focus attention on that first-time buyer by leveraging [inaudible 00:45:50] and campaigns with that, and different things to try to make that experience good so that they don't exit in five years or don't come back.

Curt Hemmeler:

I feel like it's going back... You just have to treat them for the gold that they are. Trevor brought up a good point, that the service, if you take care of that, make it good, we know that they will more likely come back even when you screw up. Just be the first to say, I'm sorry. We forget to use the word, I'm sorry, we messed up. People are more tolerable if you're very human about it.

McKay Allen:

No, I was just agreeing with Curt about his tolerance levels lower because of the... Potentially, the age of the new buyer. They want the Amazon experience. They want it simple and convenient and easy and you've got to deliver that for them. Curt or Trevor, anything to add there?

Trevor Allred:

Thanks to my favorite best friend, Google, according to Travel and Leisure this year, in 2020, 80% of the new RV units went to first-time buyers. Curt, you were right, a year ago, that number was 25%. I bring that up because Valerie asked a great question. If we have all these new buyers, and supposedly they're going to disappear after five years, it's all the more important that we control expectations. So, do you remember my do? The do is, make sure customers know upfront what is included. Then, I go back to what I alluded to, thanks to, for example, the Bob Clements team who does consulting with dealerships, they have that subscription service plan. So, for those first-time buyers, if they know everything will be taken care of... In many cases, the newer generations are okay to pay a little more for that, to get home delivery and home drop-offs and to know that they'll get a replacement vehicle if they need one, and the parts and service are included in storage sort of, thing.

Trevor Allred:

Then Curt, I'm wondering if there's a shortage on parts, you're right there in Indiana, Elkhart, if we all secretly reach you with $100 crisp bill, is there any way you can jump the fence and grab a few parts for us?

Curt Hemmeler:

Oh, well, I'd like to say I would, but if it isn't parts, it's also human bodies that we need to actually fill the hole. So, it's a combination. But, you did make me think of something else there too, Trevor. Gosh, it's escaping my mind, getting old sucks. It'll come back to me, I apologize. I was going to add something into the discussion, but maybe it'll hit me later.

Trevor Allred:

No, you'll hit it.

McKay Allen:

All right? Yeah, go ahead, Trevor. Go ahead.

Trevor Allred:

We have a lot of dealerships that have assumed the parts cabinet mentality, needing this and going back to parts. Your dealership knows very well what type of parts you need, and at what time of the year. So, as Curt alluded to, why not have a parts cabinet fully stocked well beforehand, and it will more than pay for itself because your dealership will be the one everyone comes to when there's a part shortage. So, keep that in mind too. There are a couple of ways to approach it. Whether it's subscription service, or having a parts cabinet up front that a lot of our consultant trends and other adventurous dealers are realizing the value of, makes that perfect customer experience so that they don't disappear after five years.

Curt Hemmeler:

I remember what I was going to say. One of the things that is important with these new buyers is, two more do's, I would say. Watch your front desk folks. Make sure they're up to speed. Remember, that's the first impression when they come in there, is whoever you have greeting them. Sometimes you have your least paid employee as your front desk person who's handling almost 99%, the first experience that person has. So, pay attention to that.

Curt Hemmeler:

The second one is, we do know, statistically, that a lot of folks are staying or will camp within 150 miles of where they live, especially the newer ones, to some degree, because they're getting their legs. It would be very smart of you to... Because, some of the experience doesn't lie just on us, it's the overcrowded campgrounds that they may encounter, and the lack of amenities that might be at campgrounds. I would do some research in your local area and provide that information and maybe work with folks to plan out some of their vacations or where they're going and help them and direct them to good campground experiences that might help the experience continue to be good.

McKay Allen:

That's a really, actually, interesting point is, try to think about their overall experience. Love it. Alright, Curt, let's take a couple minutes here, the conclusion, and dive into some of the training offerings that RVTI has. Just guide me through these slides a little bit, I'll try to follow your lead here. But, just walk us through and tell me when to go to the next slide.

Curt Hemmeler:

Okay, and I'm going to do this real quick. But, to start with, as all of you know, and I explained already, RVTI is a year and a half into this, and one of the key things that we want to do, is all of our training hopefully leads to certification. Certification does a lot for you. It gives you a standard base knowledge of what your folks know. By no means am I saying that you're going to put somebody who's never wrenched in their life and put them through the program and they're going to suddenly be the greatest tech ever. It takes time. But, this gives a standard. What you see in front of you is the career path that has been laid out. Level one is your PDI tech. Level Two takes it further into diagnostics and troubleshooting. Your level three is, all of your vendor trainings that are going on. The [inaudible 00:52:25] and medics, of that such. Then, that rolls into the master level.

Curt Hemmeler:

This is truly a career path that has never existed. When a tech enters into RVTI, the first class they take, they're assigned a number and that goes with them for the rest of their life. So, a tech will be able to have a digital portfolio, no matter if they're with you or somewhere else, that they can always access. At any time, when you're hiring somebody, if they've been in the RVTI system, at any point, you can ask them to print out all of their credentials, and they'll be able to do that, which has never been the case.

Curt Hemmeler:

So, that's the layout that focuses around the core seven areas of an RV. Propane, electrical generators, appliances, chassis, body. I feel like I left one out, plumbing. Okay. Now, as far as how do you get this education, I'm happy to report that I believe we have answered every possible way. There's no reason for anybody not to train anymore. I will be the first to tell you, the best training is good old face-to-face. If I could, I would bring everybody here to Elkhart and train them, train them, train them, take around, show them the manufacturing, give them the complete exposure. But, we know that that isn't necessarily realistic for the majority of folks.

Curt Hemmeler:

So, what I want to show here is, here are your delivery options of the education because, remember, the education lives in the Cloud. So, we can deliver this anywhere. So, if I had a tech and I need them trained, as of right now, you can get textbooks for level one. So, this is your PDI. You can order up, go the website and purchase textbooks. If you have a tech that you'd like to get certified in level one, you can just have them sign up and challenge the test. They don't have to take anything. Then, the one I'm most excited about and the one is the greatest I have heard from day one of coming here, a year and a half ago, and one that I'm happy to report is, the self paced online program, which we refer to as SPO. We just launched it, October 12th.

Curt Hemmeler:

This program, I'll show you all the benefits here in a second, we'll really excited about that. That is a truly online experience. I did have a demo, you can go to our website and see the demo. But, this tech is just as though they're sitting there with an instructor. It goes back and forth and so forth. Of course, there's always going to be live training here in Elkhart or through one of the learning partners. So, that's level one.

Curt Hemmeler:

Next slide, please. Now, as you saw in that row, that career path, there is level two. Now, level two's more extensive. This gets into diagnostics and troubleshooting of those seven core areas out beyond the PDI. The textbooks for that, the self-study textbooks, will be November 2nd. You can start ordering those for that. The test out option will follow the same day, November 2. So, folks that you've had out there that want to just challenge the test. The self-paced program, we had to get approval from the board, which I'm happy to say they gave it to us and that's already in production, and will be ready as early as spring but probably mid-summer with the idea that we'll be ready for training season, which, I believe, kicks off right around September 1st. Then, live training. We'll have face-to-face training here in Elkhart as well as through the learning partners.

Curt Hemmeler:

Next slide, please. Certification testing. Two tests, there is a written and written performance now. Before, it's just a written. The written performance actually challenges you a little bit. Without having a live person, we now do it through a testing mechanism. One attempt for each is included in your fees. You must pass the written before moving on to the written performance. Proctoring testing using NOCTI. So, NOCTI is our third party. So, why is this important? It's important because of the fact that a third-party endorses the curriculum, they helped us create it. This means that, if ever there's a situation where you have to defend yourself in court or anything of that nature, it makes it a very easy process because we can show that this person is certified.

Curt Hemmeler:

Within 72 hours of purchasing a course, you'll get an email that allows you to set up your testing. Deadlines for testing will coincide with the end of course purchase. There are some deadlines, but we want you to move through it. We don't want you just, not to test. Recommend a test before to end the course, so remediation is available because we actually have the ability to go back and remediate with you, to help you. What this all means is, that it's much easier than it was before. RVTI is one-stop shopping for education now. Next slide, please.

Curt Hemmeler:

This is the benefits of the SPO. First and foremost, you can take this anywhere, anytime, anyplace. So, the number one thing is time and time is money and time is valuable. If you're a technician who wants to get into the SPO program, they can take it at home, they can take an hour a day, it doesn't matter, anytime, anywhere. They don't have to travel anywhere. We know, to send somebody away here in Elkhart for one week's, about 8 to 10 grand to do that. That makes no sense whatsoever. No work schedule interruptions. You do get training textbooks, and the testing is all included into one package, one price. There are labs built into it, so that you can retain and get comprehension and retain the knowledge and skills. You can do it from your mobile device or desktop, doesn't matter, and the student is in complete control of his or her learning experience and pace.

Curt Hemmeler:

As far as cost, for level one, the self-study textbooks by themselves are 175 set. If you want to test out, it's 200 or 75 for each retest. If you want to take the SPO program, since everybody on here is industry, you pay industry pricing, not the retail price. Industry pricing is 995 per tech. There is a volume discount. So, even with that second tech, you get 10% off of that 995 and so on. The more you test, the cheaper it is. Then, of course, live training follows the same pricing as SPO. For anybody in the industry, it's the 995 price and volume discount. That's for level one.

Curt Hemmeler:

Level two. Next slide, please. The level two set of books is 350. Or, if you buy both sets, level one and level two, it's 475. You still have that option, just to buy all the textbooks. If you test out it's 325, and then $75 per test, if you need to take it again. The self-paced is more expensive, because it's much longer. The industry price is 1995. Once again, volume discounting applies. Then, the live training falls right in line with the self-paced program costs.

Curt Hemmeler:

I believe, that is it. So, my contact information is right there in front of you. I know that was very quick, down and dirty, but we got a lot of PR going out about it right now. Of course, that's my direct contact information. You can call or text me directly.

McKay Allen:

Great. Very cool, Curt. Thanks for jumping in and telling us about those RVTI offerings. Guys, this has been really valuable, I think, and hopefully useful for everybody. So, we appreciate you both taking the time. We really appreciate everybody taking the time on the call today and joining us. I would encourage you to do a couple things. Email. Curt, if you have questions about those RVTI training offerings, and then text Kenect. Text us and see what the texting experience is like. We work with hundreds of RV dealers, we work with over 2300 total dealers, between RV Marine and the spaces like that. So, it's really like, we are made for dealers, and we are used by thousands of them.

McKay Allen:

So, whether it's the payments, the texting, the review gathering, all the stuff Trevor mentioned, we really are focused on helping you get more leads, get paid more quickly, and increase the capacity and speed in your service department. So Trevor, any final thoughts for everybody before we close?

Trevor Allred:

Certainly, well wishes for each of you during a busy time, from a business standpoint. Well wishes for each of you from a physical health standpoint. We've got your back, we're pulling for you and wish you nothing but success. Reach out to share any ideas that might help.

McKay Allen:

Curt, any final thoughts from you?

Curt Hemmeler:

No, I just echo the same sentiment as Trevor, thank you for having me on. I wish everybody nothing but the best health and success and health definitely through the holidays as we, believe it or not, we're approaching into it. So, thank you.

McKay Allen:

Great. All right. Well, thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Everybody, have a great day, a great weekend. We hope you're doing well and are excited for this fall tsunami that is approaching. So, thanks again, everybody. Bye-bye.

Curt Hemmeler:

Thank you.

Trevor Allred:

Bye-bye. Bye.

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