Time for everyone to head South (This Week)

Every year, RV owners head South by the thousands. Most come down the week after New Years. Many of them set up an appointment at a service center on the way to or near their destination. I will try to help you understand what to expect when coming down at the busiest time of the year.

Click Illustration for Larger Image Alliance Coach Inc. was born on September 28th 2009, in Wildwood, Florida. Alan and Judy Shapiro purchased the former Monaco Factory Service Center and created a partnership with Brett Howard and Caroline Champion who previously operated the facility. The Shapiro’s were Beaver coach owners and visitors of the Monaco facility prior to purchase. As a result of this collaboration, Alliance Coach was formed. This new Alliance team is committed to operating the company on the basis of honesty, integrity and superior service. Our goal is to provide consumers with a level of customer service unsurpassed in the industry. Between our service and sales department, the Alliance staff brings in excess of 200 years of RV experience to ensure your complete satisfaction, whatever your RV needs. Alliance Coach is a full service RV dealership providing a custom paint and collision center, cabinet fabrication, upholstery shop and chassis area. We have technicians that are RVIA master certified, factory trained and experienced in all types of RV service. At Alliance we meet the challenge of difficult repairs not routinely attempted by the typical service facility.

Being in Florida full time has it's advantages. I can choose to have service on my coach when things are not as busy. I have found that the best times to have service done is right after major holidays. Such as Memorial day, 4th of July, Labor Day. I have found that the slowest time of the year is usually the week between Christmas and new Years. Two weeks after new years is the busiest time of the year where everyone expects to have their coach worked on at the same time because they made an appointment 4 months earlier. You may be in for a suprise!

This year, I had my diagnostics and repairs performed in between Christmas and New Years at Alliance Coach in Wildwood, Florida. Alliance is a very large repair facility that also sells and consigns RVs. Unlike the largest dealer in the business about an hour South in Sefner, Fl., Alliance is a repair facility first, making customer service it's number one priority. Alliance is on a site that was formerly known as the Monaco Coach Corporation Florida Service Center and employs many of the former employees of Monaco. They are a dealer for the New Monaco RV LLC's Holiday Rambler Brand Motorhomes.

I had a chance to ask Alliance Coach VP, Brett Howard for his advice that I could give to my readers who were heading down for the winter.

He asked that service customers be patient, bring a book or two and be prepared to wait. For a normal routine service, it is OK to leave your coach and pick it up when it is finished. When bringing a coach in with a problem, Brett suggests that you wait with your coach. This will help ensure that the problem is fixed. Many people will drop a coach with a problem and leave only to find that it is not fixed, causing a more extended stay at the facility.

I have the experience to say that it is cost effective and more helpful to the technician to wait with your coach. Brett Howard suggests the same thing. He believes that everyone wins if they work together on the problem. Alliance has 40 Water and 50 Amp Electric Camp Sites for it's customers. Customers can also plug in outside of more than 10 bays. There is plenty of space for dry camping and storage for more than 40 coaches.

To summarize what is about to happen over the next few months, RVers are all coming down at the same time expecting service at all of the dealers and service centers in the South. I believe that all you can and should expect is a friendly smile and a hand shake from your service advisor at the time of your appointment. From that point on, be prepared to wait or stay home and wait for the week after Memorial Day

I can guestimate that there are at the most 1000 service bays in Florida for tens of thousands of RV owners expecting some kind of service over a 3 week period starting the week after New Years and on their way home the 3 week period after Easter.

Click Illustration for Larger Image Joe Bruno

Joe Bruno's situation is very rare. He has a financial planning and investment banking background followed by a tour with the most extreme RV lifestyle, Touring the US approximately 100,000 miles in 2 years with the "Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus Band" in three larger diesel motorhomes and a Jeep Liberty.

After his tour with the circus ended, he went to work for the dealer who sold him his current coach--Lazy Days RV Super Center. After more than a year of 75-hour-work weeks and little time with his family, Joe moved to another high-end RV dealer.

With the market collapsing and new motorhomes not selling. he decided to go on his own and share his experience and expertise with other RV buyers and established his present company: RV Buyers Advocate.