J.D. Power Releases The RV and campground industry is preparing to undertake a major drive to maximize customer satisfaction, armed with a baseline study by J.D. Power and Associates. The study, sponsored by the Go RVing Committee on Excellence, was designed to enable RV manufacturers, suppliers, dealers and campgrounds to prioritize and act upon the drivers of satisfaction identified by 12,000 owners of 1997 model-year motorhomes, travel trailers, fifth wheels, folding camping trailers and truck campers. Jim Sheldon, CEO of Monaco Coach Corporation's Indiana Operation and chairman of the Committee on Excellence, said, "The RV industry is enjoying vigorous growth, particularly within the enormous baby boom generation being targeted by the Go RVing national advertising and promotion campaign. To ensure that these new buyers are completely satisfied and embrace RVing with the same enthusiasm as the preceding generation, the industry has invested heavily to obtain the finest customer satisfaction research available from J.D. Power and Associates -- a name that is synonymous with quality. The industry is committed to acting on these findings to enhance all aspects of the RV experience." Product issues, encompassing quality, value, comfort, storage/space and style/design, account for approximately two-thirds of RV customer satisfaction, J.D. Power and Associates found. The sale and delivery experience, including satisfaction with the salesperson and the financing, purchase and delivery process, is the next most significant contributing factor. Following closely behind is satisfaction with performance of the manufacturer and factory, defined as standing behind the product, responding to customer requests and working with dealers to solve problems. RV service and maintenance, including quality and timeliness of repairs and characteristics of service advisors, and experiences at RV campgrounds are additional elements of owner satisfaction identified by the study. While there are opportunities for improvement, overall owner satisfaction is greater for RVs than for cars, trucks, motorcycles and new homes, J.D. Power and Associates found. Among those surveyed, approximately one-fourth of motorhome owners and one-half of towable owners were first-time baby-boom buyers aged 35 to 54. Though baby boom RV owners reported somewhat less satisfaction than others, their level of repurchase intention proved higher than that of RVers in general, ranging from 83 to 90 percent, depending on the type of RV currently owned. The rate of repurchase intentions among all owners ranges from 57 to 86 percent, J. D. Power and Associates found. Among towable and motorized RV owners, the most commonly cited problems were door malfunctions, black streaks on side panels, defective window treatments and drawers and water leaks. Dave Humphreys, president of RVIA and a member of the Committee on Excellence, said, "This feedback will be extremely useful to RV manufacturers in taking action to respond to customer concerns and maximize product quality," For motorhome and towable owners, product quality -- including satisfaction with the total number of problems, workmanship, materials and fabrics -- is the top driver of satisfaction. Value issues, such as resale/trade-in potential and warranties on the coach, appliances and accessories, rank next in importance. Comfort and convenience follow, with key measures including ease of setup, roominess, appliances and accessories supplied, comfort of beds and furniture and number and location of electrical outlets. Next in importance are space and storage capacity for sleeping, cargo and tanks. Style/design issues, including interior and exterior styling, color and aerodynamics, round out the elements of satisfaction identified. Customers report a high intention to return to their dealership (71-88%) and recommend it to others, especially among towable owners who tend to be somewhat more satisfied with their service and maintenance. Among towable owners, the key drivers of satisfaction with service and maintenance are helpfulness in listening to the customer's complaints, understanding the specific problem and the ability to fix this problem on the first visit. For motorhome owners, the key drivers are the service advisor's integrity, listening to service needs and getting them met, and the number of service centers available. Especially among high-end owners, customers desire an improvement in service timeliness. The majority of owners of all RV types are satisfied with the sales and delivery process, but there is room for improvement, especially among baby boomers. Mike Molino, president of RVDA and a member of the Committee on Excellence, said, "The study shows that people play a big role in satisfaction with the dealer experience. Dealers should focus on relationship-building and problem resolution." Though campground satisfaction impacts less significantly than product and dealer factors upon the overall RV experience, improvement opportunities exist. Between one-third and one-half of RV owners were very or completely satisfied with their last commercial campground experience, depending on vehicle type, J. D. Power and Associates found. For motorized and towable RV owners, the top measure driving commercial campground satisfaction is the cost per night to camp. Space and privacy at the campsite rank next for motorhome owners; overall value and staff friendliness for towables. Both are also concerned about grounds maintenance and appearance of campground buildings. Driving the decision to choose commercial campgrounds over public campgrounds were location and amenities offered. Generally RV owners camp more at commercial properties (19 nights per year) than public parks (15 nights). The 1999 J.D. Power and Associates RV Satisfaction Study was conducted for the Go RVing Committee on Excellence on behalf of the RV industry as a whole. No individual company rankings will be made available to the public or the media. The Go RVing Coalition, formed in 1994, consists of RV manufacturers, component suppliers, dealers and campgrounds. Go RVing works to provide the public and media with pertinent information about the benefits of RV travel and to foster customer satisfaction with the RV experience through a major industry research project conducted by its Committee on Excellence in conjunction with J.D. Power and Associates. For more information visit the RVN
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