Two years after launching a consumer call center, Forest River is upgrading the service.
Forest River Internal Communications Manager Victoria Trujillo said the call center expansion will provide Forest River consumers with faster response times, broader coverage and direct live support.
“The expansion moves beyond basic call answering to a full-service, customer support model,” Trujillo said. “Earlier phases focused on routing and response coverage; Phases II and III now integrate live technical assistance, concierge-style services and advanced case handling for both emergency and general inquiries.”
Trujillo said customer service representatives will go through additional training and be supported by upgraded technology. Forest River said artificial intelligence (AI) technology will support customer service representatives but will not replace people.
“(Forest River partner Specialized Dispatch Service) is scaling its human team,” Trujillo said, “so that customers always connect with a live representative rather than an automated system.”
Forest River Director of Parts, Service and Warranty Doug Deter said the call center will provide access to a live customer service rep with AI used to help quickly sort through Forest River’s database. Since launching the call center, Forest River said the company has a call answer rate of 90% and an average answer time of under 30 seconds.
“Forest River is committed to raising the bar for our owners, and that starts with answering the phone when they call,” Deter said. “A large percentage of incoming calls are more ‘how do I’ than they are warranty or parts issues, so we designed this call center to help find answers quickly.”
Forest River said the call center has exceeded every key performance indicator (KPI), including an overall 15% reduction in call volume. Trujillo said the expanded call center will look to maintain or exceed current KPIs, even as call volume increases.
“The goal of the expanded call center is not only to achieve operational efficiency,” she said, “but to set a higher standard for responsiveness, reliability and live customer care across the RV industry.”
