American Coach and NIRVC

[brobox]

All I can say is WOW! I can't wait to see the system in operation. If I am understanding correctly, I will have an app on my phone that will allow me to follow the progress of the repair on my coach on my phone. If a delay is from getting warranty approval from Entegra, I will be able to see it and call Entegra instead of NIRVC asking why my coach is not being repaired. What a time saver and a win-win for all involved.

[Lault]

Originally Posted by BrettDavis

Good evening Tom and Bev,

I couldn’t be more happy, or grateful to be considered your dealer! It’s not at all lost on us how expensive the products, and the services we sell truly are. So, it really does mean the world to us when you and Bev trusted your business to NIRVC. Thank you for your kind words my friend.

Tom, I’d like to use your post as an opportunity to add a little more meat to the bones of what we’re doing at NIRVC to greatly improve the service experience we offer. For those who may be reading this post, and hearing about our quest, our mission if you will, to provide an automotive type service experience, I would refer you to post #28 in the “Frustration with NIRVC Phoenix” thread where I first outlined the problem:

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f278/fru...ml#post5553954

I believe in any business it always comes down to people and processes. You win with people, and you empower your people through systems and processes. When it comes to the servicing of motorhomes, and I’m speaking about both NIRVC as well as the industry, collectively we haven’t provided our people with the tools necessary to win, plus the processes imposed by the industry has burdened our people with an inordinate amount of needless steps, which I refer to as friction. I’ll first address what we’re doing to change the process through our systems development, and then finish up by addressing what we’re doing on the people front.

As an organization we decided in March of 2020 we needed to improve communications with our service customers, plus considerably lighten the load our people are currently required to carry, starting with our Service Advisors. We have chosen to do this through complete transparency, which we feel will bring about greater accountability throughout the entire service process from the manufacturers, the extended service plan providers, and of course us as a dealer. I think of the system we’re building in three parts i) customer communications, ii) work flow, and iii) warranty ratings.

In order to provide complete transparency we needed to develop not only a work flow system, but also give our customers complete access (through an app or a login) to our service system where they can see everything we are seeing in real time. We’re talking about a system which notifies you at every step in the process, which includes among others things, letting you read the technician’s diagnosis, when it was submitted for authorization, when it was approved or denied, who denied it and why, when parts were ordered if needed, the tracking of those parts, right down to letting you listen to our recorded phone calls with the manufacturer, and the component parts supplier. We are building a system where no one in the chain will be able to hide. Our service customers will have no need to call our Service Advisors, as they will have access to the very information our people have access to, and nothing less. We believe this level of transparency, and accountability, will cause everyone in the chain of service to improve, including our own people.

The work flow piece of the system is an important tool not currently provided by NIRVC, or anyone in the industry to my knowledge. I love all my children equally, but my heart aches for our Service Advisors. In my opinion, our Service Advisors have the toughest, and most thankless job in our company. They literally never see a smile! They are the thankless messenger between a warranty company devoted to paying as little as possible, a team of technicians who are never given enough time for their jobs, and a customer who rightfully doesn’t want their coach on our lot being serviced, when it should be out on the road. Plus, our customers rightfully wanted their coach back yesterday. Our poor Service Advisors are the proverbial messengers who get shot… several times a day. From my preceding paragraph I think you can see how our new system will greatly reduce, if not completely eliminate the need for communications between our customers and our Advisors. But, the work flow piece of the system greatly reduces their burden as well.

Between three external parties (the warranty company, the parts supplier, and the shipping company), and sixteen internal departments, our Service Advisors are trying daily to keep track of 4.752 million steps in their heads, and on post-its (we average 18 line item repairs per Repair Order X 88 steps per repair X 120 Repair Orders per Advisor X 25 Advisors). Believe me, it’s an impossibility, and shame on us, and shame on the industry for not addressing this sooner. Our new system will organize, prioritize, and track those 4.752 million steps. By the way, we have been working diligently with our partners to reduce the current number of required steps, such as reducing authorizations, housing parts at our facilities, and much more, all in an effort to eliminate the needless friction, and reduce turn around times. With our new system every person in our company will only need to focus on completing the tasks on their screen for the day, because our computer is tracking, prioritizing, routing, and making adjustments with everything else not on their screen. For example, if a part didn’t come in as scheduled, our computer will reroute the task to our parts department for further action, and put the next task in priority up on the screen. I believe you get the idea.

Both the communications, and work flow pieces are scheduled to start rolling out during the first quarter of 2022. Our simpler workflows like chassis work (oil changes, generator maintenance, annual services, etc) will roll out first with more complicated workflows (general customer pay, extended warranty, manufacturer warranty, and insurance) coming out in releases shortly thereafter. This new system is being programmed, and tracked through what our I.T. department calls “sprints”, which each last two weeks. This means that every two weeks, we get to inspect and see what progress has been made, and so far our I.T. Department has remained on schedule. However, this isn’t my first rodeo when it comes to I.T. projects. In my forty two years of experience, I have never seen one come in on time, or within budget. But, through the first seventeen months our I.T. Department has managed to remain on schedule, and within budget. But I’m still not holding my breath. And, when we do finally launch our app I’m certain there will be bugs, and more iterations, but hopefully within two years the landscape of our service will have been completely transformed.

Our Warranty Rating system is complete, and has been for sometime now, we just haven’t “flipped the switch” yet. Why the Warranty Rating system? Since opening our doors at the end of 2009 service has been, and always will be, the heart and soul of our company. It’s the hub of our wheel! As such, we have always serviced all comers, all makes and models, regardless of whether you purchased from us, or not. And, we will continue to do so with one big distinction.

When it comes to motorhome service we view ourselves like a hospital. We recognize no one wants to go to the hospital, but when you do need to come to us for service, the very least we can do is be nice, honest, and make our home your home. Now, just like a hospital doesn’t care who your doctor is, we don’t care where you bought your coach. Naturally, we would much prefer you purchased your coach from us, but given sales is a separate revenue stream, we have to earn that business too. Just like a hospital doesn’t care who your doctor is, they DO CARE who your insurance company is, their ability to pay, and what your coverage is. We are no different. Some manufacturers back their warranty, and it’s a single call for an authorization. Others are just an amalgamation of their component part’s warranties which requires numerous phone calls to obtain an authorization from each and every one of them. Some extended service plans use words like “subsequential damage” in their small print to avoid ever authorizing a repair. It is extremely costly for us to house coaches in for service where we wait weeks, and months on end trying to get through to a component part manufacturer for an authorization on a single repair. Our Warranty Rating system is based on all the repairs we have completed since 2009, so our ratings are not based on a small sampling. For example, we have completed just over 227,000 repairs over the past twelve months, and that number grows every day as we add technicians, and open new locations. Our ratings update real time as every repair is completed. We take into account the average time per authorization, the percentage declined, etc., but the most heavily weighted factor in our rating is the average number of days on our lot per warranty repair. We currently use this Warranty Rating system internally when deciding who, and when we schedule in for service. We will eventually make these ratings public on our website and apps, and update them on a monthly basis. The ratings will also include a “More Information” section on each warranty we have rated where we have made the small print BIG, and explain what it really means to the consumer. We are first, and foremost a service company, and I hope you can see why we don’t care where you purchased your coach, but we do care about the warranty you’re relying on for payment. Given 81% of our service revenues are paid by a manufacturer‘s warranty, or an extended service plan, when it comes to warranties, NIRVC and our customers are on the same side of the table. You want a warranty that pays, and we want a warranty which pays us.

***Please note two things. First, we will always service, and give preference to those customers who purchased from us, as we stand behind everything we sell, including our extended service plan. And secondly, “customer pay” will always receive preference over warranty work on a coach purchased elsewhere, as there is much, much less friction involved with those repairs.***

I will now move onto people, and start by giving some perspective. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics there were 15,150 RV Technicians in May, 2020, down from 15,580 Technicians in May of 2019, but roughly the same number of RV Technicians as in 1998. There were 2,255,412 RVs manufactured for calendar years 2016 through 2020. During this same period there were 33,228 Class A Diesel motorhomes manufactured, or 1.47% of all RVs manufactured. Assuming the same ratio for technicians as for Class A Diesels to total RVs shipped, there should be approximately 223 technicians specializing in the service of Class A Diesel motorhomes. Even if this assumption is off by 100%, we’re still talking about fewer than 500 Class A Diesel motorhome technicians, which is what NIRVC specializes in.

While our I.T. Department has a full plate building out our new system, our service operations team is equally busy recruiting, training, and staffing for our sixth location, as well as moving towards increasing our service hours from 8 hours/day, 5 days a week to providing service 10 hours/day, 7 days a week. To accomplish these two initiatives we are growing our current stable of Class A Diesel technicians to 240 over the coming year. As you can see, we already employ a significant number of the Class A Diesel technicians currently employed across the nation. To help grow our stable of technicians we are currently offering relocations bonuses, and significant performance bonuses when they reach certain milestones. Bottom line, in addition to the significant investment we’re making in building our new work flow system, we are also investing significant sums into growing our base of technicians. When it comes to the high end coach market, we firmly believe whoever controls service will control also control the market. And to this end, we do have a rock star recruiter who offices just a couple of offices down from me. And, we do recruit very heavily out of the military, as we have found through experience they make the very best technicians for a number of reasons, but I’ll save that for another discussion.

In closing, are our service operations where we would like them to be? Clearly they are not, but I honestly don’t believe they ever will be. Business is a continual exercise in improvement. To quote Ray Kroc “as long as you’re green you’re growing, as soon as you’re ripe you start to rot.” I can unequivocally assure any who is reading this post, our team is maniacally focused on solving this problem, and fundamentally transforming the way motorhome service has been performed heretofore. I suppose if were easy someone else would have already done it, but thankfully, no one has. Otherwise, NIRVC wouldn’t have this huge opportunity to capitalize on.

In the meantime, I will take the liberty of slightly altering Winston Churchill’s words, when I say I’m going to remain calm, and RV on.

Onward,
Brett Davis

Very interesting, which I heard part of at the AIM rally in Florida. I'm very happy you see there are many issues with the service of these units which I have had more than my share at one time. I'm doing pretty well now but past experiences with all these issues are keeping me in my unit for fear of starting this night mere process over. Maybe one day Ill buy, and from you folks, at my age I have lost a lot of my life sitting around for repairs.For now, I'll hold out on a purchase and see you good folks at a AIM rally somewhere!!

[Hayman]

Brett, Excellent explanation of your commitment to improve the communication between CS and owners and the repair experience but more importantly to me individually is under your leadership is NIRVC's commitment to our Veterans in offering them employment upon entering civilian life .

Thank You !

[bevandtomH]

Brett;
Thank you! I mentioned to you a while ago, we made two great decisions; choosing a quality coach and a superior dealership. Look forward to meeting up some day.
Tom and Bev

[Johnontheroad]

On edit: this was a long post on why I much appreciate NIRVC in general and Brett in particular. While true, this is off topic so I deleted it.

In 2017 I had my eye on an AC and drove a long way to see it. I thought fit and finish were terrible, and it had some serious design flaws (just ask DW). And a test drive quickly convinced me to buy a used Entegra.

I talked with the AC guys at Granby, and am pleased to hear new design and customer support policies. I doubt I will ever get a new coach, but if I do, I'm glad NIRVC added new options to the list.

[mbrooking]

Thanks for all you do Brett. Love that you're looking at ways to innovate the service side of RV'ng.
One thing though.... You said

"...I think you can see how our new system will greatly reduce, if not completely eliminate the need for communications between our customers and our Advisors."

I for one, like to speak to a "real" person and have always found our service advisor (Sean) to be great. Don't loose that personal touch that I love at NIRVC to an "app".

[Gary.Jones]

Brett and I have been talking about the plans and their progress for several years but I was sworn to secrecy... I am happy to see that Brett is now going public.

What he is doing is going to revolutionize the RV service and repair industry IMO and is going to put owners much more in the center of the stream of information rather than "in the dark". Of course, NIRVC is also making these innovations to also help themselves and their bottom-line, as the way it works now, IMO, is that the group that gets screwed only a little less than owners (who are often the last to know), are dealers which is the group that gets caught between owners and manufacturers, and between owners and insurance/extended warranty companies.

I hope they do everything that is planned.

Gary

[BrettDavis]

Originally Posted by brobox

All I can say is WOW! I can't wait to see the system in operation. If I am understanding correctly, I will have an app on my phone that will allow me to follow the progress of the repair on my coach on my phone. If a delay is from getting warranty approval from Entegra, I will be able to see it and call Entegra instead of NIRVC asking why my coach is not being repaired. What a time saver and a win-win for all involved.

Good evening Chuck,

I’ve been meaning to respond to your post now for a few days, unfortunately, I haven’t had time to do so until now on my flight home.

Yes, you are absolutely correct Chuck! You will be able to schedule your own service appointment, and then receive prompts every step of the way to track all your repairs during your visit. You will also be able to see, and read everything we’re seeing, and doing, in real time. This means you’ll get to see who is doing what in the process, or who is not doing what, at all times, along with their contact information. There will be no anonymity, or place to hide for anyone involved in the entire process. The customer will get to see all “the fingerprints on the knife.” I’m hopeful this level of transparency will bring about accountability, and in turn change for the better. When coupled with our Warranty Ratings, the consumer will be able to vote with either their feet, or their wallets, and this should surely bring about change. However, this is only the “tip of the iceberg” of what our new system will allow us to do. Let me give you just one more example of what it will enable at just the very front end of the process, and believe me, it’s going to enable change throughout the entire process, and not just the front end.

I’ve mentioned several times before about the fact there’s 88 steps, across 16 departments, to do a single warranty repair. Each step is an opportunity for dropped balls, or miscommunications. Let’s take a look at the industry’s traditional method of scheduling an appointment, the steps involved, the opportunity for dropped balls, miscommunication, and all the friction it imposes. Below are the steps as they currently exist in a perfect world, and we all know everyone involved in those 88 steps don’t always answer their phone every time on the first call, which adds at least one more step, a return call, and increases the 88 steps to at least 89 steps.

1. Customer calls to make an appointment, and our operators answer the call.
2. The operator transfers the call to a Service Advisor, and the Service Advisor is undoubtedly out on the lot doing a “walk around” with a customer who is currently dropping their coach off for service, or on a phone call. I have never, ever seen an Advisor sitting at their desk just twiddling their thumbs!
3. The Service Advisor eventually calls the customer back when they get a chance to come up for air, and schedules the appointment.
4. The customer brings their coach in for their appointment, and yes, the customer’s list of needed repairs has always grown from their initial call when they made their service appointment. The customer then walks around the coach with our Service Advisor explaining everything they’d like done, including the symptoms of any needed repairs. Please note, our repair orders average 18 line item repairs.
5. Every Service Advisor has a dedicated team of technicians with a Team Lead. Our Service Advisor communicates the customer’s list to the Team Lead, and just like in the game of “Telephone” something gets lost in the translation.
6. The Team Lead then dispatches the work amongst his five or six technicians, which is five to six more opportunities for somethings to be lost in translation.
7. Our technicians diagnosis the repairs assigned to them, and then write their “stories.”
8. The technicians submit their “stories” to our Warranty Department, and yes, some more is lost in translation.
9. Our Warranty Department reviews, codes, makes edits, etc. to our technicians “stories” before submitting to the manufacturer’s, or extended service plan’s warranty departments for authorizations. And you guessed it, something more is lost in translation again.

Remember, these are just the first 9 steps in an 88 step process. Plus, I haven’t even touched upon all the back and forth between our Warranty Department, and the manufacturer’s, or extended service plan’s warranty departments exhaustively trying to obtain approvals for all 18 line item repairs, just so we can then order parts if we don’t already have them in stock. If we do have the parts in stock, we still need authorizations to use our parts. Believe me, the 79 remaining steps are very real.

Now imagine if you will the new App we’re developing. When a customer logs in, because our database already knows what year, make, and model coach our customer owns, the screen will populate in descending order of frequency drop down lists of the most common repairs for their coach. If a repair isn’t listed, the customer will be able to explain in the description box their additional repairs. Additionally, if the customer has had all his service work done with NIRVC in the past, the App will populate what routine maintenance service is needed, plus any outstanding recalls.

Now, for those manufacturers who have chosen to be on our App, the first 9 steps change dramatically, and set up the balance of the repair process (79 steps) nicely for success. Once the customer hits the send button to schedule their service appointment, their list of service items are transmitted SIMULTANEOUSLY to our Service Advisor, Team Lead, all technicians on the Team, our Warranty Department, and the manufacturer’s, or extended service plan’s warranty departments. Everyone involved in the process up to that point receives the same information “straight from the horse’s mouth” bringing an end to the game of Telephone. Miscommunications should be greatly reduced. But, it doesn’t end there.

With the exception of emergencies, the vast majority of our customers schedule their appointments anywhere from two or three weeks out, all the way to a few months out for Full-Timers. Given those lead times there will no longer be any need for the authorization and parts ordering process to begin once the customer shows up for their appointment. This should allow for all the authorizations, along with the needed parts to already be in hand when the customer comes in for their service appointment. Our technicians are free to diagnose, confirm there’s no “user error,” perform the needed repairs, or services with parts already in hand. Plus, we’ve just reduced the first 9 steps to 2 steps… the customer bringing their coach in, and the technician’s diagnosis/story writing. And, these changes to the service process, and reduction in the number of steps are also happening to the remaining 79 steps.

Chuck, I just wanted to give you more of a glimpse into how we are focused on getting closer to an automotive service experience. Yes, there will always be a much longer list of repairs for a coach than an automobile, but hopefully, we can reduce the friction, and bring about a better service experience through transparency, and accountability.

BTW, I’ve never thanked you for all your posts Chuck, but I have thoroughly enjoyed reading them over these many years. Please keep up the good work my friend!

[Granite17]

NIRVC’s new service process will truly revolutionize the RV repair industry! I’am thrilled to see such dedication toward improving the customer experience!
Can’t wait…. Well done Team Brett!

[brobox]

Brett, I just finished reading your post, not once but twice to be able to totally digest it. I am amazed that I will be able to track the work schedule and procedure on my coach from my phone. I have cringed on previous coaches of taking my coach in because of the "waiting for parts" game from my previous dealer to where I stopped going. Now I will be able to see where they are and who's fault it really is.

From what I have just read, you and the I.T. team at NIRVC have just taken the software principal that has changed how we all shop, being Amazon, and applied it to your dealership. Not only can I track my order and the vendors every step of the way, but will be able to see who deserves to receive my 5 or 1 star rating that can make or break a vendor on Amazon. The transparency of this app will be a win-win for all parties involved. Like with Amazon and shopping, I see a completed change coming in the RV service business. WTG!

If we could get this kind of transparency on the DEF head problem, there never would have been a DEF head problem.

[Mikenat]

Brett shared at the AIM Tennessee rally most if not in total detail his plan for revamping the service side of his business. It is an ambitious attempt to right the ship and hopefully succeeds.

A big problem he may not be able to overcome is the investment in inventory of replacement parts for all the coaches he services. Large RVs are comprised of thousands of parts from untold numbers of vendors by a manufacturer that welds, bolts, wires and screws it all together mostly by hand. They then send it to him to sell. It then breaks. You want the dealer to fix it but he can’t get the part from the manufacturer so does he then search for the vendor? Inventory on a rv factory floor is minutely planned to keep available mostly for what is being built, ordered or being assembled.

Brett may get you off his service advisors back but you witprobably still be waiting for that repair because of parts. Example def head assemblies.

[brobox]

Originally Posted by Mikenat

Brett may get you off his service advisors back but you will probably still be waiting for that repair because of parts. Example def head assemblies.

The plus I see to this is the customer can see that Entegra or Aqua Hot has been holding a part up. It is a lot easier for me the customer to call Entegra or Aqua Hot and ask why a part has not been shipped that was ordered on xx/xx by my dealer, NIRVC. It has been my experience the manufactures seem to drag their feet sending a part(s) to a dealer. As an owner when I do my own warranty work, I can get the part in a few days, where a dealer does not. A dealer has to go though warranty approval where me the customer, emails a photo to the CS person and the part goes out the next day.

As with the DEF heads, the NIRVC software will not be able to manufacture parts, but customer will be able to see that their coach is not held up because of NIRVC, but the poor management of Spartan.

[Archer2]

Wow. This will open up a whole new world of accountability for repair shops and owners. From what Brett described it sounds like a much more sophisticated version of the Dominos Pizza Tracker app. I thought it was just a gimmick at first but I came to really appreciate, at least back when I could eat pizza! This is a textbook example of real management. Brett saw that he and everybody else in his business had a problem but rather than accepting “ that is just the way it is” he defined the problem, searched until he found the causes until he found a potential solution and fearlessly pursued it. He didn’t just think out of the box. He thought “why does it have to even be a box?” Way to go, Brett!

[Gary.Jones]

Mike

If you read Bretts response carefully, then at least my reading indicates that he is not going to be trying to keep a deep inventory of parts at his shops. That policy of deep inventory of all parts was the way Monaco did business in the late 2007-2008 crash of the RV business and was one of the main reasons that Monaco went bankrupt. They had virtually no business and millions of dollars tied up bin inventory sitting on shelves.

What Brett is saying is that when you arrange for them to do the repair or warranty service, their system will be ordering the part so that it is there waiting when you arrive for the service. My assumption is that he is counting on you not cancelling the appointment and sticking him with the part.

I need to be in Dallas area every three weeks and I always drive through the NIRVC Lewisville location while we are there just to see how the new additions are going in constructions, and Dee and I are absolutely amazed at the number of times that we see the same damn owner names written on coaches sitting either in their "RV Park" area or in the lines of coaches waiting for service.... We have seen the same name on the same coach sitting in virtually the same position for months at a stretch. I would mention one of the names since it is someone many of us know, and it has been sitting on their lot using their water and electricity for weeks after week, supposedly waiting either for a warranty company to pay up so the part can be ordered or Entegra or one of the OEM companies that don't or cannot provide the part that is needed. Dealers really can get screwed on this process. They are stuck with a coach for long periods of time before they get authorization or a part.... Of course, there are also owners who simply take advantage of the good graces of dealers for free parking.

The new system is going to show the owner where the problem lies and I assume on the one hand will shift some of the anger from owners to the group that really is holding up the process, or increase the anger since now we owners will have more reasons to call NIRVC and complain to our service advisor who has no control over the whole process at all. -- --

Gary