New concept in dealer PDI, interesting

[jimp]

Originally Posted by GL243

True re no guarantees, but good management, i.e., oversight, quality control, holding techs accountable, rewards for good ones, etc., could result in significant improvement. Here's hoping it works as intended.

Everyone of the manufacturers could implement these strategies as well but they don't, or haven't been successful at it.

[GL243]

Originally Posted by jimp

Everyone of the manufacturers could implement these strategies as well but they don't, or haven't been successful at it.

Good point. Makes one speculate that the numbers don't actually come out on the side of being profitable. I guess time will tell.

[Lake Huron]

I wish him well and hope he does very well with this. BUT, I can see this can go either way. Right now the interest rates are really high which is having an impact on sales. It's already been posted that they are down like 40%. I'm sure a small part of this is also due to people hearing these "warranty" horror stories which seem to be more and more. Which is no surprise when the demand for rv's was high so they produce crap and send it.
His statement was along the line of if he needs parts he is 5 minutes down the road from were they are built. That may not always work out. My GM dealer couldnt get me wheels for my Silverado dually that THEY screwed up and the build plant for every Silverado dually is 45 minutes down the road.
As far as as an added cost to the customer for this "service" he is going to provide, that's crap too.
A. If it was built right the first time this wouldnt be an issue
B. All the warranty work he is going to charge back to the manufacturer(s), he will be making a boat load profit on anyway.
If anything, the added cost is going to be reflected in the MSRP of the unit. The warranty work cost back the to manufacturer is going to be so expensive they will jack up the price of the MSRP.
I've seen on the build stickers there is an added cost for a RVIA certification sticker. What a joke that is! Have you ever seen an added cost on your vehicle sticker for the UAW? Nope. Were is RVIA in all these piss poor built units that are constantly being shipped out of the factory? According to their about us page, they obviously aren't doing their job.
All in all, I hope this new business takes off and does well for him and all of his customers. AND more importantly, will send a message back to these manufacturers that the need to step up on their game of quality. But with corporate greed, I doubt it.

[mia389]

Originally Posted by Crabman

Could not agree more. Would save them millions in warranty work down the line and provide for so many more happy and satisfied customers.

Would save us dealers from pissed off customers and lots of money as well.

[Flyrotor]

Hopefully he will influence a change in the industry, now if the dealer is stepping up and demanding an improved product, maybe the factory will improve as well.

This doesn’t speak to a single manufacturer, it sounds like he will run all brands that he sells through his inspection point. If he does, it will no doubt have a rippling effect among the industry

Kudos to him, I would drive farther to purchase the better product from the dealer who stands up to the factory and demands a better product before it leave Indiana.

[jimp]

Maybe I could get a job as a "tester" to find all the issues that need repair or attention. Not wanting to "fix" the issue, just find it and write it down for someone else to deal with.

I also doubt that having or getting quick access to factory replacement parts will be successful, the plants will hoard those parts to build 'em, not repair 'em.

[DaveT]

This could have great impact if this dealer would reject any trailer with more than X number of defects found. Just send it back to the factory and drop it off.


As long as the dealer fixes the factory's screw ups - no incentive for manufacturer to improve. In fact, they may get more sloppy knowing there is a free QC just down the road.

[wiscampsin]

Gotta give the guy an A for effort. If I had my choice of 2 dealers I'd definately go with the one that had this pre delivery 'service'.

[grampscamper]

This isn’t a new concept. My dealer has been using a third party company for a while now. They do PDI’s before their units are shipped here to Canada. They can catch and repair problems before they are shipped. Frees up their RV techs, speeds up the delivery process and improves customer satisfaction.

[whporwil]

My Seneca was delivered to Arizona with the transporter stopping every 100 miles because he could not get the passenger side fuel cap off because the step faring was mounted incorrectly.

[Parhole1]

Sales are down close to 40% for domestic mfgs for many reasons. Someday an international mfg will come in and do what they did to the automobile industry. With technology today, mfgs should wake up and provide the quality the consumer deserves for their money and loyalty. More is said on this blog but the mfgs know there quality is sub par so it seems a waste of time and effort to complain. JMHO

[Jack N Janet]

I seem to remember reading the employees at Jayco were paid by the unit rather than by the hour. I think a lot of the industry problems could be solved if this were reversed, depending on the quality of the techs building the units. The more I push out the door the more I get paid is not a good business model for customer satisfaction - IMHO. I did see a video of the "Amish" craftsmen building a trailer. The video stated they turned out a trailer every seven hours. I can't say a seven hour build time made me feel more confident in getting a well made trailer. I haven't had a lot of problems with my 2018 Hummingbird but have still been back to the dealer three times for repairs.

[grampscamper]

I think they’re all paid based on piece work. The faster thet go the more they make. I toured a Forest River plant a few years ago. The employees were running doing the assemblies.

[Wireman]

Originally Posted by mia389

Would save us dealers from pissed off customers and lots of money as well.

Once it's out the factory door, they could care less about the quality issue's with
these RV's.

It doesn't matter to them how much the owner's are being screwed over, by lost camping time, the hassle of having to take their rig back to the dealer numerous times, waiting weeks for parts, etc.

Read their brochures and you would think we are getting Rolls Royce quality.

There are a boatload of reasons why this industry is where it is, but it starts with the manufactures. They know what kind of product they are delivering.

All they have to do is look at the warranty costs they pay.

QC at the end of the assembly line would solve a lot of problems.

I hope he succeeds.

[KevTev]

Originally Posted by norty1

imo, that bldg should be at the factory, at the end of the building line and the factory should have some interest in getting it built right the first time.

x2,000

[Tebpac]

I like what he’s planning. Kudos to him if it works. I know of at least one company, maybe 2 that do their own PDI after being built.

[Flyrotor]

Originally Posted by Jack N Janet

I did see a video of the "Amish" craftsmen building a trailer. The video stated they turned out a trailer every seven hours. I can't say a seven hour build time made me feel more confident in getting a well made trailer. I haven't had a lot of problems with my 2018 Hummingbird but have still been back to the dealer three times for repairs.

I don’t believe turning a trailer every 7 hours implies that it only takes 7 hours to build a trailer, rather, they may have (hypothetically) 100 trailers on a production line, which in turn pushes a trailer out the door every 7 hours.

Take for instance a power car wash, locally it takes about 4 minutes to run my car through the wash, because the wash is an “assembly line” of scrubbers and sprayers, they can probably turn 120 cars an hour.

[OTTERCOMET]

PERSONAL OPINION
Japanese manufacturers tend to follow the guidance of
Dr. Deming: The American Who Taught the Japanese About Quality.
Management at Jayco need to read this gentleman's book. I read it years ago and recollection tells me that Dr. Deming basically used statistics to demonstrate the cost of building quality into a product while it is being built is minuscule when compared to the cost of reworking after the product is complete. Examples include electronics and vehicles. Companies like Toyota and Honda occasionally deliver a lemon but their after sales warranty budget is small. North American manufacturers (Canada and US) seem to operate on the principle of maintaining a large warranty budget, get the product out the door as fast a possible and let the consumer find the problems and hope that they don't find them until the warranty has expired.