RV Dealer First (and Last) Trip to this place

[Canine]

Sigh.... :s

My first (and last) trip to our local RV dealer was a challenge to say the least.  Wow, the sales guy was a piece of work to say the least.  When I mentioned that I've reviewed, 'Five million" videos online of RV tours, he looked and said to his coworker,  ' This is gonna be a long one." His coworker smiled and sort of nodded at him.  Of course most people would know that I was exaggerating the "Five Million" but he was just a dick. I wanted to walk out after that comment but really wanted to see some rigs.  Further, he was so condescending. during the golf cart tour. 

Worse than a car salesman. He kept trying to sell me a new RV which I will never do. 

I can safely say he will never get my business.

 

[shadow]

Some sales people get really butt hurt when they think the customer knows more than they do, and that`s just to bad for them.
We are the ones spending the money for a very expensive vehicle, so it is up to us the customer to know at least as much or more
than the sales person. If they have a problem with that, move on to the next rv dealer.

 

[rvpopeye]

And don't forget to tell him why if you walk away.....

 

[Queen]

Some sales people get really butt hurt when they think the customer knows more than they do, and that`s just to bad for them.
We are the ones spending the money for a very expensive vehicle, so it is up to us the customer to know at least as much or more
than the sales person. If they have a problem with that, move on to the next rv dealer.

Exactly!  In my motorcycling life I owned over 40 bikes, they were my absolute passion.  When I would go in to the dealer I would ALWAYS know more about their product than they did... how they reacted to that knowledge was what determined whether we might do business.

 

[OutdoorFT]

You dont have to be knowledgeable to be a salesman. You just need a few selling lines and push the customer into buying. If you havent yet, try a smaller dealer. We have a few and they are much better than larger places...camping world for example

 

[SoulRaven]

I have been to 2 big dealers in Tucson and that was the experience. Best bet is a small dealership where the owners work there, and we are seeing more and more of those where we live, some just set up to buy, sell and trade used units.

 

[mayble]

RV show season is winding up around here.  Even if you never plan to buy a new RV, it's a great way to see what's out there and pick up ideas for customizing your own.  You also get a chance to meet many dealers/sales people and maybe find someone you could work with.  The smaller, family owned dealerships really are the best.

 

[ArtW]

Back when my age was measured in a single digit, I had a neighbor who had serious money (never once saw him with less than $700 in pocket) but dressed like, well, someone without much money
One day he took me with him car shopping, and looked at a brand new Caddy
the dealer was a condescending jerk who informed him it was a 'very expensive car' and expressed doubt as to his ability to pay
My friend asked what a cash 'out the door' price would be, and the sealeman sneeres the full MSRP at him
my friend puled out a wad of $100s, and said 'Got that racheer"
the salesman's eyes lit up, and then my friend said "but you ain't gettin it, ya d**k"
The look on the salesman's face was priceless, and the amount of ass kissing he managed in the time it took for us to go get in my friend's car and eave was amazing

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

When I was buying my first new vehicle I was at a local dealership and was sitting with the salesman and an older guy was sitting with another salesman next to me. I could tell he was as about impressed as I was with the place. I left and went to another dealer about 30 min away. Not more than 5 min later the same old guy showed up and we both bought new trucks that day. We laughed and said we should drive back to the other dealership and honk but after thinking about it wasn't even worth our time.

I did send the other dealer an email letting them know they lost two sales that day and why, never heard back so whether or not the advice sunk in, who knows.

I think RV salesmen are all the car sale flunk outs, as they bring the salesperson stereotype to a whole new level. I've always wanted to try the job for a few months and take the exact opposite approach and see if it works or if the highly annoying sales pitch is what's needed to survive. I think more people are docile than not and the high pressure gets them to do something they'd not do otherwise. Why else would they all be doing it?

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I always go in acting like I don't know anything.  If he gives me honest answers about things a know about I have some confidence in his answers about things I don't have knowledge about.  I can always ask informed questions later.

 -- Spiff

 

[Zizzer_Zazzer_Zuz]

I'm best described as 6 foot tall 350 pound space yeti. I scar little children. Salesmen roll their eyes and avoid me.

When my son was 1 yo my ex and I went to the mall to buy him some nice (not crap) shoes for his first pair (yes, we waited until he was 1 before putting him in shoes). Found 2 pairs for him, some socks, a few other little things.

I went up to the front of the nice shoe store in my torn jeans, faded t-shirt, and long hair to look for a nice pair of shoes for me. I found a sales guy and was asking about shoes, trying to get fitted, and he walked away and started trying to sell shoes to some dude in a suite. Walked away mid sentence while measuring my feet.

When I got to the register and had the manager ring up the sale and got to a total of like $500 and told him I changed my mind because the sales guy was a dick and I wanted to make sure that the store knew exactly how much he had cost them. I got my entire purchase for 50% off and that sales guy got read the riot act right there in front of everyone.

In the immortal words of The Marley Man himself ...

Judge Not/before you judge yourself ...

 

[DannyB1954]

My attitude depends to a large extent on your attitude. Are you sure that you didn't go in as a smart ass know it all? Maybe they figured that they were going to be just like the hundreds of videos you watched. A pass time.

What I do is play dumb, and then try to catch them in something that I can prove is not true. The bottom line is do they have what I want and am I willing to pay what they ask. If either one is not true, what the heck am I even doing there? The price is negotiable, but only if they have what I want.

 

[TxLady]

The Houston area is teeming with RV dealers, new and used. There is one near my house, PPL Motorhomes (hope it's ok to name names on this forum). They have three lots in Texas, one in Houston, one in Cleburne (near Ft. Worth) and one in New Braunsfels (towards Austin). They have hundreds of used RV's, everything from Class A's to travel trailers. The only thing I've never seen there is truck campers. You can go inside the office, sign in at the desk (they like to know who's wandering around on the lot), and they will give you a map of where your type of desired RV is located. All RV's are open for climbing inside and looking around. No salesmen following you around, no high pressure; I've been there several times just to spend an hour. I usually go with one or two units in mind to see, which you can look on their website and pick a few out, just to save time. There are hundreds and it can get mighty hot so I go early in the morning. They sell thousands of units over the course of the year. If you're anywhere near Texas, give them a look. Not sure how their prices compare to other dealers, but if sales and service are any indicator, they must do have good prices and customer service.

 

[frater secessus]

Some sales people get really butt hurt when they think the customer knows more than they do, and that`s just to bad for them.

What's sad is the customer really does know more than the salesdroid some of the time.  Crappy RV salesjerks need to take some lessons from Josh the RV nerd on youtube.  Guy knows a ton about RVs and is willing to share without condescension.  

In a related story, I visited a lot once to see an A-liner  unit on display.  When I walked in the salescritter (a decent one) stood up to take me there while the finance guy looked over at me and said "Money talks and bullshit walks.  Money will lots of zeroes."  Nice.  The salescritter did a good job answering my questions and showing me the A-Liner despite the behaviour of the finance douchebag.  This was RV Max in Mesquite Tx if anyone was curious.

 

[ArtW]

I got good treatment at RV Station, a smaller lot near Katy, Tx, just a bit closet tho Houston than Holiday World and Camping World

 

[westriver]

The Houston area is teeming with RV dealers, new and used.  There is one near my house, PPL Motorhomes (hope it's ok to name names on this forum).  They have three lots in Texas, one in Houston, one in Cleburne (near Ft. Worth) and one in New Braunsfels (towards Austin).  They have hundreds of used RV's, everything from Class A's to travel trailers.  The only thing I've never seen there is truck campers.  You can go inside the office, sign in at the desk (they like to know who's wandering around on the lot), and they will give you a map of where your type of desired RV is located.  All RV's are open for climbing inside and looking around.  No salesmen following you around, no high pressure; I've been there several times just to spend an hour.  I usually go with one or two units in mind to see, which you can look on their website and pick a few out, just to save time.  There are hundreds and it can get mighty hot so I go early in the morning.  They sell thousands of units over the course of the year.  If you're anywhere near Texas, give them a look.  Not sure how their prices compare to other dealers, but if sales and service are any indicator, they must do have good prices and customer service.

I've seen a lot on the RV forums regarding this outfit, over many years.  Assuming that at most of what is said by their customers is correct, it appears that they are largely a consignment lot. They sell a ton of RVs, and generally at very competitive prices. They make a lot of data available on their website, including sold prices of thousands of rigs they have moved. They run an online parts store with some of the best prices in the nation. I have used the parts department and they not only had the best prices, but the stuff arrived very quickly. The downside is that there is a lot of online complaining about travelling to the dealership and finding that the units are described as being in far better shape than they really are. They also have a spotty reputation for their sales department, some have good experiences, others leave flaming posts about how badly they were treated. I know nothing of their service and or repair abilities.