| RV News invites letters from our readers. We want to share your thoughts,
ideas and concerns with the rest of the industry. Unsigned letters will not be considered,
but you may sign your name with the assurance that it will not be used if you so request.
Address letters to: Editor, RV News 408 E. Southern Ave. Tempe, AZ 85282-5200 or FAX them to (602) 784-4420 or email: rvnews@primenet.com. |
| Mr. Pete Koyak
Dear Pete, I have just finished reading your "letter to the Editor" in the RV News magazine dated April 98. It is very obvious to me that you are probably not one of the magazines favorite people, nor for that matter a preferred customer of the mentioned establishments in your article. To this I say 'CONGRATULATIONS AND VERY WELL DONE!" I am the general manager of a 30-year "mom and pop" store with six of 11 employees being family members. We have our entire livelihood invested in our dealership. We also deal with the "mega" dealers and their misleading business practices. Like you we have adopted the policy of "OUR CUSTOMERS COME FIRST!" I am so happy to see another dealer who has the same frustrations and beliefs as we do at our dealership. If more small dealers would speak out and educate the buying public then this issue will come to a head and be addressed by the RVIA, RVDA, and hopefully the UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. I too am sick and tired of being "Low Balled" by some huge 1-800-NUMBER dealer who is no better than a common prostitute. We have addressed this issue with ALL of our manufacturers and have been treated like we are a small insignificant nothing! Well by God!! The time is coming when the manufacturers and the mega dealers are going to have to choose, either clean up their acts or be ready to face a united dealer base against their companies. The mom and pops of the world are slowly being backed into a corner with no way out but to fight. To this situation I say "thanks" to the manufacturers for supporting these practices. They even promote unfair trade by offering the huge mega dealer different pricing or as they term it, "dealer assistance". When was the last time your manufacturer did that for you? Dealer agreements aren't worth the paper they are written on. I would like to see ALL dealers have restrictions to market inside their own territories, the customer will still be able to buy where he likes, but the hometown dealer will at least have a fighting chance. The system that exists today is no more than an attempt to legitimize the manufacturer's nationwide service program. Our manufacturers do not care if we survive, just do the 1-800-DEALERS service to avoid a potential lawsuit for the manufacturer. In closing I would like to take the time again to congratulate you for your very well written rebuttle to an uneducated article. You may receive other correspondence from other view points, but from this small Alabama dealer again I say "WELL DONE!" and I support your wisdom and foresight into the R.V. industry. Jeff Fisher Dear Don: I enjoyed your editorial in the May 1998 issue, and had wondered how your predictions at the time Affinity Group purchased Camping World would play out. I fear you may be too close to correct for comfort. SDI Corp. would like to mail your editorial to our mailing list of 750 RV dealers, along with "Hindsight 2020" from p. 24, and request a reprint of each. Thanks, Don. I appreciate your willingness to take the more risky path. James E. Burgess RVN |
