Mary Jones works the
phones in Warranty

Staying Ahead of the Curve

by April Klein
Director of Customer Service Support

Our tremendous growth has made for a very busy year. We are delivering a much wider range of products and services than ever before and we are very fortunate to now have over 100,000 Monaco and Holiday Rambler customers. We are thankful to all of you and we have made a commitment to provide a high level of customer satisfaction after the sale. We live by the motto that sales sells the first unit and customer service sells every one after that.

Internally, a variety of changes are taking place. Today we are averaging 1,200 calls per day. The number continues to grow as we continue to sell more and more Holiday Rambler products. To keep ahead of the curve, we are working with outside communication specialists to select and implement call center software to more effectively route customer service telephone calls. It is our goal that every call be answered promptly and directed without delay to a dedicated staff of product experts. We are on target to have our software selection made and begin implementation within 90 days.

In Elkhart, Indiana, we have almost completed the building and remodeling of new office and warehouse space to accommodate the entire Indiana Customer Service, Warranty and National Parts Departments. This move will combine Wakarusa and Elkhart employees to one location, streamlining operations and improving communications. Indiana Motorized Factory Service Centers are being consolidated into one location in Elkhart as well. We will have a total of 45 new service bays. We are also moving the factory service center for towables to an all-new 11 bay facility in Wakarusa. We are looking forward to having everyone up and running in their new locations by Christmas.

Another important aspect of customer service is to ensure we are providing our dealers with the support they need in order to provide you with quality service. In addition to our existing Internet-based Dealer Support Network, we have developed and recently released "MDEX" (Monaco Dealership EXchange), a state-of-the-art, online warranty and parts system for our dealers. MDEX will expedite warranty authorizations, parts shipments and provide many administrative advantages that will streamline the customer service process at each dealership, further enabling them to make your service experience a pleasant one. Prior to the release of MDEX, our Dealer Support Network site received an average of 1,400 hits a month. With today's new process, we are averaging over 13,000 hits a month! We continue to work diligently toward the expansion of MDEX to provide even greater benefits.

In addition, we continue to expand our dealer-training program to include even more comprehensive, up-to-date technical product and warranty training for our dealer service personnel. Today, we have over 80% of the dealerships attending the training programs, from our 101 basic service school to our expert class and Roadmaster chassis class. These hands-on classes–held over several days at the factory–are packed with the latest information. Technicians are tested and receive certificates for passing the class and are taken back to their dealerships to prominently display. We are fortunate to have a strong, vast dealer network to work with us to achieve our common goals.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the feedback many of you have provided. You have been key in helping us identify areas we need to improve. Thanks to many of your suggestions we have implemented measures to identify causes and make improvements that will be permanent.

If you have further suggestions or comments regarding Monaco's customer service programs, please feel free to address those to: "Customer Service Suggestions" 91320 Industrial Way Coburg, OR 97408 All of us in the Customer Service Department would like to wish you and yours a very safe and happy holiday season.

Sincerely,
AK

HOW TO REACH US:
Monaco and Holiday Rambler Customer Service: 1-877- 4-Monaco (1-877-466-6226)
Warranty Authorizations – Technical Questions – Dealer/Repair Facility Referral – Factory Service Appointments