By Jason Epperson
COLDWATER, Mich. – Waiting weeks, if not months, for a simple RV repair can be a significant inconvenience for travelers eager to hit the road. As many know all too well, the repair process often involves long waits for appointments, diagnoses, parts and warranty approvals — not to mention the service work itself — which can put a damper on the experience of owning a new RV, leaving a bad taste in the customer’s mouth for the entire industry.
RECT, or Repair Event Cycle Time — the amount of time it takes from diagnosis to repair — has become a problem that dealers are eager to address. Headquartered in Coldwater, Mich., and now with 22 stores across the Midwest and mountain states, Bish’s RV is no exception. Earlier this year, however, the dealer group unveiled a new initiative designed to streamline and expedite RV service: BishFix.
BishFix aims to reduce the time RVs spend off the road and enhance the overall customer experience by leveraging technology, staff and innovative processes. To delve deeper into this unique program and understand its implications for RV owners, RVBusiness staffers sat down with Chris Blanchard, vice president of supply chain and marketing at Bish’s RV.
RVBusiness: Can you start by describing the current situation for RV owners who discover issues with their RV that need addressing?
Chris Blanchard: The current industry standard for RV repairs is far from ideal. On average, it takes about 30 days to get a repair done. If the repair involves parts or warranty issues, this timeline can stretch to around 97 days. This means that if you find a problem with your RV during peak season, you could be waiting most of the summer to get it fixed. The process typically involves setting up an appointment, having the RV diagnosed, waiting for parts and warranty approvals and then the actual repair. Each step can take a considerable amount of time.
Most dealerships are swamped, especially during peak seasons, leading to appointment delays of two to three weeks. And if you need a part ordered, you might wait several weeks just for that part to arrive before the repair can even begin.
RVBusiness: How did you develop BishFix — and how does it address these problems?
Blanchard: The idea started about a year and a half ago when we were recognized as one of the top five dealers for repair event cycle time within our dealer management software, Lightspeed. While we were pleased to be acknowledged, we were frankly pretty embarrassed — our numbers are better than the industry average, but not by much.
BishFix begins with a video call with one of our master certified technicians. Our technicians are looking at their computer screen, looking through the customer’s camera. They can turn on lights, take pictures, start and stop recording, they can zoom in and zoom out…what they’re trying to do is diagnose the problem over the phone; we found that about 45% of the time, we can diagnose the problem for the customer in just that phone call.
If the issue can’t be resolved remotely, we expedite the repair process. We start processing warranty claims and ordering parts before the RV even arrives at the dealership. Once the RV is dropped off, we aim to complete the repairs on the same day or within a few days. While we strive for same-day service, the actual repair time can vary depending on the complexity of the issue. However, 85% of our repairs are completed in under three days. Since the problem has already been diagnosed and we’ve begun the parts and warranty process, we don’t have to wait to begin repairs.
RVBusiness: What about RVs that end up needing extended repair times or face delays due to parts or errors?
Blanchard: We do have cases that end up in what we call “RV jail,” where repairs can take longer due to issues like incorrect parts or missed diagnoses. However, we’re seeing significant improvements and are constantly working to minimize these occurrences. Our goal is to ensure that RVs spend as little time as possible off the road. Maybe it arrived at the dealership and the wrong part got ordered. Now, it will sit there until we get the right part ordered and brought in.
Or, when we start tearing it down, perhaps the technician who diagnosed it over the phone missed something. It happens. So, we have to get a different part or a different claim authorized. Although we’re not perfect, we’re seeing significant improvements in that repair event cycle time. As I said earlier, 85% of the time the work is done in under three days, and 15% of the time it takes longer.
RVBusiness: By shaving several weeks off the process by ‘pre-diagnosing’ the problem, that must streamline things for the dealership, too. You don’t have to have the RV sitting on the lot for extended periods and you have a better idea of how to schedule your technicians.
Blanchard: Exactly. I was at our Meridian dealership just the other day and it blew me away how many fewer RVs we had in our service shop because we just didn’t have RVs just parked out in front waiting for parts to get there. If an RV was out there, it’s because it was coming in for service within a day or so to get fixed. They’re not sitting on our lot anymore for weeks or months waiting to get fixed.
RVBusiness: BishFix seems like a game-changer for RV owners. How can RV owners access this program — and what are the costs involved?
Blanchard: Currently, every RV purchased from Bish’s RV comes with a year of BishFix free. For previous Bish’s customers, as long as they still own their RV they are also automatically enrolled for a year at no cost. After the initial year, there is an introductory fee of $4.99 per month. We’re currently only accepting Bish’s customers into the program; once our capacity expands, non-Bish’s customers will be able to join through a waitlist. But we still use the BishFix system to help customers who have purchased from other dealers. When they call for service, they are routed to BishFix operators and charged a one-time diagnostic fee of $79.99.
RVBusiness: So, if members enroll in BishFix, they will still pay hourly rates for repairs if it’s not under warranty — but the real value of the program is in the expedited diagnostic process and minimizing the time their RV spends off the road?
Blanchard: Exactly. The primary benefit of BishFix is reducing the time an RV owner has to spend without their RV. By providing faster diagnostics and potentially resolving issues remotely, we help ensure that RV owners spend more time enjoying their adventures — and less time waiting for repairs.
The post RVB Q&A: Bish’s RV ‘BishFix’ ‘Revolutionizes’ RV Service first appeared on RVBusiness - Breaking RV Industry News.
