The following is the latest dealer profile from the RV Industry Association, featuring Debbie Brunoforte, president and CEO of Arizona-based Little Dealer Little Prices. As you’ll read, she’s a big proponent of keeping your staff up to date on the latest training.
The current shortage of qualified technicians is nothing new to the RV industry, according to Debbie Brunoforte, president and CEO of Little Dealer Little Prices. The three-branch Arizona-based dealership started addressing this problem nearly thirty years ago, soon after Debbie took over the reigns of the business her parents started in 1966.
“Since we couldn’t find enough RV techs, we decided to grow our own by creating a career ladder for them,” said Brunoforte, who spearheaded early efforts to provide nationally standardized training for her staff. While optional at first, the company decided to make the training and certification mandatory, a policy that remains today.
“We have a team-first, as opposed to customer-first, culture here,” she said. “It begins by having a great team and empowering them to provide great service. Faster and better service makes for happier customers.”
The source of empowerment Brunoforte relied upon in the past was the RV Technical Institute (RVTI), which visited Little Dealer Little Prices several times to provide Level 1 training and certification for their existing and potential RV techs. This past January, RVTI returned for the first time since the pandemic, sending Bill Stewart, RVTI director of education, to conduct hands-on training and testing for a new set of techs.
“It went so well that our GMs want to have RVTI back every six months,” said Brunoforte. “The entire team benefitted so much that our service manager said it’s been fun to watch what the new guys have learned and to see how much more efficient, engaged and enthusiastic they are.”
Click here to read the full story from RVIA.
