Offering affirmation of Heartland Recreation Vehicles’ commitment to overall quality and customer service, the Elkhart, Ind.,-based firm garnered Dealer Satisfaction Index Quality Circle Awards across multiple brands in its lineup of towable RVs.
The Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association, which conceived and oversees the initiative, recognized Heartland’s Big Country/Elk Ridge, Cyclone/Torque, Landmark, North Trail/Wilderness, Prowler/Trail Runner, Road Warrior and Sundance/Gateway with the prestigious honor. Key metrics, as determined by RVDA, include reliability/quality, parts, warranty and sales.
“Significantly, our award-winning brands represented the full spectrum of towable categories in the marketplace,” said Heartland President Chris Hermon. “Our dealer body is certainly a key component behind this across-the-board recognition, but it also confirms a companywide directive to streamline service while also maintaining focus on a quality build.”
Hermon pointed to the company’s decision in early 2016 to purchase an expansive tract of land in Indiana’s LaGrange County and erect a 52,500-square-foot service center. That move was followed by the construction of a $5 million PDI Center at its Elkhart campus.
“The PDI facility ensures that every unit goes through a full PDI inspection before leaving our Elkhart complex,” he noted. “We also started taking units on road tests a minimum of 250 miles. Every unit is brought back to Heartland’s new PDI center where a senior management team was formed to inspect to ‘see what dealers see’ when they receive a unit. In addition, we back up every RV with a three-year structural warranty.”
In March, Heartland also added another layer through an announced partnership with NTP-STAG for warranty fulfillment. Through the agreement, the manufacturer is linking future warranty claim fulfillment orders directly to NTP-Stag, leveraging the distributor’s inventory, warehouse locations and company-owned fleet to improve the time it takes to process warranty claims and get customers back on the road.
“The goal is to reduce the repair event cycle time, a pressing issue that is being championed by the Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association and the RV Industry Association,” Hermon stated. “The repair event cycle time issues are a real challenge for the long-term health of our industry.”
He concluded, “Heartland will continue to raise the bar on customer service, and winning the DSI award for multiple brands just reassures our team that we are making are the right moves for the future.”
