聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Carlyle RV & Leisure is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and although owners Ron Mitchell and Kelly Dew have witnessed both demographic and technological change in their industry, both men say their commitment to customer service remains unchanged.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The dealership specializes in all-season leisure products, including R.V.'s, enclosed trailers, snowmobiles, ATVs and more. And more and more, outdoor pursuits are embraced by entire families, according to co-owner Ron Mitchell.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t's a lot more family-centred now,鈥� says Mitchell. 鈥淚t seems like over the past few years, the recreation industry has gotten into full, family involvement. People go camping as a whole family; and most couples we see now each have their own quad or snowmobile.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淥ur customers are from throughout the southeast and from as far away from The Pas and Prince Albert,鈥� he adds. 鈥淢any of them have been with us since the beginning and that's something we're very proud of. When you make a purchase here, that's not the end. Our after-sales service is equally important.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Dew agrees and says that members of the service department are 鈥渃onstantly learning,鈥� as vehicles and trailers become more complex.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淪now machines have RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) keys now, for example,鈥� adds Dew. 鈥淎nd campers have Linc Pads-that's like an iPad for your trailer that allows you to operate everything that way.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淏RP (formerly Bombardier) products now use a DESS system,鈥� says Mitchell. 鈥淭hat's a digitally-encoded security system. It's like a tether that's not only digitally-encoded to start the machine, but it can also be programmed so a snowmobile or quad will go at a slower speed for kids.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭he technology in all of our products is pretty amazing,鈥� he adds. 鈥淎nd it's pretty challenging to keep up with all of the technology integrated into the products, but we do. We have to, for our customers.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Carlyle RV & Leisure has won numerous industry awards, among them, Prairie North magazine's reader-voted 鈥淪askatchewan's Best Place to Buy an RV鈥� title.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e have customers who have been with us since the beginning,鈥� says Mitchell. 鈥淎nd we'd like to invite everyone to our 20th Annual Ski Doo Open House on Saturday, Nov. 21. One of the things we've planned are customer prize draws every 20 minutes to celebrate our 20 years in business. Another is Ski Doo demo rides, weather permitting. Those are just a few of the things we have planned to say 'Thank you' to our customers and to celebrate our two decades in business.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Both Mitchell and Dew began their careers in the autobody industry. Mitchell started his first business in Manitoba at the age of 22 and says,鈥淚 learned parts, sales and service there. And I learned that the customer always comes first.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Dew's skills also stem from the automotive world and he uses those skills to teach, mentor, and apprentice staff.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淥ne of our employees who trained under Kelly is now a master tech for Ski Doo and was certified at BRP (formerly Bombardier) in Sherbrooke, Quebec,鈥� says Ron.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽In the RV industry, for example, staff聽 attend yearly seminars in Indiana, where they study聽 advances and changes in refrigeration, electrical, and plumbing, to name a few.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t's almost a constant thing,鈥� says Dew. 鈥淏ecause our industry is constantly changing.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Mitchells, the Dews and their staff are all avid campers, snowmobilers, hunters, golfers, motorcyclists or ATVers. 鈥淲e use what we sell,鈥� says Mitchell.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t's all part of our customer service,鈥� he adds. 鈥淲e really try to help our customers as much as we can, whether its with their warranty needs or ensuring our service and service pricing is very competitive and usually below that of the city.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 As dealers, Dew says they act as advocates for their customers in an increasingly complex sector.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e really fight hard to get the warranty for our customers,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hen digital cameras came out, it was fairly easy to get warranty claims approved. Now it's become more complex, and a bit more difficult, but we'll work hard to go the extra mile for our customers.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淎nd we are big enough to provide a balance of quality products and small enough to know your name and provide for you,鈥� says Mitchell.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭here's a season for everything here and we enjoy every season with the toys we provide.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Carlyle RV & Leisure is located on Hwy 39 near Carlyle.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 For more, call 453-6773 or check out or Carlyle R.V. & Leisure on Facebook.
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