From Railroads to RVs: A Hornell History Lesson

By Bob Zagami, Editor
Published in RV News © July 2003

Situated in what the local's like to call the Southern Tier of the state, Hornell, New York has a storied transportation history that started with the railroads in the Mid-1800’s, and continues today with Wilkins RV, a family owned and operated full-service RV dealer that was established in 1936.

Hornell became the focal point of our early railroad transportation system when a group of local investors from Jamestown received a charter in 1832 and the New York & Erie Railroad was born. Railroads were being built to join the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, and the stretch through the Southern Tier of New York was 483 miles, making it the longest railroad in the United States at the time.

The railroads brought prosperity and success to the Village of Hornellsville, that later became the City of Hornellsville in 1888 and the name was shortened to the City of Hornell in 1906. Hornell’s fortunes grew along with the railroad, until they hit upon hard times and the eventual bankruptcy of the Erie Railroad in 1972.

Today, the city has less than 10,000 residents and one very large RV dealer. Founded in 1936 as a used car dealership by Charles Wilkins, the company moved into RVs in the early 60’s. The first products introduced to the local community were Fan, Frolic and Shasta travel trailers.

In 1965, Charles’ son Ronald purchased the business and oversaw Wilkins growth into a full-line RV dealer. Ron was a Coachmen dealer in the 70’s and 80’s and had sold the original Mallard line until their demise.

Today, the dealership is into their third generation of the Wilkins family. Ron is still active in the company but has turned over the day-to-day operations to his son Brian, the General Manager of the complex located just outside the center of the city on Route 21.

Brian said, "Although we are from a smaller community, we are within two hours of most of the major cities in Western, Central and Southern New York and just over the line from Pennsylvania. We have built up a loyal following of customers who are very willing to travel the extra miles to do business with our family-owned company. Fifty-percent of our business is from repeat customers. That says a lot about our company"

Wilkins RV employs about 50 people, retails approximately 700 new units per year, and does approximately $20 million dollars annual sales. This single- facility dealership is in the rolling hills of New York and surrounded by dense forests and abundant lakes and rivers that are home to a myriad selection of wildlife and campgrounds.

Wilkins is very clear on the company mission and said, "Very simply, we sell fun. We are committed to providing the best selection of the highest quality RV products in the industry, the best value at the most competitive prices, providing our customers with the best service and support after the sale and a workplace that is not only enjoyable and fun for our employees, but also rewarding. We feel that all these qualities lead to an environment where our customers can find a comfortable and enjoyable buying experience … a buying experience that is fun!

“Today we sell Newmar and Georgie Boy Class A's, Gulfstream Class B’s, Newmar, Fleetwood and Keystone towables and have recently added the Breckenridge Park Models to our lineup.

“We have narrowed down our product lines so that we can do a good job with fewer manufacturers, and this will then allow us to do a better job for the companies we represent now.

“Our bread-and-butter line is Newmar. We picked up their products in 1996 and we have been staffing their display at the Harrisburg show since 1997. That has been a tremendous show for us since teaming up with Newmar."

The Wilkins sales team is under the direction of Mark Rogers, general sales manager, and Warren Curtis, sales manager. They currently have nine sales reps and are looking for a good number ten to fill out the squad.

Wilkins said, "We spend a lot of time with our prospects and conduct a thorough interview before ever going out to see the product that fits their needs and budget. Our sales people have an average of ten years and some have been with us for twenty years.

“Our delivery and walkthrough is very thorough. We have a three-page document and a show-through coordinator that spends a lot of time with our customers when they take delivery of their new unit. The customer then receives a $25 gift certificate that can be used in our parts and accessories store. While in the store, we review a list of required items for happy camping, a recommended list of items they might want to consider, and a listing of wanted things that they may purchase later.

“The last thing the customer does is complete the paperwork associated with the sale. We don’t finalize the deal until the customer is completely satisfied with the new RV and the dealership and understands everything they have to know to enjoy their new RVing experience. Only then do we sign the documents and execute the sale. After the sale we use CSI to monitor our performance and make sure that the customer is completely satisfied."

Wilkins RV is a member of REDEX, America’s largest RV dealer buying group and also participates in the Spader 20 Group for sales. Brian Wilkins is the New York State Representative with the RVDA and has held that position since the new organization was announced a few years ago.

“We also believe in training our people on a regular basis. Two or three times a year we bring Chuck Marzahn and Tom King into the dealership for hands-on training. We like this approach better because we can train everybody while they are here. If we send one person away for training, then we have to rely on that person to train everybody else when they return and that is really not their job and it never works out the way you want it to. We have worked with Chuck on dealership training for about ten years and with Tom King in our sales department for about 5-6 years."

Like others in the RV industry, Wilkins is actively involved in racing and stepped up their involvement with the nearby Watkins Glen raceway this year. Wilkins said, "We’ve been involved with the track for a while but really increased our exposure this year. As the official RV dealer for Watkins Glen, we will have significant visibility at all their events, including the big NASCAR race that is scheduled for August 10th. We have billboards at the track, inserts in the programs, product displays during events and the track has a few rental units.

The company focuses more on in-house shows, and schedules four major events at the Hornell facility. Brian noted, "We have cut down on outside shows. They are expensive and they don’t give us the opportunity to spend enough quality time with the people who really do want to buy an RV."

The Internet is playing an increasing role in marketing the company to new prospects who become customers. Wilkins said, "We sold approximately 50 units from the leads that were generated through activity on our web site, which is hosted by RV America Online. We are constantly improving the site and we have assigned responsibility to one person at the dealership. He gets all the leads and responds to them immediately. This system works for us, and we know that we are communicating quickly with people who contact the dealership through the Internet."

Although the year got off to a slow start, Wilkins notes, "The weather has been brutal, but sales have picked up in April and May and I think we can match our numbers from last year, which was a great year. We are seeing younger people coming into the dealership and purchasing their first RV. Obviously, we are sharing in the same success as the rest of the industry: changing demographics, low interest rates, and a desire to spend more time with the family in a controlled vacation environment such as an RV."

Training is an important aspect in the parts and service departments also. Rick Porcaro, service manager, is pleased with the technician certification program at the dealership. Rick notes, "We have six certified technicians right now and expect to have fourteen by July. That will include all techs, our parts manager, me, the shop foreman and one other parts employee.

“Quality is still an issue that we deal with everyday. It’s important to make sure our technicians are fully capable of dealing with the challenges presented to us. The industry has to do a better job of resolving customer complaints faster. The dealer gets caught in the middle. We have to fight with manufacturers to get proper reimbursement for warranty work, and we are the ones who must give the bad news to customers when they ship us the wrong part, or don’t have what we need in stock.

Parts Manager Dave Watt noted some improvement in the parts arena, saying, "It’s still difficult to come up with the correct part numbers. They’ve got to improve the parts information we get by product line. Some manufacturers now provide us with CDs with the parts information and links to photographs showing even more detail. We are using two digital cameras in the dealership now, one in the parts department and one in the service department. We will take a digital photo and e-mail it to the manufacturer to improve our chances of getting the right part the first time … which is still a challenge.”

Both Watt and Porcaro sang the praises of Newmar as one manufacturer that has installed new information management systems and utilizes new technologies to let the dealers access the information they need, and are capable of responding quickly with the right parts. Onan and Dometic also received words of praise in developing systems to ease the burden on dealers who must keep the RV customer happy and on the road.

The dealership participates in the RV satellite training The dealership participates in the RV satellite training program and is pleased with the information their technicians are receiving through this program.

Locally, Wilkins has installed new IDS software to update dealership information and have access to more current and accurate data.

Sales Manager, Warren Curtis spoke of the challenges he faces in the sales department. Curtis said, “We continually have to cope with the buying public’s auto-buying mindset - the information available to the automobile-buying public confuses the selling process for RVs. We are selling fun, not transportation.”

And Curtis’ challenges don’t stop there. Finding the right sales person to sell “fun” takes some thinking as well.

“If we can’t find sales candidates with previous RV experience, then we look for someone who is friendly, outgoing, honest and has a good attitude. We can teach them the product knowledge they need to be successful here. We will start them out on trailers and when they have mastered those products, we will move them up to the houses on wheels variety. Sales reps who are poorly prepared to work with prospects just hurt our industry, the dealership, and more importantly – the prospect or customer."

Wilkins RV also participates in the new Randy Sobel sales training satellite program, but would like to see the frequency increased from the current once a month schedule. Curtis noted, "They need more training and they need it more frequently. It’s too easy for them to forget some of the material if they only see it once each month."

Newmar Corporation also scored high points in the sales department. Warren said, "Newmar provides us the best sales training from the manufacturers represented on our lot. One of our sales reps is trained as a Newmar sales specialist who is knowledgeable on all their products. He then acts as the key contact for product information and sales strategies when our other reps are working with a Newmar prospect. It’s an excellent program and it certainly helps us sell more of their products."

Just as the railroads were a focal point in Hornell over a decide will serve them best. But is that really what is best for the industry? hundred years ago, the baton has been passed to a new form of transportation, one that provides millions of people with experiences they will remember for a lifetime.

Just as Charles and Ronald Wilkins grew the family business into one of the most respected RV dealers in the country, that baton is slowly moving over to the desk of Brian Wilkins. Brian is a CPA who received his undergraduate degree from Niagara University and his graduate work at RIT. It sounds like a new generation of success is coming to Hornell, NY and Wilkins RV.

However, in closing, Brian was quick to point out that the key to success at Wilkins was his mother, Patricia, and his father. He said, "My parents poured their hearts and souls into this business. They encouraged everyone to strive for perfection above and beyond what the customer would normally expect. All the credit for what this dealership stands for today belongs to them.”