The best RV dealerships are the ones that have a clear purpose and strive with everything they have to fulfill that goal. For Affinity RV in Arizona, that purpose is stated front and center on their website - "Bringing Family and Lifestyle Together." Affinity RV has three locations in the Prescott, Arizona area.
For five years in a row, Affinity RV has been named among RVBusiness Magazine's Top 50 in North America, twice making the Blue Ribbon award, which names the top 5 dealers in North America. The Buzz sat down with Bob Been, General Manager and CEO of Affinity RV, to get the ins and outs of the process, as well as what they do to keep their dealership in the realm of excellence.
"The definition of Affinity is to bring people or things together and that is the heart of what we do," said Been. Affinity RV has been in business since 1997 and grew from a company selling a single line of Coachmen RVs to selling recreational vehicles from just about every major manufacturer.
The appreciation of excellent customer service and doing business with integrity comes from the time when Been was a child. "My dad was in the military and, as such, he didn't make a lot of money so he spent evenings repairing RVs for folks who were passing through," recalled Been. "And he told me that if you service things well and right, people will keep coming back to you. So that's what we do."
Inside the well-kept and luxurious Affinity RV dealership in Prescott [Photo: Affinity RV]
Affinity RV not only sells RVs, but repairs and modifies them, also. "We have an open door to transients policy," said Been. "We don't care where they bought it from." Many reviews attest to their commitment to travelers stopping by the town. From people who are in desperate need of an AC repair to some that were simply looking for another company in town, the reviews glow for the service department that helped them.
According to the website, “We also provide a dump station that's available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is staffed during weekday business hours. We'll wash your windows, check your tires and help you dump and flush all in one location at no charge to you. We'll also fill your propane at no charge except for the cost of the propane.”
They have a "wide array of compartmentalized services," Been said, such as "modifying RVs for the Federal Government, libraries, laboratories, and more. We do a lot of that kind of business."
One of the reasons why Affinity RV gets so much service business from a wide variety of sources is their focus on training. "We put time, effort and money into making sure our employees are educated," explained Been. "From the technician service managers down to our phone people, we want to make sure our customers are taken care of."
These positive attributes factor into the decision made by RVBusiness to make an RV dealership one of the top 50 in the country. "After a dealership is nominated by a manufacturer, there is a pretty extensive questionnaire and application process," Been told The Buzz.
RVB Top 50 Administrator BJ Thompson reports in the press release announcing the awards - “Our panel of judges was about as intently engaged as we’ve ever seen in completing their evaluations and final selections. There were some dynamic debates among the judges regarding the finalists. We saw evidence of dealers not resting on their laurels of past performance but placing additional emphasis on service technician training and pressing for even higher levels of customer satisfaction.”
Beyond growth and services that a dealership provides, there is a strong emphasis on community impact of the dealership taken into consideration, something Affinity RV takes very seriously.
"We are very active in our community," said Been. "Any time the city is putting on something special, we provide them with coaches and whatever else they need." Been serves on all 4 Chambers of Commerce in the area where Affinity is located. They also emphasize involvement in charities. “We support about 90 charities in the area,” said Been.
A unique way they give to charities is by allowing employees to choose a few charities themselves and then donate money as they wish. “We look at their financial records and make sure they aren’t too top heavy and make sure they have an impact on our community. They donate money and I match them dollar for dollar,” Been explained, “This year we are giving to Horses With Hearts and a few others.” Horses With Hearts is a non-profit that gives people with special needs opportunities to interact with horses.
Community outreach, knowledgeable staff and commitment to growth all contribute to Affinity RV’s five year recognition, along with the many local and manufacturer awards they’ve received through the years. And, if they continue the trend, there are many more to come.