RV Park Service - Change your Attitude!

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The last time I was at a National Park, I noticed that there is a certain "feel" to being there.  It's a happy, safe feeling, kind of like being a kid at your Grandmother's house.  And I think you get that feeling from the attitude of the Park Rangers and employees.

So what makes National Park employees different and so attractive as role models for RV Park Management?  I think the reasons are numerous:

  • - The Uniform:  You don't have to wear a specific uniform, but some reasonable dress code sure helps, coupled with the RV Park name on a shirt or a badge.  It creates trust with the customer that you are legitimate and gives you a "big company" feel that people tend to favor.  It sends the subliminal message to the customer that you care about their stay and stand behind that pledge.  You can buy off the internet custom cotton polo shirts with the RV Park name sewn on and they look as good as FedEx.  Couple that with some khaki pants and you have a top-notch look.

  • - The Park Service teaches a positive, friendly attitude.  Then you are happy.  It makes the customer happy too.  Nobody wants to be greeted with "what do you want?" upon arrival.  "Hi, how can I help you" sure works a lot better for customer retention and repeat business.

  • - Fair solutions to customer problems.  At the Park Service, the customer is always right within certain set boundaries.  A study has shown that a customer has greater satisfaction with a business that screwed up at all.  When a customer is unhappy for any reason, be sure to fix the problem happily and quickly.  Word will get around.

  • - Quality signage.  Not to beat this to death, but having professional looking signage sure makes you look a lot better as a business.  And it costs very little to make great signage over junk signage.  The Park Service has some of the best RV signage to be found anywhere.

If you are trying to improve the look and success of your RV Park, I would recommend you look no further than the Park Service for your inspiration.  While, they are not perfect, most of the National Parks I have been to do a great job, and every RV Park would be money ahead to follow their lead.

By Frank Rolfe Frank Rolfe is a mobile home park investor and owns over 100 parks with his partner Dave Reynolds. Frank also teaches about RV Park Investing through www.RVParkUniversity.com.